Gender: Male
Status: Single
Age: 25
Sign: Gemini
City: Bath
Country: BO
Signup Date: 7/9/2007
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Friday, October 30, 2009
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THE BATH BOMB @nti-copyright: copy and distribute! Issue #26 free/donation Nov 09 “A noisy conscience hammering away on the shoulder of Bath” Shock Exposé: B&NES To Slash 90% Of Public Sector Jobs Bath Bomb has received a shocking set of documents that reveals B&NES Council’s plans to cut its workforce by 90% from 6,000 workers down to just 600. To make it worse, the ‘lucky’ 600 will have their job descriptions taken away, meaning they could be collecting bins one day and dealing with your council tax claim the next. On the 8th of October, unions were invited to a meeting with the council in which they were told that they could expect the massive job losses as part of a package that includes the mass privatization of public services and jobs in the Bath area. The proposal to privatise 90% of council services and jobs is not just a massive assault on workers, it is also the most worrying attack on the people of Bath and the services they receive yet from a council that is increasingly showing itself to be interested in profit and greed over the needs of B&NES residents. This thrust to privatise services will lead to a decimation of the care provided for those most in need. There will be no public accountability, no security of services, and of course, no care at all for those who cannot afford it. If this proposal goes ahead in any form, it will mean the end of local government and all the vital public services that go with it, and the introduction of care and social services run by for-profit companies who put their own profits above the needs of the service users. As recent history has shown us, privatization has never brought about greater efficiency and monetary saving for the end user (trains, buses and energy companies anyone?) – it has always led to a sad shadow of a service, hanging the people who rely on the services out to dry while private companies line their pockets. This is not just the sacking of many thousands of workers, it is the sacking of public services in Bath, and fighting to make sure that these crazy, greed-driven plans never go ahead will be one of the greatest challenges the people of Bath have ever faced. A massive campaign aimed at fighting back against the Council’s plans involving local trade unions, community groups and local activists is already gaining momentum. To get involved, contact bathactivistnet [at] yahoo.co.uk What the proposals mean: • 5,400 council employees sacked, or handed over to private companies • Our public services privatized • No accountability in local services • Public services slashed, or cut altogether • Public services only for those who can afford them What we can do to stop the proposals: • Send a letter of complaint to the Council • Email us to get involved in the fight back • Email local trade unions to send them your support • Let council workers know that you support them News From The Picket Lines Local activists have been gearing up to support the posties in what looks set to be a long battle between workers and management. The posties are out on strike as a result of a series of attacks by Royal Mail and the government that would see postal services slashed, workers’ conditions changed for the worst and the privatization of the post service. This is not just a fight for jobs and conditions, but for frontline postal services such as post offices and regular deliveries which Royal Mail management are systematically trying to destroy. If we allow the postal service to fall into private hands, it will go the same way as the trains, the buses and the energy companies – more cost for a worse service, all for the sake of private profit. October the 22nd saw the start of two days of postal strikes, including a 50-strong picket line at the Manvers Street post depot in Bath. The strikers were supported by local activists from the Trades Council, Bath Activist Network and the Bath I.W.W Branch who brought down solidarity donations and snacks for the striking workers. The strikes look set to continue, so why not show your support by popping down to the picket lines with some snacks or coffee or by popping a message of support near your letterbox. This is not just a fight for jobs, it is a fight to save a vital public service – if the posties lose, it could be weekly deliveries and £1 stamps by next year! Helphire Help Themselves, We Suffer To anyone not living in a mansion and driving a Bentley, the government’s claims that the recession is over comes across as a sick joke. Sure, the economy may have stabilised, and the bankers are once again pocketing wedges of our cash (like they ever really stopped), but what does it mean for the rest of us? Politicians across the spectrum are starting to think about where all of that money they gave to the banks will come from, and CEOs are wondering how to claw back their profit losses, and they are all reaching the same answer - cuts! All three parties have announced that they intend a wholesale round of public sector cuts if elected, all promising measures such as a one third cut in the number of firefighters, £2 billion off the education budget, the privatisation of the postal service, greenlighting more odious 'academy' schools and the wholesale dismantling of the NHS. Bosses, on the other hand, are going redundancy mad, with local firm Helphire shedding hundreds of jobs over the past year, and hundreds more in the pipeline as just one example of a pattern repeated up and down the country. So where does that leave us? It leaves us picking up the tab for greedy, corrupt politicians, bastard bankers and scummy bosses who are all in the rich man’s club together, while they let us suffer. This doesn't have to be the way though; fighting trade unions such as the I.W.W, FBU, RMT and the CWU are leading a fightback locally and nationally to ensure that we, as workers and ex-workers get what we deserve. Our advice - join your sector’s union, join the IWW (a militant union for all workers that is growing by the day), get involved in the fightback for what you deserve - don't bear the brunt of a recession that you had no part in creating, and next time you see your boss, take that old school tie and fucking choke him with it! Is the recession over? Of course not, so get involved in the local campaign against recession, or for debt, bailiff, rent or employment advice by contacting bathactivistnet [at] yahoo.co.uk International Workers of the World siteGOT A STORY? WANT TO RECEIVE THE BATH BOMB BY EMAIL? HOPING TO SUE? Contact us by e-mailing bathbombpress [at] yahoo.co.uk. Large print e-versions available on request. For further info on any of our stories see www.thebathbomb.blogspot.comDirect Action Stations At Bathampton Meadows! The Government Office of the South West have denied a public enquiry into the concreting of Bathampton Meadows, meaning the Council’s original green(ha ha)light for the project still stands. It also looks like the ‘Rapid’ Transit route, which ploughs through a nature reserve and dozens of back gardens (acquired by Compulsory Purchase Orders - forcing the garden owners to hand over the land) has got the go-ahead. The Meadows are home to bats, foxes, badgers, herons and cormorants, not to mention being a beautiful green space right on our doorstep, and not forgetting the fact that concreting over important floodplains has led to tragedy elsewhere (including the massive floods in Gloucestershire a couple of years back). This decision is pretty bad news, but it is what we expected from greedy and corrupt politicians. The battle is not over, but now we are fighting on more familiar territory - direct action and protest. There will hopefully be a public meeting very soon involving BAN and other groups opposed to the plans, so let’s start dreaming up some schemes to save the Meadows now! As is often the case, appealing to the good side of politicians has failed (largely due to politicians not having a good side), so now it is up to the enraged population of Bath, who put ecology and community before profit, to jam a spanner in the works of this stupid and ecocidal scheme once and for all! Response to Route websiteSave Bathampton Meadows websitePosh Parasites Pooh Pooh Punt In between ranting, propagandising and generally getting on the nerves of Bath’s well-to-do, some of us at Bath Bomb HQ like nothing more than a gentle stroll down the canal to unwind. On our way down, we find friendly faces, decent conversation and beautiful boats dotting the towpath. One of the most spectacular boats belongs to a Mr Ian Gill, who has covered his home in elaborate carvings and designs. Mr Gill is also a central part of Bath life, getting involved in various local cultural and charitable events - an all round decent bloke, with a very interesting boat. But, the boat is not just interesting, it is an eco boat! In an attempt to lower his ecological impact, Mr Gill punts his engineless boat from place to place, generally between Bathampton and Bath so that he is close to his work. But British Waterways (boo hiss) and an array of local snobs (bigger boos and hisses) have decided that the boat is an 'eyesore' and that he is not travelling far enough to be considered a 'continuous cruiser' (this issue started when he was too ill to move his boat). So now the NIMBY brigade, backed up by BW, are attempting to boot Ian off the cut. If we allow them to get rid of our artistic friend, we will not only see someone lose their home, but we will lose another little bit of what makes Bath such an interesting and quirky place to live. Ian’s boat is covered in banners and petitions, so next time you take a stroll down the beautiful Kennet and Avon, why not stop to sign and give support to a bloke who is the victim of the prejudice that is all too common in some areas of our fair city. Enough Room To Swing A Cat It’s been a long time coming, but activists in Bath are soon hoping to open up a radical social centre in the heart of the city. Located at a large formerly commercial building on Upper Bristol Road left abandoned by its owners since at least 2001, the renamed Black Cat centre (in honour of the industrial tradition of the ‘wildcat strike’ for better working conditions, particularly in these hard times) is due for opening soon. Although commercially unmarketable due to its location and state of repair, the building is perfect for uses such as this. But what is a social centre? Well, a social centre can mean many things to many people; in this case, Black Cat will be a consensus-run counter-capitalist initiative, where everyone has an equal stake and an equal say, offering up a living example of a world based on solidarity, mutual aid and co-operation, rather than selfishness and authority. Operating as eco-friendly and free as possible, the space is open for use by all the local community, for non-commercial and progressive purposes. Established so far is a permanent FreeShop, an info-stall for local events and campaigns, a radical lending library for your educational needs, and samba dancing classes, but other things are in the pipeline: legal rights self-education sessions, reading groups, art workshops, nature walks, and donation-based community cafe, among others. If you or your group needs an affordable meeting space, therapy room, art studio, rehearsal space, exhibition venue, or if you have any other such schemes you’d love to become reality, get in touch: bathsocialcentre [at] gmail.comBlack Cat’s is scheduled for its opening night on Friday the 20th November, with a gig featuring folk artists Robb Johnson, Tracey Curtis and Cosmo, and a community open day on the Saturday. EVENTS Bath Hunt Saboteurs meetings, 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, 8pm, The Bell, Walcot Street Debt advice drop-in, Tuesdays, 4-7pm, Black Cat social centre, Upper Bristol Road London Road Food Co-op, Wednesdays, 4-7pm, Riverside Community Centre, London Road The Lost Plot workday, Thursdays, 10am-dusk, Bathampton Bath Stop The War Coalition vigil, Saturdays, 11.30am-12.30, Bath Abbey Courtyard Recycle Your Sundays, Sundays, 10.30am, starts Abbey Churchyard, the regular series of sociable, easy-paced cycle rides, http://www.rysbath.org.uk/ Hazel 01225 469199 Bath postal office workers’ picket, Saturday 31st November, from 4.30am(!), Manvers Street entrance to the sorting office, Free Vegan Food Fayre, Saturday 31st November, 12-4pm, Broadmead Baptist Church, Union Street entrance Bristol Bath Activist Network meeting, Thursday 5th November, 7.30-9pm, downstairs at The Hobgoblin, St James Parade Bath Animal Action meeting, Monday 9th November, 8-9pm, backroom of The Bell, Walcot Street Transition Open Forum, Tuesday 10th November, 7.15pm, Widcombe Social Club, http://www.transitionbath.orgBath Green Drinks, Wednesday 11th November, 8pm, Rising Sun, Grove Street Bath FreeShop, Saturday 14th November, 12-3pm, outside Pump Rooms, Stall Street Broadlands Orchardshare Volunteering Day, Saturday 14th November, 12-4pm, Broadlands Orchard, Box Road, Bathford, email broadlandsorchardshare [at] googlemail.com or phone 07532 472 256 Bath Cycling Campaign meeting, Monday 16th November, 7.30pm, The Rising Sun, Grove Street, http://www.bathcyclingcampaign.org.ukBath Friends of the Earth meeting, Wednesday 18th November, 8pm, The Cork, Westgate Buildings, http://www.bath-foe.org.ukBlack Cat social centre opening night, Friday 20th November, time tbc, Upper Bristol Road The Big Kebele Party ’09, Saturday 21st November, 9-2am, Easton Community Centre, Chelsea Road, Bristol, £6 entry, http://www.kebelecoop.orgTransition Drinks, Wednesday 25th November, 8pm, upstairs at The Raven, http://www.transitionbath.org.uk/events.htmlTheory Corner: Debt Con Gone? A workshop at last month’s Bristol Anarchist Bookfair brought out some interesting ideas about debt. At the Gleneagles G8 meeting of the industrial world’s so-called leaders in 2005, it was agreed that 18 of the world’s poorest countries would be forgiven $40 billion of their official state debt. Even though that original sum was incurred arming paramilitary police forces to crush democratic movements in those countries, or was squandered on building Sub-Saharan palatial swimming pools and other luxuries for the rich, it was the common people that suffered through debt, with IMF adjustment programs wiping away their public services and self-sufficiency, obligating them to sell away necessities like food and textiles for rock-bottom prices to the west. The IMF didn’t send bailiffs round to Idi Amin’s son. Wiping that financial slate clean was unarguably the right thing. And yet when a similarly deliberate process is used to destroy the lives of people here, with more and more petty laws sending higher proportions to prison, the sell-off of public transport and undermining of hospitals, education and welfare, the smashing of unions and community, and the increasing precariousness of modern working conditions, no one really bats an eyelid. We get a second or third job, we get wasted on the weekend, we take out a loan on a widescreen TV, all in a bid to temporarily sidestep the anxiety and stress that’s on its way. Rather than being paid sufficient wages, we’re encouraged to borrow more and more. An excess of capital is created by exploiting a resource – us – and then lent back to that same exploited resource to generate interest, and tie us into a web of mortgages, loans, crippling repayments, repossessions and red letters. And if you escape this, it’s not down to being more responsible or a better person, it’s just a matter of pure chance. The Citizens Advice Bureau reported in February 2009 that the average client owes nearly 17,000, a 66% increase since 2001. Thus, the average debt level is 18 times the person’s monthly income, and would take 93 years to clear at an affordable rate – leading to mental breakdown, relationship disintegration, and suicide: a death sentence, in effect. Repossessions are up 36% from last year, 20 homes are repossessed each week, and bailiffs visit 50 a day for council tax alone – using loud knocking, shouting and neighbours as a weapon to embarrass people on their visits; when what really should happen is that neighbours come out in their masses to see these vultures off – bailiffs should be too scared to stick around. Wiping all personal debt would liberate millions and is unarguably the right thing to do. So begs the question: how do we do it? East Bristol Debtors Alliance siteOne Down… German energy giant E-on have repeatedly put off making a decision as to whether to build a new coal power station at Kingsnorth. Now they’re saying their plans are put off indefinitely, citing the recession as a concern. Couldn’t have anything to do with those pesky activists, could it? E-on’s head office has been invaded; they were forced to abandon their graduate recruitment drive last year after protests at several campuses; Kingsnorth’s cooling towers have been damaged by Greenpeace; last year a weeklong camp was held there by the Camp For Climate Action, during which activists tried to break in by land and by boat; last Fossil Fools Day someone snuck in all on their own and pressed the big red off button! It’s very likely that Kingsnorth will never be built. We can’t afford to forget though, that there are still plans to build seven other coal plants around the country – an EU decision is imminent as to whether to grant funding for a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) demonstration plant at Hatfield, near Doncaster, which is widely expected to get approval. Aside from the fact that “capturing” emissions and “storing” them under the ground sounds pretty dodgy, the technology won’t be commercially available for at least 20 years, yet it’s being used as an excuse to press ahead with new coal. We don’t have time to wait for CCS – we need to drastically cut emissions now. This is why we need to stop coal, and the decision on Kingsnorth shows that we can do it. We’ve got a big job ahead of us, but throughout history changes have been made by ordinary people doing extraordinary things. World Development Movement site article linkBath Activist Network are a local umbrella group campaigning on issues as diverse as development, environmentalism, anti-war, animal rights, workers’ rights and more. Helping to produce The Bath Bomb, we are open to anyone, and our members range from trade unionists to anarchists, liberals to greens, and people who just want to change Bath for the better. For details on meetings, demos, or just to get in touch, email bathactivistnet [at] yahoo.co.uk, or see our website: Bath Activist Network siteAnd now, to the disclaimer: As anyone is free to contribute, the opinions expressed in each article are not necessarily reflective of each contributor. Naturally, any right-wing or corporate bullshit will be binned and spat on. Needless to say, the opinions of the author of this disclaimer does not necessarily represent the views of any other contributor... Co-Mutiny On The Brizzle As well as all the actions a-sailing the seven days of the Bristol Co-Mutiny, workshops and other such treasures were sighted. The flagship of the fleet was unmistakeably the convergence space, a squatted church at Park Place in central Bristol, home port to film exhibitions and performances, a kids’ space and freeshop, and regular donation-based slap-up dinners. Of the workshops, they were many and varied, encouraging sustainable living and self-empowerment, one way or another: highlights include plant identification, knitting/spinning, sound tech and break dancing! Shiver me timbers, but there were anarchic madness, too. A 50-strong 'No-Borders' demo and workshop took place at the Trinity Road police station (from where asylum seekers often get detained without warning while signing in), and 60 salty seadogs boarded the centre for the Anarchist Olympics day. On the Wednesday, a motley crew of climate refugees and upset penguins invaded Bristol airport, leafleting passengers, and tummy-diving on the luggage racks. While businessmen fly short-haul to their meetings, thousands of people around the world are being displaced by the effects of climate change. Bristol Airport plans to expand must not be allowed to go ahead, savvy? Things came to a head on Friday the 18th September with ‘Repossess the Banks’, designed to illustrate the glaring inequalities in our society that lead to working people being kicked out of their homes because of the banking crisis, whilst those responsible get paid avast bonuses with our booty, and also called for community control of all the banks, especially those now kept afloat by public investments. On the day, over 100 gathered bedecked in snappy carnival masks to make merry in a tour of Bristol’s financial district. Police were initially wrong-footed in a hectic, impromptu coal-dumping stunt in BT (funders of coal extraction), and retaliated with sudden and savage brutality, dragging faces across concrete and panicking their horses, against a modest salvo of paint bombs and custard pies. But once the smoke cleared, the good ship Co-Mutiny set sail, and the hundreds involved fond it an educational and fun event well worth repeating in the future. Co-Mutiny siteBristol No Borders siteStop Bristol Airport Expansion siteCrap Local Cops Let BAN Meet Cameron! Friday the 18th September saw everyone’s least favourite toff scumbag David Cameron (you know, that bloke who wants to bring back foxhunting, slash public spending, give more of our cash to the bankers, dismantle the NHS, concrete over Bathampton Meadows etc. etc.) visit Bath for an 'open' meeting. In fact, to get into this open meeting, you had to pre-book, provide ID (despite the Tories allegedly being against ID) and submit to various security checks and approval from the local Tory branch leader. These best laid plans were ruined however by an anonymous whistle blower who contacted BAN with the time and location of the meeting. This information was then 'accidentally' plastered all over the internet, and before long, both BAN and the Save Bathampton Meadows crew had called protests. The turnout was pretty decent, involving around 20 assorted malcontents and a large police presence. The protest gained support from the general public, but not the lads and ladies queuing to get into the meeting, literally all of whom were obviously from a certain class (we'll give you a clue, it wasn't working or middle!). The protest passed peacefully, and as the BAN contingent were about to call it a night, a posh comb-over in a suit (evidently the bloke who put on the event) appeared behind a locked gate and told the cops to make sure that no BANners got inside. The police smugly replied that they had the situation under control, and the BAN activists, who had been preparing to go home, smelt a challenge. As it happened, dodging security was more than easy, and within minutes, and right under the noses of the dozy plod, two activists were over the wall and into the 'Cameron compound'. As heckling was about to begin, the BANners were accosted by a posh prat in a tweed suit, issuing commands in what was either posh speak that the rest of us aren't privy to, or gibberish! However, the handcuffs and equipment on his belt got the message across, and BAN, being reasonable folks, left the building, stopping only to ask the cops who had promised not to let them in for the keys to the gate. Much hilarity followed as the cops got confused about the law, ranted about foie-gras and desperately tried to concoct a reason to arrest the activists. Having set alarm bells ringing at Cameron’s Eton reunion and confounded the local cops (again), the protest faded into the night for a well-earned pint! Thank god we weren't the bad type of terrorists, or there would have been a lot of red faces and embarrassing questions in the Bath cop shop! Review: Bath Bus Station Directed by: Multi Starring: First Bus Duration: Probably not many years Classification: Not suitable for persons of 15 years of age or over (or under) Genre: Road Movie/Horror Black and white England, 2009 In the absence of an usherette I found myself a charmlessly utilitarian metal seat. However, from there I couldn’t see whether the main star – the X39 to Bristol – was about to make an appearance because it was behind a large map and opaque doors. By the time I’d gone to find out when the leading role was due someone else had nabbed my seat. During the interval there were no toilets because they only open during office hours. There was no kiosk for popcorn or indeed any kind of refreshments – just a vending machine with overpriced, tooth rotting multinational juice which was in any case out of order. Rubbish on the ground because there were no recycling bins. Rules, regulations and surveillance. Three days after it opened the First empire struck back by putting the ticket prices up. What kind of a show is this? Stars out of ten: NONE Anyone who has had a brief encounter with the new Bath bus station will know it is bad and ugly when it could have been so good. Just imagine, gentle passenger, if there was a community-controlled public transport system in a society where resources were directed into socially useful projects. What a technicolour classic Bath bus station could have been! The Edwardian façade of the much-loved Churchill House retained as a rotunda with geothermal heating. On the roof-top a café with stunning views over the River Avon and the city of Bath. Room inside the building for transport help and bookings service, accessible twenty-four hour toilets (flushed with rain water and with urine harvesting facilitated of course) and perhaps a small exhibition space. The concourse built along the riverside with roof gardens and solar panels above providing electricity for real-time electronic information displays. Local artwork on the model of the Lisbon metro where painting and sculpture transforms the space for commuters. Oh and dry secure storage for bicycles and… sorry, got to go now, I’m about to be kicked out for loitering. What A Bunch Of Hunts Well, here we go again, another year, another hunt season. Hunt ban or no hunt ban, the last two months have seen hunts up and down the country engaging in ‘cubbing’ – early morning forays into our delightful deforested countryside, illegally teaching the new year’s batch of young foxhounds to get a taste for fox-flesh. Likewise, hunt saboteurs have been equally busy, getting up at silly o’clock, disrupting the hunts, masking fox scents, calling away the packs and avoiding hunt violence. However, from November 1st, hunting season officially starts, horse-riding, horsey-teethed, shiny red coats and all. Superficial steps were taken with the woefully weak hunt ban of February ‘05, but if the Tories get in, even that will go, and sabs will be needed more than ever. If you have what it takes to save our wildlife, give Bath Hunt Saboteurs a call: 07854 062336, or come to the meetings on the second and fourth Monday of the month, 8pm at The Bell on Walcot Street. Hunt Saboteurs Association site
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Friday, September 11, 2009
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THE BATH BOMB @nti-copyright: copy and distribute! Issue #25 free/donation Sept 09
“Now with 100% MORE content than last month!”
Come One! Come All! Co-Mutiny!
Saturday the 12th of September will usher in the start of a week of creative activism, piratical pranks, workshops, dreaming, scheming and general rebellion in the Bristol area – yes, the Co-Mutiny has come to town! The Co-Mutiny week will feature a huge number of debates, workshops, protest and direct action on the themes of climate chaos, workers’ rights, animal rights, migration controls and more. Whether you want to sit down and discuss green futures, support striking workers, learn to bake vegan cakes, take part in direct action and much more, there will be something for you. The full schedule is online at http://www.comutiny.wordpress.com, but Bath Bomb’s highlights of the week are:
* The Bristol Anarchist Bookfair – Saturday the 12th, 10.30-6pm, at The Island, Bridewell St, Bristol: a perfect way to kick off the week, with dozens of stalls offering books, t-shirts, info, donation-based food and meetings all centered around everything you ever wanted to know about anarchy that the BBC wouldn’t tell you! * Radical knitting – Tues 15th, Co-Mutiny convergence space, 6.30pm onwards: a beginners’ guide to that classic DIY activity, knitting – including a ‘knit your own balaclava’ workshop! * 2nd Bristol Anarchist Olympics, Weds 16th, meeting at Stokes Croft roundabout, 3pm onwards: the last one was wicked, and this promises to be even better, so join the anarchist Olympiads as they turn the grey streets and soulless shopping centres of Bristol into staging grounds for fun and frivolity, featuring classics such as ‘Starbucks Musical Chairs’, ‘Department Store Sardines’ and ‘Shopping Mall Capture the Flag’. A great time is guaranteed! * Repossess the Banks – Friday the 18th, meeting 11am at the fountains in Bristol city centre – this promises to be one of the bigger Co-Mutiny protests – a chance to get your own back at the greedy banks that have been ripping us off for so long and are the main cause of recession. There will be a carnivalesque bloc on the parade as well as plenty of other groups – not to be missed!
As if the above isn’t enough for you, there are loads more events taking place across Bristol over the week, so book it off work, kill your boss, fake an illness or do whatever it takes to get yourself down to a week that you – or the authorities – aren’t going to forget for a long time!
Biofuels Bollocks
Within the next two months, construction will begin on an agrofuel plant in Beckton, East London, run by Bath's own greenwash peddlers Blue NG. Blue NG promote European rapeseed oil as a sustainable fuel despite the fact it pushes up demand for the controversial palm oil. It's not even green - nitrous oxide emissions (nearly 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide) and soil depletion have a devastating impact on the environment.
Beckton already has the highest mortality rate for asthma in people under 30 in England. This will only get worse, given that agrofuel processing releases tiny particulates that are linked to respiratory and cardiovascular disease. The plant will be built just 190m from a primary school.
Could be worse, though - palm oil production has been linked to land grabs, human rights abuses and starvation in poor majority-world countries. Over 70% of food price inflation is caused by agrofuel production. At least the people of Beckton were only ignored when they submitted their petition against the new plant. Indigenous people in impoverished countries, defending their land from corporate takeover, have been shot.
Another oil often used as fuel by some companies comes from an Indian plant called jatropha. It's claimed this weed can grow anywhere, in wastelands with little water. In reality, indigenous farmers are often kicked off their land so jatropha can be grown there, and jatropha is just as inefficient in terms of water use as other biofuels. Despite this it's being promoted as a ‘green’ fuel and used to justify airport expansion.
Bath Activist Network and Action Against Agrofuels recently held a public debate on the ethics of biofuel production. We had been trying to arrange a debate with Blue NG, and when they failed to reply to a letter sent over a month ago, we arranged a venue ourselves and invited them along. It's a shame they didn’t turn up - this is a local company and the public should be able to talk to them about what they're doing.
http://www.biofuelwatch.org
Bath Bomb Vocabulary Corner: greenwash – n, a cynical form of marketing that promotes a company or product as engaging in activities that benefit the environment and are socially conscious, when in fact the opposite result is true
Blue NG: The Writing’s On The Wall
At the beginning of the month, local climate criminals Blue NG were visited by activists who gave their driveway a much needed chalk makeover informing the public of the social and environmental dangers of the biofuels produced by Blue NG (for more info on the dangers of biofuels, check out the 'Biofuels Bollocks' article). Messages included ‘food not biofuels’, ‘biofuels trash the planet’ and ‘your greenwash won’t biofool the public’. Messages were also left expressing support for councillors and residents in the working class community of Southall in London who overwhelmingly voted down Blue NG plans to build a massively polluting biofuel refinery in the area.
EVENTS
Bath Hunt Saboteurs meetings, 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, 8pm, the Bell, Walcot Street
London Road Food Co-op, Wednesdays, 4-7pm, Riverside Community Centre, London Road
The Lost Plot workday, Thursdays, 10am-dusk, Bathampton
Bath Stop The War Coalition vigil, Saturdays, 11.30am-12.30, Bath Abbey Courtyard
Recycle Your Sundays, Sundays, the regular series of sociable, easy-paced cycle rides, http://www.rysbath.org.uk, or phone Hazel 01225 469199
Introduction to Permaculture Weekend, Friday the 11th to Sunday 13th September, starting 7pm, £50, phone Peter Andrews 07817 967837 or e-mail: peter [at] eco-logicbooks.com
Bristol Anarchist Bookfair, Saturday 12th September, 10.30am – 7pm, The Island, Bridewell Street, Bristol, http://www.bristolanarchistbookfair.org
Bath Organic Garden buffet, Sunday 13th September, 1pm, Bath Organic Garden community garden, see http://www.bathorganicgroup.org.uk
Wales and South West hunt saboteurs regional meeting, Sunday 13th September, 12-5pm, the Porter, George Street
Bristol Co-Mutiny: Social Change Not Climate Change, Sunday 13th September to Sunday 20th September, http://www.comutiny.wordpress.com
Bath Animal Action meeting, Monday 14th September, 8-9pm, the Bell, Walcot Street
Transition Bath Young People meeting, Monday 14th September, 5.30pm, 55 New King Street
2nd Bristol Anarchist Olympics, Wednesday 16th September, 3pm, meet Stokes Croft roundabout
Repossess the Banks demo, Friday 18th September, 11am, meet at the fountains, Bristol city centre
Bath Cycling Campaign meeting, Monday 21st September, the Rising Sun, Grove Street, 7.30pm, http://www.bathcyclingcampaign.org.uk
Transition Drinks, Wednesday 23rd September, 8pm, upstairs at the Raven
Talk: ‘Self Knowledge and Global Responsibility – Towards a Unified Vision’, Saturday 26th September, the Minerva Centre, Bath, phone 01225 315591 or e-mail minervacentrebath [at] hotmail.com, http://www.minervacentrebath.co.uk
IWW South West branch meeting, Saturday 26th September, 7pm, Railway Workers’ Association Club
Transition Bath Food Group talk: ‘Farming in a Changing Climate’, Wednesday 30th September, 7.30pm, Grove St. Church Halls, £3
Bath Activist Network meeting, Thursday 1st October, 7.30-9pm, downstairs at the Hobgoblin, St James Parade
Exhibition: ‘C Words: Carbon, Climate, Capital, Culture’, Saturday 3rd October to Sunday 29th November, http://www.arnolfini.org.uk
Bath FreeShop, Saturday 10th October, 12-3pm, outside Pump Rooms, Stall Street
Broadlands Orchardshare Volunteering Day, Saturday 10th October, 12-4pm, Broadlands Orchard, Box Road, Bathford, email broadlandsorchardshare [at] googlemail.com or phone 07532 472 256
Bath Green Drinks, Wednesday 14th October, 8.30pm, the Rising Sun, Grove Street
The Great Climate Swoop, Saturday 17th-18th October, Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station
Workshops/lectures day: ‘From the Ashes of the Crash – Rebuilding with the New Economics’, Saturday 17th October, The Council House, Bristol, £35/£25 entry, http://www.schumacher.org.uk
350.org dinner, Monday 19th October, 7.30pm, The Eastern Eye on Milsom Street, advance booking required
Transition Keynsham film: ‘The Power of Community’, Thursday 22nd October, 7.30pm, Royal British Legion, Charlton Road, Keynsham, £3 entry, phone Laura 07970 737760 or e-mail: keynshamt [at] yahoo.co.uk
350.org parade, Saturday 24th October, meeting 2pm at Victoria Park below Crescent
London Anarchist Bookfair, Saturday 24th October, London, http://www.anarchistbookfair.org
International Day of Climate Action, Saturday 24th October, http://www.350.org/oct24
Bristol Animal Rights Collective’s free vegan food fayre, Saturday 31st October, phone 07595 745441, or e-mail barc [at] hotmail.co.uk
Bath Friends of the Earth meeting, Monday 2nd November, 8pm, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place, Broad Street
Living The Vegan Loca
Following on from last October, Bath Animal Action put on the Bath Vegan Fayre ’09 at Percy Community Centre on August the 29th. Cranking open the gates at 12, the centre was soon packed out with punters for three hours and a veritable vegan feast: cakes, biscuits, soup, salad, pizza, sausages, burgers, curry, chilli, falafel, bhajis, you name it! In much demand were the vegan cheesecake and fake chicken tikka masala. Food and drink were served throughout the day with sustainable wood cutlery and biodegradable reed fibre bowls and cups, with recycled paper notices and full composting to minimize our environmental impact. As well as stuffing our collective faces and placing bids on the various donated prizes, a forest of info was laid out with a list of local vegan-friendly shops and eateries, and a library of animal rights concerns, such as animal circuses, vivisection and local campaigns.
But why the beancurd would you go vegan? Well, there’s different reasons for different people – with the brutal exploitation endemic in the treatment of animals in all industries, some do it For The Animals. Considering the deforestation, methane emissions and toxic slurry caused by farming, others pop a lentil for mother earth. Others do it for the people, considering the current global famine exacerbated by the mountains of food and water we squander on livestock. Or why not just for yourself; to cut the risk of heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, allergies, cancers and the like.
Good food and good weather were enjoyed by all on the day, and the event looks set to become a repeater. But if you get hungry in the meantime, why not pop over to Bristol on the 31st of October for Bristol Animal Rights Collective’s free vegan food fayre? They're also looking for any potential helpers for either cooking, promotion, distributing fliers and posters or on the day. If so, they'd love to hear from you - email barc [at] hotmail.co.uk or phone/text 07595 745441. And if you want to get involved with BAA, they now meet on the second Monday of the month, 8pm in the Bell.
http://www.vegansociety.com/home.php http://www.viva.org.uk/ http://www.veganstore.co.uk http://www.veggiestuff.com http://www.vegetarian.org.uk http://www.veganfamily.co.uk http://www.veganvillage.co.uk
Giving Fascism The Boot In Swindon
Abject embarrassment for Thames and Wiltshire Valley National Front last month, after they mounted a counter-protest so desultory and under-attended that almost nobody on the Gay Pride march they were opposing even noticed they were there. A force of local anti-fascists, outnumbering the boneheads by three to one, found breaking up the small gatherings of fash much less hassle than anyone had anticipated.
Meanwhile, a confused but determined police force did their best to hassle everybody, despite their inability to actually arrest anyone, or even work out who was on which side. particularly amusing were the spurious reasons given for searches, such as "Your pupils look a bit odd - we'd best check you've got no drugs on you." Apparently, you can no longer search someone just for loitering at the site of a potential riot dressed entirely in black with a hoodie and a facemask.
After a couple of small confrontations, the fash were dispersed and their redirection point by the station left unmanned. Another victory for tolerance!
Breaking News: according to our sources, the threat of anti-fascist presence at Reading Gay Pride has caused Reading NF to wimp out of their planned counter-demo in favour of a ‘national demo’ at some unspecified ‘future date’. Yeah, right. Fuck off home and wank off over pictures of the fuhrer some more, boys.
English Defence League Get Kicked Off The Park Again
As if this country doesn’t have enough tiny groups of fascist oddballs (See Swindon article), bored football hooligans have now joined the fray under the guise of the ‘English Defence League’. Despite claims to ‘not be racist’, ‘not be violent’ and ‘have nothing to do with the BNP’, The EDL have a website designed and run by a BNP member, have gotten into fights (but does losing a fight make you violent?) on all of their outings and their favourite chants include such hits as ‘BNP, BNP, BNP’ and ‘You dirty Muslim bastards’ to anyone darkish walking past their demos. They also claim to only be opposed to Islamic extremism, yet their banners read ‘no more mosques’, ‘no to Islam’ and ‘kick Muslims out’.
What makes this particular BNP front group different from the rest is that they are organised entirely through football hooligan ‘firms’ or gangs (Carlisle hooligans the ‘Border City firm’ couldn’t make it to the demo, so instead beat up a random Asian lad and sent a letter of support to the EDL - ‘Border City Firm couldn’t make the trip with us having a home game today so we got one of the tossers last night’). This shows two things, that the EDL are just violence-hungry idiots who will only stand up for their ‘cause’ when the footie isn’t on, and that their racism is indiscriminate, and has more to do with racial hatred in general than it does fighting the ‘extremists’.
But how does the EDL shape up on the streets? Well, none of their demos have attracted the thousands predicted – in fact their best turnout has been just over 100 beer-bellied shithouse yokels in BNP t-shirts (seriously!). They have always been heavily outnumbered by angry locals and anti-fascists and tend to follow a now familiar pattern of picking on an outnumbered ethnic minority, instigating a street fight, getting the shit kicked out of them by groups of understandably angry Asian lads and antifascist activists, then running to hide behind the police from where they continue to chant shit and play the hardman role for a bit before slinking off, as was the case in Birmingham at the beginning of the month. Despite being a bunch of brainless tossers whose political views come second to football, the EDL are attracting a lot of interest in the press, and as with all fascist groups, the sooner we put it to rest once and for all, the better.
Hell HQ
Two Bath activists joined indigenous Canadians and activists from the Camp for Climate Action at a recent noise demo at Shell's headquarters in London. Not content with stealing land from communities in Nigeria and Ireland, Shell (along with BP) have started a project to exploit tar sand in Canada.
The oil from tar sands takes a massive amount of energy to extract, creating nearly three times as much carbon emissions as normal oil. Entire ancient forests are being torn up, and toxic ponds are being formed that are so vast they can be seen from space. The pollution from this project - which spans an area larger than England - is poisoning the land and water of local indigenous people, who are now dying from rare forms of cancer.
If all the oil from the tar sands is used, it will be enough to push us over the tipping point of 2oC warming into irreversible climate chaos.
This is really worrying. Yeah, we made some noise, raised awareness and someone nicked the 'S' off Shell's sign, but if we have any hope of stopping a corporation this powerful, we urgently need to step things up a level.
History shows that changes can be made by ordinary people doing extraordinary things. The suffragettes and civil rights movement did things that were very illegal but also very necessary. Shell won't change their minds if we talk nicely to them about how mean they're being. The time for being nice is really over.
Another Foie Gras-Blah-Blah-ticle
Congratulations to local restaurant Minibar for taking the conscientious decision to remove foie gras from their menu. The restaurant's owners had made attempts to acquire non-force-fed foie gras from their suppliers for several weeks, but were unable to do so. The decision to remove the pate from sale was then made, to the delight of local group Bath Animal Action.
With only a couple of restaurants in Bath still selling foie gras - an expensive and controversial French dish made from the distended livers of force-fed battery ducks - Animal Action are hoping that their goal of a foie gras free Bath is in sight. Coupled with a lively and sustained campaign of pickets, leafleting and consumer boycotts, a petition to have foie gras banned from Bath completely has now exceeded 1,500 signatures, and will soon be presented to the council.
Meanwhile, Bristol Animal Rights Collective, whose support was vital to the recent success in Bath, have stopped sales of foie gras at a further two restaurants in Bristol. Can a foie gras free South West really be so far away?
Bath Activist Network are a local umbrella group campaigning on issues as diverse as development, environmentalism, anti-war, animal rights, workers’ rights and more. Helping to produce The Bath Bomb, we are open to anyone, and our members range from trade unionists to anarchists, liberals to greens, and people who just want to change Bath for the better. For details on meetings, demos, or just to get in touch, email bathactivistnet [at] yahoo.co.uk, or see our website: http://www.bathactivistnetwork.blogspot.com
GOT A STORY? WANT TO RECEIVE THE BATH BOMB BY EMAIL? HOPING TO SUE? Contact us by e-mailing bathbombpress [at] yahoo.co.uk. Large print e-versions available on request.GOT A STORY? WANT TO RECEIVE THE BATH BOMB BY EMAIL? HOPING TO SUE? Contact us by e-mailing bathbombpress [at] yahoo.co.uk. Large print e-versions available on request. And now, to the disclaimer: As anyone is free to contribute, the opinions expressed in each article are not necessarily reflective of each contributor. Naturally, any right-wing or corporate bullshit will be binned and spat on. Needless to say, the opinions of the author of this disclaimer does not necessarily represent the views of any other contributor...
For further info on any of our stories see http://www.thebathbomb.blogspot.com
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Monday, July 20, 2009
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THE BATH BOMB @nti-copyright: copy and distribute! Issue #24 free/donation July 09
“Working within the framework of the truth”
Come On, Let's Fry!
Despite being unable to handle current flights, Bristol airport is expanding. BIA plan to increase passengers and flights by expanding the terminal, while the green fields around the site are set to become a car park. Factor in the increase in noise pollution in the flight path, 60% increased traffic, and the £700 million the UK loses annually, as more holidaymakers fly out of Bristol than fly in.
In order to prevent the worst effects of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions must peak in 2015, yet the UK Government want to more than triple the capacity of airports by 2030. Hmmm. Meanwhile, Ed Miliband recently assured frequent flyers that half of UK emissions will be offset by paying poor countries to emit less. Come on Ed, how long do you expect the rest of the world to take the consequences of our lifestyle? Carbon trading and offsetting are nothing more than false solutions and delaying tactics – they cannot stop devastating climate change.
To help stop BIA's plans, visit the regular Bath Friends of the Earth stalls in Green Park Farmers Market, or submit an objection by August 13th, quoting ref: 09/P/1020/OT2 – see http://www.stopbia.com/objection for ideas.
http://www.nobristolairportexpansion.co.uk
Foie Gras Protesters Turn Up The Heat…
…But Minibar owners still refuse to get out the kitchen.
Earlier in the month, anti-foie gras activists completed a four-day solid picket outside overpriced tapas restaurant Minibar on John Street, which continues to trick gullible toffs into paying good money for the diseased and distended livers of tortured and mistreated ducks. The escalation of the long-running campaign was called after Minibar entered their third month of weekly protests.
Although impressively obstinate about their democratic right to profit from the abuse of defenceless animals, Minibar have been looking decidedly shaky for a while, and it is hoped that increasing the pressure can speed the end of the campaign – and the end of the inconvenience their reticence has been causing for local businesses and residents. Concurrent to the increased pickets, a phone-in-and-complain campaign has been playing havoc with the restaurant’s time management, and has sparked some amusingly obscene tirades from co-owner and head chef Alexander Grant (01225 333 323, Tue-Sat 12-2:30 and 6-10pm).
Alex, who has responded to all peaceful overtures with threats and lies, has accused protestors of ‘bullying tactics’. Presumably leafleting his customers regularly loses us the moral high ground, whereas shoving people into roads, threatening to push a complaining potential customer down the stairs, having his crazy mate hit a protestor in his fancy 4x4, and crying to the (increasingly embarrassed-seeming) police every time someone signs a petition, allows him to keep it.
www.banfoiegras.org.uk/ www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/foiegras/index.html
EVENTS
Bath Hunt Saboteurs meetings, 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, 8pm, The Bell, Walcot Street
London Road Food Co-op, Wednesdays, 4-7pm, Riverside Community Centre, London Road
Debt advice drop-in, Wednesdays, 4-7pm, Twerton social centre, Day Crescent
The Lost Plot workday, Thursdays, 10am-dusk, Bathampton
Anti-foie gras demo, Fridays, meet Queen Square 7pm
Bath Stop The War Coalition vigil, Saturdays, 11.30am-12.30, Bath Abbey Courtyard
Bath Cycling Campaign meeting, Monday 20th July, venue TBC, 7.30pm, http://www.bathcyclingcampaign.org.uk
Anti-arms demo, Wednesday 22nd July, UV Europe Conference, Celtic Manor Hotel, Newport, South Wales, 9am onwards
Transition Drinks, Wednesday 22th July, 8pm, upstairs at The Raven
Bath Stop the War Coalition meeting, Wednesday 22nd July, Friends Meeting House, York Street, 8pm
Green Drinks Bike Ride, Wednesday 22nd July, meeting Norfolk Crescent Bath 6pm, depart 6.15pm
Peace News Summer Camp, Thursday 23rd – Monday 27th July, near Faringdon, Oxfordshire, £15-50 entry, http://www.peacenewscamp.info or 0845 458 2564.
Recycle Your Sundays, Sunday 26th July, the regular series of sociable, easy-paced cycle rides, www.rysbath.org.uk/Hazel 01225 469199
French Climate Camp Monday, Monday 3rd August – Sunday 9th August, France, http://www.campclimat.org
Bath Friends of the Earth meeting, Monday 3rd August, 8pm, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place, Broad Street
Belgian/Dutch Climate Action Camp, Monday 3rd August - Sunday 9th August, near Antwerp, http://www.klimaatactiekamp.org
Bath Animal Action meeting, Wednesday 5th August, 7.30-8.30pm, backroom of The Bell, Walcot Street
Bath Activist Network meeting, Thursday 6th August, 7.30-9pm, downstairs at The Hobgoblin, St James Parade
Bath FreeShop, Saturday 8th August, 12-3pm, outside Pump Rooms, Stall Street Broadlands Orchardshare Volunteering Day, Saturday 8th August, 12-4pm, Broadlands Orchard, Box Road, Bathford, email broadlandsorchardshare [at] googlemail.com or phone 07532 472 256
Recycle Your Sundays, Sunday 9th August, the regular series of sociable, easy-paced cycle rides, www.rysbath.org.uk/Hazel 01225 469199
Bath Greenpeace meeting, Monday 10th August, 7.30-9pm, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place
The Camp for Climate Action in Scotland, Monday 3rd – Tuesday 11th August, Scotland, http://climatecampscotland.org.uk
Transition Open Forum, Tuesday 11th August, 7pm, Widcombe Social Club
Bath Green Drinks, Wednesday 12th August, 8.30pm, Rising Sun, Grove Street
BIA objection deadline, Thursday 13th August, http://www.nobristolairportexpansion.co.uk
Cymru Climate Camp, Thursday 13th – Sunday 16th August, Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, http://www.climatecampcymru.org
Film: Life in Zimbabwe – One Nun, One Mum, Saturday 15th August, St Alphege’s School Hall, Oldfield Lane, 7.30pm, £5 per person/£12 per family, inc. Zimbabwean food, tel Shelagh 07867 500 583/email shelaghh [at] live.co.uk
Earth First! Summer Gathering, Tuesday 18th – Monday 24th August, Cumbria, http://www.earthfirstgathering.org.uk
Paul Baker-Hernandez Concert for Peace, Wednesday 19th August, Friends Meeting House, York Street, 7.30pm
Greek No Borders Camp, Tuesday 25th August – Monday 31st August, Lesvos, Greece, http://lesvos09.antira.info
The Camp for Climate Action 2009, Thursday 27th August – Wednesday 2nd September, London, http://www.climatecamp.org.uk
Bath Vegan Fayre, Saturday 29th August, Percy Community Centre, New King Street, 12 til 3pm
Bristol Anarchist Bookfair, Saturday 12th September, The Island, Silver Street, Bristol, 10.30am-7pm, http://www.bristolanarchistbookfair.org
Bristol Co-Mutiny: Social Change Not Climate Change gathering, Sunday 13th September – Saturday 19th September, http://www.comutiny.wordpress.com
International Day of Climate Action, Saturday 24th October, http://www.350.org/ oct24
Calais Melee
From the 23rd-29th June, protestors from across France and the UK, including Bath and Bristol, gathered in Calais to protest against their governments’ treatment of migrants. A camp was set up and defended against angry riot cops employing tear gas and concussion grenades, and several small actions (including highly seditious activities such as leafleting) were brutally suppressed by similarly angry police with batons and pistols. However, the Losquin detention centre in Lille was blockaded by 30 protesters in arm tubes, and the main march went ahead peacefully once a few inconvenient police lines had been brushed aside. Oh, and a frankly disturbing amount of cheap French wine was consumed by mildly traumatized activists who hadn’t been fully prepared for the intensity of French policing.
Every year, indoctrinated into thinking of the UK as some sort of promised land by post-colonial education systems, and speaking no European languages other than English, hundreds of refugees arrive at Calais, hoping to reach England. The British government, whose big-business friends make millions profiting from undocumented workers, goes to extreme lengths to prevent them from entering the country legally. Trapped in Calais, they are at the mercy of the openly-racist French riot police, who regularly beat migrants, torch their houses, and attempt to prevent them accessing food and water. Only through mass direct action – such as the Afghans’ well-defended shantytown or the Africans’ threats to claim asylum in France en-masse if threatened with mass deportations - and through visible public support, such as the No Borders Camp, are further, worse atrocities prevented.
Whilst British plans for a new ‘E-Borders’ scheme (involving fingerprint scans and a 53-point interrogation of addresses, phone numbers and card details for anyone leaving mainland Britain) are being hatched, the actions of the French government in Calais are illegal, a violation of UN-declared human rights, and amount to ethnic cleansing. It is the duty of all right-thinking people to demand an end to this abomination.
In breaking news, as we go to print, the British and French governments are combining forces to bulldoze away the homes of up to 1,800 migrants in an area of Calais referred to as ‘The Jungle’ from the 21st…
http://calaisnoborder.eu.org http://www.calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com
Another Sainsburys? Piss Off, M'lord!
The community of Moreland Road is soon set to be shattered by a most unwelcome arrival, in the form of a new Sainsburys’ store at the old Woolworths site. Moreland Road is a diverse and vibrant community, with local traders selling everything you could possibly need – from a top notch hardware store to the local bakers, grocers, charity shops, newsagents, a top quality wholefoods store and a truly legendary curry house. But with Sainsburys’ having the money to undercut all of these local traders, how long will it be before it turns into yet another sterile ghost town? Sainsburys’ argue that they will create jobs and choice, but how much will be lost once this monolith rolls in and crushes the existing traders? Sainsburys’ have a horrific ethical track record, with their boss Lord Sainsbury (science minister for New Labour) investing in vivisection, GM crops, Israeli produce and the like. But we can stop this nightmare future now not with boycotts, but with celebration. Let’s ignore Sainsburys, and pretend it is not there, while we revel in the community already on offer on there. Sainsburys, Tescos and all their bastard breed rely on our apathy, on the fact that we will flood zombie-like into their cavernous neon bellies chanting 'bargains, convenience, cost', so let’s show them that we don't need them.
Or how else can we stop them? Well, the old Woollies has just had its windows put through, and we bet Sainsburys will have nice unguarded pane glass, too: just some local food for thought!
Bath Activist Network are a local umbrella group campaigning on issues as diverse as development, environmentalism, anti-war, animal rights, workers’ rights and more. Helping to produce The Bath Bomb, we are open to anyone, and our members range from trade unionists to anarchists, liberals to greens, and people who just want to change Bath for the better. For details on meetings, demos, or just to get in touch, email bathactivistnet [at] yahoo.co.uk, or see our website: http://www.bathactivistnetwork.blogspot.com
Dedicated Swallowers Of Fascism
Last year, antifascists from all round the UK converged on Derbyshire to oppose the BNP’s Red, White & Blue festival and, BAN activists will be making a return trip on Saturday the 15th August. The community pleaded with organiser David Shapcott (of 6 The Spinney, Burnley in Lancashire) to cancel the festival, and even the police refused every bit of license they could, but to no avail, and the stubborn little racist is at it again. Taking place from the 13th to the 15th at the Bungalow, Codnor Denby Lane, Denby Village in Derbyshire, expect a repeat of last year’s madness: anti-teacher rants, gollywogs for sale, live arms and archery training for kids, and bizarre wannabe-pagan historical revisionism. The land itself, sabotaged and padlocked by antifascists in mid-July, is owned by farmer Alan Warner, who claims this will be the last time RWB is held at this address. We here at the Bath Bomb hope so.
Derbyshire Council exhibit a bit more backbone than B&NES (see Bath Bomb #23), and are teaming up with trade unions, UAF and other antifascists/anti-racists to mobilise against the festival, with a 9am picket and 12 noon peaceful march meeting at Codnor Denby Lane – though details may change closer to the date (Ffi: nobnpfestival@riseup.net).
Meanwhile, in Swindon that same day, the homophobic and racist Thames Valley and Wiltshire National Front will be showing their ugly mugs to disrupt the Swindon Gay Pride festival, taking place at Swindon’s Old Town Gardens from 12 noon ‘til 10pm. Although much diminished elsewhere, the boneheads seem to have a strong organised presence in Swindon with regular meetings and flyposting, alongside the BNP and new anti-capitalist, white supremacist youth group the English Resistance. The sooner dealt with, the better.
http://www.nobnpfestival.wordpress.com http://www.swindonnf.blogspot.com
Banksy: Sold Out, Not Sell Out
Responses to Banksy's recent exhibition (open ‘til the 31st August) has been mixed, with some applauding his innovative art styles and political satire, while others criticise his move into the mainstream as 'selling out'. But has he really abandoned his radical routes for a cushy life amongst the art establishment he claims to hate so much?
I would argue that Banksy has hurt no one on his rise to fame, and while his work’s being exhibited in a gallery, it is his legacy that needs to be taken into account when passing judgment. Banksy started his career as an obscure artist getting chased out of train yards for tagging trains. From there, he developed cult status in the South West for politically-charged and humorous stencilwork. It’s largely thanks to Banksy and his contempories that swathes of the nation have changed their views on graffiti, seeing it now as valid art, rather than mindless vandalism. Banksy has challenged the perceptions of a nation, not only on the subject of street art, but also on the radical anti-establishment message of his work.
Besides, the Bristol Museum is publicly funded, and entry to the exhibition is free – so what has Banksy done that he would not otherwise do? He has taken over a public space, brightened it up and made it accessible for all to see, with the added joy of hunting down all the pieces hidden amongst the stuffy paintings and stuffed fauna. If he was parading his work in a for-profit fancy gallery, then his detractors may have a point, but as it stands, he is still using public space to bring free and thought-provoking work to the masses, albeit in a slightly less radical way than we have come to expect.
And if you do go, don't let any long queue put you off; get involved with the People's Republic of Stokes Croft's project and produce your own artwork while you wait.
Banksy: Sell Out, Not Sold Out
“The thing I hate most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative, young people, leaving us only with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists. Modern art is a disaster area. Never in human history has so much been used by so many to say so little.” That Banksy can be quoted as saying this without an apparent trace of irony or self-reflection sums all that irritates me about him. His current exhibition at the Bristol Museum makes this quote even more painful. The exhibition is called Banksy vs. Bristol Museum - Sticking it to the Man as always, right, Banksy? He's quoted in the Bristol Post as saying “I could have taken the show to a lot of places, but they do a very nice cup of tea in the museum.". It's so 'self-deprecating' and 'self-aware' and 'ironic' that it makes me want to scream. “Oh, you know, like, galleries man...my art's all about the street and the people and shit, I wuz only going in to use the bog but then they lured little old me in with a cup of tea”. Banksy has been quoted as clearly stating that gallery shows are a step backwards – so why do them? The exhibition is free and un-copyrighted so money doesn't seem hugely central. To get his 'message' across? But he's also been quoted as saying that “Graffiti has more chance of meaning something or changing stuff than anything indoors.”
Firstly, graffiti can be read as a power tactic used by the underprivileged in order to find a way of expressing themselves in a structure that does not recognise them as valid, relevant entities. By working with those in power, I fail to see how his various “anti-..” messages are not contaminated. If the socio-cultural elite are allowing you into their sphere, are you really achieving your goal? Or are they conferring a patronisingly moderate amount of 'legitimisation', agreeing nicely that your work is palatable with a spicily piquant side order of anti-authoritarian edginess but without the ring-sting of meaningful accusation, challenge and calls to action? Secondly, his messages are just not that bloody clever. They're quite clever but not that clever. A friend mentioned a piece called Angel of The North and instantly, I was able to summarise what it was before she described it (It's a Greek-style statue, staggering home in a tube top and miniskirt holding her shoes with takeaway wrappers littered around ). It's about, you know, like, how like, you might look down on a drunk slag but you know, sometimes, at the same time, underneath, she's also, like, an angel?. Ditto the animal rights pieces, such as the rabbit in a cage putting on makeup. It's clever because, you know, the rabbit is putting on makeup. And, you know, usually rabbits have makeup put on them. It's clever. This tactic of faux-naive-but-still-naive simplicity (“How could we have not so clearly understood these glaring acts of oppression and underprivilege before?! My goodness, are we all blind?”) is so horribly teenage and condescending and first-order. Banksy has exhorted us to “Think outside the box, collapse the box, and take a fucking sharp knife to it [sic].” And yet here we see him cutting out “OMG U SUCK” out of the box with round-ended kiddy scissors handed to him by the adults. Let me be clear, I do enjoy his work. It's interesting-looking enough to make my head turn and then grunt appreciatively in recognition. But this masturbatory worship of him, inspired by the recognition that here's someone else who, you know, thinks about stuff makes my ears steam. With every gallery show Banksy takes part in, he shows just how much a part of the modern art world he is, clumsily and boringly making the epigraph above an obituary to his efforts whilst nestling down quietly into his box like a good boy.
Theory Corner: What Is Anarchy?
What do you think of when someone mentions ‘anarchy’? Chances are, visions of chaos and disorder flood your mind; yet most anarchists would strongly disagree. From the Greek ‘anarkos’, anarchy literally translates as ‘without leaders,’ and refers to the idea that society is capable of governing itself without people telling us what to do. Many anarchists envisage a society in which people organise themselves and work towards a public good rather than slaving away to make someone else rich or powerful. Sounds far fetched? Well, it is a far cry from today’s society, but it really is simpler than many would think. Anyone who has worked in a factory, school, or almost anywhere else will know that it is the workers who make the workplace tick while the boss does little but issue rules and cream off the profits. In fact, the Fabricas Sin Patrones (‘factories without bosses’) movement in Argentina is a case in point. Since 'firing' their bosses, the factories (employing 1000's of people in dozens of sectors) have all increased productivity, employment and wages; the former Zanon factory has even saved enough money to build a local community hospital – money that otherwise would have filled the boss’s pocket. There are numerous other examples – the Paris Commune of 1871, Ukraine 1920, Spain 1936, and present day Zapatista-controlled Mexico – that show how people are perfectly capable of creating a peaceful and highly organised society without the 'help' of self-serving bosses and politicians.
Anarchists argue that it is illogical to put power in the hands of a small minority who have shown that they have no regard for the wider majority. Many ask “what would happen without police to keep us safe?” Anarchists would argue that even if the police do occasionally catch criminals after a crime has been committed, they don’t prevent the crime, and most crime is a direct cause of the alienation, poverty and despair generated by the state-capitalist system that the police prop up. There is no reason that we cannot protect ourselves or deal with dangerous people in an anarchist society - we just have to take responsibility for safeguarding our own communities, rather than entrusting the job to crooked, inefficient cops. A little known fact is that the ‘O’ circling the ‘A’ in the famous 'circle A' symbol stands for 'Order,' completing the anarchists’ rallying cry 'Anarchy is order! Capitalism is chaos!'
The Future Is Not What It Used To Be
The end of this year will see government officials descending on Copenhagen for the UN ‘Kyoto 2’ climate summit, billed as "our last chance to save the planet". Yet the same system that caused the financial meltdown is also causing climate chaos, and we cannot rely on their fake solutions – the time for action is now, and we must take it ourselves. This summer is already looking packed:
On August 27th, thousands of people will converge on a field in London to take the site of this year's Camp For Climate Action with a flashmob-inspired swoop. The week will include workshops on climate science and direct action techniques to help campers team up, get trained and take action on the root causes of climate change. And watch this space for news of a public mass action on coal, in late October.
Closer to home, Climate Camp Cymru will be setting up near Merthyr Tydfil's controversial Ffos-y-Fran, the UK’s largest open-cast coal mine, on August the 13th. Join us for four days of sustainable living, workshops and direct action.
And, for more skillshares but less aggro, why not check out the Earth First! Summer Gathering in Cumbria, on the 18th to the 24th of August. And don’t forget the Co-Mutiny week of action in Bristol from the 13th to the 19th of September. More details to follow.
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk http://climatecampcymru.org http://www.comutiny.wordpress.com http://www.earthfirstgathering.org.uk
Greece Is The Word
We all remember the headlines back in December: “rioting in Greece”, “15 year-old-shot dead by Greek police”, and we also remember the near two months of solid rioting that followed. What I'll bet most of us don't know, however, is what’s happening now. The story is inspiring, and shockingly unreported by the mainstream press. Greece is still burning, but now it is imagination and creativity that is fanning the flames. When people find themselves free of authority, revelry generally follows as a spontaneous celebration of freedom – what then comes is a period of reflection in which people decide what to do with their new found freedom, as is now the case in Greece. The anti-authoritarian movement there is bigger than ever, with universities and workplaces occupied by students and workers, and swathes of Greek cities still anarchist-controlled no-go zones for cops. The government is finding itself irrelevant to people’s needs and, sensing its fading grasp on power, has combined the police with the Greek Neo-Nazis, who’ve been working hand in hand to attack immigrants, anarchist protests and social centres. While these attacks have been easily defeated, they demonstrate the desperate lengths to which the Greek state has gone to find allies.
The people of Greece are beginning to take back control of their lives, experimenting with a new and fairer way of living and organising, and the results look set to be spectacular. From the blood of a murdered 15-year-old, a movement has been born, and a country is being wrestled back to the hands of the Greek people where it belongs.
http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog
GOT A STORY? WANT TO RECEIVE THE BATH BOMB BY EMAIL? HOPING TO SUE? Contact us by e-mailing bathbombpress [at] yahoo.co.uk. Large print e-versions available on request.
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And now, to the disclaimer: As anyone is free to contribute, the opinions expressed in each article are not necessarily reflective of each contributor. Naturally, any right-wing or corporate bullshit will be binned and spat on. Needless to say, the opinions of the author of this disclaimer does not necessarily represent the views of any other contributor...
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Monday, June 22, 2009
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THE BATH BOMB
@nti-copyright: copy and distribute!
Issue #23
free/donation
June 09
“Nick Griffin: if you’re reading this, we’re in your house”
Pulling A Fash One: Bath 3, BNP 0
The BNP went three goals down on Friday the 22nd May in the continuing grudge match between themselves and the people of Bath. This time the venue was the prestigious BRLSi, on Queen Square. Nearly 100 people from a variety of backgrounds (including antifa, anarchists, greens, IWW, socialists and a good number of pissed off Bathonians) responded to a call out from Bath Activist Network to protest a hustings meeting featuring the fascist BNP.
The demo was a huge success, seeing the front doors blockaded for nearly two hours, preventing the meeting from going ahead. The majority of speakers due to represent their parties pulled out of the meeting and opted to speak on the street instead, many making the decision to do so on the night. A tiny mob of eight fascists, most from out of town, turned up and made a pitiful attempt to force their way in before giving up and spending the rest of the night moaning to the police (one of whom had an anti-BNP leaflet mysteriously taped to his back). Bristol-based BNP member Clive Courtney was arrested after shoving a local man to the ground.
The blockade ended when the 50 police who were eventually drafted in demanded that the demo move out of the public view - protesters unanimously refused, and the picket was violently broken up, allowing the fascists entry to a deserted building, as the real democracy was in full swing on the streets! While addressing the empty room, BNP Chippenham MEP candidate Jeremy Wotherspoon denied being racist, said he recently ‘shook hands with a negro’ (his words, not ours).
In an interesting side note, members of the public let protesters know that the police were describing them as 'scum' and activists have some interesting video footage of angry, rotund Bristol BNP high-up Mark Warren-Clutterbuck having a private chat and a laugh with senior police. The BNP requested that once the blockade was ended, they should be allowed to move in en masse - a request that the police were all too willing to facilitate. The back-patting and obvious mutual support between the cops and Nazis was sickening, but on the night the facts spoke for themselves - public support was overwhelmingly in favour of the blockade, and the 'no platform for fascists' position.
The BNP still features hatemonger activists convicted of bombings, murder and assault, internally calls for a reduction in democratic decision-making in the party, and only permits white ethnic, ‘indigenous’ Brits to join as full members. It is impossible for the BNP to publicly advertise, or hold a meeting without protection from the police and a huge and angry reaction from the vast majority of the public. Well done to everyone who turned up and showed once again that the BNP are not welcome in civilised society, let alone Bath. It’s just a shame that the BRLSi organizers toothlessly felt obliged to provide the BNP the credibility they so crave by inviting them; hopefully, there won’t be a next time. And if you do have any info on BNP activity in your area, email either bathactivistnet [at] yahoo.co.uk, or phone 08451 265011.
Eco Battle For Bathampton: Round 2
News has reached us that B&NES Council has made the public-friendly decision of approving the massively unpopular drain on financial and environmental resources that is the park and ride at Bathampton Meadows. The park and ride, part of a ludicrously expensive, environmentally/socially destructive and massively flawed transport package, is to be built on the ancient meadowlands which are part of the Cotswolds AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and contain two ancient monuments. The location is poorly-chosen and the council themselves have conceded that the traffic easing effects of the park and ride will be ‘minimal’.
Maybe the council have forgotten the headache that was caused last time the authorities tried to bulldoze the natural habitats surrounding Bathampton. In 1994, a large tree camp was set up to oppose the Bathampton A36/A46 link road, costing the authorities thousands in security costs and putting the project way behind schedule. The same looks set to happen again, with local activists honing their eco-defence skills. Rest assured that if the bulldozers roll in, so will scores of angry locals and activists determined to fight for the meadow inch by inch. The council’s disregard for the environment looks set to ignite a battle that will be giving them serious headaches for years to come. You can still write letters of objection to the scheme, and a template letter can be found at http://www.savebathamptonmeadows.org.uk, and, short notice, push a ‘call in’ for a public enquiry by the 23rd of this month.
Stop the press: at a recent public meeting, we have just heard that the Government Office for the South West have just initiated an ‘Article 14’, a modest-sounding bit of jargon that indicates that they now require more time to consider the scheme – so nothing’s set in concrete yet.
Debt Advice Centre Opens In Twerton
The Bath ‘Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay’ campaign has opened a drop-in centre for advice on debts, benefits, bailiffs and general help with the recession – and possibly any other problems you may have! Pop round the Twerton social centre (4 Day Crescent, Twerton) on Wednesdays between 4pm and 7pm, for a friendly cuppa and a chat with one of our helpful trained volunteers.
EVENTS
Bath Hunt Saboteurs meetings, 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, 8pm, The Bell, Walcot Street
London Road Food Co-op, Wednesdays, 4-7pm, Riverside Community Centre, London Road
debt advice drop-in, Wednesdays, 4-7pm, Twerton social centre, Day Crescent
The Lost Plot workday, Thursdays, 10am-dusk, Bathampton
anti-foie gras demo, Fridays, meet Queen Square 7pm
Bath Stop The War Coalition vigil, Saturdays, 11.30am-12.30, Bath Abbey Courtyard
Bubbling Under, Sunday 21st June, 1-4pm, Porter Cellar, George Street
Calais No Border Camp, 23rd-29th June, France
Transition Bath talk on public transport issues, Wednesday 24th June, 8pm, Widcombe Social Club
Transition Drinks, Wednesday 24th June, 8pm, upstairs at The Raven
anarcho-punk gig, Friday 26th June, 8pm, The Porter Butt, London Road, Bath, feat. Citizen Fish, A heads, Surrender, Filthy Habits
animal sanctuaries benefit gig Saturday 27th June, 7.30pm, The Plough, Easton, Bristol, feat Babar Luck, Ratface & Tracey Curtis, £4 entry
Recycle Your Sundays, Sunday 28th June, the regular series of sociable, easy-paced cycle rides, www.rysbath.org.uk/ Hazel 01225 469199
Bath Animal Action meeting, Wednesday 1st July, 7.30-8.30pm, backroom of The Bell, Walcot Street
Bath Activist Network meeting, Thursday 2nd July, 7.30-9pm, downstairs at The Hobgoblin, St James Parade
Bath Friends of the Earth meeting, Monday 6th July, 8pm, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place, Broad Street
Film: ‘Wedding in Galilee’, Tuesday 7th July,7.30pm, Masonic Hall, Frome, £5/£3 concessions; presented by Frome Friends of Palestine - part of Frome Festival
Bath Green Drinks, Wednesday 8th July, 8.30pm, the Porter, George Street
Bath FreeShop, Saturday 11th July, 12-3pm, outside Pump Rooms, Stall Street Broadlands Orchardshare Volunteering Day, Saturday 11th July, 12-4pm, Broadlands Orchard, Box Road, Bathford, email broadlandsorchardshare [at] googlemail.com or phone 07532 472 256 Danish Climate Camp, Denmark, Saturday 11th July – Sunday 19th July, http://camp09.dkRecycle Your Sundays, Sunday 12th July, the regular series of sociable, easy-paced cycle rides, www.rysbath.org.uk/ Hazel 01225 469199
Bath Greenpeace meeting, Monday 13th July, 7.30-9pm, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place
Transition Open Forum, Tuesday 14th July, 7pm, Widcombe Social Club
Exclusive: Dirty Don’s Dodgy Expenses
With the ample evidence pouring out of the cash trough that is Westminster to attest to the corrupt nature of the vast majority of our MPs, it may come as no surprise to many of you that our own ‘Dodgy’ Don Foster MP is also apparently on the take. Our favourite everyman has been claiming a staggering £380 per week allowance for his second home (£230 above the national average, and working out to a huge £19,760 per year). In addition to this, Mr Foster’s ‘miscellaneous’ claims per year total over £5,000 and have risen by 60% since 2001. Obviously as Don gets more and more used to rubbing shoulders with the shower of cheats and liars that pass themselves off as our leaders, he gets more and more comfortable with helping himself to a plush life using our cash. But, on a salary of a mere £65,000 a year, can we blame poor Don for claiming an additional total of £92,000, including expenses, secretarial services and ‘miscellaneous’ expenses in 2007?
As if this weren’t enough, Don makes a nice little earner for his political career by accepting huge wedges of cash; £99,015.09 in 2007 alone to be exact, from a shady character with his roots in white collar crime. The super rich and super crooked Paul Strasburger is a local millionaire, owner of no less than three local estate agents and by far the largest bankroller of the local Lib Dems. While hugely distasteful, being a millionaire and a land shark is not technically a crime. What IS straying towards the illegal however is Strasburger’s dealings with a certain Michael Brown, another bankroller of the Lib Dems. While on the run for theft and money laundering (Brown is now hiding out in the Caribbean) police took an interest in searching the home of Strasburger who had put his house forward as Brown’s bail address. This is just another example of big business scratching the back of politicians – the old boys’ club in action – and adds to the image we are seeing more and more of the rich and political classes sneering at us while they rob for the poor and keep for themselves. Yet still, we can’t hold Don and his Dodgy big business pals solely responsible; after all, when in Rome...
...And The BNP Are At It, Too!
Wonk-eyed Nazi Nick Griffin has gone to great lengths to distance his party from their white supremacist, fascist image, dressing the party up as an alternative to corrupt mainstream politicians. But while the party has temporarily un-stiffened their arms, and tries not to be openly racist (an attempt foiled by even the lightest scrutiny), a brief look over their expenses claims show them to be just as bad as the rest. In Barking and Dagenham, seven BNP councillors attended only 27% of meetings while still pocketing their full £9,801 allowance. A BNP councillor in Sandwell attended none of the meetings at which he was expected and took the full allowance while the party’s 2007 accounts failed their audit as several grand of expenditure was not properly recorded. They have also been in trouble recently after being caught claiming some paid-up party members were self employed to avoid paying income tax and NI contributions. So, as well as being obviously racist (Nick Griffin recently expressed a hope of igniting a racial war while addressing a KKK rally in the USA, and has published books denying the Holocaust), violent and generally repressive and obnoxious, it turns out that the BNP are just as corrupt as the rest of them, and have been joining all the other parties in wallowing in unearned piles of our cash. Bastards, the lot of ‘em!
Nobody Wins Euro Elections
The recent European elections were a resounding defeat for mainstream political parties – and another example of how undemocratic the European Parliament actually is. Labour suffered their biggest setback since the birth of Tony Blair, UKIP struggled to keep the votes they already had, whilst leftist mainstream parties such as the Greens made significant gains. However, the real winner was Nobody. Europe-wide, an incredible 57% voted for Nobody – 65% in the UK – an astonishing mandate for social change on a scale unseen since the inception of the Liberal party in the 1870s.
Unfortunately, and to the disgust of a disillusioned electorate across the continent, the EU REFUSED to acknowledge these votes, and declared that all the seats fairly won by Nobody would be REDISTRIBUTED amongst the other parties. And so we have a situation where parties such as the BNP, who took LESS votes in this election than the last, have taken seats in the EU Parliament for the first time in history.
In France in 2007 the state’s refusal to recognize a 16% vote for Nobody led to rioting in most major cities. Earlier this year, the Icelandic government’s refusal to allow Nobody to take positions of power democratically theirs contributed to the popular overthrow of that government. With the anger currently brewing across Europe, can similar uprisings be far away?
Art With A Capital 'F'
Those dastardly johnnies from B.A.D. (Bath Arts Dictatorship) have been up to their old tricks again. This lot make up the secretive little cabal of the Bath Festivals committee who hide themselves away in their suite of rooms atop the city's Tourist Information Centre, busily massaging their fantasies and egos, laying down the law to you, the Bath public, on vot you vill and vill not enjoy, ja?
Their latest two fingers-up to public opinion came in the form of a pair of monstrous and ugly mashed-wire-coathanger 'sculptures' by Gloucester 'artist' Sophie Ryder, which were dumped in Abbey Square in early April. These metal horrors have no link whatsoever to Bath, other than as a shop window for Ms Ryder's other output, currently on sale at extortionate prices in the city's Victoria Art Gallery. Are we seeing yet another B&NES-sponsored example of stealing from the poor to give to the rich?
In arguably one of the best and most enjoyable displays of direct-action ad hoc public comment since the Bush shoe-throwing episode, both beasts were pulled (or pushed) over at Easter weekend. The only thing which marred this display of sound artistic judgment was their miraculous resurrection by crane soon afterwards. How much public dosh was wasted on hoisting them back on their plinths?
Was it just coincidence that Bugs Bunny and pal Bully from TV programme 'Bullseye' pitched up at the same time as the Bath Comedy Festival? As they formed a backdrop to the comedy stage itself, how could anybody take them seriously? So is there a bunch of cultural worthies, not a million miles from Kingston Buildings, extracting the urine?
Care In The Co-Mutiny
Activists and groups, dreamers and schemers from across the southwest are coming together from the 12th to the 20th September in Bristol for a week of themed autonomous days of action and practical skill shares, promoting an alternative fairer and more positive future, in contrast to the current nightmare scenario of corporate greed, social injustice and environmental degradation. If you want to get involved and join the Co-Mutineers – you know you do – email comutiny [at] riseup.net.
Nobody Takes You Seriously Until You Have An Insane Arch-Nemesis
Bath Animal Action’s campaign against foie gras – overpriced liver from tortured ducks and geese, produced under such appalling conditions that only obscure EU trade laws allow its sale in the UK – remains defiant and committed in the face of one of the most reticent restaurateurs yet.
Upmarket tapas restaurant Minibar are still refusing to remove foie gras from their menu, despite bogus claims of ethical concerns, poor sales of the dish, and confessions to the Chronicle that they have a “terrible night” and lose money whenever protesters visit. The reason for this apparently suicidal devotion to cruel cuisine may be related to a small, balding and clearly unstable man claiming to co-own the restaurant. His combination of abuse, mockery and deliberately running down an activist with his expensive 4x4 has brightened up several dull nights already.
Despite an increasingly diverse and desperate array of responses – pushing an activist in the road, claiming to have proof that the food was ethically produced and then refusing to show it, the aforementioned vehicular assault, repeated and groundless threats of arrest from an openly one-sided police farce, and being bored to death for hours by an idiot who could barely hold an opinion for five minutes, let alone an argument – the campaigners have vowed to fight for a foie-gras free Bath!
Upping The Veg-Ante
Last month’s Bristol Vegan Fayre – an annual celebration of vegan food, health and animal-cruelty-free ethics – went shiningly on the 30th and 31st May at Bristol’s Harbourside. Open to people of all dietary decisions, the food and drink flowed freely, particularly the free samples of chocolate and delicious fake meats, and there were stunning displays of Sikh swordfighting, and a solid line-up of reggae and rock over both days. Also on offer were info stalls on nutrition, charities, animal rescue centres and campaigning groups – although unfortunately there were slightly fewer vendors and higher costs this year, and a more commercialised atmosphere than previously: with stalls reflecting the social issues connected to veganism being relegated to out-of-the-way spots in favour of companies intent on tapping into the burgeoning vegan market. Still, a somewhat more grassroots vegan fayre is planned for Bath in late Summer/early September, so keep your eyes peeled.
Bath Activist Network are a local umbrella group campaigning on issues as diverse as development, environmentalism, anti-war, animal rights, workers’ rights and more. Helping to produce The Bath Bomb, we are open to anyone, and our members range from trade unionists to anarchists, liberals to greens, and people who just want to change Bath for the better. For details on meetings, demos, or just to get in touch, email bathactivistnet [at] yahoo.co.uk, or see our website: http://www.bathactivistnetwork.blogspot.com
GOT A STORY? WANT TO RECEIVE THE BATH BOMB BY EMAIL? HOPING TO SUE? Contact us by e-mailing bathbombpress [at] yahoo.co.uk. Large print e-versions available on request.GOT A STORY? WANT TO RECEIVE THE BATH BOMB BY EMAIL? HOPING TO SUE? Contact us by e-mailing bathbombpress [at] yahoo.co.uk. Large print e-versions available on request.
And now, to the disclaimer: As anyone is free to contribute, the opinions expressed in each article are not necessarily reflective of each contributor. Naturally, any right-wing or corporate bullshit will be binned and spat on. Needless to say, the opinions of the author of this disclaimer does not necessarily represent the views of any other contributor...
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Saturday, May 16, 2009
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THE BATH BOMB
@nti-copyright: copy and distribute!
Issue #22
free/donation
May 09
“Is It Under Your Car?”
Weekend Of Rage
The last weekend of April saw BAN and friends pour out onto the streets
of Bath for a (slightly tongue in cheek) weekend of rage – three days,
three demos and a modest amount of anger! Proceedings kicked off on the
Friday with a demo outside Allen Ford on Lower Bristol Road. The demo
was held in solidarity with UK Visteon workers sacked by Ford with no
back pay, redundancy package or pensions. Instead of accepting these
offensive conditions, the workers occupied their factories and launched
a campaign demanding the greedy bosses pay up. The Bath demo was well
received, with loads of horn honking and raised fists from passing
motorists and pedestrians (see how you can support the Visteon workers
at Visteon Workers site). Saturday saw a dozen BAN
activists head down to London for the ‘World Day for Lab Animals’ demo,
focused against infamous vivisectors and animal abusers Huntingdon Life
Sciences. The 2,000 strong demo sent a strong message to HLS and all
other companies who profit from vivisection – “there’s no excuse for
animal abuse.” On Sunday, local activists gathered outside Bath police
station to protest the murder of paper seller Ian Tomlinson at the
hands of police at the recent G20 protests. The protest highlighted the
fact that this was not a one-off, but a continuation of brutal and
arrogant police behaviour that the public have been subjected to for
years. Possibly realising that repressing an anti-police repression
demo would not go down too well, and that public opinion ain’t too
police-friendly nowadays, the local plod hid inside the station, not
even coming out when activists began chalking slogans around the front
of the police station (the most prominent reading ‘servants NOT
masters’). After a few hours, with hundreds of leaflets given out and
loads of public support, activists left, eager to plot the next round
of protests and action. BAN relies on ideas and energy from the local
community, so to suggest a campaign or get involved, send an email to
bathactivistnet [at] yahoo.co.uk. To see what they get up to and have
planned for the future, check out Bath Activist Network site
Jog On, Copper
This year’s Mayday Anti-Militarist Jog in Brighton was another roaring
success, despite attempts to spoil the fun by a few foul-tempered
individuals. Around 2,000 anti-militarists and a large, perhaps
similar, number of police took several hours to complete the gruelling
course. In order to prevent the police from cheating by starting
halfway along the track, the first part of the route – taking in
several big supporters and investors in the local arms company, many
hit by anonymous sabotage that night – was kept a secret by organisers
until the very last minute. The second, longer part of the course,
running in decreasing circles around the city centre, was made up as
the athletes went along.
One big benefit of this secrecy and confusion was that the police were
unable to clear the area first, and were powerless to prevent members
of the public from witnessing the demo. Sadly, this opportunity was
somewhat wasted as over-excited activists ran past gleefully cheering
their right to protest, leaving the public bemused as to what they were
actually protesting about. More placards next time would be nice, as
would some better chants.
The other bonus was the inability of the police to implement the brutal
tactics that culminated in the murder of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 last
month. Unable to pen the mobile and agile protest in or baton charge
immobile groups, the police failed to provoke any serious violence.
Apart from the odd point when police trapped protesters on a hill and
waded in mob-handed with batons flying, the march passed largely
without incident, though activist street medics had to treat 40 mostly
minor injuries (having to escort more serious cases through to
paramedics, despite police interference). Visiting coppers from
London’s Met were so disappointed with the lack of bloodshed, that they
took to stalking and mocking known activists.
The Jog was part of an ongoing 4 and a half year campaign against local
bomb-trigger manufacturers EDO/ITT, without whom explosives recently
dropped on Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan would have posed no threat
whatsoever. If EDO – who have lost millions and cycled through various
over-stressed CEOs – succumbs and collapses, the entire ‘defence’
industry will tremble before the might of popular opinion and direct
democracy.
Smash EDO site
Getting Off To A Wobbly Start
Possibly spurred on by recent job losses and worsening conditions at
work, a radical union has started making a huge comeback in the UK. The
IWW (industrial Workers of the World, or Wobblies) are an international
union with a reputation for never backing down from a fight with the
bosses, and using solidarity and direct action to get the goods. The
IWW believes that all workers should be united within a single union,
giving us greater strength and bartering power. They believe that we
should be divided not by profession, but by class, and that workers
should unite to confront the greed of the employing class. The IWW is a
fighting union that has already succeeded in preventing layoffs and
getting sacked workers reinstated across the UK. Without the
bureaucratic structure of the traditional unions or reliance on corrupt
union officials, and an emphasis on direct democracy, the IWW is a
union that is growing by the minute as the recession bites. A Bath
branch of the IWW has just been formed, and has already taken part in
workers rights solidarity in the area. They are looking to grow, so if
you are interested in joining, or have any questions, email
rocsec@iww.org.uk and ask to be put in touch with local members. As
times get harder, it’s more and more important to keep in mind the
slogan of the IWW: ‘an injury to one is an injury to all!’
EVENTS
Bath Hunt Saboteurs meetings, 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, 8pm, The
Bell, Walcot Street
London Road Food Co-op, Wednesdays, 4-7pm, Riverside Community Centre,
London Road
The Lost Plot workday, Thursdays, 10am-dusk, Bathampton
Bath Stop The War Coalition vigil, Saturdays, 11.30am-12.30, Bath Abbey
Courtyard
Veggie Pride! In Birmingham, Saturday 16th May, coaching leaving
Bristol 11.30am, £11 waged/£8 unwaged, Veggie Pride! site
Remember Gaza march, Saturday 16th May, assemble 12 noon, Malet Street,
London, WC1E 7HY
Bubbling Under, Sunday 17th May, 1-4pm, Porter Cellar, George Street
Friends of Bird's Marsh Welly Walk, Sunday 17th May, meet 10am, car
park of the King Alfred pub, Malmesbury Road, Chippenham SN15 1QA,
Friends of Bird's Marsh site
Recycle Your Sundays, Sunday 17th May, the regular series of sociable,
easy-paced cycle rides. Recycle Your Sundays site/Hazel 01225 469199
Bath Cycling Campaign meeting, Monday 18th May, venue TBC, 7.30pm,
Bath Cycling Campaign site
Film: Message in the Waves, Thursday 21st May, 7.30pm, upstairs at The
Cork, Westgate Street
Anti-foie gras demo, Friday 22nd May, meet Queen Square 7pm
Cardiff Anarchist Bookfair, Saturday 23rd May, 10am-6pm, Cathays
Community Centre, 36 Cathays Terrace, Cardiff, free entry,
Cardiff Anarchist Bookfair site
Climate Camp gathering, Saturday 23rd May - Sunday 24th May, starts
11am-7pm, Hebden Hey Hostel, Hardcastle Crags, Hebden Bridge, West
Yorkshire, HX7 7AW
Transition Bath Picnic in the Park, Monday 25th May, by the pond in
Victoria park, 12-4pm, look for the flag!
Transition Bath Transport & Built Environment Group meeting, Wednesday
27th May, 7pm, 55 New King Street, Bath, Transition Town Bath site
Transition Drinks, Wednesday 27th May, 8pm, upstairs at The Raven
Performance: ‘Roots – A Tale Of Love And Vegetables’, Thursday 28th May
– Sunday 7th June, BOG Lower Common Allotments
Bristol Vegan Fayre, Saturday 30th May – Sunday 31st May, 11am, the
Amphitheatre and Waterfront Square, Harbourside, Bristol,
Bristol Vegan Fayre site
Recycle Your Sundays, Sunday 31st May, the regular series of sociable,
easy-paced cycle rides, Recycle Your Sundays site/Hazel 01225 469199
Bath Friends of the Earth meeting, Monday 1st June, 8pm, Stillpoint,
Broad Street Place, Broad Street
Talk: Eco Refurbishment of Houses, Monday 1st June, 7.30pm, Grove
Street Church Hall, £2 entry
Bath Animal Action meeting, Wednesday 3rd June, 7.30-8.30pm, backroom
of The Bell, Walcot Street
Greenlight lecture: A Sustainable Food Plan for Britain, Wednesday 3rd
June, doors open 7pm, British Royal Literary & Scientific Institution
16-18 Queen Square, £3 waged/£1.5 unwaged
Bath Activist Network meeting, Thursday 4th June, 7.30-9pm, downstairs
at The Hobgoblin, St James Parade
Cymru Climate Camp gathering, Saturday 6th June, South Wales
Anarchist Movement Conference, Saturday 6th June – Sunday 7th June,
Queen Mary & Westfield College, London, E1 4NS,
Anarchist Movement Conference site
Bath Greenpeace meeting, Monday 8th June, 7.30-9pm, Stillpoint, Broad
Street Place
Transition Open Forum, Tuesday 9th June, 7pm, Widcombe Social Club
Bath Green Drinks, Wednesday 10th June, 8.30pm, the Porter, George
Street
Bath FreeShop, Saturday 13th June, 12-3pm, outside Pump Rooms, Stall
Street
Broadlands Orchardshare Volunteering Day, Saturday 13th June, 12-4pm,
Broadlands Orchard, Box Road, Bathford, email broadlandsorchardshare
[at] googlemail.com or phone 07532 472 256
CoMutiny meeting, Saturday 13th June, 2-7pm, Bristol
Calais No Border Camp, 23rd-29th June, France
Danish Climate Camp, Denmark, Saturday 11th July – Sunday 19th July,
Danish Climate Camp site
French Climate Camp Monday, Monday 3rd August – Sunday 9th August,
France, French Climate Camp site
Belgian/Dutch Climate Action Camp, Monday 3rd August - Sunday 9th
August, near Antwerp, Belgian/Dutch Climate Camp site
The Camp for Climate Action in Scotland, Monday 3rd – Tuesday 11th
August, Scotland, Scottish Climate Camp site
Cymru Climate Camp, Thursday 13th – Sunday 16th August 2009, Merthyr
Tydfil, South Wales, Welsh Climate Camp site
Greek No Borders Camp, Tuesday 25th August – Monday 31st August,
Lesvos, Greece, Greek No Borders site
The Camp for Climate Action 2009, Thursday 27th August and Wednesday
2nd September, London, Camp for Climate Action site
Bristol Co-Mutiny: Social Change Not Climate Change gathering, Sunday
13th September – Saturday 19th September,
Westside Climate Action
International Day of Climate Action, Saturday 24th October,
http://www.350.org/oct24
Giving It A Load Of Agro
Back on the afternoon of the17th of April, 13 activists from Action
Against Agrofuels occupied the offices of Blue-NG, a joint venture
between National Grid subsidiary NG Blue Power and 20C. The company,
based at Ralph Allen House on Railway Place, was targeted due to its
building of the UK’s first vegetable oil power plants. The Biased
Chronicle hysterically decried the activists’ supposed own goal at
targeting the brain child of the ‘greenest man in the city’ Andrew
Mercer, former silicon valley exec and founder of Footdown, an
entrepreneur who throws his money at anything he thinks will sell. But
in reality the company, now aiming to build their second plant at a
site in Southall in London, as well at least another 43 plants, are in
the process of exacerbating climate change. They claim to source
indigenous rapeseed oil (even though there’s not enough land or
production to feed current needs), which produces 59-70% more
greenhouse gas emissions than standard diesel due to the nitrous oxide
fumes from fertilizer alone, a gas 300 times more potent than CO2. And
then there is soil erosion from monoculture farming, the loss of
habitat for wildflowers, birds and bees already threatened (maybe
Andrew will rehome them all, too?), air and noise pollution in the
pissed off local community, who also risk lung and heart disease from
fine particle emissions in an area with already one of the highest
asthma rates in the country.
But it’s also worth considering that increased use of rapeseed oil will
push up reliance on other veg oils (which Blue NG won’t rule out the
import of), such as soybean, jatropha (an invasive weed from India) or
the cost-effective palm oil: production of these, particularly the
last, is well known for peatland destruction, rainforest deforestation,
biodiversity loss (slaughtering orang utans), and land theft from
indigenous peoples. But possibly worse, considering a global
agricultural slump of 20-40%, with historic droughts in India, South
America, China and the southern US states, Australia and, to a lesser
extent, Europe (and global food reserves at their lowest in 25 years)
is the threat to food security. Never mind chip-fat cars and carbon
neutral second homes – are we really gonna feed greenwashing companies
whilst people the world over are starving?
Biofuelwatc fact sheet on agrofuels
Biofuelwatch open letter
activists storm Blue NG office
Thanks Allot(ment)
In the last few years, demand for allotments has gone through the roof
with more and more people taking an interest in growing their own veg.
But with a waiting list of up to eight years in some parts of B&NES,
who can blame people for putting the idea on the back burner? But now,
environmental campaigners have launched a scheme which will see people
who can’t manage their gardens sharing them with would-be gardeners
(check out http://www.bathorganicgroup.org for more info). The scheme
is great, and should introduce loads of people to the green,
money-saving and fulfilling world of gardening. However, we shouldn’t
ignore the cause of the allotment shortage – B&NES! The council are
conveniently forgetting their legal obligation to provide everyone who
wants one with a shiny new allotment. To understand why, we need to
travel back to 1908, and plunge into the text of the Smallholdings and
Allotments Act. This legislation, still in force, obliges local
authorities to provide sufficient allotments to meet local demand. This
means, in the words of Geoff Stokes of the National Society of
Allotment and Leisure Gardeners, “exactly what it says, councils have a
legal duty to provide a sufficient number of plots to meet local
demand, and you should not have to wait more than a reasonable amount
of time for one.” The act was introduced as a response to the
increasing urbanization of the rural working class, and as the threat
to green space has continued to rise, so has our need for, and right
to, allotment space.
If you are waiting, or if you simply can’t find a plot, you can use the
law to your advantage. All you need is for six people who are
registered on the electoral roll to get together and put a well-argued
case to the council: explain that the demand for allotments is not
being met and that it’s their legal duty to meet it. Legally, they will
have to respond, preferably by providing more allotments. If this
fails, according to Geoff Stokes, you would be within your rights to
take your council to a judicial review. So there you have it – why not
contact Bath Organic Group to try and share a garden, but if that
fails, don’t let the council off the hook – get together with some
mates and demand a slice of the green pie!
Bath Activist Network are a local umbrella group campaigning on issues
as diverse as development, environmentalism, anti-war, animal rights,
workers’ rights and more. Helping to produce The Bath Bomb, we are open
to anyone, and our members range from trade unionists to anarchists,
liberals to greens, and people who just want to change Bath for the
better. For details on meetings, demos, or just to get in touch, email
bathactivistnet [at] yahoo.co.uk, or see our website:
Bath Activist Network site
GOT A STORY? WANT TO RECEIVE THE BATH BOMB BY EMAIL? HOPING TO SUE?
Contact us by e-mailing bathbombpress [at] yahoo.co.uk. Large print
e-versions available on request.
Nature Doesn’t Do Bailouts
As reported last month, the Camp for Climate Action shut down the
European Carbon Exchange in London for a day. So what is carbon trading
and why did they do it?
It is claimed that carbon trading cuts emissions by limiting the amount
of carbon that is allowed to be emitted, and dividing this amount up
among countries and corporations. They are given ‘carbon credits’ that
basically give them a license to pollute. Credits can be sold by
polluters who have emitted less than their quota, or earned through
projects that claim to save carbon. But there are several major
problems with this. Carbon trading is based on the free market ideology
of continual economic growth, intended to make sustainability
profitable. Yet it’s doomed to fail, because it trusts the exact same
market forces that have caused environmental destruction in the first
place. Because carbon is so cheap, it’s cheaper to buy these abstract
credits than actually investing in renewables or efficient technology.
The most polluting companies have a huge influence over government and
are given allowances free of charge. BP and Shell have made huge
profits by selling these carbon credits, while the NHS had to pay tens
of thousands for theirs. In 2005, the total number of credits given out
by the EU insanely went beyond the overall emissions limit by 10%. It
is almost impossible to properly calculate or monitor these emissions;
some companies apply for credits for emissions-reducing projects that
would have gone ahead anyway, while others exaggerate their savings.
Credits are also often earned through projects that aren’t really green
– such as agrofuel plantations or tree-planting “emissions offset”
projects. And some governments in the global south deliberately impose
poor environmental regulations so that the standard for projects to be
judged against is very low, so that more money can be earned. South
Africa’s Department of Mines and Energy has admitted that companies
lobbied them to lower renewable energy targets, for example. Other
projects, such as agrofuels, have been associated with human rights
abuses, often taking place on stolen communal land. By contrast,
small-scale local projects created by people who really need the money
generally don’t attract credits as they’re considered not to be worth
the paperwork.
Carbon trading is a farce allowing companies to carry on polluting as
usual, while making a tidy profit. The IPCC predicts that, in order to
stop the most devastating effects of climate change, carbon emissions
must reach their peak by 2015 – that’s only 6 years! We don’t have time
for distraction techniques that maintain our reliance on fossil fuels
and divert resources away from real solutions.
Corporate Watch resource
Camp for Climate Action
Welsh Climate Camp
Living With Ill Eagles
After last month’s holiday, the Porter Cellar’s ‘Bubbling Under’ film
series is back on this month on Sunday the 17th May, from 1pm-4pm. The
latest offering will be a film about undocumented immigrants and the
problems they face. Raising important questions about the rights of
individuals to seek a better life free of poverty, uncertainty and war,
this film will be presented by Bristol No Borders: now with added guest
speaker! Be there, or be a tool (of the state).
UK No Borders
Lost The Plot?
A new volunteer-run land project has been set up in Bathampton, and is
opening its gates to all-comers every Thursday, from 10am til dusk, for
their weekly workday. Things are still in their infancy at the moment,
but veg is already in the ground, and orchard restoration and forest
gardening is planned, permaculture stylee. If you want to get your
hands dirty with the Lost Plot crew, then text Rory on 07506 214172 for
more info and directions.
Calais On Camping
The Calais No Border camp, running from the 23rd to the 29th June, is
an exciting joint venture between French activists and the UK No
Borders Network. It aims to highlight the realities of the situation in
Calais and Northern France; to build links with the migrant
communities, and also between migrants support groups; and lastly, but
not least, to challenge the authorities on the ground, to protest
against the increased repression of migrants. For centuries, European
imperial powers have exploited the land, resources and people of the
majority world to become wealthy and powerful, leaving war,
environmental destruction and massive inequality in their wake. Those
who attempt the journey to the UK are challenging this injustice by
their movement.
But at the end of this journey they face another humanitarian crisis –
increasingly repressive immigration policies. This makes the Calais
border an important focal point in the struggle for free movement. But
this camp is not just about Calais: we are calling for the freedom of
movement for all, not just the privileged few, and an end to borders
and all migration controls. We need to build a radical transnational
movement to challenge these racist policies that divide us into
citizens and non-citizens, into the documented and the undocumented.
This will be a place to strengthen this movement, and we need your help
to make it happen. We call on all who want to show solidarity to join
us in Calais. If you want to get involved in helping to organise the
camp, support us with fundraising and publicity, host an event on
Calais and No Borders or offer practical support, please get in touch:
calais@riseup.net. No one is illegal! Freedom of Movement for all!
Calais No Borders camp
UK No Borders
FITted Up
One of the less pleasant developments in political policing in recent
years has been the creation and widespread deployment of Forward
Intelligence Teams, known generally as FIT. Recruited as civilians in
order to avoid having to give them ID numbers, the FIT can be seen at
every major protest in the country, hefting several grand’s worth of
high-end cameras and flanked by a pair of angry-looking bruisers. Their
alleged purpose is surveillance and evidence-gathering; they are there
to photo and film any lawbreaking for later submission in court, or to
track down the perpetrators. But their activities are far more
sinister. They try to gather facial images of as many people as
possible, and store these on a database indefinitely; they also take
note who speaks to who. Potentially, this would create a vast database
allowing the cops to track everyone involved in politics in the UK. In
reality, the vast amount of data collected – the photographers claim to
be paid per picture – makes this database unlikely to be of use, and in
any case, FIT tend to be far away when things do kick off. The
surveillance is aimed primarily at intimidating the average
demonstrator, in clear violation of the right of assembly and protest.
Occasionally, the FIT are used against protesters identified by other
police. However, it is unknown how useful several dozen facial shots
are for the subsequent actions of the police, which include following
alleged organisers around demos making threatening comments about their
mothers, and forcing their way into activists’ homes in the middle of
the night to conduct random searches.
And now, to the disclaimer: As anyone is free to contribute, the
opinions expressed in each article are not necessarily reflective of
each contributor. Naturally, any right-wing or corporate bullshit will
be binned and spat on. Needless to say, the opinions of the author of
this disclaimer does not necessarily represent the views of any other
contributor...
For further info on any of our stories see www.thebathbomb.blogspot.com
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Friday, April 17, 2009
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THE BATH BOMB @nti-copyright: copy and distribute! Issue #21 free/donation Apr 09 “Keeping our heads in a crisis” Summit For Nothing This month, 20 of the world’s most powerful leaders flew in private jets to London to stay in luxury hotels, drink the finest wines, and discuss the collapse of the global economy. Safely tucked away behind the UK’s most expensive police operation in history (£8 million, thank you very much), with their every desire attended to irrespective of cost (hotel expenses topping £50 million), our glorious leaders failed to notice the obvious answer to the UK’s 2-million-strong employment problem. Which was, I sourly reflected at the slightly disappointing block outside the conference centres on Thursday the 2nd, to train them all as journalists. As this journalist pondered his genius, another nervous-looking hippy edged up to me and whispered “Hey, are you a protester?” Of course not, I replied, I’m an undercover media parasite desperately hoping this will suddenly start living up to the awesome front-page-grabbing defiance of yesterday’s ruckus in the city. “Me, too!” he exclaimed, with a junkie-like edge to his voice. “Have you found anyone who isn’t? I need some quotes, man...” Saturday the 28th of March’s Put People First procession was the exception rather than the rule, with the placid police letting the 40,000 marchers get on with it. But as for the Climate Camp... It was supposed to be beautiful. Sneaking like a weed through broken paving cracks, tangled vines creeping through urban decay, snatching back the stolen space that was swallowed up by the city. Camping under twinkling stars and streetlights in the very heart of capitalism. Singing songs around campfires fuelled by newspaper scraps and debris. Screw the system, we've got samosas, cake and a compost loo! It was supposed to be like that, but the Camp For Climate Action, occupying the space surrounding London's European Carbon Exchange, was evicted after 12 hours on the night of April 1st. Indeed, overnight, brutal police attacks, raids, false imprisonment and sleep deprivation (officially recognised by the UN as torture) had hit the all the other squats and convergences spaces around the city too, to ensure that there was no repeat of Wednesday’s 15,000-strong marches, no fluffy carnival, or entirely justifiable smashing of RBS. Despite all this provocation, the protesters remained peaceful and proportionate. Despite coppers deliberately assaulting civilians, batonning people in the crotch, and walking up and down the lines shield-smashing the face of each demonstrator in turn, the crowds refused to lower themselves to the pigs’ level. Which, frankly, they should have. G20 Meltdown websitePut People First websiteHow The G20 Plan To Help The World’s Poor So what actually happened at the G20 summit last week? Well, in an attempt to give the global economy a kick up the arse and return to "business as usual", $1.1 trillion was given to the International Monetary Fund to aid failing industries around the world. $50 billion of this will allegedly go to poor countries, but will it actually reduce poverty? The IMF typically only lends out funds at a price, controlling poorer countries by means of ironically named ‘Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers’. Loans are granted in exchange for the approval of regulations that help corporations and harm workers, such as cuts to the minimum wage and the banning of unions. The IMF and rich lender countries want to make sure they get their money back, so poor countries are forced to focus their industries on producing exports, rather than food for their own people. They are made to remove trade barriers so that rich foreign corporations can flood their markets with cheap goods and run local traders out of business. Public services such as healthcare, schools and transport are privatised while government spending on health and education is cut – placing the emphasis on profit rather than provision of services. When the Bechtel corporation took over the supply of public water in Bolivia, bills went up by up to 90%, leaving many families unable to afford water. When riots forced them to withdraw, Bechtel (supported by the IMF) demanded $30 million in compensation from the Bolivian Government. Decisions made by the IMF override national laws. For example, when the State of California banned the gasoline additive MBTE because it pollutes ground water and poses a real threat to public health, the Canadian maker of the additive sued them under IMF and World Trade Organisation laws, because this restricted trade. Who needs colonialism when you've got the IMF? They put the "rights" of corporations ahead of human rights. The G20 mean business as usual and don't give a shit about the poor if this is their plan for change. Taking The Visteon On Tuesday the 31st of March, workers at three factories owned by Visteon, a Ford subsidiary received news that is all too common at the moment – you’re fired! The workers in Belfast, Enfield and Basildon were ordered to leave without any notice, redundancy packages, back pay and other money owed to them by the company. What happened next however, shows what happens when workers stand up to the boss. Refusing to leave, the 70 workers locked themselves inside their factories, refusing to budge despite intimidation from cops and bosses until they got the money and rights that were owed to them. The workers stayed put for 11 days, receiving huge support from locals and activists who set up 24-hour pickets in the factories’ car parks. The occupiers have now left the factories, but the fight is only just beginning: a permanent picket has been established at the London factory, along with other initiatives and the workers and their supporters have vowed not to give up the struggle. The campaign needs your help, and is setting a great example of how organised workers are capable of standing up for their rights in the face of the classist attacks of capitalism and the state. In this recession, the bosses and politicians have made it all too clear that they are looking out for themselves, their rich mates and nobody else. Only by taking a leaf from the book of the Visteon workers, or the Prisme Packaging & Design workers in Dundee, and getting organised to fight back can we build a fair and just society rather than relenting to leaders’ vision of business as usual. Or why not emulate the 2 million French who’ve just enjoyed their second general strike of the year, or the sacked Sony workers of the Landes region who took their chief executive hostage? To find out how you can support the Visteon workers, drop and email to visteon_support [at] haringey.org.uk, or bathactivistnet [at] yahoo.co.uk for info on local support actions. Prisme Packaging factory occupiedVisteon occupiers websiteEVENTS Bath Hunt Saboteurs meetings, 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, 8pm, The Bell, Walcot Street London Road Food Co-op, Wednesdays, 4-7pm, Riverside Community Centre, London Road Bath Stop The War Coalition vigil, Saturdays, 11.30am-12.30, Bath Abbey Courtyard ‘Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay: From Poll Tax Rebellion to Recession Resistance’ talk and film, Thursday 23rd April, 7.30pm, The Cube cinema, Dove Street South, Bristol Visteon solidarity picket, Friday 24th April, 5.30pm, Allen Ford garage, opposite former Bath Press, Redbridge House, Lower Bristol Road World Day for Lab Animals march, Saturday 25th April, Hyde Park, London, coach leaving Bristol Temple Meads, 8.45am, info@wdail.org to book place anti-police brutality solidarity demo, Sunday 26th April, meet 12 midday outside Bath Spa train station Mayday TU march, Friday 1st May, Clerkenwell Green, London, 12 midday Anti-Militarist Gathering, Saturday 2nd May – Sunday 3rd May, Cowley Club, Brighton, Anti-Militarist Gathering websiteMayday everyday gigs, Friday 1st May - Sunday 3rd May, Chesters, Frogmore Street, Bristol Mayday in Brighton, Monday 4th May, 12 noon, Brighton, Smash EDO websiteBath Friends of the Earth meeting, Monday 4th May, 8pm, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place, Broad Street Bath Animal Action meeting, Wednesday 6th May, 7.30-8.30pm, backroom of The Bell, Bath Activist Network meeting, Thursday 7th May, 7.30-9pm, downstairs at The Hobgoblin, St James Parade Bath FreeShop, Saturday 9th May, 12-3pm, outside Pump Rooms, Stall Street Broadlands Orchardshare Volunteering Day, Saturday 9th May, 12-4pm, Broadlands Orchard, Box Road, Bathford, email broadlandsorchardshare [at] googlemail.com or phone 07532 472 256 Bath Greenpeace meeting, Monday 11th May, 7.30-9pm, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place Transition Open Forum, Tuesday 12th May, 7pm, Widcombe Social Club Bath Green Drinks, Wednesday 13th May, 8.30pm, the Rummer, Grand Parade Performance: ‘Roots – A Tale Of Love And Vegetables’, Thursday 28th May – Sunday 7th June, BOG Lower Common Allotments G20 Death – Pigs Might Lie Amongst the broken windows and smashed banks of the recent G20 protests, a tragedy occurred that is threatening to drag the inhumane and brutal tactics regularly employed by British cops into the public eye. Ian Tomlinson, a 47-year-old paper seller, was walking home from work through the protests, when he suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack. The cops were quick to clarify the matter for us – Ian had become trapped in the crowd before collapsing. Police efforts to rescue and resuscitate the man were hampered by baying mobs of protestors pelting police medics with bricks and bottles. Really? The police clung doggedly to this version of events despite several convincing witness statements to the contrary. Then, some video footage came to light that showed a vastly different story. Ian, on his own, was walking away from a line of riot police with his hands in his pockets. Without warning, an officer beat Tomlinson’s legs with a truncheon before shoving him to the floor with his shield. He remained on the floor for around 10 seconds, receiving no help before being helped up by activists and moving off, “Dazed and stumbling along the road.” A minute later, he was dead. The police have now changed their story to suit the uncovering of their lies, but they deny any inconsistency in their version of events, which has changed from “baying mob stop us helping the injured” to “well, maybe an officer overreacted.” In a further revelation, the police have been criticized for rushing the post-mortem and using an incompetent, and widely discredited pathologist. Meanwhile, Saturday the 11th of April saw nearly 500 people march through central London to protest the death – thankfully, this day wasn’t attacked, unlike the vigil for Ian held on the 2nd. The cop who murdered Ian has now been suspended pending investigation, but this avoids the most important issue surrounding the incident. This is how police ALWAYS behave during public order situations. ‘Kettling’, the police tactic of confining a group and refusing them access to toilets, medical aid or water is now common place, as is police refusal to wear identification, use of pepper spray, and unprovoked baton charges. Suspending and punishing one cop is a start, but we need to use the tragic death of Ian Tomlinson to challenge the violent and arbitrary manner in which police deal with almost all acts of public protest. Ian’s death was not caused by the actions of one ‘bad apple’, but by a culture of contempt, violence and arrogance that is the rule, rather than the exception in the modern police force. Will we, in Britain, sit by and watch as the police continue to kill and injure us with arrogance and brutality? Or perhaps now is the time to stand up against a system that is happy to viciously strike anyone who dares to stand up and question its waning authority. A full video of the events leading up to Ian’s death can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADd_6ISHLdg What Housing Crisis? As repossessions soar by 68%, housing lists double (from 3,000 to 6,000 locally over the last decade), and the market continues to nosedive, B&NES are dealing with things the only way they know how. They’re, um, selling off all council houses. With 1,100 affordable homes ditched already (thanks to retired banker Councillor Malcolm Hanney, who lives in a very unaffordable house in Chew Magna), and more at Manvers Street, Dorchester Street and Broad Street to follow, this can only mean one thing... Less rent to pay! That’s right. Theses houses aren’t going anywhere, after all. There’s no actual housing shortage – just an excess of scamming landlords leaving buildings empty. And increasing numbers of people across the region are choosing to legally squat these empties rather than choose homelessness or giving every penny they own to the undeserving. In Bristol, a national squatters’ meeting on the 14th and 15th of March, brought people from across the country to a specially-occupied mansion for a weekend of discussions and workshops – and also helped the economy by providing work for a veritable horde of journos. More locally, the Squatters Communal Association of Bath have finally lost the former Twerton rail station following their fourth illegal eviction, with the tacit approval of Twerton ward Lib Dem Councillor Tim Ball. Bath police turned a blind eye to the theft, criminal damage and burglary committed by publicity-shy bailiffs, who even got away with pouring boiling water over one occupant’s hands. Resident David Clements explains, “Dealing with a landlord who resorts to force first and the courts second is hard, but we stuck at it to teach them a lesson. Fortunately, landlords like that are rare, so we’re looking forwards to having an easier time of things in our new home.” Interested in squatting or learning more? Contact bathactivistnet [at] yahoo.co.uk. Problems with bailiffs or repossessions? Contact resistbailiffs [at] yahoo.co.uk, or 07794 774938. Advisory Service for Squatters websiteGOT A STORY? WANT TO RECEIVE THE BATH BOMB BY EMAIL? HOPING TO SUE? Contact us by e-mailing bathbombpress [at] yahoo.co.uk. Large print e-versions available on request. Bath Activist Network are a local umbrella group campaigning on issues as diverse as development, environmentalism, anti-war, animal rights, workers’ rights and more. Helping to produce The Bath Bomb, we are open to anyone, and our members range from trade unionists to anarchists, liberals to greens, and people who just want to change Bath for the better. For details on meetings, demos, or just to get in touch, email bathactivistnet [at] yahoo.co.uk, or see our website: http://www.bathactivistnetwork.blogspot.comMeeting True Veg Kilter, Bath’s unique outdoor theatre company, premieres their new production ‘Roots – A Tale Of Love And Vegetables,’ during this year’s Fringe Fest, running from Thursday the 28th May to Sunday 7th June, it is to be performed on Bath Organic Group’s Lower Common Allotments, in Victoria Park. Planting the seeds of change with a playful and engaging show, Kilter lead their audience on a gentle journey down the bean-rows to investigate food-security, food history and traditional skills in the approaching post-oil world. Friendly, welcoming characters tinker with their seedlings whilst mulling over the cycles of past and future. The set is made up of entirely found and recycled materials, and you even get to take away a free set of seeds at the end! Kilter, who will be working the allotments during the preceding week, is committed to engaging audiences in issues on the environment, social justice and English heritage, and seeks to deliver low carbon theatre. Tickets are priced at £9 (concessions £7) and are on sale from ICIA’s Box Office at Bath Uni - ring 01225 386777. Kilter Theatre websiteA Cut Above The Rest Here at Bath Bomb HQ, we were saddened to hear the news surrounding the death of passionate blood-junkie Trevor Morse. Trevor ended his life attempting to prevent two hunt monitors from taking off in a gyrocopter they were using to monitor fox hunting activities. Running in front of the fast moving aircraft, Trevor was obviously under the impression that the sheer strength of his personality would suffice to halt a speeding aircraft. Wrong. It was not so much the news of his gyrocopter-inflicted near-decapitation that caused our bad moods, but the ridiculous charges that have been pinned on the pilot, Bryan Griffiths, of the gyrocopter, a peaceful man who has been charged with murder. In the last 20 years, three hunt saboteurs have been killed, mostly being run over, by hunters, and the most serious charge brought against a hunter has been reckless driving. But as soon as it is a hunter who dies, it is not a tragic accident, but murder. This charge just highlights the one-sided policing that’s been the norm regarding hunting for decades. A support group has been set up for Bryan, and letters of support can be sent to: Bryan Griffiths XW8892 HMP Hewell Hewell Lane Redditch B97 6QS Pharma To Get Taste Of Own Medicine? In spite of the Government’s sustained attack on animal rights advocates, World Day for Lab Animals will be marked this year in London with a national march on the 25th April. Meeting in Hyde Park at 12 midday, the demo will proceed to through the centre to a rally at Parliament. Whilst Neo-Labour still refuse to carry out their much-promised Royal Commission into the medical relevance of animal testing, 18,000 people a year die from dodgy drug side effects in the UK alone: in fact, relying on animal testing results for our medicines is Britain’s fourth biggest killer. But instead of worrying about helping research into modern non-animal testing, such as the work carried out by the Dr Hadwen Trust or Europeans for Medical Progress, instead they bail out companies like Huntingdon Life Sciences, who carry out contracts for animal abuse and have once again recently been exposed for cruelty. To join this fight for both human and non-human animals’ health and dignity, a coach will be leaving Bristol Temple Meads train station just before 9am that morning, £4 waged return or £2 unwaged return: get in touch with bathanimalaction [at] yahoo.co.uk, or ring 07595 745441 to book your place. SHAC websiteEuropeans for Medical Progress website Dr Hadwen Trustorganisers of the Bristol coachThe Big Chalk-In Members of BAN attended a big ‘chalk-in’ outside Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 9th April. This demo was called because Paul Saville, a UWE student, had chalked on a pavement in Bristol: ‘Liberty – the right to question it, the right to ask are we free?’ Obviously not, because he was promptly arrested and charged with criminal damage. He was to appear at court the morning of the 9th, but the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges at the last moment. The chalk-in was called as a protest against the latest would-be attack on our right to freedom of speech and dissent. People on the demo took turns to scrawl slogans, and were joined by other young people who’d been in court that morning already. Paul, however, had problems in taking part, as his wrist had been broken by the police at the recent G20 protests! This time, the thin black and blue line kept a low profile, probably due to their own current public order problems. The day proved that the best way of defending one’s rights when attacked is mass defiance. And now, to the disclaimer: As anyone is free to contribute, the opinions expressed in each article are not necessarily reflective of each contributor. Naturally, any right-wing or corporate bullshit will be binned and spat on. Needless to say, the opinions of the author of this disclaimer does not necessarily represent the views of any other contributor... For further info on any of our stories see www.thebathbomb.blogspot.com
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Friday, March 13, 2009
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THE BATH BOMB @nti-copyright: copy and distribute! Issue #20 free/donation Mar 09 “News and abuse from Bath and beyond” Somer Tenants Do ‘Ave ‘Em Ever got that sinking feeling that your landlord is a little more concerned with cash than your wellbeing? That must be the feeling amongst Somer tenants who now face a well-above-inflation rent hike of 7.5%. Somer’s justification? They say that their rent is below the local average, and that they need the money for maintenance work. Hmm... A couple of points spring to mind here that may go some way to debunking Somer’s greedy little lies. One, being a supposedly social housing trust, specifically set up for people on low-to-no incomes, having a lower than average rent rate is nothing to boast about – it is the sole function of Somer to provide low cost housing for Bath residents after all. Their claim to provide “lower than regional average” rent also falls down when a brief look at local property websites reveals the regional average monthly rent for a 2 bedroom flat to be a whopping £894.00! In an area with a far higher than usual (you might say disgustingly high) percentage of toffs, the rent is obviously going to be wildly beyond the budget of the average person in social housing. Somer also claims to need the additional rent money for maintenance work. Okay, this sounds reasonable, but should that cash be sucked from the pockets of residents or from the coffers of Somer’s directors? A recent advert to recruit another director to Somer reveals a £125,000 annual salary (plus bonuses, plus 10% car allowance) – so who best should shell out for the work? And what have our brave Council done to come to our aid? Don Foster – as well his other admittedly urgent duties of posing for the local press with mouthfuls of banana (what are you good for?) – has asked Somer to introduce the hike over two years instead of one. We’ll, we’ve got news for you Donny boy, whether they ram it home hard, or slide it in gently, we’re still getting screwed! With the recession worsening, Somer have once again showed that they value profit over people and that the Council prioritises business interests over Bath residents. If we want fair rent, it looks like we’ll have to fight for it ourselves, and not rely on Dodgy Don’s dastardly deals with degenerate directors to denigrate dwellings. On a similar note, it turns out that the equally dodgy Nightstone housing association are leaning on elderly residents on Walcot Street to move out, as they want to bump up the rent and lure in young professionals instead. But the residents are still refusing to budge – we’ll keep you posted. Bath Chron article on rent risesThe Bath Chron article on 'Go Bananas'Game On! Whilst big business and the state claimed “We didn't know” when the economic collapse kicked in last year, anybody with half a brain could see the recession coming from miles away. Maybe all these wealthy capitalists thought it was just a game. Well now it is: BAN presents the 'It's Not My Responsibility' game on Saturday the 14th March! The game is played with two teams, one representing liberty, and the other representing well-dressed big business and the state. The game is played with pre-provided big balloons, and the idea is to bounce away the responsibility balloons – (Boo! Hiss!) Credit Crunch, Bankruptcy, Unemployment, Surveillance, Competition, Bailiffs – whilst sharing the balloons representing the more anarchic side of life – Freedom, Community, Cooperation, Ethical Living, Fun, Courage... The more people the merrier, so come and join this creative opportunity to share wisdom with the people of Bath, and the odd tourist. Meet at the FreeShop stall outside the Pump Rooms on Stall Street Saturday at 1.30pm, and let the games commence at 2pm. Bring musical instruments, a sense of playfulness, and pom-poms to cheer on your side. Oh, and dress to impress! Summit For The Weekend In a few weeks’ time, the leaders of the world’s richest 19 countries, plus delegates from all EU states, will be meeting in London to discuss deepening the global recession. And as it is getting more and more obvious that it is them and their fatcat and banker buddies who have got us into this mess, we’ll be there to meet them! The week of action kicks off with the ‘Put People First’ march on Saturday the 28th. Meeting at 11am at the Embankment, it calls for “jobs, justice and climate” and is shaping up to be pretty huge. The demo will consist of thousands of people who’ve had just enough of ‘business as usual’, as well as the usual suspects: socialists, environmentalists, trade unionists and anarchists. This will be followed up by several midweek events, starting with ‘Storm The Banks’: starting at 11am on Wednesday the 1st of April, four simultaneous protests will make their way into the heart of London’s financial districts, where some will party, some will protest and some will be a little bit naughtier! There’s room enough for all forms of dissent - peaceful protesters, direct action enthusiasts, experienced and inexperienced protestors alike. Towards the end of the event, the Network for Climate Action have called for a camp to be set up in the financial district to oppose the carbon-driven economy that led to this recession – bring a sleeping bag, food, and sense of adventure, ‘cos this one’s not to be missed! The following day will see a series of protests around the venue of the G20 summit (the ExCeL Centre), during which some will attempt to block the delegates out, some will try to get in, and others will hold a rally. The actions are looking to be pretty dynamic, so if you’re feeling pissed of at the state we’re in, then this is the event for you. People will be travelling to all of the events from Bath, so to find someone to travel down with, drop Bath Activist Network an email to the usual address. What will you tell your grandkids when they ask you where you were when the revolution started? (Not up late slaving over two-bit radical news rags, we hope!) http://www.g-20meltdown.org/http://www.putpeoplefirst.org.uk/Stop the War Coalition pageTaking Liberties Back On Sunday the 22nd of March (a week later than usual, for those who’re paying attention), the latest in the series of ‘Bubbling Under’ film screenings will roll at the Porter Cellar on George Street, from 1pm. This month’s film, presented by Bristol Indymedia, will be ‘The Take’: in the wake of Argentina's dramatic economic collapse of 2001, Latin America's most prosperous middle class suddenly found itself wandering a ghost town of abandoned factories and mass unemployment. The Forja auto plant lay dormant too, until its former employees decided to take it back, and refused to leave! Facing off against bosses, bankers and a whole system that sees their beloved factories as nothing more than scrap metal for sale, the workers are part of a daring new grassroots movement of workers who occupy bankrupt businesses and create jobs and viable futures in the ruins of crumbling economies – it remains to be seen whether Bathonians will follow suit! Directed by journalist Avi Lewis and writer Naomi Klein. The TakeEVENTS Bath Hunt Saboteurs meetings, 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, 8pm, The Bell, Walcot Street London Road Food Co-op, Wednesdays, 4-7pm, Riverside Community Centre, London Road Bath Stop The War Coalition vigil, Saturdays, 11.30am-12.30, Bath Abbey Courtyard Bath FreeShop, Saturday 14th March, 12-3pm, outside Pump Rooms, Stall Street Broadlands Orchardshare Volunteering Day, Saturday 14 Mar, 12-4pm, Broadlands Orchard, Box Road, Bathford, email broadlandsorchardshare [at] googlemail.com or phone 07532 472 256 Reclaiming Public Space street party, Saturday 14th March, 2-3pm, base of Milsom Street National Squat Meet 2009, Saturday 14th – Sunday 15th March, somewhere in Bristol!, FTI nearer the time site or call 07790073015 ‘Building Bridges in the Summer of Rage,’ Wednesday 18th March, 7.30pm, Kebele, 14 Robertson Road, Bristol: discussion on anarchist identity and public engagement: sharing ideas and tactics for making anarchism more accessible and visible. Free/donation. ‘ Garbage Warrior’ screening, Thursday 19th March, 7.30pm, upstairs at the Cork, Westgate Street, donation entry Solidarity picket with EDO Decommissioner defendants on remand in prison, Saturday 21st March, 3pm, meet at corner of Cambridge and Gloucester Road, Bristol, bring flyers, placards, banners and noisemakers: Support the EDO Decomissioners Send letters of support and solidarity to the 2 political prisoners: Robert Alford VP 7552 HMP Lewes , 1 Brighton Rd, Lewes, Sussex, BN7 1EA; Elija Smith VP 7551 HMP Bristol, 19 Cambridge Rd, Horfield, BS7 8PS; See here for info on writing to the prisoners: Bristol Prisoner SupportBubbling Under screening, Sunday 22th March, 1-4pm, Porter Cellar bar, George Street ‘The Age of Stupid’ eco film screenings, Sunday 22nd – Tuesday 24th March, 6pm, 8.30pm & 1pm, Little Theatre, £6.90 entry Greek Rebellion Info Tour, Friday 27th March, 7.30pm, Kebele, 14 Robertson Rd, Bristol ‘Put People First’ march, Saturday 28th March, 11am, London, Put People FirstBristol Anarchist Bookfair 09 punk benefit gig, Sunday 29th March, 7pm, The Junction, Stokes Croft, £5, with Cross-Stitched Eyes, the A-Heads and Jesus Bruiser ‘Green Light’ lecture on wind power, Tuesday 31st March, 7pm, BRLSI, 16-18 Queen Square, £3 waged, £1.50 unwaged Storm The Banks carnival, Wednesday 1st April, 11am, London, G20 MeltdownBath Animal Action meeting, Wednesday 1st April, 7.30-8.30pm, backroom of The Bell, Walcot Street Anti-G20 protests, Thursday 2nd April, ExCeL centre, London, Stop the War Coalition page‘Chris Carlsson in Conversation,’ Friday 3rd April, 7.30pm, St Werburghs Community Centre, Horley Road, Bristol, talk by the author of ‘Nowtopia’, a founder of critical mass bike-ins, member of San Francisco radical history group, Nowtopia bookBath Friends of the Earth meeting, Monday 6th April, 8pm, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place, Broad Street Bath Green Drinks, Wednesday 8th April, 8.30pm, the Rummer, Grand Parade Bath Activist Network meeting, Thursday 9th April, 7.30-9pm, downstairs at The Hobgoblin, St James Parade Bath FreeShop, Saturday 11th April, 12-3pm, outside Pump Rooms, Stall Street Bath Greenpeace meeting, Monday 13th April, 7.30-9pm, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place Transition Open Forum, Tuesday 14th April, 7pm, Widcombe Social Club ‘Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay: From Poll Tax Rebellion to Recession Resistance’ talk and film, Thursday 23rd April, 7.30pm, The Cube cinema, Dove Street South, Bristol World Day for Lab Animals march, Saturday 25th April, Hyde Park, London, coach leaving Bath £10n waged, £8 unwaged, info@wdail.org to book place Theory Corner: Safety Or Snobbery? B&NES vs. NFA Round 3 Last week, the Chronicle gave front page to the story of a young woman ASBO’d out of Bath for three years, the third homeless person to be similarly ejected in as many months. Yet how much of a threat is the homeless community to the rest of the city’s population? Are they thieving, anti-social and threatening like the Council, or are they on the receiving end of B&NES sycophantic drive to sweep away anything ‘undesirable’ from the eyes of the wealthy? And before we start with the Daily Mail-esque cries of “it’s their own fault,” statistics show that the vast majority of homeless have been the victims of domestic or sexual abuse at a young age, or have served in the armed forces, spat out without the skills to integrate when they cease being useful killers. In this journalist’s experience, I’ve had next to no trouble with Bath’s homeless, and only ever once have been threatened. There are however groups that I have often been made to feel unsafe by – those people who follow the acceptable conventions of successful society, who get hammered in a bar or club ever weekend before spilling out onto the picturesque Georgian streets to puke, threaten passersby and fight the early hours away. So why is it the homeless who bear the brunt of B&NES’ righteous wrath, rather than the better off, drunken little daddy’s boys? Well, those who choose to get pissed up in bars and clubs pour their paypackets into Bath’s economy. They’re maybe not visibly different from you and I, and they follow more acceptable outlets for anti-social behaviour than Bath’s street dwellers. So a message to the little fascist gatekeepers in office who think it’s okay to decide who stays and who goes: the homeless aren’t a threat and they’re not vermin. You may not like them, or like seeing them, but that’s your fragile sensibilities being offended rather than your wellbeing. B&NES are not expelling the poor for your safety or mine, they’re pursuing gentrification to impress the tourists and keep this looking like a heritage city, whatever that is. The Council’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’ policy is nothing short of classist discrimination that they get away with because chunks of the population view those poorer than they as some undesirable ‘other’, scared of a stereotype rather than fact. Until we address the fundamental problems at the root of our society, rather than allowing those at the top to bully and victimise those in need of solidarity, things can only get worse. And for Sonya: until we sweep the bureaucrats out of our city, don’t let the bastards grind you down. South West Women Reclaim The Night On Friday the 20th of February the streets of Bristol were brought to life when 300 women marched in solidarity to demand safer streets and the right to roam at night without fear. The march was wonderfully colourful and comprised a samba band, belly dancers and females, (and some males) of all ages. The response of onlookers was very positive and was often joined by bystanders. The march lasted for two hours and was followed by speeches, fundraising and awareness-raising stalls and music at the Trinity Centre in Lawrence Hill. This was organised with the intention of achieving three key goals. Firstly, improvements in rape conviction rates: alarmingly, the conviction rate of rape cases is in decline, being only 4.2% in Avon and Somerset, highlighting yet another major problem with the judicial system. Secondly, the event sought to obtain volunteers and funding for the Bristol Rape Crisis Centre (email info [at] bristolrapecrisis.org.uk for more information). And thirdly, the event also addressed the fact that, whilst sex education is taught widely in schools, there is still a distinct lack of support and education available to youngsters on respectful relationships and safe, consensual sex. Incentives for such support in schools are advocated by various organisations like Women's Aid, and the National Children’s Bureau, whose campaign ‘Beyond Biology’ seeks to help young people prepare for the issues they will face as they grow up. If you would like to encourage your local school to take this issue more seriously, a model letter is available through the following link: Bristol Feminist Network. All in all, the event was a great success and will hopefully bring women a step closer to the freedom they continue to fight for. Bath Activist Network are a local umbrella group campaigning on issues as diverse as development, environmentalism, anti-war, animal rights, workers’ rights and more. Helping to produce The Bath Bomb, we are open to anyone, and our members range from trade unionists to anarchists, liberals to greens, and people who just want to change Bath for the better. For details on meetings, demos, or just to get in touch, email bathactivistnet [at] yahoo.co.uk, or see our website: www.bathactivistnetwork.blogspot.comGOT A STORY? WANT TO RECEIVE THE BATH BOMB BY EMAIL? HOPING TO SUE? Contact us by e-mailing bathbombpress [at] yahoo.co.uk. Large print e-versions available on request. Can’t Pay, Shouldn’t Pay As the recession continues to bite, a group in Bath have had an early tangible success in their effort to stop the working class bearing the brunt of an upper class crisis. A Bath resident approached the group’s regular ‘Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay’ stall in Whiteway as a sudden job cut had left the family struggling and unable to pay Council Tax. Good ol’ B&NES did the decent thing and immediately resorted to court and repossession threats. Fortunately, the campaign’s legal team were able to intervene, stop the court action, and get repayments fixed at a reasonable, humane level. A small start, of course, and it’s going to be a long fight, but the Whiteway group have experienced solicitors, a high level of community support, and a willingness to put bailiffs in their place, wherever that might be. If you know someone having problems with bailiffs, or have any information on the activities, movements or whereabouts of these parasites, you can contact the campaign confidentially on resistbailiffs [at] yahoo.co.uk, or give them a call on 07794 774938. Bird Abusers Get Cocky After a slight lull in the local anti-foie gras campaign (at least we had one issue off) – caused by the scum being driven underground by spirited protests – some optimistically-called restaurateurs decided to stick their heads back above the parapet. Apparently disappointed that the recession has yet to finish them off, the masochists at Beaujolais, off Queen Square, have placed the ‘delicacy’ back on the menu. Not content with attracting the inevitable noisy contingent of animal rights activists to a series of demos outside their premises, they’ve also decided to charge enough that most of their customers will probably be joining the demo once they see the bill... If you’re one of the rare minority of locals who haven’t yet been handed a leaflet about foie gras, it’s a pate made from duck or goose liver. But to get the perfect texture, the unfortunate birds spend the last 12 weeks of their lives in battery cages, being force-fed through a tube shoved down their throats, until their diseased livers swell to ten times the natural size. It’s illegal to produce in the UK, but EU laws allow posh-poseur restaurants to acquire the slop, dodgy black market-style, and sell it on at a huge mark-up to the crowds of wealthy aristo-wannabes who throng Bath centre in the evenings. And so, the first in a short series of weekly demos will be happening soon outside a Beaujolais near you. Save the birds! Starve the rich! After all, what else is there to do on a Friday night? Ban Foie GrasOff The Map, But Still Squatting The Lot In a follow-up to last month, two days after the illegal eviction of a squatted property in Twerton, members of the Squatters Community Association of Bath retook their home. Despite the first legal hash-job, and Network Rail’s ineptitude in securing the building or indeed the occupiers’ possessions within, the SCABs report that they are currently safe and sound back in from the winter rain, wind, snow (and whatever else the confused climate is passing off as weather), and work has re-commenced eradicating damp and dry rot from the interior of the historic building, replacing damaged beams, rendering the sabotaged power supply safe, and clearing debris. Indeed, whilst Network Rail is more interested in pissing money away on bailiffs and illicit property empire expansion than actually seeing to the work of maintaining its substandard and overpriced rail network, the occupants are getting down to the duty of cleaning away the tangled foliage on the outside of the building, that nearby residents had been demanding for years. In the meantime, further threats of police raids were made on the 18th of last month, but a sixteen-strong resistance demo and communications from the Advisory Service for Squatters persuaded bullyish British Transport Police to no-show. Advisory Service for SquattersThe Daily New Tesco Express They breed like flies, don’t they? No sooner than the monopolising spoilt brats wheedle their new store onto Bathwick Street, but there’s due to be another one taking over the existing Somerfield in Weston. And they’ve also been upsetting residents by applying for a 6am to 11pm liquor license that the spineless Council will no doubt grant. Must be déjà vu. Bath Chron article on drinks licenseBNP Can’t Do That There Here What’s in a name? Nick Griffin, leader of far right nationalist BNP, would have posed the exact same question on Sunday the 8th of March, when he was due to talk at a fundraising charity do for the party’s Euro elections. The BNP are so respectable that they were forced to book the function room of the Park Hotel in Gloucestershire under a false name, as usual. However, as antifascists organised to gatecrash, the hotel itself was tipped off as to nature of their hatemongering guests and cancelled, as did their back-up venue. So, instead they all went home, tails between legs. Despite the party’s new drive towards legitimacy – “we’re not racist, but” – the ongoing free ‘Soho Road to the Punjab’ exhibition in Bristol, celebrating 50 years of Bhangra music & culture in the UK (situated in Central Library off College Green), has recently been attacked by racists who stole exhibition materials and left behind a BNP calling card. Equally compromising the party’s be-suited facade is the fact that many high-up members of the group, such as former chief lieutenant Tony Lecomber, dabble in assault, explosives, arson, assault and even the odd attempted contract killing. Fun for all the family, eh? Lancaster Unity pageThe Real BNPErosion Of Civil Liberties: Case #324 Since the 16th of last month, the Terrorism Act 2000 was amended by section 76 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008, now making it illegal to take photos, or indeed to “elicit information” about police intelligence services, or the military, which might be “useful to a person... preparing an act of terrorism.” Which seems okay, if you lived in a parallel world where the definition of terror doesn’t get stretched to the point of ridiculousness where leafleters, CND Quakers or letter-writers are considered terrorist: the pen may be mightier than the sword, but it’s hardly on the scale of nailbombs. Previous to this, the presence of cameras has often been a useful tool for keeping police within the law, or at least aiding in prosecutions against them... So remember, gentle tourists, don’t accidentally catch a copper in your holiday snaps, or you might be one of them foreign terrorists, and go down for 10 years. British Journal of Photography articleAnd now, to the disclaimer: As anyone is free to contribute, the opinions expressed in each article are not necessarily reflective of each contributor. Naturally, any right-wing or corporate bullshit will be binned and spat on. Needless to say, the opinions of the author of this disclaimer does not necessarily represent the views of any other contributor... For further info on any of our stories see www.thebathbomb.blogspot.com
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Monday, February 16, 2009
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THE BATH BOMB @nti-copyright: copy and distribute! Issue #19 free/donation Feb 09 ‘Bad puns: it snow laughing matter’ Over 150 In Bath Gaza Demo! Responding to the brutal onslaught of the US/UK-backed Israeli war machine against the people of Gaza, people all around the world rose up in acts of anger and solidarity. In the UK, London saw a series of demos, each numbering up to 75,000, Bristol saw hundreds marching and all over the country, from the smallest towns to the biggest cities, thousands marched and blockaded and smashed symbols of the Israeli regime. Bath was no exception. On Saturday the 17th of January, over 150 people gathered in town to voice opposition to Israeli war crimes. The demonstration began after the weekly Stop the War Coalition vigil outside the Abbey and moved off under the banner ‘Stop the Slaughter in Gaza’. The demo, called by Bath Activist Network, was attended by a wide range of people, from anarchists to pacifists, a Muslim contingent, and many first-time protestors appalled at the Israeli state’s butchery of Palestinian civilians. They took to the streets, blocking traffic, and made their way through the centre of Bath, resounding to chants of ‘Free, Free Palestine’ and coloured with homemade placards and banners. The demo first stopped outside Starbucks, a staunch financial supporter of Israel, forcing a temporary closure through sheer weight of numbers. From there, the demo moved off to Lloyds TSB, who have cancelled the bank account of a Palestinian humanitarian charity. Activists entered the branch, chanting and leafleting customers before demanding an open debate with the manager. The response was the closing and locking of the branch, hiding behind police and security rather than argue their indefensible position. After a brief stay, activists moved on to M&S, the Israeli government’s biggest UK-based backer. The day was an inspiring one, set to the backdrop of thousands of others elsewhere out on the streets, being large, vibrant, angry, educational and overwhelmingly supported by the public. The message sent out was clear; the people of Bath will not sit back and watch as Israel commits war crimes with impunity and both the ideological and financial support of the UK Government. In related news, if you want to support the Bristol EDO decommissioners’ campaign, check this out: Support the EDO DecommissionersBath Stop The War Coalition pageStop The War Coalition pageISM pageElectronic Intifada pageMa'an News Agency pageFree Gaza pageTales To Tell - from Gaza 2009Born Free, Taxed To Death As the recession tightens its grip, B&NES Council have taken several brave new steps forward in sheer stupidity and greed. Not content with frittering away our money on debacles such as the Spa and other cash-guzzling schemes aimed at dazzling tourists with a rose-tinted view of Bath while ignoring the rest of us, they’re now set to approve a 3.5% hike of our already disproportionately high council tax. At this time, when homes are getting repossessed and bailiffs stealing our possessions at a record level, what will this achieve? All it will do is push more people further into poverty, create a higher backlog of unpaid tax and demonstrate the complete contempt with which the Council views the average Bathonian. Once again, we are being asked to pay and suffer for a crisis for which we are not responsible. Yet not only are B&NES showing how little they care for our financial wellbeing, but they are also agreeing another measure that will compromise our immediate safety. Yes, in their infinite wisdom, B&NES will save themselves a bit of money by… turning off our street lights! Ignoring the obvious rape and mugging risks involved in plunging the city into darkness, they’re looking to push ahead with this literally Victorian measure in the near future, so don’t be surprised if you run into a bureaucratic-looking robber on a dark street corner fleecing you for 3.5% of your stuff! A recent ‘Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay’ stall in Whiteway showed the strong wave of feeling that average people feel against bailiffs, excessive taxation and the disdain with which politicians treat us. So, as the political elite in Guildhall further distance themselves from us, forcing us to sacrifice not only our money, our safety and our dignity to prop up their system, it is time to start building another system – one that is run by the people in the interest of the people, not for the greed of the selfish few. InterPal Interference Unpolitical? Continuing with the Gaza crisis theme, the Viva Palestina! convoy leaves the UK on the 14th February as we go to press, with a string of 20 vehicles delivering much-needed food, medical supplies, clothing and other aid, across land, in an attempt to break Israel’s blockade – which has already been hassled by police on spurious terror-related charges. As mentioned above though Lloyds TSB have made the decision to actively block humanitarian relief to beleaguered Palestine; back in November, they ordered the Islamic Bank of Britain, for whom they provide financial clearing, to close the account of UK-based charity InterPal, who deliver vital aid to Palestine. Although they’ve been investigated several times by the UK Charity Commission, there have never been found to be any links to anything even remotely terrorist. Not even harsh language. So on the 24th of January, 16 activists from BAN and Bath SWC picketed Lloyds on Milsom Street for three hours, leafleting and collecting 150 signatures to persuade the bank to change its evil ways. The reply was a hastily-produced statement whining that “America made us do it.” Whilst similar actions have been ongoing around the country, the UK has also witnessed a spate of university occupations – from London to Oxford to Manchester to Scotland, and many more in between – with students’ demands specifying a withdrawal of all funding from arms companies and other human rights violators, campus-wide boycotts of Israeli goods (produced on stolen Palestinian land), scholarships for Gazan students, and for surplus educational material to be sent to centres in Palestine. Nice one. Bethlehem Link pageViva Palestina convoy routeViva Palestina donation pageEVENTS Bath Hunt Saboteurs meetings, 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, 8pm, The Bell, Walcot Street London Road Food Co-op, Wednesdays, 4-7pm, Riverside Community Centre, London Road Bath Stop The War Coalition vigil, Saturdays, 11.30am-12.30, Bath Abbey Courtyard Exhibition: ‘Portrait of a Road Protest’, Tuesday 17th February-Saturday 28th, Walcot Community Chapel Film: A Crude Awakening, Thursday 19th February, 7.30pm, upstairs at The Cork, Westgate Street Reclaim The Night, Friday 20th February, College Green, Bristol, 6pm, Bristol Feminist Network page‘Beat the Bailiffs’ listening post, Saturday 21st February, Whiteway Talk: ‘Portrait of a Road Protest’, Sunday 1st March, 3-4pm, Bath Central Library, £6/£4 entry Exhibition: ‘Portrait of a Road Protest’, Sunday 1st March-Sunday 8th, Bath Central Library Bath Friends of the Earth meeting, Monday 2nd March, 8pm, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place Bath Animal Action meeting, Wednesday 4th March, 7.30-8.30pm, back room of The Bell Bath Activist Network meeting, Thursday 5th March, 7.30-9pm, downstairs Hobgoblin Bath Greenpeace meeting, Monday 9th March, 7.30-9pm, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place Transition Bath Forum, Tuesday 10th March, 7pm, Widcombe Social Club Bath Green Drinks, Wednesday 11th March, 8.30pm, the Rummer, Grand Parade Bath FreeShop, Saturday 14th March, 12-3pm, outside Pump Rooms, Stall Street Bubbling Under, Sunday 15th March, 1-4pm, Porter Cellar bar, George Street Rabid Tran-Shit Plans Local government extremists took a further leap from the bridge of sanity on the 21st of last month, when Tory-controlled B&NES held an open meeting to inform the loving public of their new transport plan. Key to their plot are the two most-protested local environmental issues of recent years – the building of a Park and Ride on the ancient flood-prone Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Bathampton Meadows, and the so-called Bristol ‘Rapid Transit’ plan – nothing more than a glorified bus route cutting through an old railway line (an important wildlife corridor) and various residents’ back gardens. Even though the buses will be rapid enough as they approach the city from the east, they’re doomed to snail pace in the trademark gridlock of London Road and Walcot Street. Expansion of existing Park and Rides is also on the cards. Lying Tories claim that these plans are already set in stone, but in fact there is actually still room for change: as they say, politicians are politicians are politicians. So, a ridiculous and shortsighted waste of the £54 million central government grant for sure, but what exactly are the figures? Well, pen-pushers are evasive about disclosure as usual, but an estimated £20 million is to be blown on 2,500 planned new parking spaces… At £100,000 per space, what’re they using? Solid gold? Response 2 Route pageSave Bathampton Meadows pageWildcat Strikes Spreads Like Wildfire No sooner had the news reached us that workers at Lindsey Oil Refinery (LOR) had taken unofficial strike action, than word started filtering through that thousands had joined them in solidarity actions across the UK, from Aberthaw in Wales, to Plymouth, to Stirling and Sellafield, and dozens of other sites. Despite the best attempts of the bosses, media and government to portray the strike as a racial issue, the workers held firm and articulately spelled out the fact that the strikes have everything to do with cynical corporate government policies towards workers of all nationalities, and nothing to do with racism. The action was initiated when it was announced that LOR would be subcontracting work to Italian firm, IREM. This company would, in turn, employ Italian and Portuguese workers, subject to Italian minimum wage, trade union laws and pension arrangements (all worse than here) – to be shipped over and housed in offshore ex-prison ships. Amongst the demands of the strikers were commitments to incorporate foreign workers into British trade unions to guarantee them the same rights that we have. Almost entirely unreported by the media were the ‘Workers of the World Unite’ slogans and the hundreds of organised Polish workers that took part. The capitalists survive by pitting the working class against each other along the lines of race, religion and nationality, yet these strikes transcended that divide, making demands for a united international working class with equal access to jobs, fair pay and decent conditions. The strikers bravely broke the law en-masse, defying repressive anti-union laws and demanding an end to exploitation of all workers, foreign or domestic. The first of many hard battles of this recession has been fought, and the victory lies firmly in the hands of the workers. workers' blogSquat A Blind Bit Of Notice Our brave boys in blue distinguished themselves on the 9th of February with a violent and illegal eviction of a squatted property in Twerton, where a small group of locals had occupied a Grade 2 Listed building and begun work to reverse many years of neglect at the hands of Network Rail. Fortunately, this nefarious behaviour was curtailed when British Transport copper 1306 – acting without warrant, permission, or any form of legal authority, following orders from a company with neither actual claim to the property or to direct police activity, ripped the door off and arrested those inside. So, nothing wrong there then. The lone occupant present at the time was held in custody until the house could be boarded up and all the fuses stolen. Meanwhile, the police kept their prisoner in a cell with no emergency buzzer, and repeatedly denied him access to his phone call, whilst trying to do him on a succession of increasingly bizarre charges: burglary – dropped upon realising that burglars take stuff out of buildings, not in; criminal damage – apparently this doesn’t apply to people repairing and maintaining a building; padlock theft – dropped after the police failed to boltcrop said padlocks away; and trespass – dropped when the CPS pointed out that trespass isn’t actually a crime. Eventually, the would-be homemaker was cautioned on the fictitious allegation of electricity theft. However, having been chucked out on the streets in the snow whilst their clothes and sleeping bags were boarded in, the former residents were heartened to find a ‘help the homeless’ collection tin in the reception of Bath police station… Although shaken by this blatantly political repression, the squatters have vowed to fight on for housing for all and a community-controlled social space in Twerton. Fry In The Sky The environment took another glancing blow on the 28th January when, despite massive Labour party revolt, the Government approved a third runway for Heathrow. To strike back in the running battle to save 1,100 homes, ancient architecture and the entire village of Sipson from demolition, Greenpeace and various celebs have pooled together and bought a 1 acre patch of land directly in the proposed runway’s path, selling square meter plots of the land away to hundreds of anti-aviation campaigners. It’s hoped that cracking the land into tiny shards, figuratively speaking, will make for a legal migraine when Neo-Labour is forced to implement not one Compulsory Purchase Order, but thousands. For once, it seems, the rich and famous are making themselves useful. In related news, Plane Stupid, the group who pulled off the blockade of Stansted Airport in December, are now being targeted for infiltration and surveillance by the newly formed police Confidential Intelligence Unit, designed to gather any info it can on ‘domestic terrorists’ such as environmentalists, strikers, anti-war activists and animal liberationists. Working closely with universities and big business, based at Scotland Yard, any doubt that the police are just another private commercial venture quickly fades. And remember, you’re safer when you’re watched. Greenpeace Joint The Plot pageChronic Misreporting Of Dissent BAN have had a mixed bag of reporting from the Chronicle, but the coverage of the recent Gaza solidarity actions in Bath crosses the line between inept journalism and political censorship. Now, not much happens in sleepy Bath, so one hundred plus marching through town centre and closing a bank is somewhat newsworthy (Bristol readers snigger now). But what adorned the front page of that week’s Chron? A rugby player who had been caught taking drugs – big deal. Not until page 22 was there any mention of the demo, and that fairly short article failed to mention the numbers present and was accompanied by a picture conveniently showing only four protestors stood outside Lloyds. This is not an issue of local activists demanding favourable media attention – much of the activism that happens in Bath is never reported to, or makes it into, the Chronicle – this is an issue of a newspaper taking a political decision to play down the size and effectiveness of one of the biggest demos Bath has seen for years. The conspiracy deepens when you look at the scant coverage of Palestine-related protest featured in the Chron’s parent group Associated Newspapers, including the Daily Mail. Soon a picture starts to emerge of a rightwing publishing empire taking the decision to censor a nationally widespread act of solidarity that it politically disagrees with. Not unlike the BBC’s failure to cover the Gaza appeal, in fact. But it is not for the media to decide what is newsworthy, or what stories deserve to be told: it is their job to report all news, proportionally to its impact and interest and allow the reader to make up their mind based on the facts presented to them (just like the Bath Bomb, cough cough). On this occasion, this was something the Chron and massive sections of the national press failed in their responsibility to do. Online And Ready To Go Whoever says that Bath is stuck in the Georgian age will be feeling pretty stupid today, as Bath’s activist scene projects itself bravely into the modern era. That’s right, the Bath Bomb can proudly reveal the unveiling of two new websites for Bath. The first is our very own humble effort, where you can find our most recent issue, all of our back issues, news and views from Bath and beyond, get in touch with us, and generally keep up to date with the busy world of Bath activism (check us out at www.thebathbomb.blogspot.com). In a completely unrelated piece of news, Bath-based malcontents the Bath Activist Network have started their own website - www.bathactivistnetwork.blogspot.com (we're not the same people - honest officer!). Featuring piccies, contact info and all the latest from the protest, politics and opinion from the guys over at BAN HQ, the website looks set to be a surefire hit with the punters. Spokesperson Matt Banning said “With the digital age well and truly upon us, we thought it only right to give the public a more convenient way to live vicariously through our daring exploits – oh, and hopefully get some new activists, too!” So, make sure you check out both sites, and be a part of what is surely history in the making. First Bath, then cyberspace, then the world! Raise Your Voice We here at the Bath Bomb are pleased to announce the birth of yet another local grassroots newsletter, this time from Easton in Bristol. Eastside Voice is produced by an ad-hoc group of local residents concerned about the quality of life and environment in their neighbourhood - particularly sustainable transport plans and public land sell-offs - and had their first issue last month. Whilst they may not achieve the same degree of journalistic integrity and quality control as this here rag, we tip our hoodies to ‘em. Contact velorution [at] yahoo.com for more info. GOT A STORY? WANT TO RECEIVE THE BATH BOMB BY EMAIL? HOPING TO SUE? Contact us by e-mailing bathbombpress@yahoo.co.uk. Large print e-versions available on request. And now, to the disclaimer: As anyone is free to contribute, the opinions expressed in each article are not necessarily reflective of each contributor. Naturally, any right-wing or corporate bullshit will be binned and spat on. Needless to say, the opinions of the author of this disclaimer does not necessarily represent the views of any other contributor...
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Thursday, January 15, 2009
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THE BATH BOMB
@nti-copyright: copy and distribute!
Issue #18
free/donation
Jan 09
“Steal this newsheet!”
Looking Back At A Busy Year
2009 promises to be a busy year for BAN and friends, but before we look forward, let’s look take a look back at 2008. The year started with a continuing spate of foie gras, forcing the sick dish off the menus of many a restaurant. The FreeShop went from strength to strength, distributing goods to thousands of satisfied anti-shoppers and spreading its monthly anti-consumerist (2nd Saturday of each month, 12-3pm, Stall Street, opposite Holland and Barrett). In a new twist, BANners also distributed free ethical, eco-friendly vegan food to hungry passersby at the 'There is such thing as a free lunch!' stall. Punters of the Porter were kept entertained at 'Bubbling Under', Bath’s ongoing free monthly radical film showings. Members of BAN also helped open 'The 78', Chippenham’s first squatted social centre, and joined dozens in Bristol to resist the eviction of 'Ashley Road'.
Bath’s animals rights advocates have been equally busy, demoing Bath racecourse during a visit by Rolf Harris, travelling to Oxford Uni and Huntingdon for anti-vivisection events, sabotaging local fox hunts, travelling to Cardiff for an anti-badger cull demo and feeding hundreds at the first Bath Vegan Fayre. Bath activists also spent a fair bit of time in Bristol, helping organise the Bristol Anarchist Bookfair, several days of credit crunch-related workshops, the first Bristol Anarchist Games Day (highly recommended!) and also helped organise anti-capitalist demos around the opening of the monstrous Cabot Circus shopping centre, which was invaded by zombie protesters. Getting active for the environment, BAN joined 3,000 others at Kingsnorth Camp for Climate Action, helping to seize the site, and causing serious disruption to the coal plant by scaling the perimeter fence. Earlier in the year, members of BAN joined others from Bristol, Oxford and Wales to successfully blockade Aberthaw coal-fired power plant, whilst more recently, another BANner helped out at the Plane Stupid blockade at Stansted. We were also busy with No Borders/pro-asylum seeker events, like the anti-IOM demos in Bristol and ID cards protest at Cardiff, and joined the anarchist ‘Freedom of Movement' bloc and 5,000 others at the Manchester anti-Labour Party Conference.
We’ve teamed up with Bath Mad Hatters to highlight the dangerous effects of forced medication, and our new pedal-powered sound system is justin about ready to go, after a year of hard work. Fascists failed to escape our attention, with local activists heading up north to oppose and confront the BNP’s annual Red, White and Blue festival (due to this year’s disruption, it is unlikely to happen again). Combined events and forces helped to delay the opening of Bathwick Hill Tesco for nearly a year, and BAN were there to greet them when they arrived. BANners celebrated Buy Nothing Day, and twice journeyed down to Brighton to join the 'Smash EDO/ITT' demos, aimed at closing down a weapons factory supplying genocidal states such as Israel and the US of A; after the demos (both of which got a bit 'rioty') and a four-year campaign, the factory is on its last legs – don’t miss the next demo on 04/05/09: www.smashedo.org.uk. BAN also launched its anti-credit crunch campaign, aimed at defending our communities against unemployment, bailiffs, corporate greed and recession. The campaign kick-started with a 35-strong, noisy demo in November and will continue on as recession deepens, with a focus on practically resisting recession and directly defending our rights and livelihoods. And we even managed well-earned group holidays at Tolpuddle festival and the beautiful Gower, too.
Opposition Increases As Attacks Intensify
On Saturday 3rd January, 400-500 gathered in Bristol to oppose the continued Israeli attacks on Palestine. The march, attended by young and old, anarchists, students, Muslims and socialists alike, took place on the afternoon of the day that Israel was reported to have begun its land incursion in Palestine. The demonstration coincided with various others around the country, and indeed around the world, including a 50,000-strong march in London. The following weekend 100,000 people attended a march in London in opposition to the continued devastating attacks which have since included the bombing of a school being used as a shelter for civilians, in which more than 40 people were killed. The IDF have also dropped leaflets over Gaza threatening to increase the ferocity of their attacks. In the five years that preceded the recent attacks, around 5,000 Palestinians are reported to have been killed by the Israelis’ advanced weaponry. In spite of the British Government's renewed call for ceasefire, figures reported in the Guardian in 2006 tell a different story: the Government approved £22.5m of weaponry exports to Israel in the previous year. If you would like to get involved in opposing the attacks, there is a vigil in Bath every Saturday outside the Abbey between 11.30 and 12.30. In Bristol, there is a vigil every night at 5pm in the centre, opposite the Hippodrome, and Bristol’s also home to the ‘Raytheon Out’ campaign, who are now in the fifth week of their rooftop occupation of that arms manufacturer. And let’s not forget neighbouring deathdealers Boeing, who recently found all their windows smashed! In Frome too, 40 people recently occupied Lloyds TSB, who have ridiculously closed the account of human rights charity InterPal. Other corporate nasties with ties to Israel include M&S and Starbucks, and be sure to boycott Israeli supermarket goods, where many peppers, sweet potatoes and avocados are grown on stolen land.
Bath Stop The War Coalition
National Stop The War Coalition
International Solidarity Movement
Raytheon Out
Electronic Intifada
Ma'an News Network
Free Gaza Movement
Tales To Tell - From Gaza 2008
Bash Back Against Bath’s Bastard Bailiffs
Recent articles in the Chronicle have starkly contradicted assertions by government and academic think tanks that Bath would “weather the worst effects of the recession.” At the last count, 1,542 people are claiming benefits in the Bath area, an increase of 59% on last year, with 600 people having lost their jobs in the city since last November - a dramatic rise. And how are we rewarded when we’re laid off and forced onto the dole? Do we enter a nurturing welfare system that caters for the needs and skills of the unemployed? No, it’s more authoritarian than ever - benefits have not risen with the increasing cost of living, and claimants are harassed into searching for non-existent jobs under the constant threat of benefit stoppage for failure to conform to the infuriatingly bureaucratic world of Jobseekers. As a direct result of this and the rise in bills, food and living costs, Bath residents are seeing a lot more of everyone’s least favourite parasite, the bailiff. Recent figures show that bailiffs chasing unpaid council tax visited 2,400 homes in Bath last year. With three/four people in the average household, that means that 8,000 (10% of Bath’s population) were visited for council tax alone! When we take into consideration bailiffs sent out by banks, loan companies and energy suppliers, we can realistically increase the number of Bathonians being harassed several times over. At this point the old reactionary cry that people who are unemployed or bailiff-ridden are 'layabouts' who have 'brought it on themselves' simply no longer holds true. The majority of us are now feeling the pinch, some harder than others, and it’s simply not our fault. If your boss fires you and the job market is empty, what choice is there but benefits? If you were going to pay your council tax, but had to spend the money on the 40% gas and electric bill increase and feeding your family, what would you do?
Bailiffs are famed for their ruthlessness - a recent court case tells of a bailiff who posed as an ambulance driver to gain entry to an elderly couple’s house to repossess goods, while the elderly occupant suffered a heart complaint. And this is the norm, not the exception. Parliament recently passed laws allowing bailiffs to break into your house, so without our elected representatives to rely on, it looks like it’s up to us! In Bath during the Poll Tax campaign of the early 90s, and today in Edinburgh, London and elsewhere, bailiffs have met community solidarity. Organising amongst your neighbours to face off bailiffs when they turn up on your street is a powerful way of defending yourself, your property and your community against these vultures. Bailiffs prey on the weak, the stranded and the vulnerable. Resisting bailiffs is to be a key part of BAN’s anti-recession campaign in the coming year, and they will be holding an informal day of discussion, networking and organising on Saturday the 28th of February; location TBC. To get involved in the campaign, if you need help organising resistance to bailiffs or if you can name and shame any bailiffs, e-mail BAN at bathactivistnet [at] yahoo.co.uk.
EVENTS
Bath Hunt Saboteurs meetings, 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, 8pm, The Bell, Walcot Street
London Road Food Co-op, Wednesdays, 4-7pm, Riverside Community Centre, London Road
Bath Stop The War Coalition vigil, Saturdays, 11.30am-12.30, Bath Abbey Courtyard
Broadlands Orchardshare Wassailing, Saturday 17th January, 3pm, Broadlands Orchard, £2 entry
Israel Out of Gaza demonstration, Saturday 17th January, 12.30 start, Abbey Courtyard
Bubbling Under, Sunday 18th January, 1-5pm, Porter Cellar bar, George Street
Talk: ‘Eco Upgrading of Existing Houses - Challenges and Opportunities’, Monday 19th January, 7.30pm, Quaker Meeting House, Bradford on Avon, free entry
Seed Swap, Sunday 1st February, 3-5pm, St Marks Community Centre, Widcombe, £2 entry
Bath Friends of the Earth meeting, Monday 2nd February, 8pm, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place
Talk: ‘Composting - how to make it and when to use it’, Wednesday 4th February, 7.30pm, Grove St Church Halls
Bath Animal Action meeting, Wednesday 4th February, 7.30-8.30pm, back room of The Bell
Bath Activist Network meeting, Thursday 5th February, 7.30-9pm, downstairs Hobgoblin
Earth First! Winter Moot, Saturday 7th February-Sunday 8th, 10am start, Cowley Club, Brighton, e-mail: moot2009 [at] earthfirst.org.uk
Bath Greenpeace meeting, Monday 9th February, 7.30-9pm, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place
Transition Bath Forum, Tuesday 10th February, 7pm, Widcombe Social Club
Bath Green Drinks, Wednesday 11th February, 8.30pm, the Rummer, Grand Parade
Borders & Immigration workshop, Saturday 14th February, 1-3pm, Bristol venue tbc email trapeze [at] riseup.net
Bath FreeShop, Saturday 14th February, 12-3pm, outside Pump Rooms, Stall Street
‘Beat the Bailiffs’ listening post, Saturday 28th February, more details tbc
Talk: ‘Portrait of a Road Protest’, Sunday 1st March, 3-4pm, Bath Central Library, £6/£4 entry
Rescue Rangers
Apparently, a dog’s not just for Christmas, and neither is the rest of the four-legged furry world, too. Following the usual seasonal peak in little Timmy and Sarah’s passing whim for cute little caged pets, a huge number of unwanted rodents need re-homing. Whilst the majority of humankind can’t get over the crazed notion that other animals exist purely to entertain, feed and otherwise serve them, and pet breeders are always out to make a quick buck, official rescue authorities such as the RSPCA centres and Bath Cats & Dogs Home are full to bursting, with many hapless beasts not lucky enough to reach rescue centers facing lethal injection. If you can offer a loving and responsible home for any of four mice, 21 gerbils or 60 rats in the nearby area, please drop us a line.
Fancy Rats
Greece Is The Word
Last month’s issue of the Bath Bomb carried a hastily-written report of the murder of a Greek teenager, and the night of riots following his death. Since then, the riots have given birth to a full-blown revolt and although (or probably more accurately, because) a genuinely revolutionary situation has emerged in Greece, the media has lost interest. Don't let the subsidence of the sensationalist tabloid press’s ranting of 'bomb-throwing youths' fool you though, the insurrection in Greece is as alive as ever. Coinciding with a general strike, the riots expanded beyond the anarchist movement and became a coherent expression of anger at the deepening economic crisis. For three weeks, rioting involving hundreds of thousands raged across all of Greece, with symbols of capitalism and the state, such as police stations and banks, targeted by Molotovs, bricks and graffiti. Universities, schools and workplaces were occupied and self-managed by workers and students, and many districts of Greece remain in control of the residents, as no-go areas for the police. So why have the events in Greece fallen from the eye of the world’s media? It is because revolt and revolution almost always initially manifest themselves in rioting and 'chaos'. It is the instinct of most people, when liberated from the oppressive yoke of their former masters to celebrate, revel, and attack the symbols of the old order - this makes exciting footage, which can easily be portrayed as misguided violence. The next step in a revolt is thoughtfulness, of organisation, of order, and of beginning to think about how to organise and practically manifest a liberated space. The media have given this phase no attention, as firstly, it’s less dramatic, and secondly, and most importantly, because it is against the ethos of the corporate media to report on radicals as rational people capable of, and serious about, organising a society free of leaders, poverty and capitalist greed. Make no mistake, Greece is still in revolt, and is proving that as the old saying goes “capitalism is chaos, anarchy is order.”
Welcome To The New Year
2008 finished with riots in Greece, as people on the streets fought back against the corrupt government and police who gunned down Alexandros-Andreas Grigoropoulos. 2009 has opened with a bloodbath in Gaza carried out by the Israeli Defence Force, while world leaders blame the victims and refuse to interfere like they did with Iraq and Afghanistan, all because Israel is their friend. Only ordinary people throughout the world have raised their voices against this new wave of killing. Meanwhile, over here, unemployment and house repossession are up because we pay for the crisis caused by policy makers and politicians. Let’s try to make 2009 a year when we can shake off these leaders who run this sick system. A year like England 1381, Great Britain 1640, France 1789, Europe 1848, Mexico 1914, Russia 1917, Kronstadt and the Ukraine 1921, Spain 1936, Hungary 1956, everywhere 1968 and Eastern Europe 1989. Most of these struggles fell just short, permitting dictatorships of the left and right, but these were still years in which ordinary people strived to bring about a better world, and will try again. (Oscar Nominee inspirational speech time:) the time is always now, and if you’re interested in joining the struggle in a movement where everybody is equal and valued, join us in Bath Activist Network. A better world is possible!
Bath Activist Network are a local umbrella group campaigning on issues as diverse as development, environmentalism, anti-war, animal rights, workers' rights and more. Helping to produce The Bath Bomb, we are open to anyone, and our members range from trade unionists to anarchists, liberals to greens, and people who just want to change Bath for the better. For details on meetings, demos, or just to get in touch, ring us on 07949 611912, email bathactivistnet@yahoo.co.uk, or see our website: www.myspace.com/bathactivistnetwork
Earth First! Things First
During the coming Bath Book festival on the 1st of March, Bath Central Library will be hosting the exhibition ‘Portrait of a Road Protest,’ about the goings on at Solsbury Hill in the early 90s. It’s free entry to see the images, but a talk will take place from 3-4pm, £6 entry waged, £4 unwaged. Here’s a little history lesson. The direct action protest against the would-be Batheaston Bypass began in March ‘94, following the public enquiry several years before. Batheaston did have a traffic problem, and a small bypass, traffic calming or improved public transport (we're still waiting) would have been acceptable, but the sheer scale of the road, destroying water meadows and slicing through the lower slopes of Solsbury Hill, was madness. The non-violent direct action that took place consisted of sitting on diggers, building tree camps, squatting, blockading, and standing up to the mostly brutal security guards (rumour has it that one was fed raw meat!). The protest brought many different people together: locals, Earth First!ers and Dongas, all fighting the Department of Transport. Over all, it went on for several months, with reunion actions the following year, received lots of coverage and, along with other road protests round the rest of the country, cut back around 90% of the UK road building programme started by the dreaded iron lady.
Bath Bomb Wordwatch: Donga, Donga Tribe (noun) - a group of semi-nomadic hippies and squatter-punks that joined to defend Twyford Down and other road protest sites
Earth First!
Airport Expansion Is Plane Stupid
The runway of Stansted airport was invaded by activists from the group Plane Stupid at 3.15am on 8th December, while closed for maintenance work. Scheduled to be reopened at 5am, the runway was closed for three hours while confused cops and security guards struggled to remove 57 protestors. 56 flights were cancelled. The average flight out of Stansted releases 41.58 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. We literally can’t go on like this – hopes of the UK meeting even the ridiculously low government-set targets for emissions are screwed if we don’t cut our reliance on aviation, yet Neo-Labour has approved the capacity increase of Stansted by ten million passengers a year. So yeah, this action no doubt pissed many people off, but nothing else has worked so far. Who now would deny the worthiness of the cause of the suffragettes, and the effectiveness of their tactics (which were far more disruptive than those of Plane Stupid, who’ve never turned to explosives)? Thousands of well-behaved protestors marched against the war in Iraq and got nowhere. The media claim that protestors disrupted working class families’ holidays, yet it is the poor who will be hit hardest by climate change - who generally lack the means to survive floods, famine and freak weather. Indeed, statistics show that the majority of flights are still taken by business people and rich holiday-makers. Plane Stupid’s stunt comes at a critical time when the government is soon to make their decision on Heathrow’s third runway, and desperate times call for radical measures. To protect the very near future, we must act now.
Plane Stupid
Review Corner: Off The Hoof
As we always say, going vegan is a way forward to save the world against climate change and to take a stand against the cruel and murderous meat industry, so we here at the Bath Bomb thought we’d take a look at this latest news agent addition. Off the Hoof is a magazine that purports to cater for “veggies, vegans and meat eaters everywhere.” However, a closer inspection reveals that this is unfortunately a vegan mag for vegan people, with some of the content sure to offend all but the thickest-skinned of meat eaters. This first winter issue has interviews with vegan celebs such as contortionist Rubber Richie, medal-winning body builder Pete Ryan, and musician Debbie Leigh Driver, and features on vegan stars like Natalie Portman and Chris Martin. Oh, and an article on non-vegan Harry Hill and his fair trade nuts. The magazine is generally a very good read with interesting articles, and a style all of its own. Why not give it a read?
Off The Hoof
Duck Tales
It may be a new year, but some things never change. The epic war between compassionate do-gooders and the arrogant animal-abusing restaurateurs of Bath over the issue of foie gras continues. But enough objective journalism. The production of foie gras is banned in this country and many others, and involves taking otherwise free-range ducks and geese and forcing them to spend the last 12 weeks of their lives in tiny cages, being force-fed corn mash up to three times a day via gavage pipes shoved down their throats. Eventually, as well as suffering throat lacerations and finding it painful to move, the birds’ livers become infected with the disease ‘hepatic steatosis’ and expand to up to ten times its natural size – which is then served up as pâte de foie gras. Haute cuisine this is not. Though restaurants present this as an exotic delicacy, the scale and ethic of production is closer to that of fast food, and then they just slap on a hefty mark-up.
Over the Christmas period, regular protests and visits from Bath Animal Action, Bath Activist Network and Bristol Animal Rights Coalition persuaded The Pinch and Bistro Number 5 to stop publicly selling, but they are both expected to resume the dirty habit soon. The Olive Tree and Royal Crescent Hotel both apparently only serve ‘faux gras,’ a seasonal, rarer dish, based on the natural over-eating tendencies of geese before migration, and involves much less animal torture. Bathampton Mill has been found to be selling foie gras, as have Beaujolais, who’ve been serving dodgily under the counter ever since previous protests; didn’t your mum ever tell you lying was wrong? Whilst around 800 members of the public have now added their signatures to a petition calling for a city-wide ban on the sale of the stuff, the offending eateries should be expecting mystery shoppers and more demos soon.
Here endeth the sermon.
Ban Foie Gras
Viva! Foie Gras Campaign
GOT A STORY? WANT TO RECEIVE THE BATH BOMB BY EMAIL? HOPING TO SUE? Contact us by e-mailing bathbombpress@yahoo.co.uk. Large print e-versions available on request.
For Fox Sake
Boxing Day saw hunt sabs from Bath teaming up with Pewsey and Wales to stop the cruel ‘sport’ of fox hunting - we followed the hunters with video cameras to ensure they obeyed the law, and used citronella spray to mask the fox’s scent. This jittery reporter was concerned by the hunt supporters’ history of violence towards saboteurs, yet the barbaric scum gave up after a pitiful hour and a half. Maybe it had something to do with the highly effective hunt sabbing seen on the day, or maybe the hunt master just realised he’d left his cousin handcuffed to the bed. It is illegal to hunt with dogs in the UK, although it is still legal to exercise hounds, chase a scent and flush out foxes to be shot, making the ban virtually un-enforceable. Police generally don’t give a shit, so saboteurs are needed as much as ever. To get involved contact Bath Hunt Sabs at bathhuntsabs [at] yahoo.co.uk, or find your local group at http://hsa.enviroweb.org/contact/index.html.
And now, to the disclaimer: As anyone is free to contribute, the opinions expressed in each article are not necessarily reflective of each contributor. Naturally, any right-wing or corporate bullshit will be binned and spat on. Needless to say, the opinions of the author of this disclaimer does not necessarily represent the views of any other contributor...
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Tuesday, December 09, 2008
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THE BATH BOMB @nti-copyright: copy and distribute!
Issue #17
free/donation
Dec 08 ‘No, he doesn’t exist you whiny little brat’ Bathonians Stand Up As The Economy Falls Down! Saturday the 22nd of November saw the start of BAN’s latest campaign, aimed at community self-defence against the effects of the recession. The 'We Won't Pay For Their Crisis!' campaign has these key demands: fair heating subsidies, bailiffs out of our communities, no more house repossessions, no job or benefit freezes, control of the banks and no to lay-offs. The demo started off with around 20 activists (although the number later grew to around 35) congregating at Bath Abbey before taking to the roads and making a beeline for Milsom Street. Outside the strip of banks, the crowd started a spontaneous roadblock, snarling up traffic and taking advantage of the huge amount of attention to inform the public what the action was about and shame the banks through BAN's shiny new megaphone! During the roadblock, several Xmas shoppers decided to join the action, and stayed with the march until the end. From there, the demo moved towards Guildhall, where a brief blockade was staged (this was only lifted to allow a wedding party into Guildhall; the supportive bride-to-be even posed for piccies with protesters!). After this, marching in the opposite direction that the (by now slightly despairing) police pushed the crowd in, the protest moved back up to Nat West, where another blockade took place, and during which the bank was adorned with 'Where’s our bailout?' stickers. In many ways, the day was a huge success. Many on the march were first time protesters, who refused to be intimidated by pushy and threatening police. The public were overwhelmingly in support of the march - with hundreds of leaflets being given out, and frequent cheers and applause coming from the pavements. Above all, the march marked the beginning of what promises to be a strong and effective to defend our communities against greedy bosses, politicians and landlords, who would rather see us freezing, jobless and homeless than sacrifice their own mountains of wealth. How To Survive A Recession With the recession now deepening, all of us are feeling the pinch. Some already cannot afford to turn on their heating, while others are getting laid-off and having property stolen by bailiffs. We have talked a lot about taking the fight to the greedy system that caused the recession, and we have given a lot of column inches to promoting the idea of fighting against the system to protect and improve our standard of life. While this is definitely vital if we are to roll back the effects of this recession, we at the Bath Bomb have not given much time to talking about what we can do in the here and now to make things a bit easier. All of the ideas we will look at involve the reclaiming of your own life - breaking the umbilical cord of dependency on super markets, banks and politicians, and it is this disassociation from the rich's system of capitalist greed combined with direct attacks upon it that will allow us to live our lives free of their financial crisis and social oppression. With the rant behind us, let’s have a look at some budget-busting recession survival measures: 1. Grow some veg!: now is the time to be planting garlic and winter peas, and from January to March, everything from runner beans, tomatoes, carrots and potatoes go in the ground. If you have an unused fence, you can grow runners, and even the tiniest bit of garden can be turned into a good source of food. If you don't have any space, start gardening with friends, or pop down to the Bath Organic Allotments on Upper Bristol Road, who exchange huge bags of veg in return for volunteering. 2. Start a food co-op: this is a really simple idea. It involves you and your mates chipping in, ordering from a wholesaler and getting the goods at cost price, sidestepping the huge profits slapped on by supermarkets. You will each have to stick in a bit of money to get started, then 'buy' the food from yourselves to generate money to order in next month’s stock. Trust us - it's cheap, and more info can be found at http://www.cooperativegrocer.coop/cg_special.html. 3. Five finger discounts: a bit controversial, but hey, supermarkets have been stealing from us for years. They steal land and resources from impoverished farmers here and abroad, then steal our cash by charging tens of times above the cost of transport and production. So go on, rob - don't feel guilty, you are poor and they are grossly rich, and most of their wealth comes from our pockets. 4. Jacking electricity: there are loads of good ways to jack electricity to help beat those winter bill blues. One involves locating the cog that turns the meter on your electricity box, heating up a pin and pushing it through the casing to stop the ticker turning. Hey presto, free electricity! But make sure to take the pin out for a few hours a day so the electric company doesn't start asking questions. So there we go, just a few hints and tips to get you started. We will try and bring you monthly advice on beating those recession doldrums (by any means necessary) from now on, and we'd love to hear your ideas. All messages to bathbombpress@yahoo.co.uk
The Little Big Screen Sunday the 30th November saw yet another fine Bubbling Under offering at the Porter Cellar, showing ‘Live Nude Girls Unite’ – a documentary chronicling the formation of the first exotic dancers’ union in the US in the late 90’s. This proved to be both entertaining and inspiring, as it tackled racial discrimination, exploitative bosses, family struggles and common stereotypes of the sex industry. After all that excitement, though, Bubbling Under is taking a well-earned break this month. However, it’s coming back thick and fast on Sunday the 18th of January from 1-4pm, with both a documentary about the British Poll Tax riots, and GI resistance to Vietnam with ‘Sir No Sir’. More fraggings and lobbed bricks than you can shake an iron lady at! Get there early to get a good seat, or bring your own. Bath Bomb Wordwatch: fragging (v); the act of killing a superior officer with the use of a grenade info on Sir No Sir Christmas Chrompetition Here at the Bath Bomb we’re often accused of hating the upper class. So we thought to ourselves, what better time to prove it! So, to win a free exclusive one-year subscription to the Bath Bomb, simply send in your stories about how you’ve managed to get up a toff’s nose this festive season. EVENTS 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month, Bath Hunt Sabs meeting, 8pm, the Bell, Walcot Street
Wednesdays, London Road Food Co-op, 4-7pm, Riverside Community Centre, London Road
Saturdays, Bath Stop The War vigil, 11.30am-12.30, outside Bath Abbey
Friday 12th December, anti-foie gras demo, 7-9pm, meeting at the Circus
Friday 19th December, anti-foie gras demo, 7-9pm, meeting at the Circus
Wednesday 7th January, Bath Animal Action meeting 7.30-8.30pm, back room of the Bell pub, Walcot Street
Thursday 8th January, Bath Activist Network meeting, 7.30-9pm, downstairs at the Hobgoblin
pub, St James Parade
Saturday the 10th January, Bath FreeShop, 12-3pm, opposite Holland & Barrett, Stall Street
Tuesday 13th January, Transition Bath Forum, 7.15pm, Widcombe Social Club
Wednesday 14th January, Bath Green Drinks, 8.30pm, upstairs at the Rummer pub, Grand Parade
Thursday 15th January, The Power of Community film screening, 7.30pm, the Cork pub, Westgate Street
Sunday 18th January, Bubbling Under film screening, 1-4pm, Porter Cellar, George Street
Monday 5th February, Bath Friends of the Earth AGM, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place, 8pm My Big Fascist Greek Shooting
Many of us in England have witnessed police brutality, either first hand or on the news. To those of us who have been on the receiving end of the raised truncheon of the law, it will come as no surprise that in Greece, the brutality has reached a peak. On Saturday the 6th of November, a detachment of blue-shirted police (hated in Greece, and usually reserved for situations of political turmoil) provocatively cruised through, and parked in a traditionally left-wing estate in Athens. Exerting their right to be free from unnecessary surveillance, local anarchist youths intervened to remove the police from their community. The police responded with stun grenades and live ammunition, leaving 15-year-old anti-capitalist Alexandros-Andreas Grigoropoulos dead on the street. Greece has since erupted into spontaneous rioting, described by Greek police as the worst in a generation with dozens of banks and police stations getting burned to the ground. Tens of thousands of people have been demonstrating since Saturday night, and are already planning for further unrest. The cities of Thessaloniki, Athens, Patras and others have become battlegrounds in which an angry civilian population is fighting the police and demanding an end to indiscriminate and brutal repression. While the senseless murder of a child by arrogant and violent police is news enough, this story fits into a bigger picture. This is not just the story of a Greek tragedy, but one that resonates across the world. In countries where police are allowed to kill indiscriminately (e.g Burma and Indonesia), they do so. In countries where police are given access to tear gas, pepper spray and stun grenades (Germany, Spain and Italy etc.), they use them with abandon. As anyone who remembers the miners’ strike, the Poll Tax riots in Trafalgar square, the Beanfield, the murder of Jean Charles de Menezes, or any other example of police brutality in the UK knows, the difference between a cop in this country and the murderers in Greece has nothing to do with compassion or decency of the British bobby, but more to do with the fact that the average cop in this country does not have access to lethal weaponry... yet. GOT A STORY? WANT TO RECEIVE THE BATH BOMB BY EMAIL? HOPING TO SUE? Contact us by e-mailing bathbombpress@yahoo.co.uk. Large print e-versions available on request. Monsieur, With Zees Protests You’re Really Spoiling Us Friday the 28th of November saw a follow-up demo in the third rendition of the campaign against foie gras seller The Pinch of Margaret’s Buildings. Long-time readers should be well versed in the ins and outs of this exciting saga, or maybe sick to death of hearing about it – well, so are we! Come on, Christophe, haven’t you had enough yet? After two hours of megaphones, noisy chanting, leafleting, spontaneous song and dance routines, heated debates and even the odd fisticuffs (some well-to-do jolly old bean’s birthday meal got ruined), the demo and attendant PCSOs moved off. Local opinion seems mixed, with some residents in great support of the campaign, whilst other big spenders couldn’t yank the wads of cash out of their wallets quick enough as they spluttered their red-faced way inside the restaurant – that’ll teach them bloody protesters!
So now the campaign is upping the ante: the demos will now be every Friday night, from 7pm. So, if you like your fine dining to be sans ear-splitting disruption, it’s best to eat elsewhere. And if you live local, and you want a bit of peace and quiet, tell owner Christophe LeCroix to do the right thing: stop selling foie gras! The Pinch
11 Margaret’s Buildings, Bath, BA1 2LP
tel: 01225 421251
e-mail: info@thepinch.biz All The Food Of The Fayre Saturday the 22nd was also the date of the first Bath Vegan Fayre, showing nearly 200 punters just how simple eating vegan can be. Info on nutrition and animal rights issues was available, as well as recipe books, but the food proved more appetising: pizza, soft drinks, pies, cheesecake, biscuits, burgers, veggie bacon and sausage, soups… This journalist is getting hungry just thinking about it! Though the scheduled talk on genetic engineering was replaced short notice with one on food security, the event was very much a success, and happy bellies were made full. Look out for their next bigger, better (don’t quote us on that) instalment in early summer, when the next is planned. Vegan Society website Bath Activist Network are a local umbrella group campaigning on issues as diverse as development, environmentalism, anti-war, animal rights, workers’ rights and more. Helping to produce The Bath Bomb, we are open to anyone, and our members range from trade unionists to anarchists, liberals to greens, and people who just want to change Bath for the better. For details on meetings, demos, or just to get in touch, ring us on 07949 611912, email bathactivistnet@yahoo.co.uk, or see our website: Bath Activist Network Myspace page Steal Something Day
Saturday the 29th of November has been celebrated as Buy Nothing Day for some years now - a day aimed at highlighting the human rights and environmental concerns generated by excessive consumerism in the run up to Xmas (the season of shoddily made sweatshop goods, and overflowing rubbish bins). But this year, anonymous Bathonians decided to make a slightly different point. While we can make responsible decisions when buying - it is not our fault that the products we buy are made using slave labour in far off sweatshops, not our fault that most large companies show scant regard for the environment and certainly not our fault that the company puts a mark-up of several hundred % on the product before passing it on to us. While the sweatshop workers who produce the products are the biggest victims, we are also victims of corporate greed emptying our pockets at every opportunity. With this in mind, activists set off on a marathon 'steal something' spree. While declining to comment whether they themselves indulged in an orgy of shoplifting, the activists did reveal that, over the course of several hours, they visited some of the biggest, baddest chain stores and human rights abusers in town and improved hundreds of products with invitations encouraging consumers to liberate the product rather than part with hard-earned cash. The letter outlined the ethical argument for shoplifting, and the unethical argument for rampant free-market capitalism. The message was well and truly spread that 'buy nothing' can also mean 'take something back'. If you want to join the campaign against sweatshop conditions, why not contact either No Sweat or Labour Behind The Label? After what these companies have done to our environment, our high street and our fellow human beings, the question begs to be asked - who are the real thieves? No Sweat UK website
Labour Behind The Label website Making A Song And Dance About It Welcome to Tesco Town: the hotly contested Tesco Express on Bathwick Hill finally opened on Monday the 24th of November, though not without incident. They’d been dragging their heels ever since their projected opening in February, after being vocally opposed by residents every step of the way for two years; the tale of toadying, bribery and trickery that finally got them their desired store is a legend unto itself. They also got away with not installing the traffic-calming measures they promised… but what’s a broken promise among neighbours? For their so-called ‘grand’ opening, singers from local charity Golden Oldies provided the music, and manager Brendan Tucker wore his fixed grin. However, proceedings were disrupted by two modest-sized protests that day, with four cheeky pirates waving a jolly roger during the opening credits, and then another five later on, from 6pm, freezing their bits off long into the night.
The charity above was set up to combat alienation, community breakdown and loneliness amongst the elderly. The great irony is, though, that when local independents like Bathwick Stores are worn away, then that is itself yet another example of community erosion: what sort of familiarity or communal bonds can you construct with a revolving door policy of bored checkout staff? The cash that Tesco injects into these groups is a drop in the ocean compared to the PR payback they reap through such associations. Not that you should be taken in by their friendly face, anyway – not when they’re sponsoring sweatshop conditions in ‘fair-trade’ banana packing houses in Luton, responsible for the deaths of cockle-pickers in Morecambe Bay, or engaging in such other humanitarian ventures as helping kill off local food varieties, industrial farming health scares, pollution and animal abuse, or building up retail monopolies. And they’ll probably lock up their skips, too. In terms of positive solutions, ironic leaflets and subvertising notwithstanding, local food co-operatives are a much better way to go – such as the London Road Food Co-op, the Southside Food Co-op or, if you can afford it, Harvest on Walcot Street. But the question still stands with these food giants (and Tesco aren’t the only culprit) – what to do about them? article detailing abuse of banana packers
Tescopoly website Golden Oldies website Southside Food Co-op link
London Road Food Co-op, Riverside Community Centre, York Place, London Road, Bath, BA1 6AE, tel: 07837 784715 Your Name’s Down, You’re Not Coming In Antifascists across the land last month were celebrating Christmas early, as the entire BNP membership list was leaked on November 18th. Whilst threats of legal action, arrests and the hypocritical invocation of the Human Rights Act (which the BNP actively oppose) has been bandied about the net, it’s all a bit futile as the list has beamed far and wide. In Bath we allegedly have a measly nine proud bulldogs to disown, and Frome has four, whilst Bristol seems to have a 100-strong infestation to clean up. For a party that is all about apparently rescuing the endangered great white working class, it’s curious that the majority in Bath are from middle class areas; how disappointing. If anyone has any more information on the fascist scene to impart, such as shoe size, IQ, favourite chat-up lines or places of work, send in to the usual address. article on how the leak is spreading I Think We’re Alone Now… You know you're in trouble when the band you book for the end of your protest stand around making snide remarks at your expense. "Of course, we could all go and occupy parliament," suggested that nice chap from Seize the Day, to sheepish laughter and nervous foot-shuffling from the crowd of hippies in Parliament Square. We were in London for the annual Climate March, expecting to join 15,000 marchers and a healthy anti-capitalist bloc, using our sheer force of numbers to make the government listen. Sadly, on the day only around 5,000 turned up, and our anticipated bloc didn't quite break double figures. We marched a winding route from the empty-looking US embassy to the definitely empty Parliament, demanding CO2 cuts, no to airport expansions, and green jobs. Feeling increasingly marginalized, surrounded by a sea of ‘Carbon Cap, Not Hippy Crap’ placards, and in constant danger of being run down by an encroaching samba band, our merry group clung together behind our ‘Capitalism Isn't Working’ banner for half the march, then promptly disintegrated. Two of us, red and black flags in hands, ended up at the very head of the march for almost a minute before being quickly removed by the stewards. Walk behind the greenhouse, they told us. It's the symbol of the campaign. Go on; get back in your box. Everyone else is doing it. And that's the issue. The campaigners turn up once a year to demand somebody else fix their problems, then they go home. The only way this march will help at this point is if it becomes an annual get-together to unite the movement and give us a chance to brag about all the successful direct actions of the past year. Otherwise, the reduction in marchers from 30,000 to 5,000 in a handful of years will be reflected in the movement as a whole. Without solid actions and solid accomplishments, we're all fucked. Now hand over those boltcroppers – I've got stuff to do tonight.
Special Yuletide Disclaimer: Like you, we probably disagree with everything every contributor has written. We’re just in it for the scene points. We especially wouldn’t encourage anyone to do anything that might get themselves in trouble with the law… Play safe kids!
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