http://www.pledgebank.com/protest Comments on 'form part of a human chain around the Westminster no protest zone' en-gb team@pledgebank.com 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 2 hourly http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_909685 The flyers at http://www.pledgebank.com/protest/flyers explain how to sign up by text. Print them out and get people to use them! http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_652902 http://www.ukrslovo.net http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_260698 To "Former Pledger" - you mean they have repealed s132 without me hearing about it??? Seriously, I am reasonably well informed about court cases etc and nothing significant has changed as far am I as aware but since you give no indication of what you allege to have changed there is no way for me to confirm or deny it. http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_257691 This has all become irrelevent. Has anyone not been keeping uptodate with things at Parlaiment Square? I withdraw my pledge. http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_254779 Sadly I cannot sign as I am unable to travel to London on the day in question - I think it's disgraceful ina 'free' society for areas to be off-limits to those wishing to protest peacefully. I'll spread the word and I hope the chain takes place! http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_245990 Dear Richard and the SOCPA Protest, http://www.millioncampaignhomepage.net We would like to invite you to a link at our new website, the Million Campaign Homepage. We are giving away 1,000,000 pixels to 1,600 co-operative and not-for-profit groups working within and from the UK who are furthering social and environmental harmony. There are full details of how to get involved in the 'FAQ' and 'Order Pixels' sections of the site. All we require is a logo or Favicon. Please email uksolidarity@gmail.com In solidarity, Matthew Edwards THE MILLION CAMPAIGN HOMEPAGE FOUNDATION http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_239723 nice pledge ! http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_173531 Regarding Steve's "dry run" idea, it seems it could safely occur within the zone, aiming to surround as big an area as possible. The police would have no power to intervene since people would not actually be protesting, merely practicing. Which reminds me of an interesting idea I once read regarding those signs in airports warning against making jokes about bombs in your luggage. If you said "If I were to make a joke about there being a bomb in my luggage you would have to take it seriously wouldn't you?" what would happen? http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_173362 Well, six people here have signed my popular pledge, boycott Israel (popular because if you look at www.pledgebank.com, it usually has the most comments). You are welcome to advertise for signatories in my pledge, as someone just did for a Srilankan pledge, which I also signed. I would also suggest a dummy run, where as many people as possible attend, place ourselves around the perimeter, and show that we cannot join hands. Tell media etc what its all about and hope they cover the story on TV. Use megaphones and see if the protest can be heard at Westminster. Make the point of emphasising the fact that your protest will be 100% legal. I did not quite understand that when I first skimmed over this pledge. Dress up as prisoners maybe, to show what will happen if you take a step too close. Also take note of this: http://www.saveparliament.org.uk/problem.html. Scary huh? If it is true, and that gets through, someone like John Prescott may decide to increase the range to 1.1Km, if he is in a bad mood. http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_132877 OK, so if signup rates happen as they have for the last week, we're only going to get about a third of the number of people needed. And we do need 6000 people to form the ring. Practical ideas everyone. What can we do to get lots more people to sign this pledge? What can you do right now? http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_97415 Thought some of you might like to know that there's an online petition in support of stopping Gary McKinnon being Extradited to the United States under the new one sided fast track extradition treaty. This so called treaty has only been signed by the UK and not by the US. Gary's crime was trespassing (some say hacking) into the Pentagon's computers. Please help to keep Gary in the United Kingdom. Lucy http://www.petitiononline.com/AAA12345/petition.html www.freegary.org.uk http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_52033 'Defending our freedom' is problary as meaningful as 'fighting our peace' would be, if any of it made sense. Fighting for freedom is like sucking blood out of a person / animal so as to make it live / or make life occur. Anyway for what is freedom, surely not whinging about the injustices and sadnesses of life? Freedom is for......(please finish this sentence). Overlooking, or underlooking, or sideways looking, or Ignoring laws/policies/dictates for higher purposes, ie above what is designated by those you perceive to be in power; is better than any rant, any problem we perceive to hard because of it. Protest (a word for all types of oppositional beliefs and behaviours) continues to be futile and strengthens the people who most people think govern, currently the Labour party are 'it'. Well let the oddities & freaks and outcasts consider themselves to be government, we who have a high liking and taste for nonviolence and creativity, with a high regard for the marginalised and impoverished. We are not any better than them, we are differant that's all and we and them we ought to work to make us. Lets ensure our nonviolent calm interventions are focussed at delivering clear messages, bringing about proactive change - not the muddling, high profile mass actions without a clear purpose / goal that some promote. Rather lets subvert and conspire without dynamite, play and fool with alternate meanings for others wholeness (and maybe some others will care to do the same for us). Ignore SOCPA dont pander to it. It is nought other than an obstacle. Conspire again I say, do not be afraid, face your fears and be fully accountable as you can for your own actions/nonviolent events, not as you cant. Be prepared to give up more privelage as so many inspiring ones do do. If you choose violence then do also be fully accountable, life will be harder/harsher and you may learn the harder way that this is not a way of doing things well/qualitiatively. Hurt people, hurt people. (This is my view and violence is not in any way advocated by this writer). Now I talk too much, so I am going to take the art of listening up, and hopefully wink more with some of you in the future. yours truly, wink wink, Hopstubbe Mor Your reflections welcomed, I will not criticise them. http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_51924 We have freedom and old laws that state this. It is called the Magna Carta and the government can be taken out of power with this document under law. (The year) 1215 Magna Carta origin of modern Democracy. The Magna Carta features in the U.S. Constitution and in Australian laws as well as many other countries that have democracy or are now showing interest in it go by the Magna Carta still. We must defend our freedom because it is not free and must be constantly fought for when we have tyrannical criminals in power as we have done throughout history. Never vote for the EU constitution should the time come again which allows modern torture techniques and interrogation. Defend our old laws that once made this country free. Surrendering freedom and liberty is not the answer for a false sense of security and a police state. http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_51923 You can do it. Show the Nazi police state that state sponsored terrorism won't work. ======================================== http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/june2006/010606iranstrike.htm Former CIA Analyst Says Iran Strike Set For June Or July McGovern: Staged terror attacks across Europe, US "probable" in order to justify invasion. Former CIA analyst and Presidential advisor Ray McGovern, fresh from his heated public confrontation with Donald Rumsfeld, fears that staged terror attacks across Europe and the US are probable in order to justify the Bush administration's plan to launch a military strike against Iran, which he thinks will take place in June or July. ======================================== Protest anywhere you like - if there are many of us little can be done other than police brutality or military intervention. Do even communist of other fascist regimes have protest exclusion zones? http://www.prisonplanet.tv http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_30572 To A B, Civil disobedience eh? Nice idea, when are you going to do it? Of course there have already been numerous acts of civil disobedience in relation to s132. Last September a letter from Superintendent Gomm, distributed to Critical Mass riders, warned people specifically against entering the exclusion zone. On the Halloween Mass 1,200 cyclists, many of whom were clearly protesting, ignored the warning and rode to Parliament Square. Once in the square they stopped for about 20 minutes, blocked traffic, danced to a samba band and operated a soundsystem (use of loudspeakers is banned by s132) - the police made no arrests and the media basically ignored it. The BBC had said they would send a crew to cover it but backed off at the last minute, citing "technical problems" with their outside broadcast unit. Also, the Met apparently contacted the BBC shortly before the ride and told them that they did not have a problem with it after all!!! If you are organising a mass act of civil disobedience then good luck to you - but I don't see what it has got to do with this pledge. http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_30523 You know, this pledge is a nice idea and all but it won't work (they'll ignore you). What I would instead suggest is civil disobediance as it'll get more attention. No not violence. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience Basically several thousand people just walk across the zone whilst protesting loudly thus breaking the law but seeing as it's not harming anyone and there arn't 6000 free jail cells in london it's not likely they're going to be able to do much to stop it. It worked for Ghandi. http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_22907 Well, it seems to me that January is too far off. Who can really say with any real conviction where they will be by January. I for one agree to this pledge at the later date, but anything could happen in my life between now and then. It also seems rather a slow response to the political situation. How many more equally essential political issues have and will arise in the course of the coming year? Talking of which is everybody going to renew their passports this month? Protest to the new ID cards, this will help slow your personal initiation to the full on scheme (the deity-within(that-be-I) help-me, so to speak ;) if the worst happens and this disgraceful guise for socialism (that is a Blair of petrol poured upon the burning Bush of Nazism that we all have front row seats for, watch thy planet burn before your very eyes with the ultimate finale when the audience is sucked into the very same oblivion) gets it's way and forces this abomination into existence, then I'd rather put off my seclusion from society for not carrying an ID card for as long as possible... Re: http://www.no2id.net/ No doubt I am babbling and making little sense whilst attempting to preach to the converted!? So apologises abound! ;) (excuse the lack of breath/commas also) http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_22877 Hopstubbe Mor asked "Did anything happen with this pledge?" As you well know the deadline was extended till Jan 15th 2007 so we will just have to wait and see won't we? As to the "Beating the Bounds" action on May Day, a friend has reported that only 14 people took part and that they were very heavily policed. I was otherwise occupied, see my May Day report: http://www.zenatode.org.uk/ian/reports/mayday06.html Peace, Ian http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_22862 Did anything happen with the pledge? I was at a emerging artistic talent event in Southampton and it was wild, creating jobs, community etc. Now is the time to reflect on efficacy, or are people scared to do so. http://www.pledgebank.com/protest#comment_21899 Shame that the protest didn't get off the mark. I was going to give it some coverage in a website I am building on free speech. Perhaps now I will be writing about the lack of solidarity or support for the right to protest and against the government's new draconain anti-protest laws. It seems that with so many events in London on May Day, your voice was drowned out by all the others. The comment above about using different channels to get the message out is a valid one. For example, by text, or at other similar events with leaflets and a megaphone perhaps. Good luck with forthcoming events. Josie