A glut of barristers at Westminster has led to a crackdown on dissent The harassment law now being used against anti-dumping protesters in Oxfordshire is turning into the riot act of our day
If any of you doubt that protest is being criminalised in the United
Kingdom, take a look at an injunction posted at www.epuk.org. Granted in
the high court by the Honourable Mr Justice Calvert-Smith, it forbids
the people of a village in Oxfordshire from "coming to, remaining on,
trespassing or conducting any demonstrations or protesting or other
activities" on the claimant's land.
As this land is also the villagers' most treasured local amenity, it
means they have to abandon any effective means of trying to protect
their quality of life. If not, they could end up with five years behind
bars.
On second thoughts, don't look at the injunction - it will turn you to
stone. A cunning clause ensures that it also applies "to any other
person who has been given notice of the terms of this order". In fact,
you have probably already been injuncted by reading the first paragraph
of this article. So, if you value your liberty, you can't now go near
Thrupp Lake.
The lake is the haunt of kingfishers, otters and even rarer wildlife,
such as Cetti's warblers and water rails. It is the place where local
people walk their dogs, swim, fish and picnic. But for the giant energy
company RWE npower, which runs Didcot power station, it is the next dump
for its pulverised fly ash, a byproduct of burning coal. The company
intends to empty the lake, line it with clay, and pour in at least
60,000 tonnes of grey slurry - the fly ash mixed with water - then wait
for years until it solidifies before attempting "remediation". Fly ash
typically contains lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium.
The project, in other words, is an abomination. The people of Radley
village, as anyone would, have tried to stop this dumping. They have
marched and demonstrated and photographed the cutting down of trees and
the destruction of habitats. And now they have been confronted by one of
the most brutal instruments on the statute book.
The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 is, on the face of it, a
sensible piece of legislation defending people from stalkers. But when
it was drafted, several of us warned that it failed to distinguish
between genuine harassment and legitimate protest. Harassment includes
"alarming the person or causing the person distress", which could mean
almost anything: you can alarm someone, for example, by telling them
that pulverised fly ash contains mercury. It requires a "course of
conduct" to be pursued, but this means nothing more than doing something
twice. If you take two pictures of workers felling trees, that counts.
Conduct also includes speech.
Worse still, the legislation was the first of several "behaviour acts"
which blur the distinction between civil and criminal offences. The
victim of the course of conduct may take a civil claim to the high
court. On the basis of far less evidence than a criminal case requires,
the court can grant an injunction against the defendant. If the
defendant then breaks that injunction - by continuing to talk to the
people he is seeking to dissuade, or to march or picket or protest - he
then commits a criminal offence, carrying up to five years' imprisonment.
We warned that the legislation had the makings of a new sedition law. No
one took us seriously. But the first three people to be arrested under
the act were peaceful protesters. Since then it has been used repeatedly
to stifle what should be legitimate dissent.
The injunction was granted on the grounds that the site's security
guards were feeling threatened by the protesters. Many of the guards are
former members of the armed forces. In the photos I have seen they wear
black face masks. They allege that protesters have spoken threateningly
to them and photographed them. I don't know whether or not this is true,
but the guards claim that this has made them feel scared and intimidated
for themselves or their families. It seems to me that the security
company has hired a bunch of right cissies. But all the act requires is
a judgment that the men felt "alarmed" or "distressed".
So an instrument designed to prevent intimidation in turn intimidates.
As well as being forbidden to step on to the land they have walked and
played on for years, the villagers and other protesters are forbidden to
loiter "within five yards of any of the protected persons (whether on
foot or in vehicles) in the vicinity of Radley Lakes". In other words,
should one of the security guards approach them, they must step well
back if they want to avoid the possibility of five years inside. The
injunction has thrown a great bucket of cold water over their attempts
to protect the neighbourhood.
At first I thought these uses were an accidental product of bad
drafting. Now I am not so sure. The law company serving the writ,
Lawson-Cruttenden, describes itself as "the market leader in obtaining
ground-breaking injunctions on behalf of individuals and corporations
who have been the subject of harassment by direct action protest
groups". It also boasts that it "assisted in the drafting of the ...
Protection from Harassment Act 1997". Are such apparent conflicts of
interest normal? Did Lawson-Cruttenden know that the act would support a
lucrative line of business? Did Michael Howard, the home secretary at
the time, know that companies like this would use the law like a new
riot act?
The journalist Henry Porter, who has done more than anyone else to draw
attention to some of our illiberal new laws, believes that they result
from Tony Blair's "authoritarian streak" and his attempts to build a
"fussy, hairsplitting, second-guessing, politically correct state". On
this matter I think that he is wrong.
Some of the most illiberal laws of recent years - the 1986 Public Order
Act, the 1992 Trade Union Act, the 1994 Criminal Justice Act, the 1996
Security Service Act, the 1997 Police Act and the 1997 Protection from
Harassment Act - were drafted by the Conservative party. Blair has
supplemented them with all manner of pernicious instruments (such as the
2000 Terrorism Act, the 2001 Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act, the
2001 Criminal Justice and Police Act, the 2003 Anti-Social Behaviour
Act, the 2004 Civil Contingencies Act and the 2005 Serious Organised
Crime and Police Act). But this illiberal trend long pre-dates him.
I think it arose partly in line with rising inequality, and the ever
more urgent demands by corporations and the super-rich that their assets
and their position be defended. But I think it also reflects something
else, seldom discussed by the press: the over-representation of lawyers
in British politics. Lawyers have an instinctive love of new laws, as
this is how they derive their power over the rest of us. In this
respect, Blair differs not a jot from Margaret Thatcher, Howard, Jack
Straw and the other barrister-legislators. When you elect lawyers, you
get laws.
I have met quite a few lawyers - not always voluntarily - and some of
them are able to perform a passable impression of human beings. Like
teenagers, they are generally quite harmless by themselves. But sensible
voters would ensure that they were never let loose in a representative
chamber. People of the same trade seldom meet together but the
conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public. Lawyers are no
exception.
George Monbiot
Tuesday March 6, 2007
The Guardian
Nightlife targeted in crime crackdown The report is here
bbc.co.uk wrote:
A total of 57 officers were on duty in Ashford town centre and the surrounding areas on Friday night.
The operation focused on the domestic railway station, public houses, wine bars and nightclubs
How to Recook Crack? Taking Out the Garbage Not to long ago my youngest son fell victim to a tainted dose of heroin and I know he hardly ever did the stuff. Now a closed friend who seems to like this crack stuff had a close encounter of his own. I couln't stand the thought of losing some else close to me. So I told him I would do my best to find out the best way to remove the crap from the crack. Can someone please HELP!
Cocaine Gets Up their Noses :laugh_at::laugh_at::laugh_at::laugh_at:
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A canned energy drink called "Cocaine" being sold in New York grocery stores has infuriated the city's mayor who says its brand name celebrates the use of a dangerous drug.
"I think that the bottlers ought to have their heads examined given that we have drug problems (particularly) among kids, to try to glorify something that is so destructive is an outrage," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a news conference on Tuesday.
The high-caffeine drink, created by Las Vegas-based Redux Beverages, contains no cocaine, but markets itself as "the legal alternative" to the real thing.
It contains a mixture of legal stimulants like caffeine, guarana -- a South American seed that is a natural source of caffeine -- and taurine, an acidic chemical that occurs in the tissues of animals.
The drink, which carries a mock health warning saying it can result in "excess excitement, stamina, fun and possible feeling of euphoria," has appeared on the shelves of at least five New York stores and the company uses a Web site to market cocktails containing the beverage.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?storyid=2006-10-04T002106Z_01_N03249497_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-DRINK.XML&type=oddlyEnoughNews&WTmodLoc=Oddly+Enough-C3-More-8
:groucho::groucho::groucho::groucho::groucho:
2006-09-15 Toadstool Psytrance – Fri 15th Sept, Crackers, Glos
Time to boogie once more as Festival time draws to an end and we all move indoors to get together and have a good time.
Be assured the tunes will be mega!!!!
If you havnt been before just visit our website www.toadstool.org.uk to find out what we are all about.
All are welcome.
:bounce_fl :bounce_g:
Kate Moss Cocaine Tape http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2681360
Synopsis: Kate Moss is busted on tape when she busts out a few lines of somethin' somethin'. Allegedly.
Distributed by: IFILM
Run Time: 4:00
Release Year: 200512
The 90’s Pilot Episode – Bejing, Crack, Studs (1989) [media="380,260,0"]http://www.archive.org/download/the_90s_pilot_opening_bejing_crack_studs/the_90s_pilot_opening_bejing_crack_studs_256kb.mp4[/media]
The 90's Pilot Episode - Bejing, Crack, Studs (1989)
http://www.archive.org/details/the_90s_pilot_opening_bejing_crack_studs
Excerpts from The 90's Pilot Episode including home video from Tiananmen Square 1989 and Crack Smoking in New York.
1) "Beijing Journal" by Pat Keeton. Tiananmen Square 1989. Footage of a political uprising of students in China and a discussion of the process of revolt.
2) "Crack Clouds Over Hell's Kitchen" by The Educational Video Center. Interview with crack addicts in New York City who actually demonstrate how to smoke crack onscreen and describe its effects as they feel them.
Five seconds ago I was real tired. Right now I've got energy. I could get up from here now and walk to the moon... The reason why I’m doing this interview is, I'm tired of this place Manhattan and I'm leaving right now. I'm outta here. If anybody sees this tape and knows me, you know I tried, you know what I came from, you know what I used to be and I'm going to get it again.
Producer: Tom Weinberg, Executive Producer; Joel Cohen, Producer
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Cocaine use on the increase UK's cocaine use 'as high as US'
The level of cocaine use in the UK is as high as in the US, a report by the UN's anti-drug body has said.
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) report said 2% of Britons used cocaine, and the UK had one of Europe's highest rates of cannabis use.
It also said methamphetamine was emerging as the world's biggest drug problem but use remained low in the UK.
The government said it accepted the findings, while the Tories accused ministers of failing on drugs.
'Confusing message'
The annual report on global drug use said the UK had one of Europe's highest rates of cannabis use, alongside the Czech Republic, France, Ireland and Switzerland, in 2005.
INCB chief Professor Hamid Ghodse said the government's recent downgrading of cannabis in the UK had been a mistake.
He said the UK had historically had a high level of drug use, but that the downgrading was confusing and sent out the wrong message.
Shadow home secretary David Davis said the UK was the "cannabis capital of Europe" because of government policy failings over the declassification of the drug.
He also told BBC Radio Five Live that the government was failing to tackle the problem of hard drugs, and that users should be given a choice of a long rehabilitation course, or "criminal sanctions".
"Drugs are cheaper on the streets of this country than they have ever been," he said.
Professor Ghodse warned methamphetamine - now one of the most prevalent drugs in the US - posed the biggest threat.
Also know as crystal meth, it is a synthetic stimulant which allows users to stay awake for days.
'Positive references'
"It has not yet affected that much of Western European countries and the UK but, as we know, as drug misuse occurs in North America sooner or later it gets here," he said.
"Methamphetamine is today's problem drug. We think that it is extremely worrying.
"It is one of the drugs which can be very rapidly addictive. And it has lots of complications."
In 2005, British authorities seized more heroin than any other European country, the report also said.
It listed other strategies the UK had undertaken to combat drug use, including improvements to the way people are treated for drug addiction.
A Home Office spokesman said it was pleased to see the report's "many positive references to measures taken under the government's strategy on drugs".
He said record numbers of people entered treatment last year for addiction to class A drugs.
"The British Crime Survey shows that the number of 16-24 year olds that have ever taken class A drugs has fallen by 24% between 1998 and 2003/4, and that the use of class A drugs in the past year has stabilised," he said.
On methamphetamine, he said: "Work is under way to improve monitoring of its prevalence, and to make domestic production of the drug harder, while education about the risks associated with the drug has been reinforced.
"These risks are reflected in a five-year penalty for possession, and 14 years for supply."
Taken from bbc.co.uk
I've seen an increase in its use among friends as well as it is far cheaper and easier to get hold of than it used to be.. It was always seen as the "elite" drug and ecstacy was the main drug of choice but recently certainly up here in Scotland there has been a drought of ecstacy and all that people seem to be able to get is coke... not a wise choice in my mind.. i've seen too many people get taken over by it and turn into not very nice people as a result...
UK : LDN (S) : Squirrels on crack! another corker from the South London Press....
Squirrels on crack Oct 7 2005
South London Press
NATURE lovers fear that squirrels could become hooked on crack cocaine plundered from addicts' hidden stashes.
The furry animals are thought to be behind a new drugs turf war in Brixton - stealing rocks of crack hidden in front gardens.
Tough police action to rid the town centre of dealers and addicts has seen crackheads abandon their usual drug stash hideouts.
But the blitz has displaced some dealing into nearby residential streets.
Drug addicts are known to be hiding small stashes of crack rocks in people's front lawns late at night.
Squirrels have been spotted in the same front gardens, seemingly hunting out the buried narcotics.
The discovery has led some residents to speculate that the squirrels are already in the grips of addiction. One resident, who asked for his name to be withheld, told the South London Press.
"I was chatting with my neighbour who told me that crack users and dealers sometimes use my front garden to hide bits of their stash.
"An hour earlier I'd seen a squirrel wandering round the garden, digging in the flowerbeds.
"It looked like it knew what it was looking for.
"It was ill-looking and its eyes looked bloodshot but it kept on desperately digging.
"It was almost as if it was trying to find hidden crack rocks."
Crack squirrels are a recognised phenomena in the US.
They are known to live in parks frequented by addicts in New York and Washington DC.
The squirrels have attacked park visitors in their frenzied search for their next fix.
An RSPCA spokesman said he was unaware of the squirrels taking crack in Brixton.
PEL : be aware, licensed clubs are being cracked down on as well just in case anyone thinks - "well if free parties are shut down it doesn't matter because we can always do licensed clubs" - think again
the PEL laws are being linked with the ASBO laws and extended
At the recent Labour Party conference Tony Blair announced that there was to be more anti-social behaviour legislation, and this to be implemented before the end of the year. I notice no old codgers heckled this bit of the conference and got put outside by the bouncers, and if the Tories were in power rest assured they would be even worse - "small governement" always seems to be backed by "large enforcement"of laws against those who don't fit in with 100% free market ethos...
most of the planned laws involves giving the Police the right to decide there and then whether a licensed event should continue or a pub be allowed to trade, rather than cops just producing a report for the Council to decide at a later date (and thus giving the venue/promoters some leeway)
it could result in a licensed club night being shut down just because a local has called 999 due to a few moosers snorting a crafty line in the car park, or chavs (who were not even wanted in the first place) starting a noisy brawl outside the venue when ejected
you could spend hundreds on a night and just a handful of people who don't know the score or have attended your night merely to cause trouble could fuck it up for you
it could end up in TSG cops switching off the power to the club system and herding the punters out with shields, batons if necessary, and many of the rules are specifically intended at addressing the "problem" of a "drug culture at clubs"
already Avsom (Bristol) police have launched "pre-emptive" strikes against licensed pubs where they think "rowdy young people" can be found, or drugs may also have been used; you're having a pint with your mates and next thing you know there are cops everywhere asking for ID, nicking people who are a bit "too merry" and searching people with the electronic sniffer dogs
unfortunately with the chav/violence culture on the streets nowadays i can understand why things have come to this; but its worth all promoters being aware as I can see these new laws being also used to squash licensed dance music events if we are not careful..
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