Category: Issues

Liverpool Arms Fair Protests

An Arms Fair on Liverpool City Council Premises.

In June 2014 Clarion Events hosted the annual UDT [Underwater Defence Technology] exhibition at the Liverpool City Council owned Arena and Convention Centre.

There was a small protest outside the event which I was involved in organising.

Here it might be noted that the UDT events take place at different venues each year.

After protests about the UDT event in Glasgow during 2018, the Glasgow City Council decreed that it would no longer support arms fairs in any of the premises it owns.

The Arms Fair Postponed

During 2020 it become known that another arms fair would be taking place at the Arena in Liverpool.

This was the Clarion Events organised AOC Europe 2021 (previously Electronic Warfare Europe) arms fair.

AOC [The Association of Old Crows] is ‘an organisation for individuals who have common interests in Electronic Warfare ‘.

Due to Lockdown this event was postponed.

Following on from an outcry about this event, Mayor Joe Anderson stated that he and the Council would develop a policy to prevent such events taking place in Liverpool in the future. Unfortunately he was unable to pursue this policy, as shortly afterwards a scandal about the way the City Council operated resulted in him resigning his post, while a police investigation in to this matter continues.

Then with the ending of lockdown it was announced that the Electronic Arms Fair would go ahead in October 2021.

Protests during 2021

What happened next was that the Merseyside Pensioners Association

organised a series of lobbying pickets and demonstrations both outside various Council meetings and at the Town Hall.

That culminated with a national Protest March which attracted several thousand people, and finally a rally in the city centre.

Here it might also be noted that a large number of the City Councillors signed a statement calling for the arms fair to be cancelled.

With the announcement that the arms fair would go ahead, the musical group Massive Attack cancelled a concert at the venue in protest.

Yet despite all of these protests the Liverpool City Mayor Joanne Anderson said there was nothing she could or would do to have the arms fair cancelled.

On the day that the Arms Fair started there was a large demonstration outside the Arena.

Campaigning for an ethical policy

There is now a campaign calling for the City Council to instigate an ethical policy, and to change the articles of association of the Arena company in order to prevent any further arms fairs happening in the future.

The next AOC Europe is scheduled to take place in Montpellier, France during May 10th to 12th 2022

Observe And Take Action.

Have You noticed ?

We are now living in a Dystopian nightmare where image is everything, but reality is hard to see.

Time flows in different ways while the booze flows.

For politicians who get drunk on their own self delusions the long term effects of this kind of thinking are very heady stuff, but we all have to suffer from the results.

While we all buy in to some form of referral to brand names, or Kapitalist propaganda, as it is constantly thrown at us via the ‘Mass Media’.

Paid to act for.

Anyone who lives within Brexitland will be very familiar with how politicians are making a nice living as advisers or sit on the board of various companies.

That is on top of the previous Cash for Question scandal of a few years ago, which should be classified with what is otherwise colloquially know as ‘Rent in Kind’.

None of these observations are in anyway new.

Only one thing is new about it all, is just how many of these scandals have, or rather are, coming to light within such a short period of time.

In a just or more egalitarian society all of this would be regarded as absolutely shocking, but the citizens of Brexitland are well used to learning such things about elected politicians.

It all flows in to us developing a very high appreciation of hard bitten satirical humour.

Where our attention should really be focused upon.

Meanwhile in the real world, and away from the Westminster Village, there are other more important issues to deal with. All of which I keep repeating time and time and time and time again.

What is now becoming really obvious is the way in which Greenwash exasperates many of the problems we have.

Moving from extreme energy [ petrol and diesel personal vehicles to battery powered ones is not going to solve the urban mess, or encourage people to walk more.

Neither is spending tax payers money on an infrastructure to support them going to help finance all the tram and train networks which we so desperately need.

While the idea which is currently being flogged that Nukiller power is the solution to stopping climate change can only be described as ill founded.

Nukiller power is a cause of global warming.

Yet again it is a case of not properly focusing upon both the issues and realistic solutions.

Radical Orthodoxy

That is the name for a series of articles which I have in mind to write.

This starts from the perspective that the focus of any radical perspective must come from how we might create a more just, and balanced ecologically sound world.

That must include what is by Its nature radical Orthodoxy.

The first of these is about council tax which came in to being after the struggle to abolish the poll tax. Yet council tax is a grossly inequitable burden upon both single people and pensioners. So should we not be looking at a more just version of the poll tax ?

The 2nd issue is about how we might better move goods by rail rather than by road.

After which we can also start to pull down the motorways. Yippy !

In order to do so we will need to extend the rail network, and better use the existing railways. This includes supporting the building of HS2 and HS3.

I know that both of these ideas will produce a lot of criticism way before the articles are written.

Yet we do need to look at these issues with a lot of fresh critical thinking.

So which radical periodical would like to publish either of those pieces ?

Soviet Afghanistan War Protest

On the 12th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, fellow pacifist activist Albert Beale and myself picketed the embassy of the then USSR about the war.

It being just after Gloom Day no one else was willing to join us with the protest.

Of course the embassy was closed that day, but we did manage to hand in a letter of protest.

It might also be added that for several years such protests had taken place in Denmark.

Given the current situation in Afghanistan, I wonder just how much different things would be right now if more activists had taken up the issue at the time.

The Brexitland Song.

To the tune of  Who Wants to be a Millionaire ?

—-

Who wants to live in Brexitland ?

  I Don’t !

Who wants to live in Brexitland ?

  We Don’t !

  WE Don’t !

Who wants to live in the EU ?

  We do !

  WE DO !

Who wants to live in a repressive state ?

  A repressive state, is something we hate!

Who wants to live in the EU ?

  E Do !

  WE DO !

  For that’s all E just want to do.

——-

Now keep singing this until Brexitland becomes a part of the EU once again.

Recent Activities

Despite Lockdown and the continuing difficulties which we are all experiencing, it has been possible for me to continue working upon various projects. This is a brief summary of some of the them.

Anti Nukiller Power

I recently put together the latest issue of Countering Capenhurst.

This contains a lot of information about DRS [ Direct Rail Services ] which transports Highly Radioactive uses fuel rods and other nukiller waste.

What I now have is enough material and written pieces to produce a pamphlet on the issue, but it is never wise to edit ones own articles .

Thus I am looking for someone to work on it with me.

5 Cale Road

The 5 Caledonian Road Project website has just been launched.

The subtitle of being 60 years of books and activism.

This is a project which I was interviewed for. You can hear a little of this interview under Small Scale Demonstrations on the website.

The ongoing Spycops Public Inquiry

Aspects of being a CP [Core Participant] in the Undercover Policing [Spycops ] Public Inquiry are still taking up a lot of my time.

Of particular interest to me is a 1980 Special Branch report describing the development of the anti-nuclear movement in the UK

Sorting out my various collections

One of the side effects of such a long lockdown has been that I’ve had the chance to go through and properly sort out my various collections.

I’ve done the same with my various documents which are now ready to be put to an archive.

I would never of been able to do this if there were a lot of meetings and events to attend.

Soon

Soon it will be possible to start organising some more proactive campaigning.

That is something which I am looking forward to doing.

Changes

Changes In Our Thinking

As a individual I want to change the kind of world we live in, but first of all that requires a little rethinking from everyone about how this might be achieved.

For example: –

I think discipline is needed – Self Discipline.

While we need to move away from think in terms of consumerism, so that it becomes more about the quality of life.

Just as we need to stop thinking about profits, but think in terms of environmental gains.

While also stopping to refer to the military as defenders. That is because it is health workers who help defend us from ill health.

Changes In What They Should Do

It is so very easy to create a list all ecological and social problems which we need to address, and then produce an even longer one of what needs doing to solve them.

Yet even those who get to understand some of these problems land up creating even more of them.

This is well illustrated by the daily media coverage of politicians who talk about solving out ecological problems, while they continue dinning out on lamb and salmon.

These same politicians pontificate about global warming.

Yet they still continue to promote a technology which causes both global warming and many other forms of pollution.

e.g. Nukiller Power.

Or trade unionists who go on about protecting their members and creating jobs, while at the same time promoting the arms trade.

Never mind how they keep promoting the nukiller power industry, rather than promoting the building of wind farms which will create many more safer jobs.

Neither do we just need to focus our criticism upon the above, as so many individuals who get involved in campaigning take an almost nihilistic back to an illusionary better past in to a better future approach to campaigning.

An Educational Failure

Though in many ways what we have is a failure of the educational system which causes the above, and in particular a failure on basic education.

A society which has so many functionally illiterate, and scientifically illiterate individuals, will always have a problem with people understandings statistics, economics, demographic changes, or be able to criticise bad science.

To that list must be added a failure to teach linguistics and ethical education in our schools.

One only has to glance at the Brexitland press in order to illustrate just how things really are right now.

Looking Back – Looking Forward

Yet for all the criticisms about what is wrong about ill informed so called leaders, politicians, trade unionists, capitalists, and so forth,

we still are left with our own To Do list.

I’ll not repeat this list as I would just be repeating myself, and a To Do list is no use in isolation of an even longer how to achieve changes list.

I’ve always said that the most important job of radicals, be they anarchist pacifists or no, is to identity what needs to be done, initiate campaigns, and then move on when these become main stream concerns.

All of this is doable if we apply a little clear thinking.

Though there is a immense mess to clear up which is not going to be achieved without about what needs doing 10, 20, or 30 years in to the future

—- and yet —

It is possible to improve the education system right now,

but this can only be done by putting more effort in to creating much better Adult Education.

—- and yet —

There are some issues which will take many lifetimes of campaigning to solve.

 

Campaigning in to the Future

Happy I am.

At long last we are all able to start moving on from Lockdown, with many individuals having had a second jab. Myself included.

With so such about to be fully opened again such as the essentials of an intellectual life – Libraries, Bookshops, music stores, and museums – It now feels like we can start to fully think again.

What Next for campaigning?

The big problem with a lot of campaigning is that it is reactive rather that proactive.

Do please keep this in mind as this year progresses, as there is a lot which needs to be focused upon right now.

Which issues Next ?

At this stage I could make a long list of actions which need to be done, but instead which I’ll just list the very few which are high priorities or which very few people are working on right now.

– Reversing the Brexit Disaster.

– Stopping the Nukiller Power Industry.

– Banning and dismantling all Nukiller Weapons.

– Pedestrianising our city Centres, while building a new tram and Canal system, as we campaign to block the use of all extreme energy person vehicles.

Sorting Out Our Organising Priorities.

Having spent the last year watching others talking about issues online, or just talking about issue to each other, can we realistically expect to pick up on our previous campaigns ?

That is a question which needs thinking about.

Aspects Of 500

Aspects of Information work and Usage

So here I am

– Retired but still practising Library and Information work.

– Information Provider.

– Information worker..

– With aspects of my life to be found online

&

– An archive in Amsterdam

It’s a good combination to have.

Yet some of the same kind of activity has been done about me by the state.

Spycop[s]

The Infamous Special Demonstration Squad [ SDS ] was established during 1968.

It was established to infiltrate politically active groups and report their activities to the Metropolitan Police Special Branch, but it has now emerged that the information which these spycops gathered was being passed on to MI5.

I and many of the political campaigning groups I was involved in were the subject of SDS reports.

Greenpeace [ London ] which I have been involved with for many years was infiltrated by at least Three Spycops.

Trying to find out

So here I am

– Trying to find out just how extensive the state spycops built files on me

&

– A Core Participant in the Undercover Policing Inquiry.

Not that the inquiry is opening up that many of the files about myself, my friends, and the various campaigns which I was involved in.

What is known ?

So just what has the inquiry revealed about me which I didn’t know already ?

That I and my mates were spied upon?

I knew that already.

The true and cover names of the various spycops ?

Most of the ones we do know about are in the public domain, including the notorious Bob Lambert who went by the cover name of Bob Robinson while he was spying on me.

Open the files

The inquiry is slowly releasing some information about just who was spied upon to some core participants, but it is far from complete.

While we are still demanding a full list of all the spycop cover names, and those campaigning groups they spied upon.

In the meanwhile: – 

The documents I have received do include my individual Special branch file number, but not what is included in it.

500

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of what the inquiry has revealed, is that the SDS reports were passed on to MI5.

These files are rubber stamped with the number 500.

I am thinking to get a badge made with a drawing of a rubber stamp with the number 500 on it.

Practical Campaigning – Ethical Issues.

I’m Just so pleased that I was taught about ethics at school, even if I can only remember just some of the principals of it all.

Now what strikes me is that more people should of been taught them, as some of those principles apply to why we all need to have the vaccine.

The same kind of Ethical principals apply to the need to be Vegan.

It is all very well talking about personal choice, and the principal of Human Rights, but what about if these choices impact upon other people or life upon this planet?

I guess in many ways it is an aspect of just why we need to engage in joined-up-campaigning.

This is one of the aspects of life that I mentioned in my article A few thoughts about the One in Seven which has just been published within the latest issue of Information For Social Change [ ISC ].

Yet

One of the side effects of lockdown has been the chance to think about the kind of society it would be ideal to live in, even though most of us have had to deal with the practical issues which face us all.

It also has been many of us the chance to think What Next? & Where Do I Want To Go Next ?

Yet

The coming few months will be very busy with the end of lockdown.

The first thing is that Part two of Tranche One of the spycops public inquiry is taking place next month, and I am hoping to learn about the activities of the spycop[s] that I knew during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Though the inquiry is redacting so much information that it is very hard going to get anything which is really useful out of it.

Then comes all of the active campaigning which needs picking up on again, and the chance to meet other activists in order to work out what we can do next.

Some things which need doing are very obvious, but we will need to build up an activist base once more. As and when these activities will be posted on the Close Capenhurst Campaign website.