On 16 Mar 2002 at 23:51, matthew X wrote:
> * Zimbabwe now has it's own Indy Media Centre http://zimbabwe.indymedia.org
> * Two presidents resigned on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean
> rather than give the green light to a new Prevention of Terrorism Act. Mass
> protests complained that the law was an infringement of human rights and an
> attack on the country's sovereignty, because it allows the CIA to interfere
> in national affairs. The law was eventually passed when the Chief Justice
> became president.
> Inside SchNEWS Ever wondered why anti-capitalist protesters always get over
> the top sentences for minor offences? Well, the Legal Defence and
> Monitoring Group (LDMG) have uncovered secret documents that tell judges to
> come down hard on activists. These documents were being passed to Crown and
> Youth Court judges after both May Day 2000 and May Day Monopoly 2001
> festivities. The document titled "Mayhem" came to the attention of LDMG in
> June 2001 at Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court. The defence barrister Ed Rees
> QC asked to look at the document, but the court refused this on the grounds
> that it was secret! Sentencing in England and Wales is supposedly based on
> individual circumstances and the seriousness of the offence, but clearly in
> the case of anti-capitalists this is not the case. Glaring examples of over
> the top prison terms are Roger Davis who got 3 months for threatening words
> and behaviour, which results in a fine at worst; Karl Hodgkinson got 15
> months for affray; and another person received a #1000 fine for common
> assault (the lowest form of assault). Paul Jones, spokesperson for LDMG
> told SchNEWS "The police have spent millions of pounds preventing the May
> Day actions from proceeding peacefully and in prosecuting people for minor
> offences. Now we discover that the judiciary is instructed to send those
> convicted to prison. Even the pretence of justice has been abandoned. We
> demand an amnesty for all May Day protestors." LDMG 07949 061 333 e:
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] *All sorts of pranks and actions are being planned for
> this year's May Day. For more info check out www.ourmayday.org.uk *
> Brighton Anarchist Black Cross are hosting a Mark Barnsley info/debate
> night upstairs at the Albert, Trafalgar St. Monday 18th at 7.30pm. Mark has
> spent seven years inside after being attacked by 15 drunken students whilst
> out with his baby and a friend. Mark has spent all his time in maximum and
> high security prisons and has been denied parole as punishment for
> protesting his innocence. www.freemarkbarnsley.com * Emily Apple the
> activist that "society needs a break from" didn't go to prison as feared
> (SchNEWS 345) but got a fine instead for locking onto a train carrying arms
> dealers to last year's arms fair in East London.
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> THE UN-DAMMED Just 24 hours before a campaign was due to be launched
> against AMEC, for their participation in the controversial Yusufeli Dam in
> Turkey, the company announced its withdrawal from the project. The dam
> would displace 30,000 people, destroy many old churches, fortresses and a
> citadel aswell as displacing endangered red vultures and brown bears. The
> withdrawal of AMEC now casts doubt over the future of the whole project.
> Kerim Yildiz, Executive Director, Kurdish Human Rights Project said "We are
> delighted that AMEC has withdrawn from this project. For minorities on the
> ground whose homes, livelihood and ways of life are threatened by this
> project this a huge victory." www.khrp.org
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Positive SchNEWS At Taurus Crafts in Lydney, Gloucestershire, peddlers will
> be connecting their own pedal generator to the national grid via a plug
> socket from 2nd-30th April. Tom from 'Power of the People' told SchNEWS
> "The paperwork I have generated dealing with the natural grid, power supply
> companies, and planning department is enormous... In the Netherlands these
> same panels can be stuck on the roof, plugged in at a wall socket, and your
> meter will run backwards corresponding to the number of units produced. No
> paperwork required." Info: 01594-836546 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ...and finally... "The Corporation took over your country and proceeded to
> impose its strict rules on an unsuspecting public. Questioning this new
> authority led to unrest. Unrest led to full scale rioting." - So goes the
> blurb for a new Sony Playstation 2 game where armed with molotovs, grenades
> and AK47s you fight the corporation. The company backing it, Take-Two, will
> profit greatly from this anti-capitalist bestseller at a time when it is in
> financial woes. Yet another example of a capitalist company selling the
> anti-capitalist idea. SchNEWS reckons its more fun (and risky) to get out
> on the streets and demonstrate than sit and smash things up on a TV screen.
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Disclaimer SchNEWS warns all readers if there's any seed of doubt go for
> the best of the crop. Honest
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
