ALARM’s Future – 13th May 2012 – AGM 1

Everyone is asked to not drink any alcohol throughout the first two sessions of the AGM

Start at 1:50 at the  Calthorpe Arms on Greys inn Road

Intro to AGM , why we’re here  (2 minutes)

A Look at the Agenda                    (5-10 minutes)

Section 1

1.    Review of ALARM

a.         A look at what we have achieved over the last year from  street meeting at Marxism / ALARM riotspecial paper / Anti-EDL mobilisation / Cuts poster & paper/  Conway Hall conference / Radio                                                                    (20minutes)

b. A critical look at the aboveon the basis that given the resources we have we should have achieved more than this                                                               (20 minutes)

2.     Lessons learnt  an honest discussion on what the problems have been in ALARM and if it is possible to overcome them                                                          (30 minutes)

3.     Do we wantALARM to continue? Does ALARM has any viable future do we want it to continue, i fnecessary this will be decided with on a vote after a ‘go round’                      (20 minutes)

Break at 3:40 till 3:55

If we decide ALARM will continue then we shall have a break and move on to section 2.a

If we decide ALARM will NOT continue then we shall have a break and move on to section 2.b

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Section2.a                                The Relaunch of ALARM

All returning from the break constitute the ‘year one’ ALARM.

1.     What kind of group should ALARM be?

. We need to decide what kind of group we should be.

. What we can offer.

. Who has ownership in ALARM.

We will be judged by what we do in terms of action and propaganda,not on having the perfect structure and a great social set up       (45 minutes)

2.     MovingForward

B)   Sub Groups:Communication Group      (re launch ofall online media)

:  DiscussionGroup

: Red and Black                     (25 minutes)

. How often we meet                                       (10minutes)

. Roles: What positions do we need.           (20 minutes)

. Decision making process                             (20 minutes)

Next meeting,Date and Venue

Break at 6:30 grab a drink and return for section 3a more casual, relaxed and alcohol baseddiscussion about Alarm

Route2a – ALARMfolds and is disbanded

1.     Disposal of assets: we sort out what happens with money, phones and any other assets ALARM hasfrom phones to money.                               (20 minutes)

2.     We have an open discussion on the best way to move forwards   (20 minutes)

3.     Can whatever starts to emerge from the wreckage of ALARM can get moving?  (20 minutes)

4.     Assuming that what emerges from the wreckage will be a number of smaller affinity style groups focusing on more specific areas, we need to work out a way of liaising with each other and being able to offer mutual solidarity as and when needed (20minutes)

 

We say goodbye to each other. Anypeople interested in organising another meetings do so after.

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Section3

We return as a crew with drinks in hand to discuss the future

Major events in the short term .Diamond Jubilee

. London Olympics

The Long term, what can we be part off

Any other Business.

Netpol Conference 2012: Kettling Police Powers

This year’s Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol) conference offers a
unique insight into how different communities are self-organising against
police repression. Now in it’s second year, it puts ‘under one roof’ as
many people as possible who are fighting to reclaim control of their lives
from repressive state forces.
Radicals with an interest in community organising and a critique of the
police and the state would find the various discussion groups and talks
taking place of particular interest. This event will certainly get you out
of the dreaded ‘activist ghetto’ and expand the breadth of your knowledge.
With speakers from accross the spectrum of those affected by “total
policing”; such as journalists, muslim communities, protestors, kurdish
communities, squatters, lawyers, football supporters and more, this
conference is well worth attending. The ongoing work of Netpol, and their
campaign to Kettle Police Powers, essentially entails building a deeper
understanding of the mechanisms of state repression through our relative
experiences – and building a broad campaign to shift the public discourse
and take action.

In a time of increasing state repression, can you afford not to attend?

Register now at http://kettlepolicepowers.wordpress.com/registration/

The Kettle Police Powers Conference,
Sunday 20th May, 10:30am – 4pm,
Bishopsgate Institute
230 Bishopsgate London
EC2M 4QH

Nov. 9 ‘Mobile Kettle’ Demo

Well after last year what did we expect? The goal posts have changed in protest with the Arab Spring, the August riots and the Occupy Movements. The attack on Millbank was never going to be allowed to happen to Goldman Sachs.

Cameron is a PR man, the world was watching and him and May and the Met were clearly shitting it. A section 60 covered London from Regents Park down to Southwark! Letters to ‘known’ (including uncharged) activists were sent out warning them to move away from trouble (?) and we had yesterdays headlines MET TO USE RUBBER BULLETS !

“YOU CAN STICK YOUR RUBBER BULLETS UP YOUR ARSE”

But this wasn’t all about the students whatever the BBCensors etc. were saying.

Alarm members, alongside comrades from Hackney Anarchist Group and Solidarity Federation, joined around 400 electricians, students and supporters, as they took unoffical action in defense of pay and terms and conditions. The lively demonstration began at 7am outside the Pinnacle in Bishopsgate. Despite a heavy police presence, the electricans successfully blocked the road to morning traffic and broke through the police lines to march around to other building sites around the capital where bosses are attempting to cut electricians pay by a third.

The electricians occupied Cannon Street station for a while, and also paid a visit to the Occupation at St Paul’s where they addressed the campers and expressed solidarity. The unofficial demo finished at the shard in South London, where the official “Unite” demo and march began. Many of the electricians expressed support and solidarity for the students and said that they intended to join the student demo later in the day.

On the way into London Coaches of students were stopped and searched on their way into London and arrests made for possesion of marker pens FFS! By the time the students all moved off from Malet Street they were surrounded by 2 police every 10 feet.

By midday Twitter was spammed by bots and the Guardian live blog was lagging an hour. Online censorship and mass media blackout, more riot cops than protesters, what is this, Baharain or Britain?

As the march reached Trafalgar Square there was a pop up Occupation, but they were quickly arrested and led away to a waiting coach.

The sparks and students were held back from joining in a mass movement by a kettle on Fetter Lane, which saw some great break outs and de-arrests and the only bit of real excitement.

The whole of the stretch from Trafalgar to St Pauls was a sterile zone, with all the banks heavily protected, every side road double barriered off and every window boarded up.

This was just a mobile kettle, not a march.

Wanker bankers from Lloyds appeared at upper windows to taunt the protesters and antagonise them by throwing objects from above onto the protesters, until someone threw up a potato which broke a window and they all scuttled off scared ( source the Schnews twitter feed. )

By now though the cops were getting jumpy. Undercover police snatch squads were operating and at the point where the black block broke through the police lines Twitter crashed and the only live newsfeed coming from Russia Today without warning went to a dark street in some other city. Suspiciously like Oakland newscopters both running out of gas last week just before the police moved in…

Undercover cops acting as agent provecteurs started to get aggressive and cause trouble, violently pulling people from the crowd and making heavy handed arrests of kids, nasty testosterone dickheads acting like Mubarak’s thugs in Tahrir except this was in EC1!

As Billy Bragg sung in the City, at 4pm the cabbies blockaded Trafalgar all the way down to Whitehall nearly to Buck House! A proper Hackney Massive and probably the most effective part of the day!! Big up the cabbies!

Welcome to the new ‘total policing’ and the bastards changing the rules of the day as they go along. We had been told that we could gather at the end of the march for 2 hours, but as a rave broke out, this was slashed to one hour and we were informed anyone remaining would be arrested. Those who did remain (including journos) were indeed marched off at 5. 41 on the dot. The mainstream press is saying it was a peaceful protest with 20 arrests. More like 60, but bar a few broken windows it was impossible to act smothered in the TSG and dogs and horses everywhere.

We are saying it was a mobile kettle that was enacted by a police state that is living in fear…

The 1% try to join Occupy London

Ed Milibands stupid ugly face has declared how it’s in love with the Occupy London protests. In the Observer he moans on about how people protesting is like so very in right now and since the trade unions think he’s a spineless posh knobber he’s hoping some new people will be his friends.

Right now he’s saying how the Occupy protests are a sign of “danger signals” in a fortnight he will try and have a rally outside your camp. An Oxford educated toff who is in charge of the country’s second largest political party is definately in the 1%.

He’s also wrong – the occupy protests around the world are not “danger signals” but merely a sign of what is to come, where streets and public buildings are reclaimed, creating spaces where political discussions can be had without feeling the boot of the Met up yer arse. The Occupy protests show that people want change , but if the dead ideas of the Left infect these protests whether it be communist, Trot or Labour then they will become meaningless.

Ed Miliband doesn’t care what you think – he only cares about your vote. The same with the rest of the left – their central committees don’t care what you think – they want to write papers that you sell for them.  These people have already made their minds up, there is no space for debate. For Ed the country will be better under his rule, there is no other answer. For the far left cults it’s the same, life will be better under their rule, there is no other answer.

From what I’ve seen at the Occupy protests people there already know this all I can add are the immortal words of Nestor Makhno “oi oi Ed oi Ed YOU’RE GOING HOME IN A FUUUUUCKING AMBULANCE”

Sterilisation continues in the East End

Police are rounding people up in the East End today, another push at sterilising our area for the Olympics.

This isn’t new, last year a Boris Bike stand was put where the illegal Brick Lane market used to be (now all there is are Boris Bikes and overpriced stinking fucking cup cakes).

Dispersal zones are in place in every social space of the East End from Fieldgate Street to Crisp Street market. You ride your bike down Cable Street and you will be stopped by the police and your bike brakes checked, along with your tyre pressure, if you don’t happen to have a brand new bike that meets their criteria you get a fine…

Last night and today this process continues – dozens of undercover police are circling Aldgate East and Brick Lane using excessive force to arrest anyone they fancy. What could this massive undercover police operation be? Catching yuppies involved in fraud? MP’s fiddling their expenses? Of course fucking not. Undercover police are currently rounding up the well known criminal – a 17 yr old with £5 worth of cheap hash on them.

Much like the Inland Revenue concerning themselves with train fares – as the rich swindle billions the Met police too are only bothering to concern themselves with poor crime. Fuck the rich crime who cares about that? Lets go bag us some more scummy peasants.

Recently we’ve seen art students move to the East End because its “edgy” and “raw” but as soon as they’re in they want a safe playground to prance around in. They bring the gentrification and the Met step in to sterilise the whole area. When it’s safe they build thousands of new build overpriced flats whilst knocking down social housing. They want this area’s culture dead, its people gone – they don’t really care if you’re skipping the train, smoking weed, selling French smokes or drinking in the streets. They only care if you do it in what they deem to be their area. With the Olympics coming and the yuppies about to fill the 50,000 new build flats in the area they want every one to know that this is their area now.

So if you do head to Brick Lane today – go with a big crew.

Inspecting the poor

You can hardly move on a train without some smug looking prick waving a badge in your face and demanding to see your ticket – the Docklands Light Railway was murder last month, no journey was complete without 5 requests for your ticket.

Adding to this never ending demands of inspection are the Inland
Revenue who have been circling the tubes… Wait…what?

Inland fucking Revenue concerned about fare evasion. I was hassled by them in Poplar. I couldn’t believe that they were concerning themselves with fare evasion in the shadow of Canary Warf. But this is typical of how the state concerns itself. Top Shop ducks out of paying £6 billion in taxes but the real horror story is the measly £100 million in riot damage from August.

When yuppies are nicking billions, bankers are getting bail outs and MP’s fiddle their expenses. What’s the solution? Send out the Inland Revenue to catch some poor bugger on the dole that skipped paying £1.30.

Book fair round up

Last Saturday saw the Anarchist Book fair kick off again. An oh what a day.

As ALARM we performed in load of meetings – handed out a thousand odd papers and got rid of nearly 8000 stickers whilst chatting our arses off for hours. A lot of people came to our stall just curious about what we were up too, and few older comrades dropped “oh sooo your the new Class War” cracks. We told them that we’ve allowed a few Class War veterans into our mob but were a whole new fucking animal.

The Murdoch scandals of this year seemed to give the Anarchists a kick up the arse, people are catching on that there’s a real demand for radical alternative media whether it be radio from the Dissident Island crew or in paper from with Freedom knocking out another cracking paper for the anarchist movement. There was a real nice element of piss taking street rags out and im still laughing at the jokes in The fucking left Rag “the uks foremost working peoples paper for the working class who work” .Now or Never produced yet another KO copy of possibly the best radical magazine around and it was great to see that Crowbar has a child with a new squat paper coming out called ASS of the WORLD we cant wait to see what comes next.

The stalls can be a little intimidating … thousands of people bustling past stalls crying out for your money and time, but its the meetings where the movement really comes to form. Riots, youth rebellion, gender, veganism, deep green resistance or simply discussions on class struggle. The energy in the meetings was intense especially when they moved away from the theory to tackle action.  We know that Saturdays debates on Dale Farms sickening destruction to Fit Watch’s informative talks will see new campaigns emerge and guarantee that capitalism and the state will not go unchallenged.

Too be honest it’s just a relief to see thousands of people interested in our ideas.