It’s a really fun passtime, and now widely available thanks to lots of vaguely worded laws that can be used by Plods everywhere to create it with impunity!

A couple of days repression experience should be on the school curriculum for every kid, I reckon.

I wasn’t disagreeing with you or anything like that. Quite the opposite, in fact. Sorry if it came across otherwise.

I liked this bit:

Now, call me tight fisted, but I personally object quite a lot to paying for my own repression!

Me too.

In fact, recently the police have even tried to prevent anti arms trade film nights from taking place – Google “smash edo on the verge film” and learn.

Evidently peaceniks against the arms trade pose such a massive threat to the establishment that it’s worth the investment of thousands of hours of police time and goodness knows how much taxpayers money. (Now, call me tight fisted, but I personally object quite a lot to paying for my own repression!)

Gordon “Gandhi will be my inspiration” Brown – yeah right! Pants on fire, Gordon?

I do not personally know a lot of people this has happened to, however we really do need to stop this sort of vindictiveness, before it becomes widespread.

Perhaps it’s because I live in a city with a good deal of cross-communication between various campaigns here? I don’t know.

But I’m afraid this and similar kinds of repression are already fairly widespread, just under reported in the mainstream.

Maybe we should start a blog campaign on behalf of Hicham Yezza? It would at least raise the profile a bit.

Nowadays I can no longer count on my fingers alone the number of people I personally know who have been deliberately harassed and unfairly attacked by various agents of the state. The unmistakable stench of fascism is getting awfully close to home.

I do not personally know a lot of people this has happened to, however we really do need to stop this sort of vindictiveness, before it becomes widespread.

Press release:

From: a group of concerned students and academics at the University of Nottingham.

For immediate use, 24/05/08 SATURDAY

Notts Uni detainee innocent but still facing deportation.

Hicham Yezza, a popular, respected and valued former PhD student and current employee of the University of Nottingham faces deportation to Algeria on Sunday 1st June. This follows his unjust arrest under the Terrorism Act 2000 on Wednesday 14th May alongside Rizwaan Sabir and their release without charge six days later.

On his release Hicham was re-arrested under immigration legislation and, due to confusion over his visa documentation, charged with offences relating to his immigration status. He sought legal advice and representation over these matters whilst in custody. On Friday 23rd May, he was suddenly served with a deportation notice and moved to an immigration detention centre. The deportation is being urgently appealed.

Hicham has been resident in the U.K. for 13 years, during which time he has studied for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Nottingham. He is an active member of debating societies, a prominent member of an arts and theatre group, and has been writing editorials for the Student Peace Movement magazine for the last five years. He is well known and popular on campus amongst the university community and has established himself as a voracious reader and an authority on literature and music. An application for British citizenship was underway, and he had been planning to make his yearly trip to Wales for the Hay Festival when he was suddenly arrested.

Alf Nilsen, a research fellow at in the school of Politics and International Relations says ‘This is a clear case of the police trying to cover up their completely unjustified targeting of these two innocent men by making Hicham look guilty by deporting him. Hicham is entirely innocent and the rushed and heavy-handed way in which the authorities are dealing with this matter is outrageous.’

Dr. Alf Gunvald Nilsen
RCUK Fellow, Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice, School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham

Nowadays I can no longer count on my fingers alone the number of people I personally know who have been deliberately harassed and unfairly attacked by various agents of the state. The unmistakable stench of fascism is getting awfully close to home.

The way things are going, perhaps Nottingham Uni will be offering degree courses in it pretty soon…

It seems a hell of a lot of our police men and women aren’t getting the message.

Are you just a troll? I’m only asking? You said this at 3:

What a wonderful view it must be from the lofty heights of Douglas Clark. A giant raspberry to those “idiotic plods” labouring to save his pompous ass.

Well, if they were labouring to save my ‘pompous ass’ from something, I might be impressed. What, exactly, are they saving me from? Folk reading books? And this, according to you and Mr Plod, constitutes a problem? Well, thank you, even without you and Mr Plod, I feel relatively secure. Certainly from my ‘lofty heights’ which don’t actually exist in reality. Probably a little above the blast radius of your mutual stupidity.

The cops check your bookshelf by default, did you not know that?

And so, we move on to this:

I was just standing up for the “idiotic plod”, whom Lord Douglas et al feel at liberty to slag off yet among whom I sincerely doubt they ever, say, considered a career – their sensitivity and intellect presumably being far too considerable for such menial activity.

Far easier to moan about the working and lower-middle class toilers who do their level best to maintain the security of the blogging classes, and sometimes no doubt – not having the benefit of superior intellects like Lord Douglas and Dave Spart among them make silly mistakes – isn’t it.

Which is a lot of shit, isn’t it?

Firstly, I have less of an income than even a Constable. Do you not remember when it was decided that, in order to uphold middle class values the Police themselves were given a middle class lifestyle. I think it was shortly after the Miners Strike.

Which makes the notion that you are ‘standing up for working and lower middle class toilers’ a bit hard to stomach.

You, frankly have not a clue how a bureacracy works. For your information, daft wee, power mad lunatics, on a corporate ladder to Chief Constable, twist legislation to their own ends, viz the arrest of a protestor at the Labour Party Conference a few years ago. That is almost as satirical as Kissinger getting the Nobel Peace Prize, or you winning the just announced ‘Most Sensible Commentator on Pickled Politics’

And neither you, nor your heros’ are doing a damn thing to ‘make me feel safe’, which is a pretty idiotic concept – though shared by H & S executives everywhere…

I was just standing up for the “idiotic plod”, whom Lord Douglas et al feel at liberty to slag off yet among whom I sincerely doubt they ever, say, considered a career – their sensitivity and intellect presumably being far too considerable for such menial activity.

Far easier to moan about the working and lower-middle class toilers who do their level best to maintain the security of the blogging classes, and sometimes no doubt – not having the benefit of superior intellects like Lord Douglas and Dave Spart among them make silly mistakes – isn’t it.

I can tell immediately that you have never attended any sort of protest or taken any kind of effective stand (meaning other than writing letters, signing petitions, maybe waving a placard though even that’s being heavily policed these days) against the government or corporations in the UK. I’d guess you probably haven’t even handed out grassroots campaign leaflets (say against the closure of a local swimming pool, or for better recycling facilities) in a town centre either?

If you had done any of the above, you’d almost certainly have experienced first hand the kind of idiotic (sometimes just outright fascist) policing that goes on in this country.

Sure you can go out and protest! Free speech – woohoo!! As long as you clear it in advance with the police, or stand where they “let” you stand (usually about 2 miles away from anywhere you’d be seen by other members of the public).

It’s for health and safety reasons, you see Sir? Just stand behind the fence please. Just doing my job, Sir.

Meanwhile the police turn up in force to protect all kinds of heinous corporate scumbags; arms dealers, rampant polluters, asylum seeker imprisoners, you name it. They’ll also shove cameras in your face repeatedly, and even follow you home sometimes.

Or those clueless authoritarian PCSO cop-wannabes hassle you and try to take your name and address for simply handing out leaflets somewhere!?

Democracy sometimes happens in this country, but it’s in spite of politicians and the police, not because of them.

“Free” country my arse! Campaigners and activists on even the most low-level issues are now routinely harassed, followed and photographed relentlessly by the police. Intimidation is the name of the game – keep your head down, go to work, come home and watch TV.

Don’t get arrested, either – even for something spurious! Even if they’ve got nothing on you (because you weren’t actually breaking any laws, they just felt like messing with you), they’ll still send seven cops round to conduct a token “raid” on your house. (Yes, this happened at my house when my girlfriend got arrested for protesting recently.)

Incidentally, I have never yet been arrested myself – and why should I have been? I’ve pushed a few boundaries in my time as a campaigner on various issues, but so far have been quite lucky (and wise in bailing at the right moment so as not to get needlessly arrested). I’m sure the police know all about me though – I don’t even know how many times they’ve taken my picture, but it’s A LOT.

We’re living in a police state, and while they may well be “just doing their job”, last I checked, that wasn’t an acceptable excuse at eg. the Nuremburg trials.

PC Plod on the street may have good intentions, may even really care about the public, but at the end of the day, is still just a lackey of the state, following laws that we average folks have practically zero say in. (Certainly voting gives us zero say in such things as whether arms manufacturers can operate in our towns, for example.)

The police are not friends of ordinary people, by definition. Never have been, never will be – though (as much as it pains me to say it) there are plenty of them who are nice enough people and honestly believe that they are on our side. But take one look at who is making the laws, or take one step out onto any sort of effective non-government-sanctioned protest or direct action, and you will see exactly what kind of power-tripping authoritarian idiots the police are full of.

Not many people know this, but I considered a career in the police once upon a time. Just wanted to do my bit, to help society and so on. I’m just really glad that wasn’t the only thing I was trying to do at the time to help society, because if it wasn’t for all the other things I gradually realised were complete illusions (such as the ability to actually exercise any real democracy, as opposed to imaginary democracy called “voting”) I might never have realised.

The police are employees of the state, who’s job is to do as they are told by the state. When the state makes it’s citizens the enemy, the police are first in line to “just do their job” in protecting their masters.

So, with respect, come back once you know what you’re talking about!

Apparently there’s going to be a public reading of the terrorist material and silent demonstration on the main campus on Wednesday which I am planning to attend:

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2008/05/399428.html

One of the two men who were arrested at Nottingham University under the Terrorism Act 2000 on Wednesday 14th May is facing imminent deportation. Both men were released without charge after having been detained for 7 days. But one of them, a 30-year old member of university staff and non-British national was immediately re-arrested under immigration legislation.

It has been reported that it is decided the original arrest has compromised his visa status, even though he was released without any charges. He now been moved to a detention centre and faces deportation on Sunday 1st June. The man was a well-known, widely liked and active on campus. Students, lecturers and the wider community have started mobilising to stop his deportation.

So basically this guy (who I don’t know, but who friends of mine work with at the university) is going to be deported on June 1st (though I previously heard it would be this coming Tuesday), even though no charges were made, simply because getting arrested in the first place apparently violates the terms of his visa.

I believe he’s from Algeria, and is thus likely to face torture if sent back, despite not being charged with any crime.

So this is it really. The British totalitarian state is now disappearing people to almost certain torture for reading (or even handling) the “wrong” materials, even when there is a clear context for legitimate possession of those materials. Personally, I don’t think that should be the case even when there is no clear “legitimate” context for possession of those materials, because the slippery slope that line of thinking leads down is every bit as bad.

Exactly/ It is nice that you emerged from your cave.

Quite. If I ever stumbled upon a harmonious university campus I’d suggest checking the water supply and looking for unusual and over-sized pods.

on the otherhand, PC blog…

@8 “It seems to me that you’re far happier in the arms of Big Brother’s cosy embrace.”

Not really.

I was just standing up for the “idiotic plod”, whom Lord Douglas et al feel at liberty to slag off yet among whom I sincerely doubt they ever, say, considered a career – their sensitivity and intellect presumably being far too considerable for such menial activity.

Far easier to moan about the working and lower-middle class toilers who do their level best to maintain the security of the blogging classes, and sometimes no doubt – not having the benefit of superior intellects like Lord Douglas and Dave Spart among them make silly mistakes – isn’t it.

Unsettle the harmony of the campus? What is this, fucking China? Needless to say this type of moronic heavy handedness has the effect of making a lot of people in the Muslim community wary of the police.

Well I cant imagine how his thesis would be worse than the sellouts already out there, some of whom have had incredibily little to sell.

-the ht exmember numbskull who went all arab.
-the ex ht member who was expelled for stealing cars.
-the fool who only handed out a few leaflets for them yet wrote a book that the gits are all reading
-the latest punk who went to medical school in the early 90s and didnt like the bros, who now has a ‘extremism test’ he’s trying to sell.