A jolly good time was had by all. Click on the photos for a closer look.

D-Notice has more photos. Davide has some as well.

Here’s the BBC write up. If you click on the video link on the top left of the page you can watch Mark Thomas debating with some Tory pilgarlic. You might see a couple of familiar faces in the background (Nosemonkey has screengrabs).

I’m doing a write up of the protest for The Friday Thing, due out a bit later today.

Update: Rachel has more.

Update update: I made it into Pink News.

Update update update: Chris King has some rather smart photos up. My ‘ghastly facial features’ (copyright Larry Teabag) feature once again. D-Notice has a write up with loads of links.

My permit/licence/condescension for tonight’s Mass Lone Protest arrived this morning.

I, among quite a few others, will be in Parliament Square from 6pm this evening. Come and say hello if you’re passing.

As advertised, I’ll be protesting against the need for protest. The placard, as you can see (front, back), is ready, just need to print off my fliers. Tim Ireland’s promised I can have a go on his big bell.

As well as Tim, D-Notice and Rachel North are going to be there.

Via Rachel, it sounds like the handing in of the request forms last week (I posted mine) was fun:

- One lady brilliantly filled out her socpa form on a cake with icing. This caused a lot of head scratching but they took the details and filled out a new form. And then we all ate the cake and the cops all had a slice.

- We had a Medium who claimed to be possessed by the spirit of WinstonChurchill, so Churchill handed in a socpa form from beyond the grave.

- A selection of the protest subject matters were: Goth Pride, Owen Hargreaves contract, ban silly political stunts, the fact that the “mind the gap” announcement at Bow road tube is too loud, the lack of hat wearing in public life, Give Warwick castle back to the public, and my friend Tom who wanted to highlight his belief that every time you have a wank a tory dies.

…

- Just as the very last person handed in his form a very flustered pensioner turned up in a taxi. She had seen Mark [Thomas] talking about it on the TV and ran down to join in!

Situationism as its best.

Hopefully I’ll be moblogging the event as well.

Anyone else going?

Hundreds of demonstrators are expected to gather in Parliament Square next Thursday to take part in a unique protest. The subject: absolutely anything. Opponents of war, fur, fees, developing world debt - whatever - will come together for what has been called a “mass lone demonstration” by its organisers.

read the rest…

Update: This from Mark Thomas’ email list:

‘[T]he more eagle eyed amongst you might have noticed the Guardian on Thursday and an article that mentioned the Mass Lone Demos. For those that have not followed the story so far , here it is…. the government introduce the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act, in which they make it a legal requirement for any protest in Parliament Sq and its environs to get prior approval or licenced from the police 6 days in advance. As this includes individual demonstrators (who only need have a banner or a badge in Parliament Square to warrant being classified as a demonstration) I came up with an idea. What happens when a whole load of individual demonstrators turn up to get licences from the police at the same time? Can we turn compliance into defiance? Will the police grant licences fro us? Can we turn it into a regular event that throws the stupidity of the law back at those who have to police it?

‘Well this Thursday night we had over 100 people turn up to get their individual protest application forms into the police at Charing Cross police Station in London. At least 30 forms were handed in on other peoples behalf as well. So we estimate about 100-150 people have applied to come and have a Mass Lone Protest in PArliament Square on the 31st of August 6-7 pm. Anyone who missed this and wants to join in still can.

‘All you have to do is fill the form in and hand it in to Charing Cross police Station anytime Friday the 25th.’

This via Rachel.

A recent damn-fool law has made it illegal to protest anywhere near Parliament without official police permission, and comedian Mark Thomas is organising a stunt to highlight the danger and stupidity of having this law in a democracy.

Please note that taking part in this is 100% LEGAL, and the whole purpose of the stunt is to overload the system by dozens of people all asking for permission to protest all at the same time.

The law: Under section 132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 [PDF] it is an offence to organise or take part in a demonstration in a public place within the “designated area” (up to 1 km around parliament) if authorisation has not been given by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner. Participants may be subject to a fine of up to £1000 and “organizers” face up to a year in Jail.

DESIGNATED AREA. Dozens of people have been arrested for not complying with the law even when they are taking part in “Lone Demonstrations” - i.e. if they are one person with a placard.

Many people see this legislation as an assault on our civil liberties and human rights. It’s not always practical to plan a week in advance what government activities you may or may not disagree with. Sometimes a spontaneous response is called for. And surely the most appropriate place to demonstrate against the government’s actions is within the newly “Designated Area”, at the very core of this country’s democratic foundation.

And why is New Labour so concerned about peaceful protestors anyway?If you apply for permission 6 days in advance for a lone protest (ie 1 person) they cannot refuse permission, so in order to highlight the ridiculousness of having to ask for police permission to hold a peaceful demonstration, Mark Thomas is organising a mass lone demonstration evening.

Anyone who wants to demonstrate about any issue can come along, or even if you just want to demonstrate your disgust at having to ask for permission to protest in a supposedly free country. Remember. This will NOT be breaking the law in any way!

In fact the purpose of this is to get as many people as possible complying with a ridiculous law. All at the very same time! Huzzah!

Stage 1 - Decide on your protest! This can be something you feel strongly about or something very silly – it’s up to you. Then you need to fill in the official form (which is very simple) and there is a copy of the form here.

Stage 2 - Meet on Thursday 24th August outside Charing Cross police station any time between: 5.30pm-6pm to hand in your SOCPA forms. The address is Agar Street, London, WC2N 4JP and a map is attached. You have to fill in form and hand it in to the police 1 week before you protest, so everyone has to turn up at the same time to give their forms to>the Police. This will mean if 100 people turn up and apply for permission, then the unfortunate police have to license and approve 100 lone demonstrations. If you can’t make it to hand the forms in but want to demonstrate on the 31st, post them to: Ben Stern S2S Suite Z009 Old Truman Brewery 1 Brick Lane London E1 6QL.

Stage 3 - The mass lone demonstrations will be 1 week later on Thursday 31st August and will again be at 6:00pm for 1 hour, so this event is open to those with day jobs. Come along! Join in! Exercise your democratic rights! The more people who come the bigger an impression this will make!

EASY-PEASY STEP BY STEP

STEP 1 Forward this on to any friends who have a burning issue that they might need to protest about and persuade them to come as well. This is also for anyone who finds it terrible that we have to ask for permission from the Police to peacefully protest outside Parliament.

STEP 2 Print out form

STEP 3 Fill in form with the issue that you wish to protest about.

STEP 4 5.30 - 6pm Thursday 24th August, show up at the same time as other lone protesters at Charing Cross Police Station.

STEP 5 6pm Thursday 31st August, show up and protest about your personal issue in Parliament Square.

STEP 6 Consider continuing your protest again at a later date.

Again a group session for shy lone protesters will almost certainly be scheduled. Once again this is COMPLETELY LEGAL – in fact we are encouraging as many people as we can to apply to the letter of law simultaneously. Dozens of people have already agreed to do this so don’t worry that you’ll be doing this on your own. This is also likely to be covered by the press. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns about this event.

Big shout out from me to Ben and Chris Atkins S2S Post The Old Truman Brewery 91 Brick LaneLondon E1 6QLT: +44 20 7053 2190
F: +44 20 7053 2188

Links: www.parliament-square.org.uk
www.spy.org.uk/parliamentprotest

I’m going to try and be there - my form went in the post this afternoon.

Update: Forgot to say. My protest will be against the need to protest. A meta-protest if you like. Protesting takes up the time and resources of all those involved: protesters, spectators, news crews, policemen etc. So, if we ban the causes and catalysts of protest - wars, incipient totalitarianism, the assorted elected jerks who start the trouble in the first place and whatnot - everybody will have more time and money, and generally be much cheerier.

I made a little button. I put it in the sidebar linking here.

You can have it if you like. Just host it on your own server and link it to somewhere helpful.

There’s talk of t-shirts and flags with profits going to the relief effort. More news as and when.

This + this = five minutes of your time.

Ask him to bend the rules. Just this once.

Update: I love a story with a happy ending.

Jack Straw yesterday launched an outspoken attack on TheyWorkForYou.com, claiming that it is distorting they way MPs conduct their business. See.

This is patent nonsense. MPs are responsible for their own actions. TheyWorkForYou is a valuable contribution to our civil society, allowing us access to debates and MP’s questions in a useable format that Parliament itself has been unwilling to provide itself.

What I’m asking people to do is to write to Jack Straw to (politely) tell him he’s tilting at the wrong windmill here, and to insist that he takes part in the consultation exercise that theyworkforyou have already initiated on how to improve the way they measure MPs work. In particular, call for him to attend their public meeting on 7 November to discuss precisely this issue, rather than making potshots from his position of safety behind the despatch box.

Are you with me?

All round top chap Nick Barlow is about to commence his walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End in aid of the Brain Research Trust:

Last year, my brother Simon died. He was first diagnosed with a brain tumour in 1998 and after seven years of operations, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, all clears, relapses and lots of normal life in between, a third tumour was finally too much for him and he died on October 11th. It was around then that I realised I’d finally be doing my walk this summer. After all, Simon was probably the fittest member of our family - he’d run the Paris and New York marathons - so something like this seemed a perfect way to remember him. Plus, I’d sooner walk 1000 miles than try and run 26, but I’m strange that way.

He’s hoping to blog the journey and you can sponsor him here. Get over there and give him some support.

Further to this and this, comes this:

I will form part of a human chain around the Westminster no protest zone but only if 6,000 other people will join in.

Go and sign up. Just don’t be first at the bar when we all get to the pub afterwards - that’s a big round.

To: The British Government

We, the British Public, call for a fully comprehensive Public Inquiry into the July 7th 2005 London Bombings.

Only this can provide us with the information we need as to what actually happened, how it happened and why it happened so that we will be better prepared to prevent such a tragedy happening again.

We, the Public were attacked. We, the Public have questions. We, the Public want our questions answered, independently, transparently and honestly.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Sign the petition here.

Further to this, Alex, The Yorkshire Ranter, highlights a petition.

Alex has more.

The most effective way for ordinary citizens to ensure NHS reform will be successful is to make certain that those who are responsible for creating the public health system voluntarily agree to exclusively use the same system, without opt-out, in their own medical treatment.

OurPetition believes the people of the United Kingdom are entitled to a world-class health system. To achieve this we ask policy-makers to lead by example.

Write to your MP asking them to sign, sign it yourself and spread the word.

Speaking of Zimbabwe, this came from Maureen Lipman in yesterday’s Guardian:

I passed a demo in the Strand on Saturday, outside Zimbabwe House. A small group of people protested in the rain about repression, corruption and starvation in their once thriving and beautiful country. Zimbabwe’s leader is as cracked and corrupt as Iran’s, but Africa will never merit the kind of outrage generated by the Middle East. One wonders why.

There is a deeply unsexy charity for Zimbabwean women which might interest you. Their only tampon factory has closed down: the farms are no longer able to produce cotton and the women of Zimbabwe can’t afford to buy towels at inflated prices. A box of tampons costs £4 and the average monthly wage is £12. This forces them to use newspaper or leaves, leading to infections, which their partners often view with suspicion. Domestic violence ensues.

The charity Dignity.Period! has a truck full of tampons, donated by South African women and big business, which has been held up at the border since Thursday because customs are demanding taxes of $10,000 (£5,622). A benefit for the charity will be held at the 20th Century Theatre in Notting Hill on May 26, call 020-8991 2502 or see www.actsa.org for more details.

As if falling to the communists wasn’t hard enough.

We should pass swiftly over the fact that the sub-editor of this piece needs a clip round the ear for the way it was arranged. The passage on Zimbabwe was at the bottom of the page after two lengthy and toe-curlingly pooterish sections about London buses and Lipman slamming her thumb in a car door. I wonder how many people didn’t bother getting to the end. Or didn’t get past the headline (”What is it about London Bus drivers that makes them think they don’t have to obey the same rules as the rest of us”).

There’s more details here and donations can be made online.

There’s also Early Day Motion 862 on the subject that MPs can sign. If yours isn’t on the list then go to it. Takes five minutes.

Update: I emailed my MP yesterday and not only did she sign the Early Day Motion, I received a reply in the post this morning. Credit where’s credit due.

Today, please.

“I will become the patron of a London community sports club. I will work with the club over the years as the Olympics approaches in 2012 to support their development and raise their profile but only if 100 other public figures in London will join me in supporting other clubs.”

You’ll never guess who kicked this pledge off…

Take the pledge:

“I will purchase a Virtual Peerage but only if 10 other people will too.”

And unlike buying a real peerage, the money will be going to a good cause. Prices start at a very reasonable £7.50 for a Baronetcy. Baronet McKeating of Yoghurt. I’m having some of that.

You can buy the peerages here. Peasant.

“Lack of controls on the arms trade is fuelling conflict, poverty and human rights abuses worldwide. Every government is responsible. The Control Arms campaign is asking governments to toughen up controls on the arms trade.

Our Million Faces petition is collecting photos and self portraits from around the world to reach our goal of one million faces by June 2006. We will use these faces to send a powerful, global message of support to the world’s governments for an International Arms Trade Treaty.”

upload your fizzog >>

You are cordially invited to a public carol service in Parliament Square at 6pm on Wednesday the 21st of December 2005.

This inclusive service will contain both Christian and secular verse, and is expected to last no more than an hour.

Candles and song sheets will be made available, with donations going to Medical Aid for Iraqi Children.

Please note that if you attend this carol service, it will classify as a spontaneous demonstration (of faith, hope, joy and/or religious tolerance) and there is a possibility that you will be cautioned or arrested under Section 132 of the Serious and Organised Crimes and Police Act 2005.

Click here for more information.

Participation. Engagement. Dialogue. Only connect… and all that. It’s nice to advocate something practical now and again. Makes one feel that it’s not all whistling in the dark.

Tom Steinberg of mySociety (the people behind the mighty WriteToThem.com and PledgeBank) left a comment on my piece about the New Labour Education White Paper propaganda drive:

This is one of the reasons why we… have built our newest site, www.hearfromyourmp.com. Because constituents get a right to reply, there is a slight pressure on MPs to be original - you don’t want to be caught out by something like this in a place where people can point out that you appear to be astroturfing.

I signed up for this a while back but forgot to plug it. It’s all explained here.

Some MPs are already engaging in the process. Some are not. My local MP, for example, has been emailed twice letting her know that some of her constituents wish to discuss what she is doing in their name. As yet, she hasn’t replied.

Still. Go to it. The more people sign up, the more likely it is to happen. Let your MP know that you pay their wages and you’d like to know what you’re getting for your money.

I doubt it’ll come to it but I’ll play.

If a Deep Throat would like to send me a copy of the Bush/Blair transcript, I and my clandestine network of urban intellectuals will publish far and wide.

If we haven’t yet joined the emigres, then there’s still some fight in us. In principle, the best protest is to articulate the message clearly, then channel it directly, so…

read the rest

Reporters Without Borders has produced this handbook to help them, with handy tips and technical advice on how to to remain anonymous and to get round censorship, by choosing the most suitable method for each situation. It also explains how to set up and make the most of a blog, to publicise it (getting it picked up efficiently by search-engines) and to establish its credibility through observing basic ethical and journalistic principles.

read the rest…

(via the SpinWatch email newsletter which is a cracker this month for injecting some piss and vinegar into the summer-lulled dander.)

So how about a network of likeminded people, Muslim & non-Muslim, guys and girls who vow to keep the issue of Islamophobia in the open? Kind of a solidarity network. We could set up a website, write letters, hold rallys… Whatever seems important and helpful…

read the rest…