# 27th July Critical Mass



## DrRingDing (Jul 19, 2012)

https://www.facebook.com/events/411329878902481/



> This month's Critical Mass will be on the same night as the olympic opening ceromony, so its going to be a good one.
> 
> Share this news with all your mates, and tell them to be at usual meeting point for 6pm for the 7pm set off, at Southbank near Waterloo bridge.
> 
> ...


 
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2012/07/497758.html


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## Wolveryeti (Jul 19, 2012)

yes


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 19, 2012)

Oh yes


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 24, 2012)

Anyone else?

I can't quite work out why LDN Bike Swarm are also organising a "swarm the Olympic lanes" ride at 6pm tomorrow?

https://www.facebook.com/events/425225370862756/

Left hand/right hand....


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## Onket (Jul 24, 2012)

Not been on one of these for ages.......


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## editor (Jul 24, 2012)

I'm always doing a ruddy Offine so can't make it along, but if someone would like to shoot some pics I could use for the section on urban75, I'd be very grateful.


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 24, 2012)

Onket said:


> Not been on one of these for ages.......


I went to one last month for the first time in about a year....I was surprised at how big it was. Loads of people turned up....I guess it's "summer" though.

Come along! This one promises to be extra fun...


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 24, 2012)

editor said:


> I'm always doing a ruddy Offine so can't make it along, but if someone would like to shoot some pics I could use for the section on urban75, I'd be very grateful.


I can probably take some pics - I'll have a camera with me so I'll see what I can do.


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## editor (Jul 24, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> I can probably take some pics - I'll have a camera with me so I'll see what I can do.


Cheers!


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## Onket (Jul 24, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> I went to one last month for the first time in about a year....I was surprised at how big it was. Loads of people turned up....I guess it's "summer" though.
> 
> Come along! This one promises to be extra fun...


 
We will have to see.....


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## ExtraRefined (Jul 25, 2012)

Probably be along for this. That FB event seems to have been disappeared


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## shaman75 (Jul 25, 2012)

They are clamping down on protest.  Be prepared.



> We also this evening heard that the Critical Mass ride will not be allowed across the river on Friday. This is for information.
> 
> http://twitter.com/LDNBikeSwarm/status/228219249041215489


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## gunneradt (Jul 25, 2012)

That's because they're shutting bridges and roads left, right and centre - hardly surprising and all that


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## ExtraRefined (Jul 25, 2012)

Start North of the river then


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## shaman75 (Jul 25, 2012)

gunneradt said:


> That's because they're shutting bridges and roads left, right and centre - hardly surprising and all that


 
not aware of any bridges being closed to cyclists.


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## gunneradt (Jul 25, 2012)

shaman75 said:


> not aware of any bridges being closed to cyclists.


 
Not sure who theyre closed to but it would hardly be surprising


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## shaman75 (Jul 25, 2012)

They are all open to cyclists.


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## Chuff (Jul 26, 2012)

Thinking of getting down for the first time in bloody ages, with my wife and a mate if possible


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## shaman75 (Jul 27, 2012)

Taxi protest banned: http://content.met.police.uk/cs/Sat...goBlobs&blobwhere=1283570003914&ssbinary=true

They really have banned protest imo.  Good luck.


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 27, 2012)

ExtraRefined said:


> Start North of the river then


A second/additional start point of Picadilly Circus is rumoured...


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 27, 2012)

I'm not quite sure how they could stop 500-1000 cyclists getting over the river....without blocking off the road to all traffic and pedestrians, causing even more road chaos!


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## shaman75 (Jul 27, 2012)

For the record, I went to the monthly motorbike protest on Wednesday at Traf Sq.  We were told we faced arrest if we protested, basically.

Maybe they will close the road.  Maybe some will get across.  Wouldn't be surprised if things turn nasty though.  London is absolutely heaving with coppers atm.


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## Boycey (Jul 27, 2012)

shaman75 said:


> They are clamping down on protest. Be prepared.


 
critical mass is not a protest.


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## Onket (Jul 27, 2012)

Jaffa Cake is not a biscuit.


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## DrRingDing (Jul 27, 2012)

Has anyone got a tool  to tighten the nut on a crank you can bring along tonight? My crank came off this morning.


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## Boycey (Jul 27, 2012)

Onket said:


> Jaffa Cake is not a biscuit.


 
quite.


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 27, 2012)

DrRingDing said:


> Has anyone got a tool to tighten the nut on a crank you can bring along tonight? My crank came off this morning.


sorry mate, I don't have one.

Someone ratcheting up the pressure on Indymedia:
http://london.indymedia.org/articles/12562


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## DrRingDing (Jul 27, 2012)

FIT squad out, old bill on tannoy, military choppers in the sky.


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## DrRingDing (Jul 27, 2012)

Oh and  a TSG van


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## DaveCinzano (Jul 27, 2012)

DrRingDing said:


> FIT squad out...



The explosion of free gonzo pron on the interwebs must have been a big blow to sweaty-palmed smutmongers like this fellow, forcing them to take really tawdry jobs to make ends meet, like pimping out their cameras to the filth.


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## cesare (Jul 27, 2012)

Space hijackers tweeting that OB have beaten up wheelchair user with help of medic.


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## Mr Smin (Jul 27, 2012)

cesare said:


> Space hijackers tweeting that OB have beaten up wheelchair user with help of medic.


I hope you mean a police medic, not an NHS one.


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## tufty79 (Jul 27, 2012)

yup, a police one apparently.
https://twitter.com/spacehijackers/status/228922340111687680


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## cesare (Jul 27, 2012)

Mr Smin said:


> I hope you mean a police medic, not an NHS one.



Yep


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## tufty79 (Jul 27, 2012)

[vid taken down - my mistake for not checking dates, was an old one]


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## sleaterkinney (Jul 27, 2012)

Town was crawling with cops this evening, they were never going to let anyone disrupt the opening ceremony..


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## cesare (Jul 27, 2012)

This seems to be one of the first vids of OB and disabled cyclist:


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## Frankie Jack (Jul 27, 2012)

fuck sake...


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## Chuff (Jul 27, 2012)

kettled #*criticalmass*


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## cesare (Jul 27, 2012)

Brixton Hatter's just tweeted "kettled near
Olympic site. Pointless arrests made"


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## cesare (Jul 27, 2012)

The Met are so fucking thick - they should have just made it part of the Opening Celebration and let them cycle there en masse.


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## Onket (Jul 27, 2012)

This was always going to happen, really. I hope everyone is ok.


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## boohoo (Jul 27, 2012)

Onket said:


> This was always going to happen, really. I hope everyone is ok.


 
I did say that to Reuben who went off to join it -he doesn't believe me when I tell him....  Can't get through to him or his friend!


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 27, 2012)

After a great cycle round town and freely cycling though some puny police lines, (part of) critical mass has been kettled outside the olympic park. My friend was roughly pushed off her bike and arrested for obstrcting the publichighway (she wasn't - she was just cycling along the road). They are now saaying "secxtion 12" - anyone know what that is?

Check my twitter feed for pics and stuff and hashtag #critical mass 

Fucking arsehole bastards met cunts. Lots of arrests and very violent actions by police.


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## cesare (Jul 27, 2012)

Section 12 is the Public Order Act, imposing conditions on public processions. They used it to close the bridges earlier


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## sleaterkinney (Jul 27, 2012)

Public Order Act Section 12 - Imposing conditions on public processions provides police the power to impose conditions on processions "to prevent serious public disorder, serious criminal damage or serious disruption to the life of the community"


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## Onket (Jul 27, 2012)

Everyone who gets nicked will probably have 'not to ride a bicycle within the M25 for the duration of the Olympics' or something as one of their bail conditions.

Cretins.


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## cesare (Jul 27, 2012)

> @MetPoliceEvents We are currently arresting a large number of people as a result of the #criticalmass Cycle ride


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 27, 2012)

Thanks. I can't see how my friend...cycling away from the police and the mass of cyclists...was going to cause serious damage or disruption. She's gonna spend the night in the cells now. Cunts.


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## cesare (Jul 27, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> Thanks. I can't see how my friend...cycling away from the police and the mass of cyclists...was going to cause serious damage or disruption. She's gonna spend the night in the cells now. Cunts.



Contact @GBClegal


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## nagapie (Jul 27, 2012)

Happy fucking olympics!


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## ddraig (Jul 27, 2012)

hope no one else gets hurt and gets out safe
itv pic and 'coverage'
http://www.itv.com/news/story/2012-...ympic-stadium-stratdford-and-waterloo-bridge/









fucks sake!


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## cesare (Jul 27, 2012)

Space Hijackers: First bus of arrestees taken to Charing X, not sure of others. 

Our Olympics tweeted earlier that the arrestees were being put on coaches.

Speculation that they're all being taken to Charing X but that only holds 100


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## editor (Jul 27, 2012)

Fuck's sake.


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## DrRingDing (Jul 27, 2012)

The OB drove into my bike with a van in Bethnal Green and completely trashed it.


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## ddraig (Jul 27, 2012)

lots of spare piggies knocking about obviously 
http://www.rt.com/news/london-police-olympics-arrests-269/


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## DrRingDing (Jul 27, 2012)

DrRingDing is not best pleased.

Now I have to work out how to extract some cash from the fuckers.


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## ddraig (Jul 27, 2012)

good luck with that!
arrest earlier







> *Jim Richardson* ‏@*jimrhiz*
> RT @*nighbe* @*smileandsubvert*: Plenty of arrests on London Olympic*#**CriticalMass*


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## harpo (Jul 27, 2012)

I was stood amongst part of Critical Mass that was, er, being prevented from moving forward, at London Bridge at about half 7 (happened to be walking past so joined in solidarity). Rumour went round that the blacked out car (the only car allowed to pass through) contained David Beckham. Dunno how true it was but it caused a bit of a crowd/photography surge. The cops didn't do much. They didn't seem to know what to do apart from stand round the edges. Was anyone else there at that stage?


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## cesare (Jul 27, 2012)

harpo said:


> I was stood amongst part of Critical Mass that was, er, being prevented from moving forward, at London Bridge at about half 7 (happened to be walking past so joined in solidarity). Rumour went round that the blacked out car (the only car allowed to pass through) contained David Beckham. Dunno how true it was but it caused a bit of a crowd/photography surge. The cops didn't do much. They didn't seem to know what to do apart from stand round the edges. Was anyone else there at that stage?



There's loads of tweets indicating that once there was difficulty getting Beckham through, the OB started getting violent with the cyclists.


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## Miss-Shelf (Jul 27, 2012)

Hope people are ok


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## ddraig (Jul 27, 2012)

oh ffs!






*rikki*
‏@*indyrikki* busespic.twitter.com/X4fhG2xC​​


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## Pickman's model (Jul 27, 2012)

ddraig said:


> oh ffs!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


i thought you weren't allowed bicycles on buses.


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## ddraig (Jul 27, 2012)

bet they've been carefully placed there too...


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## Pickman's model (Jul 27, 2012)

cesare said:


> This seems to be one of the first vids of OB and disabled cyclist:



i would be grateful if people stopped the pointless chants of 'shame on you' in future. they don't work, they never have worked and they never will work.


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## wiskey (Jul 27, 2012)

I have been told nobody was gassed or injured


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## harpo (Jul 27, 2012)

cesare said:


> There's loads of tweets indicating that once there was difficulty getting Beckham through, the OB started getting violent with the cyclists.


 
Ah.  I didn't see any violence but I didn't stay in that spot for more than a couple of minutes.


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## Pickman's model (Jul 27, 2012)

wiskey said:


> I have been told nobody was gassed or injured


i've been told a lot of things, not all of them true.


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## DrRingDing (Jul 27, 2012)

Pickman's model said:


> i would be grateful if people stopped the pointless chants of 'shame on you' in future. they don't work, they never have worked and they never will work.


 
I do have a preference for a good old fashioned "scum, scum, scum!"


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## harpo (Jul 27, 2012)

Pickman's model said:


> i would be grateful if people stopped the pointless chants of 'shame on you' in future. they don't work, they never have worked and they never will work.


Why?  It's actually very Britshly polite.  What do you suggest people say?  Nothing?


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## Pickman's model (Jul 27, 2012)

harpo said:


> Why? It's actually very Britshly polite. What do you suggest people say? Nothing?


'scum, scum, scum' as per suggestion in post 69

you only say nothing once you've been nicked.


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## harpo (Jul 27, 2012)

Pickman's model said:


> 'scum, scum, scum' as per suggestion in post 69
> 
> you only say nothing once you've been nicked.


 
Get ya.


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## lighterthief (Jul 27, 2012)

I'm a supporter and previous participant of Critical Mass.  But deliberately trying to cycle en-masse near the opening ceremony of the Olympics is fucking stupid.  What did people think might happen?!


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## wiskey (Jul 27, 2012)

Pickman's model said:


> i've been told a lot of things, not all of them true.


 
I believe my information to be credible. But yes, we will see.


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## fogbat (Jul 28, 2012)

lighterthief said:


> I'm a supporter and previous participant of Critical Mass. But deliberately trying to cycle en-masse near the opening ceremony of the Olympics is fucking stupid. What did people think might happen?!


 
I suppose the obvious conclusion is that uniformed dickheads will act like uniformed dickheads.


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## ddraig (Jul 28, 2012)

it's not like they were going to do anything other than cycle past or stop for a bit, not like they were going to invade the stadium and probably realise that that might get them shot. why kettle and alledgedly beat them? why shouldn't they be allowed to proceed along the public highway?


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## Pickman's model (Jul 28, 2012)

ddraig said:


> it's not like they were going to do anything other than cycle past or stop for a bit, not like they were going to invade the stadium and probably realise that that might get them shot. why kettle and alledgedly beat them? why shouldn't they be allowed to proceed along the public highway?


allegedly. not how you did it. and i don't think there's much of the allegedly about it.


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## ddraig (Jul 28, 2012)

yes


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## Pickman's model (Jul 28, 2012)

ddraig said:


> yes


that's my line


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## gunneradt (Jul 28, 2012)

It all went well, then


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 28, 2012)

Back home finally. Gutted it's turned out like this. My friend roughly pushed off her bike and jumped on by two coppers and arrested - for doing nothing more than trying to move away from the mayhem. Peaceful protest is dead. And this wasn't even a protest.



sleaterkinney said:


> Town was crawling with cops this evening, they were never going to let anyone disrupt the opening ceremony..


No one wanted to disrupt the opening ceremony.

But you're right if you're implying the police had to be seen to be _doing something_ about this.

I've got a massive story and loads of pics and stuff but it's too late and I need to go to bed. I need to retrieve her bike tomorrow and help her get home.

Fuck this Olympics security clusterfuck shitstorm


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## cesare (Jul 28, 2012)

Glad you're back safe, you must be absolutely knackered.


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 28, 2012)

FWIW I didn't see anyone get pepper sprayed. Doesn't mean it didn't happen though. The police were rough and in some cases very violent. The ride got split in half early on - we don't know what happened early on the other ride - but both rides managed to bump into each other in the middle of Old Street about 8pm and a massive 10 min spontaneous party happened in the middle of the road. That's what Critical Mass is all about. Not a fucking Olympic-busting national security threat.


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 28, 2012)

cesare said:


> Glad you're back safe, you must be absolutely knackered.


Thanks.

Yeah, on top of all this we cycled 20 miles today!


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## cesare (Jul 28, 2012)

What happened with your friend? Night in the cells?


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 28, 2012)

cesare said:


> What happened with your friend? Night in the cells?


Yep, Charing Cross. Which is a bit of a touch because originally they were gonna send people to police stations in Surrey or Hampshire! I've heard some may be let out fairly soon, before the morning.


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## cesare (Jul 28, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> Yep, Charing Cross. Which is a bit of a touch because originally they were gonna send people to police stations in Surrey or Hampshire! I've heard some may be let out fairly soon, before the morning.



So they're not sending them to local stations to be dispersed quietly then? 

Anyway, hope she's OK and didn't make any comment to OB.


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 28, 2012)

That ^^ looks like a pepper spraying to me. You can't actually see it. But you see the copper readying his spray, then pointing it, then...

E2A - I'm not actually sure that's today. Forgive me until I can check. g'night


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## cesare (Jul 28, 2012)

Onket said:


> Everyone who gets nicked will probably have 'not to ride a bicycle within the M25 for the duration of the Olympics' or something as one of their bail conditions.
> 
> Cretins.




You were pretty much spot on with that  Apparently one of the bail conditions is not to enter the Borough of Newham in possession of a bicycle  


Apparently they bussed them to Croydon nick and delayed processing, so there's still about 20 arrestees on a bus there - having spent overnight without any food etc.


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## cesare (Jul 28, 2012)

cesare said:


> The Met are so fucking thick - they should have just made it part of the Opening Celebration and let them cycle there en masse.



As I said last night, I think the OB really missed a trick here. They could have easily used that 2:1 ratio  to give them a bloody escort to the stadium, arriving in style "ACAB but our bastards are the best in the world ect ect chiz chiz"


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## cesare (Jul 28, 2012)

Fuller video by Space Hijackers of incident with wheelchair user last night:


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## temper_tantrum (Jul 28, 2012)

This was entirely predictable. Anything even vaguely resembling a protest is going to get squashed with extremely onerous bail conditions imposed on many concerned, while the Olympics corporate shitfest is on. Doesn't matter if you've done nothing worth being charged with, they are increasingly using bail conditions as a form of short- to medium-term control. And it is extremely effective as a deterrent: who can afford to be banned from going within 1 mile of any Olympic venue, or to not go on the rail system, for at least the next 6 weeks?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18927228

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18512382


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## Thimble Queen (Jul 28, 2012)

Fuck sake


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## SpookyFrank (Jul 28, 2012)

The flipside of these absurd bail conditions, particularly when they're applied to large groups, is that they are almost impossible to enforce.


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## cesare (Jul 28, 2012)

Same incident, but from pov of cyclist with helmet cam:


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## temper_tantrum (Jul 28, 2012)

SpookyFrank said:


> The flipside of these absurd bail conditions, particularly when they're applied to large groups, is that they are almost impossible to enforce.



And do you want to be the one to try your luck at breaching them?


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## SpookyFrank (Jul 28, 2012)

temper_tantrum said:


> And do you want to be the one to try your luck at breaching them?


 
Have done before. Nothing came of it.

e2a: The more people who completely disregard all this bail shit, the less effective it becomes.


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## temper_tantrum (Jul 28, 2012)

Congratulations. A lot of people won't fancy their chances, though. That is what I mean by deterrent.


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## spliff (Jul 28, 2012)

These guys _can_ go North of the river.






I understand there is a breakaway group. That sounds a bit worrying.


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## shaman75 (Jul 28, 2012)

cesare said:


> Same incident, but from pov of cyclist with helmet cam:




lol at the copper getting tripped up at the end. (3m35s)


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## Spanky Longhorn (Jul 28, 2012)

SpookyFrank said:


> The flipside of these absurd bail conditions, particularly when they're applied to large groups, is that they are almost impossible to enforce.


 
The point is not to keep individual cyclists out of Newham it's to make it easier to really punish them if they're daft enough to go and take part in another similar action in the same borough.


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## lighterthief (Jul 28, 2012)

I'm struggling to understand what point the cyclists were hoping to make tbh.  Bit of an own goal.


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## BigTom (Jul 28, 2012)

lighterthief said:


> I'm struggling to understand what point the cyclists were hoping to make tbh.  Bit of an own goal.



That having road lanes reserved for vip's pushes cyclists out into heavier traffic making it more dangerous to cycle perhaps, or wider feelings about restricting road space for vip's or about the Olympics bullshit in general.

The first is the most important/relevant for cyclists obviously


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## weepiper (Jul 28, 2012)

These are apparently the bail conditions






Stupid police can't even spell.


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## Mr.Bishie (Jul 28, 2012)

Latest/old news on twitter - 130 nicked? 

what the fucking fuck?


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## 8115 (Jul 28, 2012)

That's ok unless you live or work in Newham in which case it's a bit of a pain in the arse.


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## smmudge (Jul 29, 2012)

lighterthief said:


> I'm struggling to understand what point the cyclists were hoping to make tbh. Bit of an own goal.


 

Er, critical mass is a regular thing where lots of cyclists get together, have a bit of a jolly, meet other people who share an interest, and so on.  Also cycling around in a big group serves to bring attention to motorists that there's quite a lot of cyclists on the road even if they aren't always as noticeable.  But mostly the jolly, so why should they have called it off? Cycling isn't a subversive activity, really.


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## lighterthief (Jul 29, 2012)

smmudge said:


> Er, critical mass is a regular thing where lots of cyclists get together, have a bit of a jolly, meet other people who share an interest, and so on.  Also cycling around in a big group serves to bring attention to motorists that there's quite a lot of cyclists on the road even if they aren't always as noticeable.  But mostly the jolly, so why should they have called it off? Cycling isn't a subversive activity, really.


As I said earlier, I'm a supporter and previous participant in Critical Mass.  Just questioning the wisdom of trying to breach en masse the security cordon surrounding probably the most heavily protected event on the planet.


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## BigTom (Jul 29, 2012)

http://content.met.police.uk/News/182-people-arrested-in-protest/1400010375724/1257246745756

182 arrests, 4 charged, the rest bailed, presumably with the conditions posted earlier.

I don't really understand how anyone can justify this or say anything other than the met police were dicks for handling this in the way they did. 
178 people held overnight, bikes taken away, some left on buses with no food out water, fasting muslims denied water in the kettle etc etc without any charge, and i bet the other 4 won't get to court (thought I'm concerned the video of the disabled guy clearly shows him using reasonable force to restrain an officer will get done for assault on a police officer).

Does anyone seriously believe they would have tried to enter the stadium and disrupt the ceremony, or that it was necessary to do anything other than have extra police at the stadium in case anyone did try it?
IMO if they'd left it alone, cm would have ridden round the vip lanes, stopped outside the stadium for a bit and then gone home/pub.

But the met just don't seem too be able to do that


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## kenny g (Jul 29, 2012)

lighterthief said:


> As I said earlier, I'm a supporter and previous participant in Critical Mass. Just questioning the wisdom of trying to breach en masse the security cordon surrounding probably the most heavily protected event on the planet.


 
Probably because there are elements from the Reclaim The Streets strain coming through. A lot of people settled into the CM with the belief that it could be a semi- fluffy cover to meet once a month. Although the cover has become raison d'etre for many, bicycles add a fluidity to proceedings and make it quite a bit harder for the OB to keep tabs. All significant anti-cap protests in the 00's were preceeded by a CM. I expect some peeps were hoping for the same. In light of this the OB's response could be held by some to be entirely proportionate.


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## SpookyFrank (Jul 29, 2012)

weepiper said:


> These are apparently the bail conditions
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Surely in order to 'further disrupt' the olympic games one must have disrupted them already? If there's evidence of people having disrupted the olympics, why were none of them charged? The same applies to 'further offences' of course, all arrestees are innocent of any offence until proven otherwise in court, something that is unlikely to happen if the arrestees are not charged with any offence.


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## kenny g (Jul 29, 2012)

Can't people refuse to accept bail?


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## Brixton Hatter (Jul 29, 2012)

kenny g said:


> Can't people refuse to accept bail?


In theory yes, but no-one wants to stay in the cop shop until late September, which is when the interviews will take place.



lighterthief said:


> As I said earlier, I'm a supporter and previous participant in Critical Mass. Just questioning the wisdom of trying to breach en masse the security cordon surrounding probably the most heavily protected event on the planet.


Despite what you may have read, the ride wasn't trying to breach the 'security cordon' around the Olympic park.


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## kenny g (Jul 29, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> In theory yes, but no-one wants to stay in the cop shop until late September, which is when the interviews will take place.


 
Could go for habeaus corpus if the delay to charge is protracted. Sixty people refusing to accept unreasonable bail conditions and then being held in mass detention, the legality of which is challenged, would make a stronger prolonged impact.


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## smmudge (Jul 29, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> Despite what you may have read, the ride wasn't trying to breach the 'security cordon' around the Olympic park.


 
Just what I was thinking...did they actually go anywhere that wasn't a public place?


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## lighterthief (Jul 29, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> Despite what you may have read, the ride wasn't trying to breach the 'security cordon' around the Olympic park.


I find it hard to believe it ended up next to the Olympic Park by chance.


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## DJWrongspeed (Jul 29, 2012)

temper_tantrum said:


> This was entirely predictable.


 
Agreed, what did they expect ? There's so much ludicrous legislation around the olympics just going anywhere nr it wasn't going to make much of a point.


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## Lo Siento. (Jul 29, 2012)

DJWrongspeed said:


> Agreed, what did they expect ? There's so much ludicrous legislation around the olympics just going anywhere nr it wasn't going to make much of a point.


So fuck em, right?


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## Wolveryeti (Jul 29, 2012)

She was dressed like a slut going out - what did she expect would happen?
They were going by the Olympic stadium - what did they expect would happen?


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## Pickman's model (Jul 29, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> In theory yes, but no-one wants to stay in the cop shop until late September, which is when the interviews will take place.
> 
> 
> Despite what you may have read, the ride wasn't trying to breach the 'security cordon' around the Olympic park.


er...

the police would have to release or charge in 36 hours. not hold people until september. there is a custody clock, you know.


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## BigTom (Jul 29, 2012)

Pickman's model said:


> er...
> 
> the police would have to release or charge in 36 hours. not hold people until september. there is a custody clock, you know.


 
Wouldn't have just charged them under s12, held them over the weekend to go in front of a magistrate on monday who would impose the same bail conditions and hold them on remand if refused, I reckon?
I don't know why they weren't actually charged tbh, it seems pretty odd and I didn't know you could impose bail conditions without a charge.


----------



## smmudge (Jul 29, 2012)

So what would happen if they got caught breaking the bail conditions anyway?


----------



## BigTom (Jul 29, 2012)

smmudge said:


> So what would happen if they got caught breaking the bail conditions anyway?


 
from this word document by legal defence & monitoring group - http://ldmg.org.uk/files/Should-you-ignore-police-bail_conditions.doc




> Breaching Bail Conditions is not a criminal offence!
> What many people don’t know is that breaking bail conditions is not the same as failing to surrender to bail (turning up on the date given on your bail sheet whether to a court or to return to a police station) Failure to surrender is a crime (Section 6 Bail Act 1976). Although it should be said the courts take failure to surrender to the cops far less seriously than skipping court and CPS guidelines state that failure to answer police bail should not be prosecuted at all where the substantive case is dropped.
> 
> Breaking conditions imposed when you are give bail is not a crime. If you break bail conditions you can be arrested (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 section 46A (1A)).  In theory you can be arrested if the pigs think you’re going to break bail conditions (Section 7 Bail Act 1976) BUT and here’s the good bit, in either case they have to bring you before a court within 24 hours of arrest (not including Sundays, Christmas Day or Good Friday).
> ...


 
Basically fuck all I think although in theory you could be arrested and remanded, but they haven't been charged so it can't happen.


----------



## Brainaddict (Jul 29, 2012)

lighterthief said:


> I find it hard to believe it ended up next to the Olympic Park by chance.


It didn't. People were annoyed by the games lanes etc and many probably by the environment-destroying corporate bollocks of it all. But there was never any intention to 'breach security' around the site. They never planned to do anything except ride around the public roads outside the site. It might have caused some minor traffic disruption but if the police had controlled themselves it would all have been over quickly and everyone would have gone home.

This video  will give you some idea of the effort police put into stopping a minor disruption.


----------



## Pickman's model (Jul 29, 2012)

BigTom said:


> Wouldn't have just charged them under s12, held them over the weekend to go in front of a magistrate on monday who would impose the same bail conditions and hold them on remand if refused, I reckon?
> I don't know why they weren't actually charged tbh, it seems pretty odd and I didn't know you could impose bail conditions without a charge.


the differences between police bail and bail imposed by a court are

a) in court you/your lawyer can argue against the conditions

b) court bail is given after charging, police bail is generally given before for demonstrators

c) police bail conditions are often more draconian than those given out by courts - eg banning people from london.


----------



## Brainaddict (Jul 29, 2012)

Out of interest, is there any overseeing of bail conditions set by police or ability to appeal against it?


----------



## Pickman's model (Jul 29, 2012)

Brainaddict said:


> Out of interest, is there any overseeing of bail conditions set by police or ability to appeal against it?


you could go for a judicial review, but i wouldn't recommend it because they have a nasty habit of backfiring.

the best way to avoid onerous police bail conditions is not to get caught.


----------



## BigTom (Jul 30, 2012)

Brainaddict said:


> Out of interest, is there any overseeing of bail conditions set by police or ability to appeal against it?


 
You can apply for changes to bail conditions but I don't know how it works.


----------



## Lo Siento. (Jul 30, 2012)

Wolveryeti said:


> She was dressed like a slut going out - what did she expect would happen?
> They were going by the Olympic stadium - what did they expect would happen?


Yup. Great precedent, isn't it? If the government passes authoritarian legislation and use it against you it's your own fault because she know what to expect and keep your head down and your mouth shut. 

What a fantastic way to usher in and justify more of this bollocks


----------



## wemakeyousoundb (Jul 30, 2012)

3 charged
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jul/29/critical-mass-police-arrest-three


----------



## ddraig (Jul 30, 2012)

holding up athletes!  the horror


----------



## Treacle Toes (Jul 30, 2012)

_Cycling is illegal and I am arresting you for stopping on your bike_ _which I convienently witnessed you do in Bethnal Green_....


----------



## Treacle Toes (Jul 30, 2012)

One of those aressted and charged is a well known livestreamer from Occupy London.
They are trying to say he organised the critical mass on Friday despite its long history.

He and others are in court today....just got this update:

*'Courts in chaos. Those arrested at #criticalmass ferried between courts & paperwork missing. @occupylondon'*

182 people arrested, only 3 charged. :/


----------



## Treacle Toes (Jul 30, 2012)

*Metropolitan Police & Criminal Justice System UK: Justice for the Critical Mass 182*

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitio...e-system-uk-justice-for-the-critical-mass-182


----------



## butchersapron (Jul 30, 2012)

Nice to see defender of our civil liberties Sami bigging up herself and the Olympics without using the platform to speak out about this in the Guardian today.


----------



## Treacle Toes (Jul 30, 2012)

Update:



> change of change of court
> 
> Pedro is being charged with cycling in North London at Westminster Magistrates
> 
> ...


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jul 30, 2012)

wemakeyousoundb said:


> 3 charged
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jul/29/critical-mass-police-arrest-three


 


> He said after being taken to one police station in a bus he was then brought to Sutton in Croydon.


Oh Shiv


----------



## DrRingDing (Jul 30, 2012)

A mate's be in all weekend and supposed to be in court this morning. We don't know where he is.


----------



## BigTom (Jul 30, 2012)

The courts must have finished by now surely, no updates from occupy london?


----------



## a_chap (Jul 30, 2012)

Rutita1 said:


> _Cycling is illegal and I am arresting you for stopping on your bike_ _which I convienently witnessed you do in Bethnal Green_....




Stuff like that makes me so mad  And I bet the copper felt really good when he invented the "fact" that he witnessed her breaking the law.  Bastard.


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Jul 30, 2012)

smmudge said:


> Just what I was thinking...did they actually go anywhere that wasn't a public place?


No - all on public roads. I don't even recall going in any games lanes - the ride generally avoided them.



butchersapron said:


> Nice to see defender of our civil liberties Sami bigging up herself and the Olympics without using the platform to speak out about this in the Guardian today.


Shami was swanning around with the flag in the stadium whilst the ceremony celebrated the British tradition of cycling - at the same time less than a mile away police were beating, pepper-spraying and arresting peaceful cyclists. No statement from Shami yet (and I won't be holding my breath for one.)

E2A: there is a news article on the Liberty site by their legal director: http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/news/2012/police-target-cyclists-during-olympic-opening.php


----------



## harpo (Jul 30, 2012)

a_chap said:


> Stuff like that makes me so mad  And I bet the copper felt really good when he invented the "fact" that he witnessed her breaking the law. Bastard.


Oh they invent 'facts' like that all the time.


----------



## BigTom (Jul 30, 2012)

DrRingDing said:


> A mate's be in all weekend and supposed to be in court this morning. We don't know where he is.


 
Been told he was released on bail after being shuffled between two courts.. there's only one person who was held over the weekend wasn't there? the occupy london livestreamer?


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Jul 30, 2012)

The most ridiculous thing about the bail conditions was that when the plod were giving out printed bail sheets in Charing Cross police station, the ink on their printer started to run out. So most bailed cyclists ended up with a really faded piece of paper that was hardly readable....but they were still forced to sign to say they understood the conditions, even though they couldn't read them. 

A young woman - nothing at all to do with the cycle ride - was walking along the street when the police started kettling cyclists. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got arrested along with everyone else. She didn't even have a bike.

A couple of local young teens who were out on their bikes joined the ride and cycled with us for a bit because they were curious. Some of them got kettled and arrested. According to arrestees, one was 13 and one was 14.

Some people had only been on the ride for a matter of minutes when they got kettled and arrested: http://www.scriptonitedaily.org/2012/07/the-total-policing-of-critical-mass-eye.html#disqus_thread   ...some of whom could not have possibly known about the section 12 order.

Many of the cops at the scene had been bussed in from the shires. Several of them were openly scathing about their colleagues in the Met. They were hopelessly disorganised.


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Jul 30, 2012)

ddraig said:


> hope no one else gets hurt and gets out safe
> itv pic and 'coverage'
> http://www.itv.com/news/story/2012-...ympic-stadium-stratdford-and-waterloo-bridge/


you can spot our old friend Delroy Smellie in that pic. He was there on Friday throwing his weight around. Again.


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Jul 30, 2012)

DrRingDing said:


> The OB drove into my bike with a van in Bethnal Green and completely trashed it.


Bastards 

I guess you don't need that crank tool any more then. 

There must have been at least 30 police riot vans there on Friday (and over 200 cops). As I watched people being jumped on by the police and dragged off their bikes I saw the ironic police motto written on the back doors of one of the riot vans: *Protecting Communities*.


----------



## ddraig (Jul 30, 2012)

Brainaddict said:


> It didn't. People were annoyed by the games lanes etc and many probably by the environment-destroying corporate bollocks of it all. But there was never any intention to 'breach security' around the site. They never planned to do anything except ride around the public roads outside the site. It might have caused some minor traffic disruption but if the police had controlled themselves it would all have been over quickly and everyone would have gone home.
> 
> This video  will give you some idea of the effort police put into stopping a minor disruption.




not surprised at the other video with the smug bully cunt threatening someone for offering someone else water, sadly


----------



## BigTom (Jul 30, 2012)

just as an aside, I was told that each van costs west midlands police £18k/day, and the cost is one reason why they've not been policing demonstrations here with any numbers of police (at the pretty angry demo on Friday about the birminghma riot death acquitalls there were 4 police "liaison" and 2 uniformed police, plus 1 van which was only used to block traffic when the demo was marching from the police hq to the courts).
They'll cost more for the met, cos of london weighting allowance.. but 30 vans at say 20k = £600,000 cost to police this... and that won't include the costs of the arrests/custody/buses/holding the bikes etc. etc. .. and given the times there'd probably be overtime to add on for many officers.

Cost is about the least bad thing about this whole event but it's worth thinking about for those who say the police act fine, whether it's really worth spending that money or not.  Although I know those who say "the cyclists shouldn't have been there in the first place / should have obeyed the police" will just blame CM for that cost.


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Jul 30, 2012)

BigTom said:


> Wouldn't have just charged them under s12, held them over the weekend to go in front of a magistrate on monday who would impose the same bail conditions and hold them on remand if refused, I reckon?
> *I don't know why they weren't actually charged* tbh, it seems pretty odd and I didn't know you could impose bail conditions without a charge.


They haven't got any evidence. Presumably they will be studying CCTV / notebooks etc over the next two months in preparation for the September interviews.


----------



## BigTom (Jul 30, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> They haven't got any evidence. Presumably they will be studying CCTV / notebooks etc over the next two months in preparation for the September interviews.


 
I dunno, I would have thought that the fact that they were in the kettle north of the river would be enough evidence for them to have breached the s12 notice in order to charge them with that.  Proving that they knew about the s12 order, or whether it can actually be applied to CM or to these events is a different matter, but it would be enough to charge them I think.
Saves them from having to drop the charges later though, and they get what they want which is to apply those bail conditions.


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Jul 30, 2012)

BigTom said:


> I dunno, I would have thought that the fact that they were in the kettle north of the river would be enough evidence for them to have breached the s12 notice in order to charge them with that.


It's possible that interviewing, processing and charging 180 people was too much hassle, hence the bail. However, some people didn't know about the s12 order. Some people joined the ride when it was already north of the river. Some people (see post 144) accidentally got caught in the kettle, so mere presence in the kettle couldn't necessarily be taken as breach of the s12.



BigTom said:


> Proving that they knew about the s12 order, or whether it can actually be applied to CM or to these events is a different matter, but it would be enough to charge them I think.
> Saves them from having to drop the charges later though, and they get what they want which is to apply those bail conditions.


Yeah I agree with this bit. They're on dodgy ground with s12 I reckon - I don't think "_serious_ disrupton" (e.g. traffic delays of a few minutes) would stand up in court. We live in hope that charges won't be brought on the 178+ on bail.

No news on the magistrates court cases today yet...


----------



## Pickman's model (Jul 30, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> you can spot our old friend Delroy Smellie in that pic. He was there on Friday throwing his weight around. Again.


i don't think he is in that picture


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Jul 30, 2012)

Pickman's model said:


> i don't think he is in that picture


is that not him in the middle, top of picture, right arm extended towards cyclist in white helmet?

In any case, I saw him there on Friday - he always turns up for the rucks.


----------



## BigTom (Jul 30, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> No news on the magistrates court cases today yet...


 
I've been told he was bailed and released, but not seen anything from occupy london or gbc yet


----------



## Pickman's model (Jul 30, 2012)

Rutita1 said:


> _Cycling is illegal and I am arresting you for stopping on your bike_ _which I convienently witnessed you do in Bethnal Green_....



yer cop on the left in the fit jacket is HT940, was at (among other things) the gaza protests at the start of 2009.


----------



## Pickman's model (Jul 30, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> is that not him in the middle, top of picture, right arm extended towards cyclist in white helmet?
> 
> In any case, I saw him there on Friday - he always turns up for the rucks.


no, he's in the tsg and that cop is not, er, in the tsg.

plus that cop's white and smellie isn't.


----------



## ddraig (Jul 30, 2012)

police medic with a sense of duty?


----------



## Treacle Toes (Jul 30, 2012)

BigTom said:


> The courts must have finished by now surely, no updates from occupy london?


 
Erm I posted one early from a groupspaces list...here's the latest one:



> The case has been adjourned until 30th September and he has 3 less bail conditions than everyone else.
> Thats the only details!! Will let u know if i get more!!


----------



## Treacle Toes (Jul 30, 2012)

> Occupy News Network
> *Thanks for all the supportive messages. We have heard that Pedro Lima has been released, the case has been adjourned till the 27th September 2012, more details to follow shortly.*


----------



## DrRingDing (Jul 30, 2012)

BigTom said:


> Been told he was released on bail after being shuffled between two courts.. there's only one person who was held over the weekend wasn't there? the occupy london livestreamer?


 
There was someone else.


----------



## BigTom (Jul 31, 2012)

DrRingDing said:


> There was someone else.


 
 Have you heard anything? s/he would have had to have seen the magistrate yesterday, hope they haven't been held on remand.


----------



## DrRingDing (Jul 31, 2012)

BigTom said:


> Have you heard anything?


 
Released yesterday


----------



## Brainaddict (Jul 31, 2012)

For info: a guy called @GregFoxsmith on twitter is looking for others who want to challenge the bail conditions.


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Jul 31, 2012)

Eye-witness account here, which uses lots of the videos and photos taken: http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkin...ons-olympic-opening-ceremony-eye-witness-acco

Please sign the petition if you haven't already done so, thanks 



> Pls can U RT & support petition for 182 cyclists unfairly arrested for Olympic #criticalmass bike ride http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitio...e-system-uk-justice-for-the-critical-mass-182


----------



## ExtraRefined (Aug 2, 2012)

Plans are afoot for a mid month CM in memorial of the person killed by an Olympics bus yesterday. 6.30pm Southbank by Waterloo Bridge, Friday 10th August.

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2012/08/498534.html?c=on#c285656


----------



## pissflaps (Aug 2, 2012)

fuck sakes. whatever happened to quiet dignity in the face of tragedy? surely a ghost bike would prove much more effective? but no - im sure a deliberately antagonising, self important 'memorial ride' is the best way to remember this poor man's sadly shortened life.


----------



## Treacle Toes (Aug 2, 2012)

pissflaps said:


> fuck sakes. whatever happened to quiet dignity in the face of tragedy? surely a ghost bike would prove much more effective? but no - im sure a deliberately antagonising, self important 'memorial ride' is the best way to remember this poor man's sadly shortened life.


 

Well CM have always sought to highlight the importance of safety and cyclist awareness...


----------



## pissflaps (Aug 2, 2012)

sorry mate, but i refuse to beleive that this 'ride' will be anything but a thinly disguised 'fuck you' to the po po for the regrettable goings-on last week. even if this is not the case (which i firmly beleive it is), tacking any sort of 'safety awareness' agenda onto a tragedy so soon after the event is callous and distasteful.


----------



## Treacle Toes (Aug 2, 2012)

Just seen this, forwarded to a list I am a on  



> Subject: Future planned rides by Critical Mass
> From: Helen.Cryer@met.police.uk
> Date: Thu, August 2, 2012 2:58 am
> To: contact@criticalmasslondon.org.uk
> ...


 


> *From: *XXXXXXXXXXXXX
> *Date: *2 August 2012 18:28:36 BST
> *To: *"Critical Mass London" <cm-london@lists.riseup.net>
> *Cc: *Helen.Cryer@met.police.uk
> ...


----------



## Pickman's model (Aug 2, 2012)

i first saw liaison teams at the last student march (iirc) when i overheard the officer in charge of them give chapter and verse on who they were and what they were doing to someone nearby. seems they're an idea of one clifford stott out of the university of liverpool, sort of a cuddly fit. although if you looked at their epaulettes oany of them were CO like discombe and cowlin.


----------



## ddraig (Aug 2, 2012)

sneaky fuckers
'oh hi, hi maaate, please talk to us, it would be better for evvveryone, or do you want another beating... errrr, we mean we don't think it was you or anything oh no, you're one of the good ones, maybe you can help us sort the nasties out, we'll buy you coffee and a new bike, how's that sound?'
they really can't handle it when they can't have 'someone to talk to' or a face they can call the leader. bless em


----------



## Pickman's model (Aug 2, 2012)

ddraig said:


> sneaky fuckers
> they really can't handle it when they can't have 'someone to talk to' or an a face they can call the leader. bless em


it's back to the good auld days of cops coming up to a demonstration and asking 'who is in charge here?' before being acquainted with some of the basic tenets of anarchism.


----------



## ddraig (Aug 2, 2012)

i edited to expand


----------



## Pickman's model (Aug 2, 2012)

they never offered to buy me a coffee


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Sep 12, 2012)

Some (mainly) good news on the 182 arrestees who were bailed to return for interview later this month - 164 of the 182 (including my friend who was violently arrested right in front of me) will not be required to turn up for interview and no further action will be taken.

*FUCKING RESULT!!* 

The relief this has given people is excellent - they've been shitting themselves for nearly two months about this bollocks.

The bad news is 16 people will still be interviewed and face the possibility of charges. All support and solidarity to the remaining 16 cyclists: the job now is to help ensure these fellow cyclists don't face any further action.


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Sep 12, 2012)

And on today of all days: fuck the police. ACAB.


----------



## DaveCinzano (Sep 12, 2012)

Pickman's model said:


> i first saw liaison teams at the last student march (iirc) when i overheard the officer in charge of them give chapter and verse on who they were and what they were doing to someone nearby. seems they're an idea of one clifford stott out of the university of liverpool, sort of a cuddly fit. although if you looked at their epaulettes oany of them were CO like discombe and cowlin.


 
Stott and Drury have an article on crowd dynamics in relation to the 2011 riots in the latest edition of the Occupy paper _The Occupied Times_:

http://theoccupiedtimes.co.uk/?p=6447


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Sep 13, 2012)

Brixton Hatter said:


> Some (mainly) good news on the 182 arrestees who were bailed to return for interview later this month - 164 of the 182 (including my friend who was violently arrested right in front of me) will not be required to turn up for interview and no further action will be taken.


 


> *Vast majority arrested during critical mass will face no further action*
> Press Release
> 12th September 2012
> 
> ...


 

More here: http://www.hja.net/legal-news/hja-news/vast-majority-arrested-during.aspx


----------



## xes (Sep 13, 2012)

Time to have those nazi cunts on charges of wrongful arrests?


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Sep 13, 2012)

xes said:


> Time to have those nazi cunts on charges of wrongful arrests?


Possibly - I think some people are considering taking further action. I understand there may be grounds for compensation in terms of the treatment of many arrestees (held all night without food/water etc). However I know some of those arrested are just glad it's over now and may not have the stamina to keep on fighting the police...

E2A: I really hope some people do take this further. The police need to know we're not just gonna stand and take this shit. We should hound them at every opportunity. I'll also be keeping a close eye (and so will others) on police activity around future Critical Mass rides.....


----------



## ddraig (Oct 11, 2012)

"proportionate" and handily 'sub judice' 


swore a lot whilst watching it


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Oct 12, 2012)

ddraig said:


> "proportionate" and handily 'sub judice'
> 
> 
> swore a lot whilst watching it



Yeah nice one for posting that, I saw it on twitter earlier, seems like Jenny Jones is well up for pursuing this, which is good. I didn't know she also sometimes went on Critical Mass herself.

182 people were arrested and 171 released (eventually) without charge or interview. Solidarity and support for the last 11 - I really hope they beat this Section 12 shit, it's really important because it potentially further erodes the "right to protest" in law (even though critical mass is not a protest.)


----------



## Onket (Oct 12, 2012)

Police using 'people were arrested' to justify themselves acting like cunts, shocker.


----------



## DJWrongspeed (Dec 1, 2012)

There's been a call for witnesses here


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Dec 5, 2012)

DJWrongspeed said:


> There's been a call for witnesses here


Yep, 5 people going to court for breaching the section 12...

cheers


----------



## DJWrongspeed (Dec 5, 2012)

Thanks for the video link, it's great to see public figures brought to account like this.


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Feb 15, 2013)

the court case for this is coming up in a couple of weeks time...


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Feb 24, 2013)

Solidarity for my 9 fellow Critical Mass cyclists, who go to court tomorrow to try to clear their names from the bullshit arrests on the opening night of the Olympics last year.

Background here: http://justicecm9.wordpress.com/about/

Some quotes here from some of the arrestees, who were treated like shit by the police that night:
http://justicecm9.wordpress.com/statements/

Call out for tomorrow - first day of the court case: meet at 9am outside Westminster Magistrates Court, 181 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5BR

Bring your bicycles, banners, placards, music, whatever


----------



## editor (Feb 24, 2013)

Good luck to the CM crew!


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Feb 24, 2013)

case is likely to last 5-7 days....all support appreciated


----------



## DrRingDing (Feb 25, 2013)

You lot should get a tidy pay out. I'm quite gutted I had my wheel buckled by the plod too early to get nicked


----------



## DrRingDing (Feb 25, 2013)

.....and good luck!


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Feb 25, 2013)

About 20 people turned up for a little protest outside the court today. A bit disappointing numbers-wise, but it was a fucking freezing Monday morning. (Someone took some pics which I'll try to locate and post up here.) 

We went into court to sit in the public gallery. The prosecution was late turning up. Unfortunately a number of us were unable to stay in the court room so I've got no idea how it's going. Can't see anyone live-tweeting it or anything similar.


----------



## DaveCinzano (Feb 25, 2013)

Rikki IndyMedia just posted up:

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2013/02/506915.html


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Feb 25, 2013)

DaveCinzano said:


> Rikki IndyMedia just posted up:
> 
> http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2013/02/506915.html


cheers 

















Cheers to Rikki for the photos


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Feb 25, 2013)

totally biased BBC report on the London news tonight:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01qy5js/BBC_London_News_25_02_2013/

advance to 8mins 55secs for the bit on Critical Mass. (I think this edition of the news show will disappear within 24 hours)

Well, 'totally biased' in that they call the bike ride a 'demonstration' and a 'protest'. I see the police have given the BBC selected footage which aims to tell a particular story - i.e. that the ride was deliberately attempting to disrupt the Olympics.


----------



## Brixton Hatter (Mar 1, 2013)

alternative link for the BBC police footage here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21582785

the case continues.... one of the coppers with 16 years experience of riots and football violence reckons he felt 'extremely threatened' by the cyclists, lol!


----------



## SikhWarrioR (Mar 3, 2013)

Brixton Hatter said:


> totally biased BBC report on the London news tonight:
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01qy5js/BBC_London_News_25_02_2013/
> 
> ...


 

So the plod were worried about disruption to the olympic corporate feeding frenzy eh, Stuff the olympics £12 billion plus that could have been spent on far better things


----------



## ffsear (Mar 4, 2013)

Can I ask what the purpose of this bike ride was?  And why did they choose to do it there?


----------



## ddraig (Mar 4, 2013)

they go on a bike ride often
why not there? were road closures in place?


----------



## ffsear (Mar 4, 2013)

come on..... Why outside the Olympic Stadium amoung one of the largest security operations in London in decades?  Don't play stupid..  they knew what they were doing!


----------



## pissflaps (Mar 4, 2013)

critical mass happens every month. olympics or not.


----------



## ffsear (Mar 4, 2013)

Of course,   not attention seekers at all!


----------



## ddraig (Mar 4, 2013)

do you think the response was justified?


----------



## ffsear (Mar 4, 2013)

I saying they should (and probably did) see it coming!


----------



## joustmaster (Mar 4, 2013)

ffsear said:


> come on..... Why outside the Olympic Stadium amoung one of the largest security operations in London in decades?  Don't play stupid..  they knew what they were doing!


During the olympics, I made a couple of bike rides up tot he stadium. 
You were allowed to go near it, you know.


----------



## ddraig (Mar 4, 2013)

ffsear said:


> I saying they should (and probably did) see it coming!


so you think they wanted to be arrested? manhandled? have their bikes put on buses? be locked up?


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## pissflaps (Mar 4, 2013)

no, not at all really. in fact this would have passed by unnoticed had the police not treated everyone in the heavy-handed manner it did. CM is not an organised event. It is something that happens and has been proven by law to just happen. People who show up are merely moving along the road together in the same place and at the same time.These arrests were a restriction of the movement of individuals.


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## ffsear (Mar 4, 2013)

On some level yes. Thye can ride their bikes anywhere they like, that's the freedom of it. Yet the choose the one place its likely to cause the most trouble. Fair enough, I like to piss the police off too, just be honest about it!

Seen the film good will hunting?

_"just have a little question here. You could be a janitor anywhere. Why did work at the most prestigious technical college in the whole fuckin' world? And why did you sneak around at night and finish other people's formulas that only one or two people in the world could do and then lie about it? 'Cause I don't see a lot of honor in that, Will"!_


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## pissflaps (Mar 4, 2013)

i seem to recall at the time there being a legal precedent for the ride to continue without interference from the po po. "section 12" was violated as a result of these arrests, so the only people guilty of unlawful behavior here are the police.

(i could be talking out of my arse here so feel free to google/correct/point and laugh etc at your leisure)


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## ffsear (Mar 4, 2013)

I know very little of the law,    i base my actions purely on morals and common sense.   Personally I would have rode my bike somewhere else that day!


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## pissflaps (Mar 4, 2013)

and that is entirely your choice. as much as it was the choice of the folks who chose to ride their bikes where they did on the day in question.


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## pissflaps (Mar 4, 2013)

and what do your morals and common sense tell you about the wrongful arrest of just under 200 people with only 10 odd of those being charged?


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## ffsear (Mar 4, 2013)

It tells me champagne socialism is at an all time high!


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## pissflaps (Mar 4, 2013)

yawn.

troll. 2/10.


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## ffsear (Mar 4, 2013)

sorry, My common sense would have told me that arrests were probably always going to happen. My morels would have lead me to ride my bike somewhere else rather then go looking for trouble.


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## pissflaps (Mar 4, 2013)

no one was looking for trouble - the trouble started when the police blocked north bound access by closing of all the bridges. The police escalated the situation, not the people going lawfully about their business on bicycles.

a bit of a non-sequitur, but an actual protest against the olympic lanes organised by the black cab industry went off without any kettling, pepper spraying or arrests.


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## ddraig (Mar 4, 2013)

ffsear said:


> sorry, My common sense would have told me that arrests were probably always going to happen. My morels would have lead me to ride my bike somewhere else rather then go looking for trouble.


what have morals got to do with it?
did you see the videos?


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## fredfelt (Mar 4, 2013)

pissflaps said:


> no one was looking for trouble - the trouble started when the police blocked north bound access by closing of all the bridges. The police escalated the situation, not the people going lawfully about their business on bicycles.
> 
> a bit of a non-sequitur, but an actual protest against the olympic lanes organised by the black cab industry went off without any kettling, pepper spraying or arrests.


 
Do you know if the 'section 12' would have also be applicable to the taxi protest?


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## ffsear (Mar 4, 2013)

If its just a bike ride, and nothing else then morals don't come into question. But if your riding under the banner of "critical mass" straight into a police security operation, then I think its fair to ask questions.


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## butchersapron (Mar 4, 2013)

ffsear said:


> If its just a bike ride, and nothing else then morals don't come into question. But if your riding under the banner of "critical mass" straight into a police security operation, then I think its fair to ask questions.


Like what? By who?


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## pissflaps (Mar 4, 2013)

@fredflet

i do not. once again, i am only recounting what i recall reading in the papers at the time. presumably it would, as it was a registered protest, unlike CM.

/le shrug

http://london.indymedia.org/articles/12612


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## fredfelt (Mar 4, 2013)

pissflaps said:


> @fredflet
> 
> i do not. once again, i am only recounting what i recall reading in the papers at the time. presumably it would, as it was a registered protest, unlike CM.
> 
> ...


 
Thanks. I asked as I just looked up 'section 12' and I was surprised to see it applied to CM. It seems the arrests were made to

 "to prevent serious public disorder, serious criminal damage or serious disruption to the life of the community"

Hmmm.

Mostly unrelated but perhaps of interest it seems that section 5 of the same act is being campaigned against by several notable people, including Stephen Fry.


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## pissflaps (Mar 4, 2013)

i suspect that the judge may well decree that the use of section 12 in this instance was lawful. which is depressing.


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## Brixton Hatter (Mar 6, 2013)

pissflaps said:


> i suspect that the judge may well decree that the use of section 12 in this instance was lawful. which is depressing.


Yes that is what happened - though it could always be open to appeal.

I was up there at the court yesterday. It's on to the defence witnesses now. It seems to be very much in the balance from what I could see....though some seem to think the police evidence is not holding up well. They have adjourned for a week cos they've run out of court time. Case resumes next Wednesday. 

If anyone can get up there to the court and show their support, that would be great. There's about 15-20 seats in the public gallery and you can just turn up. Cases start at 10am - get there 10 mins early so you can get through security (you may have to leave your bike helmet etc at reception) - and run til about 4pm with an hour for lunch at about 1pm. 

Westminster Magistrates Court, Marylebone Road (corner of Seymour Place.)


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## Bernie Gunther (Mar 8, 2013)

ffsear said:


> sorry, My common sense would have told me that arrests were probably always going to happen. My morels would have lead me to ride my bike somewhere else rather then go looking for trouble.


 






Never knew they had mind-altering properties ...


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## ffsear (Mar 18, 2013)




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## juneohzn (Mar 24, 2013)

Hi guys, 

Anybody know if there will still be a critical mass gathering at central London on 29 April 2013?


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## anathemas (Apr 1, 2013)

juneohzn said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> Anybody know if there will still be a critical mass gathering at central London on 29 April 2013?


 
On a 'Monday'? More likely the 19th anniversary of Critical Mass on the Friday, 27th April 2013.

The one in March was a fine one

https://network23.org/ana/critical-mass-london-march-2013/


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