Fun and Games with the SOCPA
Saw Mark Thomas last night at the Soho Theatre - as always, he was on top form - if any of you get to check him out on his UK tour, you should seize the opportunity.
He spent some of his time talking about the SOCPA - for those of you who may not be aware, under this act, you now have to apply to the Metropolitan Police should you wish to protest anywhere near Parliament - in a democratic society, a requirement of permission to protest is rediculous - it's quite a serious impingement on our civil liberties.
I've posted before about various demonstrations against this, however Mark's proposing a quite novel way to protest against this; demonstrate how rediculous it is by overwhelming police resources.
The plan: A Mass Lone Demonstration. Everyone plans a lone demonstration on a topic of their choice ("End the Dullness in Life", "Goth Pride", etc). It just so happens that they all submit their applications to the Metropolitan police at the same time, and the protests happen to take place at the same time. To also allow for a full spectrum of thought and expression, people should chose to protest on two topics. Unfortunately, of course, this requires the Metropolitan Police to process two forms.
So:
15 September 5:30 - 7:30pm - Submit lone demonstrator applications in person at Charing Cross Police Station. (downloadable here)
22 September 6:00 - 7:00pm - Mass Lone Demonstration in Parliament Square
(Topic 1: 6:00 - 6:30, Topic 2 6:30 - 7:00).
Anyone else game?
He spent some of his time talking about the SOCPA - for those of you who may not be aware, under this act, you now have to apply to the Metropolitan Police should you wish to protest anywhere near Parliament - in a democratic society, a requirement of permission to protest is rediculous - it's quite a serious impingement on our civil liberties.
I've posted before about various demonstrations against this, however Mark's proposing a quite novel way to protest against this; demonstrate how rediculous it is by overwhelming police resources.
The plan: A Mass Lone Demonstration. Everyone plans a lone demonstration on a topic of their choice ("End the Dullness in Life", "Goth Pride", etc). It just so happens that they all submit their applications to the Metropolitan police at the same time, and the protests happen to take place at the same time. To also allow for a full spectrum of thought and expression, people should chose to protest on two topics. Unfortunately, of course, this requires the Metropolitan Police to process two forms.
So:
15 September 5:30 - 7:30pm - Submit lone demonstrator applications in person at Charing Cross Police Station. (downloadable here)
22 September 6:00 - 7:00pm - Mass Lone Demonstration in Parliament Square
(Topic 1: 6:00 - 6:30, Topic 2 6:30 - 7:00).
Anyone else game?