Clem, where have you been? Having worked in the Community drugs team, and lived on shithole sink estates, "shameless" is NOT a stereotype.

There are decent people on these estates/user groups, generally the minority

@ Clem the Gem. I very much agree with your first point, an inter-generational approach is most definately the ideal. Laurie put it more eloquently than I ever could in this blog. I just think whats needed is a mutual respect between the old guard and younger activists. To get into pointless, self defeating debates however, is certainly not the way to go.

Martin L - from your well paid sinecure in the civil service, how is the war on drugs going?
Nice work if you can get it I'd wager.

Big up Laurie Penny!

Middle class poseurs who need to get a job!

The sad fact of the matter is, when looked at in the bright light of day, is that they are the products of what they are rebelling against. It is like an extended adolescence.

The hard facts are, if their ancestors were not what they disdain, they would have been snuffed out of existence by modern human evolution. That is the hard fact, and a chicken and egg quandry they have got to realise and come to terms with. And this comes from a near fifty hippy-minded person.

I am afraid I don't understand the anti-capitalist idea. What exactly is the alternative? Capitalism is simply the freedom of people to produce a good or a service and then trade it to another person for their goods or services via a medium of exchange called money. The only way to bring down capitalism is thus to curtail liberty. If an anti-capitalist could explain the alternative I would appreciate it.

@James George Monbiot already debunked the ideas presented in the Daily Mail article you quoted. One of Bellamy's claimed sources of evidence was a report written by the American physicist Fred Singer in a journal called 'Science'. No such article exists. In fact, Bellamy admitted to The Times that his figures were wrong in 2005 and said he would not be commenting on global warming going forward. He hasn't followed through with this pledge, but I know the side I'd rather be on and it's not siding with Bellamy.

George Monbiot of The Guardian tracked down Bellamy's original source for this information and found that it was Fred Singer's website. Singer claimed to have obtained these figures from a 1989 article in the journal Science, but no such article exists.[6] Bellamy has since stated that his figures on glaciers were wrong, and announced in a letter to The Sunday Times in 2005 that he had "decided to draw back from the debate on global warming".[7]

Link to the Monbiot article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2005/may/10/environment.columnists

Climate camp 4 aims:

1 - tackle root causes of climate change with DIRECT ACTION
2 - make a space for education, skill sharing etc...
3 - demonstrate a sustainable alternative (local food, diet, shit, piss, horizontal organising, daily camp tasks)
4 - BUILD A MOVEMENT.

It is great to see what has sparked off quite quickly from the 1st camp at DRAX. Point 4 has rippled beyond england... CJA actions at Copenhagen (dec '09) really was inspiring and strong points made. Deeper connections with latin american and other global south problems, solutions, mechanisms were made and are being built upon.

The window to sort the shit is very small, radical change has to happen, that will mean many many many people becoming a lot bolder, getting over petty squabbles and mucking in to take action, together. To try, with HOPE, that "we will win" is whats important, and its happening.

It is very important that all this is ANTI-CAPITALIST, remember that much of the climate camp idea stemmed from the "stirling eco village" at the G8 in Scotland in 2005, where many anti capitalists came to target and disrupt those "leaders" future plans for global exploitation.

Many people from many walks of life, are seeing the connections (corporate power, international trade rules selling off 70% peru amazon rainforest... etc) many people are getting angry, many people are taking action (not just moaning about how "the system is shit"). The important thing, is to help build further up this "movement", or these "moevements", in what ever way helps. Its easy to be against stuff, its harder to be for stuff, its harder to get up and do something with this anger... But, its the only thing we can do.

Thanks to all, whoever, whatever they are, who have taken a step to improve things.

Remember that within crisis lies great opportunity.

Martin, I disagree that there's no disparity in the criminal justice system; there is. Let's just wait and see how Asil Nadir gets on at the Old Bailey. Nadir indicated he came back here after evading charges for years, because the 'time was right', he was making a reference to politics. He's dead right, there's no better time for him to have come back, given the current stance on justice with Ken Clarke at the helm. Oddly enough, Nadir's been allocated to go before Judge Bean, a man known who has been much criticised for his soft attitude on crime. The judge has already spoken along the lines of what will transpire to be leniency; without hearing the evidence.

£250,000 bail and an electronic tag to Nadir would definitely be a remand in custody pending trial to a 'lesser person'. It seems the Court says go to jail if you are less well off, but you are on bail if you've got the readies; that's disparity isn't it?

When some upper crust fraudster comes before the Courts, they are treated differently, even when they serve their sentences, they end up in someone 'nice' like Archer did in the oh so pleasant Ford open prison down on the very quiet South East coast.

Politicians are another example, how is it that we call the likes of David Laws 'honourable', when really there's little to deny he had committed a crime involving £40,000 of 'our money'? That simply would not have been so readily glossed over if that was some benefit cheat being investigated for fraud, they would definietly be 'recommended for prosecution'.

I've sat in Court and listened to some of these upper crust trials, like the one involving Jeremy Thorpe and co; and ones associated with 'high profile' fraud. It's all so 'terribly nice', they almost stop for high tea and biscuits whilst they debate over some finer point of law, all raising the obligatory snooty laugh when the Judge thinks he's said something funny.

It's a very different picture to what you see when a well to do trio of Magistrates' sit on the bench looking down on someone from the local estate. There is a world of difference, you can see it on their faces; it's comical at times!. They visibally sneer and scoff before the defendant has said so much as a word. Not to mention how the less well off gets the not so well paid legal aid lawyer (believe me it's no gravy train by the way), whereas those in the know, get some smart alec barrister with a team who are all very good at finding some convenient point of law in their full range of law books; they often come up with the legal loophole which gets the well heeled their 'get out jail free' card.

I happen to think some of our Crown Court judges are actually very attuned to recognising social injustices, but the majority of lay Magistrates are definitely not, nor are they legally trained. They are not representative of the social spread. It's actually encouraging that this coalition is planning to trim 155 Magistrates Courts, on that I'm agreed.

So yes, there's a great deal of disparity from what I've seen. I'd like to see a much wider spread of the community dishing out justice, not just those that are upper crust.

The original anti-whatever-fest, 1968 Monteray, organised by Mama Cass Elliot and Mamas and Papas,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ4wGPkjgkY

more Monteray, more beautiful Cass,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG02BsAkue8

1967 even, as Small Faces, it is said, in a street in Berlin,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QcYL5lI9yw

You can see what's wrong with all this class stuff by the exchange between Stuart and Martin. Martin, you make some very fair points at times and actually Stuart you do too. I levelled a fair bit of what Stuart saw as criticism on another post and he very gracefully took it on board; he gave me an indication that he was receptive to look at things in a different way; that's good, that's the basis for hope in those that see things from a hopeless perspective. Equally, Martin, we've exchanged some good view points and there's mutual respect, not always agreement; but most importantly respect.

But where this all goes horribly wrong is when those that are fortunate enough to have nice cars (I accept Martin, often through hard work); they do what doesn't help. They look out of their tinted windows and sneer or scoff at those 'from the estate', like the one Stuart refers to. Often thinking, if not shouting, scrounger,cheat or malingerer. That's judgment by appearance, Stuart accepts he made that mistake with the author of this article. It's just not respect, it is where this coalition is going very wrong. It just alienates those that can be 'enabled' to see things differently, it's what this post is about, being 'civilised. It's a much more constructive way forward. Some may see it is as social mumbo jumbo, those that do will never see the way forward.

at times like this, there is only one man to sing, Muddy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO4A6xx65WU

Whenever I see middle class activists on the news it always makes me cringe. When the UAF are facing down the EDL while I support them I dont think I'd want to be seen by them.

As a young person myself I'd despair if I thought climate camp was the future of activism- it strikes me as a very exclusive form of it that is amazingly resiliant to engaging in sympathetic outreach to the public at large. I don't think they are unwilling to compromise- they seem to me unwilling to give up campaigning tactics that have disastrous effects because of ideological attachment to them, and that doesn't seem like something someone concerned about climate change should be applauding.

A weapons component factory in Brighton gets targeted protests regularly. I am quite sure working for them is very, very uncomfortable. A career in vivisection would not be the first choice for many budding biologists today if it weren't for the work of dedicated activists. It can get the message out.

Right on David Vintner. Right on.

There are plenty of working class university educated people out here but as Clem and Stuart have pointed out they never get heard above the din of the ruling class. We do not live in a meritocracy and a university education doesnot make you middle class. Class war is alive and well but history tells us that change comes when students, workers and the intelligentsia work together.

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1. Most climate activists these days are more anarchist than socialist.

2. The place was very mixed socially, but overwhelmingly white. The folk from traditional working class backgrounds tended to also have a university education (like me - raised in Walthamstow, with a 2.1 in Mod.Langs.) The lack of folk from diverse ethnic backgrounds will eventually follow and is a concern of CC activitsts.

3. You don't have to be young either. I'm 53 and the young kids are great.

4. Whatever happens, I'd rather die standing up than sitting on my arse criticising.

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Couldn't agree more. The older generation seem to enjoy belittling young activists, lefties as well as those more conservative. I for one beleive that we as younger people have the responsibility to prove this is mere snobbery. We have the abilty to incite real change, and god knows we need it with the Lib-Con farce in charge.