CIRCA

Dec 6 2007 by Sarah Miloudi, Western Mail
Protesters dressed as clowns and polar bears forced work on a controversial opencast mine to be abandoned yesterday. The group, who included the author and campaigner George Monbiot, chained themselves to machinery at the Ffos-y-Fran site in Merthyr Tydfil, bringing work to a halt. He and 30 other protesters entered the site at 9am yesterday morning, and a group – known as the Aberystwyth Rebel Clown Army – forced diggers to stop work by dancing around in front and waving feather dusters, in protest at the site’s environmental impact. The group then climbed onto the industrial vehicles and took over pieces of site machinery. Many of the protesters refused to leave the site despite being warned by police that they could face arrest. Speaking at the site, Mr Monbiot said, “I am here for two reasons. Firstly, the Government is currently negotiating over climate change and this mine contradicts everything it says it is trying to do.“The mine will dig out approximately seven million tonnes of coal, but give 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – equivalent to the emissions of 35 million people every year. “Secondly, it is devastating for the quality of life of the locals.”
More at http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2007/12/06/clowns-take-control-at-opencast-site-91466-20209599/
Clowns, polar bears and elves (elf & safety) were part of the Rising Tide Network in Wales http://risingtide.org.uk/

Pull a prank that packs a punch. Roll up, roll up! The climate circus is in town. Climate change threatens our very survival, but the fools at the head of the fossil fuel empire continue to plunder the earth, with governments the willing court jesters at their side. They would have us believe that we can escape climate change with techno-fixes, market mechanisms and offset schemes – all technocratic acrobatics that distract us from the truth: the only real solution to climate change is to keep fossil fuels in the ground. For over a century the fossil fuel industry has been fooling with our lives. From extraction to combustion they have poisoned our air, polluted our water and ruined our climate. On April 1st, 2008, we’re going to turn the tables and show them who the real fools are. Find a local fossil fool – the coal-mining clown, the offset contortionist, the aviator tripping on the high wire, the supermarket food mile freak show, the oily strong man, or any other fool that deserves your attention – and join with thousands around the world in taking one step closer to dismantling the fossil fuel industry. On Fossil Fools Day, bring the spirit of carnival and mischief to the fight for climate justice.

www.fossilfoolsday.org.uk 

www.risingtide.org.uk 

Hi all - many clowns have been involved with campaigning for the right to protest around parliament - you may be interested in this posted on indymedia: http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/10/384584.html - the governtment has a new consultation launched today (Monday 29th October 2007) to take a closer look at laws regarding protests in Parliament Square. SOCPA was particularly unworkable legislation and it seems they are now doing what they can to tighten their powers under the guise of a public consultation. I suppose the more people who respond to this the better. hugs from sean

‘Clowning is a state of being rather than a technique. At its root, clowning is about letting go, learning to approach every situation with an openness and vulnerability that we all once had as children. It is a state where we begin to value the power of surrendering to experience and living without fixed expectation. It is a state of being that we all grew up with, and the one that society stamped on and imprisoned in fairgrounds, theatres and circuses. It is the state that learns about the world through play and knows that the difference between imagination and reality is only a matter of opinion’ (John Jordan. For the rest of the article http://eipcp.net/transversal/1007)

Today in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, the Ceridwen Commando of the Real Clown Army carried out Operation “London Banker,” declaring RBS and their subsidiary Gnat West “Out of Order” and marked all of their cash machines in the town as such.  Later on, activists from the Mid-Wales Climate Action Group “helped” Natwest to advertise its services as part of the “Energy” and “Aviation” bank by setting up their stall (complete with a lovely chalked information display on the adjacent pavement) outside the Gnatwest branch in the town centre, attracting a veritable horde of climate refugees from around the world (whose pleas for home loans and other assistance to rebuild their climate-change blighted lives were naturally greeted with a polite but firm refusal) and representatives of the local energy and construction sectors (whose requests for a slice of the climate action were, naturally, greeted with an invitation to discuss the matter at greater length over lunch!)  The group ended the action with a helium propelled banner lift inside the branch, with a banner reading “Sponsoring Climate Change” hanging from the ceiling for nearly an hour!)  Salud, Sgnt Sideshow Bob.

The Backward Intelligence Team (Bit) estimate that seven Clowns were arrested at Faslane during the Big Bollockade on 1st October. Three Madchester Clowns locked on and were carried away by Police in the morning because they did not want to stay and play all day (silies!). Clowns from Glasgow Kiss, Byddin Boncars Clowniad Cymru (BBC Cymru, the Clown Army of Wales) and others carried on regardless. Trwper Twp got her photo in the Scotsman, posing with a policeman because she is flirty (p8 on 2/10/07). Later 3 Clowns from BBC Cymru was arrested canoeing on Gare Loch by MoD Police in high powered boats for trying to replace Trident with 4 rubber ducks. The Clowns explained it was a ‘loch on’ and they didn'’t ‘give a flying duck’, but the Police were unmoved. At the end of the day Clown ‘P’ was so tired he simply lay down by the North gate of the base and Police hauled him off to bed. We missed the Sheffield Gaggle lots. Yours in peas, Capten Ollie Cyboli

Clowns support Trident replacement, course we do. But we want to replace it with a flotilla of rubber ducks. So, first we have to catch Trident using submarine nets (shrimp nets), tridents (obviously, it takes a thief…) and torpidoes (very sleepy torpedoes). We’ll need all manner of loch-going craft - rubber dingys, li-lows, inner-tubas, k-yaks… Then, after we’ve hauled the beast from the water, we need floating ducks of any description to replace it at the heart of our nation’s defence strategy - rubber ducks, duck confetti, big ducks with whole Clowns inside… See you all at the top secret rendevous point (codename Faslane Peace Camp) on Sunday 30th September at something hundrd hours that’s pretty late in the day. Your comrade in charms, Capten Ollie Cyboli

August 14th - 21st 2007: Clowns at the camp for climate action near London’s Heathrow airport went on e-missions carbon catching. We used fishing rods baited with broccoli, lassoos, butterfly nets… Though we didn’t catch much carbon, we did catch the forcess of darkness out on several occasions: taking a bus to avoid capture by panting policemen, escaping a police kettle (encirclement) by ducking through a hedge, breaking out of circles of riot police, being a singing Clown toilet for trapped demonstrators… Overall, Clowns contributed to the success of the camp and supported our comrades in charms see http://www.indymedia.org.uk/ for reports. Capten Ollie Cyboli