Boiler wrote: ↑Thu Feb 19, 2026 10:38 pm I dumped my CAMRA membership: one could argue that it has achieved its original aims therefore it doesn't really need to exist now.I wouldn't agree with that, as proper beer and pubs still need to be promoted but their clear agenda puts me off. It seems that they'll attack anyone who's remote (government, international brewing conglomerates) but anyone who might do them a few favours (mid-sized brewers, JDW) get a free pass. Then there's their members, many of whom are a right royal pain in the arse.
davidjay wrote: ↑Thu Feb 19, 2026 10:56 pmSome of whom, sadly, deserve the Davey Jones treatment.Boiler wrote: ↑Thu Feb 19, 2026 10:38 pm I dumped my CAMRA membership: one could argue that it has achieved its original aims therefore it doesn't really need to exist now.I wouldn't agree with that, as proper beer and pubs still need to be promoted but their clear agenda puts me off. It seems that they'll attack anyone who's remote (government, international brewing conglomerates) but anyone who might do them a few favours (mid-sized brewers, JDW) get a free pass. Then there's their members, many of whom are a right royal pain in the arse.
The criminalisation of direct action climate protests in the UK is counterproductive and increases the determination of activists to undertake disruptive demonstrations, according to a study of 1,300 campaigners.So no measure of actual offences committed or anything like that. They... spoke to people who don't want to go to prison who told them that being sent to prison is bad. I don't want to overdo the "middle class" aspect of this, but I'd guess these people want people who persistently commit crimes against people like them to be put in prison. Nobody would even think of doing a survey of burglars or car thieves and attaching meaning to them saying prison was bad for them.
New findings suggest arrests, fines and lengthy prison sentences given to nonviolent climate protesters who have blocked roads or damaged buildings may actually radicalise them. The repression of protest could even be one driver of recent covert actions such as the cutting of internet cables, they said.
Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2026 11:28 am Crime isn't crime when it's done by middle class people, latest.There's more here.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... arch-finds
The criminalisation of direct action climate protests in the UK is counterproductive and increases the determination of activists to undertake disruptive demonstrations, according to a study of 1,300 campaigners.So no measure of actual offences committed or anything like that. They... spoke to people who don't want to go to prison who told them that being sent to prison is bad. I don't want to overdo the "middle class" aspect of this, but I'd guess these people want people who persistently commit crimes against people like them to be put in prison. Nobody would even think of doing a survey of burglars or car thieves and attaching meaning to them saying prison was bad for them.
New findings suggest arrests, fines and lengthy prison sentences given to nonviolent climate protesters who have blocked roads or damaged buildings may actually radicalise them. The repression of protest could even be one driver of recent covert actions such as the cutting of internet cables, they said.
If people say "going into prison has only confirmed my determination to come out and commit crime" then a logical response is to put them in prison for longer. Sure, non custodial stuff can work, but it can only work if you obey court orders, pay fines. That's not something lots of these people are prepared to do.
Eve Middleton was sitting on a picnic blanket in a park, sharing out vegan biscuits with six fellow activists, when she saw a squad of police bearing down on them. About 30 officers, she said, surrounded the seven young people, and one officer told them: “Don’t run or you’ll be cuffed.”
Another officer focused on gathering evidence. “Whose Oreos are these?” they asked, seizing the biscuits.
“It was pretty farcical, but it’s still frightening when you see that amount of officers running towards you. It’s pretty scary,” said student Bridie Leggatt, another of the seven.
The seven activists had gathered for a “nonviolence training event” – meeting in the park to enjoy the sunny weather.
Another of those arrested last weekend, who would only give his name as Mark, said mass shoplifting would have “no real effect” on supermarkets who make billions of pounds in profit.Yeah. Famously, losses always come off the chief executive's salary, Mark
“Supermarkets are profiting off other people’s misery and we can’t put up with that,” said Middleton, pointing out that Tesco’s chief executive, Ken Murphy, was paid £9.2m last year, about 400 times that of the shop’s typical worker.
What about the effect on low-paid staff? Will they not risk losing their jobs if mass shoplifting has an effect on company profits?
“It shouldn’t be staff that get cut,” said Mark, 44, who works in education. “What should get cut are the obscene profits and salaries of the chief executives.”
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