<nettime> Pie News

[bbb@asis.com]

A Dutch Hat Trick.......

This morning (Friday, April 28) two pie-ings took place at the same time
but actually completely not-coordinated!

Dutch EarthFirst! (GroenFront!) activists pied M. Hart-Nibbrich, the
chief spokesperson of the Betuweline Project. The 'Betuwelijn' is a
planned cargo-railwayroute between Rotterdam (World's largest port)
and the Ruhr Area (Europe's largest industrial area). It's the fifth
project in Trans European Network System (TENS). Originally budgetted
at about five billion euro's, it's calculated to now cost up to ten
billion. The Betuwe is the region/valley of the Maas and Rijn rivers.
The Betuwelijn is a symbol for useless projects forced onto the
people by the capitalist upperclass and lobby of 'Netherlands
Distributioncountry'. A lot of nature will have to disappear and
already rare animals are being threatened. Of course an increase of
transport will also increase pollution.

Direct incentive for the pie-ing was the courtcase against ten
Betuweline activists. Eight were fined 300 euro's (for tresspassing),
two 450 (for public violence). The district attorney isn't satisfied
and is appealing, set on imprisonment (although three had been
imprisoned for eight days allready).
http://www.antenna.nl/nvda/groenfront

A second pie-ing took place by the Leiden anarchist collective
Eurodusnie. The victim was Driek van Vught, 20 year old member of the
Dutch senate for the Socialist Party. He was dealing out 'red cards',
of which he gave one to Eurodusnie because they were, according to
him, responsible for emergency police measures in Leiden to 'protect'
Queen Beatrix, who is coming to Leiden tomorrow.

Media have speculated Eurodusnie's participation in Comite March on
the Oranges (royal family), organising an antinationalist party
tomorrow, linked to anticapitalist MayDay global day of action.
One of these measures is a complex card-entry-system for the
inhabitants of Leiden's inner city (which is quite pretty by the way,
the inner city I mean). Driek really misses all insight in the matter
though - the Queen is the motor on neat new repressive bills and
measures, such as equipping police with pepperspray besides cs gas.
Dutch police have bought some very nice new large cs gas grenade
launcher machines by the way, also very suitable for indoor use! But
of course, these will only be used on fire-dangerous criminals. Well,
don't give the anarchist his cigarette!
http://www.dsl.nl/eurodusnie


Ton Schaap, bureaucrat working for the city of Amsterdam got pied March 24
by an organisation of inhabitants of the neighbourhood Oostelijk
Havengebied (that is: Harbour East Amsterdam, scene of big scale
gentrification) calling itself "Can't do any worse" (Kan Niet Slechter
Meer, abreviated: KNSM, a peninsula in the harbour that was sold totally
to yuppie-housing). Ton Schaap was to hold a speech about "different
citbuilding concepts".

------------------------------------------------------

Things That Cheer Us Up - Anne Widdecombe pied by Asylum Seekers Support
Group in anti-racist protest

     Shadow Home Secretary Ann Widdecombe learned a valuable lesson in
home economics on Thursday - that stirring up race hatred is a recipe
for getting your just desserts.

     Anne Widdecombe received a pie in the face at a signing ceremony
for her pisspoor book at Waterstones in Oxford.  Featuring an award
of a custard tart made to a traditional Romany recipe, the pudding
was delivered by Agent Orange of the Campsfield High Command of the
Biotic Baking Brigade at precisely 1.15pm on Thursday 27th April 2000.

     The agent waited politely inside the door with an assorted
mixture of mothers buying Harry Potter books and security guards. As
Anne Widdecombe swept in, the pie was planted smartly across her
frightening face.

     The Conservative Party's local elections manifesto says that
Britain is "a soft touch for the organised asylum racketeers who are
flooding the country with bogus asylum seekers."  Widdecombe has been
especially vocal in trying to win votes by playing the race card
against refugees and asylum-seekers.

     Perhaps the undead Widdecombe, also known as Doris Karloff
because of her uncanny resemblance to Frankenstein's monster, has
been spending time with the ghost of Enoch Powell.  The late
unlamented racist would surely have approved the Conservatives'
latest plan - to imprison every single asylum seeker without trial in
detention centres.

     Agent Custard Tart, in support with a second pie, said later:
"Refugees are not 'flooding' in to the UK because it is a 'soft
touch'. Within Europe we rank 9th in numbers of asylum applications
per 1,000 inhabitants. Britain hosts less than 1% of the world's 21
million refugees. And out of those who do apply, 54% are eventually
given leave to remain.  That is to say, even the Home Office
considers a majority of asylum-seekers to be genuine."

     He continued: "It's difficult to imagine a policy more targeted
at stirring up race hatred and far-right nationalism.  The
Conservatives are stigmatising asylum-seekers in a cheap bid to gain
votes that would probably otherwise go to the BNP.   The overwhelming
majority of people seeking asylum in the UK are people who have faced
oppression - even torture and other violence, discrimination and
deprivation in the country they have left.  We should be welcoming
them and offering them refuge, as common decency and international
law demand."

An official from Conservative Central Office was also hit by a pie in
the incident.

  A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said that a man aged 27 had
been charged with using threatening words and behaviour, and a woman
of 28 with assault and affray.

     For more information:

     For stills and video footage, contact Hugh Warwick or Zoe
Broughton on 07932-719300

     For more information and to (hopefully) speak to an agent, call
the BBB press liaison on 0467 304155

National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns (NCADC)
110 Hamstead  Road
Birmingham B20 2QS
Phone: 0121-554-6947  Fax:  0870-055-4570
E-mail ncadc@ncadc.demon.co.uk
Web site:  http://www.ncadc.demon.co.uk/

--------------------------------------------------------

Calling All Pie-Slingers! Important Pie Opportunity:

>Biotechnology and Information Technology Converge in Santa Barbara
>
>SANTA BARBARA, Calif., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2nd Annual
>BioPartnering Ventures conference, organized by Technology Vision Group,
>is scheduled for May 23-24, 2000 at the Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa
>Barbara, California.  "This is the only meeting that showcases companies
>walking at the intersection of multiple hot technologies," says Barbara
>Dalton of SR One Limited.  The BioPartnering Ventures (BPV) conference
>provides an annual retreat for leading technology gurus, investors, and
>company executives to explore how the convergence of biotechnology and
>information technology is creating trends that are driving the creation of
>new hybrid companies.
----------------------------------------------------------

--
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"The great appear great because we are on our knees. Let us now pie!"
--Max Stirner, 19th century German anarchist & author

          Biotic Baking Brigade
bbb@asis.com
http://www.asis.com/~bbb/
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