Wake Up
15th December 2008, 23:28
Not sure where to put this.....
"The 696 Form compels licensees who wish to hold live music events in 21 London Boroughs to report to the police the names, addresses, aliases and telephone numbers of performers, and most worryingly, the likely ethnicity of their audience. Failure to comply could result in fines or imprisonment. We believe this places unnecessary and frankly Orwellian powers in the hands of the Metropolitan Police, an institution which does not have the best record of racial fairness. The 696 form can only serve to deter the staging of live musical events - a positive form of activity in London and all cities - stifle free expression and quite possible penalise certain genres of music and ethnic audiences. It is an intrusion too far."
Firstly I'm a musician by trade and even if I didn't belong to a revolutionary cause I would still be very worried by the 696 Form.
This is how the UK government is working these days, gradually eroding away civil liberties. Some are highly publicised (28 day detention, ID cards), while some like the 696 are not.
I'll give you another example of an Orwellian system that people don't realise in London - The Oyster Card. You fill out your form (name, address, photograph etc etc) then whenever you use your Oyster card it tags wherever you've been. So in other words the government can track your movement in London!
Music has long been a source of revolutionary spirit. It provides us with an escape from their daily lives, when you go to a good gig nothing outside that room matters. That disconnection with the stress that weighs us down allows us to focus on what really matters. The state knows this and fears it. The 696 has no other purpose but to spy on the gigs that are most likely to spark confrontation, theres not even an attempt to disguise this measure as a 'security'
I realize that petitions aren't very revolutionary, but I suspect taht if a big enough storm is created over this then the government will back down.
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Scrapthe696/
If UK members could sign then It would be appreciated.
"The 696 Form compels licensees who wish to hold live music events in 21 London Boroughs to report to the police the names, addresses, aliases and telephone numbers of performers, and most worryingly, the likely ethnicity of their audience. Failure to comply could result in fines or imprisonment. We believe this places unnecessary and frankly Orwellian powers in the hands of the Metropolitan Police, an institution which does not have the best record of racial fairness. The 696 form can only serve to deter the staging of live musical events - a positive form of activity in London and all cities - stifle free expression and quite possible penalise certain genres of music and ethnic audiences. It is an intrusion too far."
Firstly I'm a musician by trade and even if I didn't belong to a revolutionary cause I would still be very worried by the 696 Form.
This is how the UK government is working these days, gradually eroding away civil liberties. Some are highly publicised (28 day detention, ID cards), while some like the 696 are not.
I'll give you another example of an Orwellian system that people don't realise in London - The Oyster Card. You fill out your form (name, address, photograph etc etc) then whenever you use your Oyster card it tags wherever you've been. So in other words the government can track your movement in London!
Music has long been a source of revolutionary spirit. It provides us with an escape from their daily lives, when you go to a good gig nothing outside that room matters. That disconnection with the stress that weighs us down allows us to focus on what really matters. The state knows this and fears it. The 696 has no other purpose but to spy on the gigs that are most likely to spark confrontation, theres not even an attempt to disguise this measure as a 'security'
I realize that petitions aren't very revolutionary, but I suspect taht if a big enough storm is created over this then the government will back down.
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Scrapthe696/
If UK members could sign then It would be appreciated.