[Free-sklyarov-uk] Dmitry Released on Bail

[Julian T J Midgley]

On Wed, 8 Aug 2001, Kieran Barry wrote:

> On Wed, 8 Aug 2001, Julian T. J. Midgley wrote:
>
> > On Wed, 8 Aug 2001, Jason Clifford wrote:
> >
> > > On Wed, 8 Aug 2001, Dan Ackroyd wrote:
>
> <Random idea>
> Do we have an announcement list? A good plan for future events might be
> to ask people for email address for addition to such a list...

> Confirmation message would be tweaked to provide a couple of links and a
> bit of info. Would need to be tres short.
> </random idea>

We don't currently, but it'll take me all of ten minutes to set one up
(and maybe a bit longer to get the subscription message right).  Will do
this tomorrow.

> >
> > This makes sense.  How about congregating in Piccadilly Circus,
> > leafletting aggresively there for a while, then marching with banners
> > unfurled, flags flying, signs waving and chants shouting to Charing Cross
> > to repeat the leafletting exercise there.
>
> All 30 of us? "The UK Free Sklyarov movement was wiped out today when
> they stepped out in front of the wrong black cab"...
>
> Let's keep the banners etc. in reserve.

Not sure I agree with this at all.  Assuming we decide to hit both places
we have to get from one to t'other somehow.  It's not far to walk, and if
we want people to come and talk to us, arriving with some noise and
'interesting visuals' will at least get their attention.  As for the taxi
argument, if crocodiles of seven year olds can get from one museum to the
next without redecorating london buses, I should hope we'd be able to do
the same.  Or do you think there's too much truth in the malcoordinated
social misfit stereotype of the geek?

The effectiveness of having some banners and placards around was amply
demonstrated at Hyde Park Corner when we were assembling.  We'd hoisted a
couple of Dan's placards and had people holding Anton's banners out for
approaching pedestrians to see.  There were a substantial number of
passers-by, and many of them stopped (rather than being stopped) to ask
what this was all about.  I suspect that we handed out a third of the
leaflets whilst there.

Without the banners and placards the passers-by merely see some people
handing out pieces of paper that from a distance could be anything from
Amnesty International leaflets to 10% off foo-random nightclub vouchers,
and the /only/ way to get people's attention is by trying to coerce them
into talking to you.

> We'd get far higher turn out for a protest from 6.30-7.30 with optional
> pissup after. Never underestimate the power of beer...

As discussed elsewhere in thread, Saturday seems a better bet.  But
the beer sounds good nonetheless.

> Also, people are likely to have a little more time after work.
> >
> > Now might be a good time to publish a calendar of protests.  (Every
> > Wednesday and Saturday, for example).  We should probably choose different
> > locations each time (or at least rotate them), and ideally hold a variety
> > of different events.
> >
> Never offer hostages to fortune like that...if one didn't happen, for
> whatever reason, it would be viewed as the end of the protests, IMO

qv www.freesklyarov.org's calendar...

You can easily find out when something's planned in your local city, and
make plans to attend those events that suit you.  You don't have to wait
until a few days before the event before you get to hear about it, and you
don't have to be subscribed to a highly active mailing list or religiously
check the website daily to make sure you don't miss an event.

We should only do major press-releases for big events; if one of the
smaller events gets little support for whatever reason, those that turn up
can use their initiative and change the focus to something more
appropriate for the numbers, and retire to the pub early.  The Edinburgh
protest was small but nonetheless effective, and made several of the
headlines.  The US protesters seem to have got the hang of this without
any adverse effects.

As soon as we've fleshed out ideas for events (including dates, times and
places) to which we are committed, a calendar will go up on the site.

> If we try for something roughly twice a month to start, that seems
> sustainable.

Yes, that seems a little more reasonable.  Not that that should stop the
keen ;-)

> > In addition, there are enough people on the mailing list now (77, as of
> > earlier today), that we could probably hold small protests/leafletting
> > events in cities other than London.  We can certainly get 5-10 people
> > together in Cambridge (which is enough to park one at each of the
> > entrances of the major bookshops in the centre of town, for example).
>
> Far better, IMO, to put 3 people outside 2 bookshops. The coverage
> argument is bogus. (Is every book-buyer in Cambridge going to come past
> during the demo?)

Examples are merely examples ;-)  But I agree with you here.

All the best,

Julian


-- 
Julian T. J. Midgley                    http://www.xenoclast.org
Cambridge, England.                       PGP Key ID: 0xBCC7863F
UK Free Dmitry Protest:              http://uk.freesklyarov.org/