May 23, 2009

Take down the BNP billboards

A couple of hours ago I sent out an email asking you to join me in complaining to Clear Channel for hosting BNP billboards.

In 90 minutes 1,000 people have sent messages of complaint to the company.

Our target is 2,000 so if you haven't sent a complaint please do so here.

Nick Lowles
Hope not hate

The target is about to be reached but let's see if LU readers can push the total up to 3000. :-)

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Off Stormfront

"Tom did you hear about their billboards being taken down ? they forgot the electoral imprint and this is after they cocked up on 700,000 leaflets you couldnt make it up "

It's still worth signing the letter to remove them just in case this is bullshit to throw us off the track.

Dave T said...

Done, mates. :)

DisgustedOfTunbridgeWells said...

I'd be surprised if you get a lot of change out of clear channel, unless they're largely autonomous of the US parent, which sponsors all sorts of nutty far right shit.

Anonymous said...

It's just gone over the 2000 mark.

banksy fan said...

If not, I know for certain masked direct action activists will be stocking up on white paint from B&Qs, wearing handkerchiefs over their faces.

tory said...

I don't normally approve of vandalistic actions, but I'd most surely turn a blind eye to anyone taking direct action against such institutional racism.

jenny said...

Who owns Clear Channel?

Don Black of the KKK?

Anonymous said...

"I'd be surprised if you get a lot of change out of clear channel, unless they're largely autonomous of the US parent, which sponsors all sorts of nutty far right shit."Interesting - Any more details ?

Old Sailor

Ps I think that the plastic on these bill boards is flame resistant.

But is it Paint resistant ?

Not that I am advocating any illegal action, just asking the question !

And I hope nobody is going to flypost details of the British Nonces Party convictions "Perverts like us vote BNP" as published in here and in "Harry's Place" and many other websites, over the mill boards.

After all you might annoy that legally sane, unqualified solicitor Lee Barnes.

OS

Contact Childline said...

I leant via international news sources that Clear Channel are heavily in debt, which explains why they took Gri££in's dirty dollar.

According to the Clear Channel website, they work with many of the UK's leading charities including the Prince's Trust.

(from their website)

Clear Channel Outdoor works closely with charities such as the Prince's Trust, Cancer Research UK, ChildLine, Macmillan Cancer Support, NSPCC and Barnados, offering opportunities for these organisations to raise their profile and drive fundraising across the UK. Activities include offering media space across the company's extensive inventory, sponsorship of charity auctions and internal fundraising events.

Clear Channel has also partnered with the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the National Youth Orchestra

If enough protestors approach Childline, the Prince's Trust and the rest of the charities, they might potentially lose millions in business over this, which will prove helping the BNP is a bad investment.

So contact Prince Charles, Esther Rantzen, and every other person involved with these charities, plus the Department for Schools and Children, and the National Youth Orchestra to get them to cancel their relationship with Chear Channel to make them parias so they do indeed become bancrupt, and the fascist-loving fatcat directors lose their jobs and end up signing on the dole, where the bastards belong!

family campaigner said...

How fitting that the same company who works with ChildLine works with the BNP.

Kiddy fiddlers Mark Collett and Dave Hannam must be in fits of laughter.

DisgustedOfTunbridgeWells said...

Old Sailor;

They own a lot of (1200+ last time I checked, probably less now) radio stations in the US, a lot of which happen to be 'talk radio' (the Americans call them 'conservative' but by European standards they're largely fascist and have very little to do with espousing small government rhetoric) stations, they employ limbaugh and savage (who you'll recall was recently banned from the uk).

Anyways, they organised a whole bunch of 'pro war' demonstrations in 2003 and allegedly supressed airplay of anti war artists (the dixie chicks, most famously).

Good news is, they're pretty much bankrupt.

ChildLine Fan said...

Esther Rantzen made a documentary for ITV called "Winton's Children" about Sir Nicholas Winton who, as was first revealed on That's Life!, had rescued a generation of Czech children from the holocaust and was later nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

I wander how she feels about Adolf Hitler-loving neo-nazi party doing business with the same company who works closely with Childline, Clear Channel Ltd?

Does anybody know how to contact Esther Rantzen to let her know what Clear Channel is doing?

I'm sure she will be utterly and totally disgusted, and will recommend that Child Line immediately sever all links with Clear Channel.

Thanks Lancaster Unity for exposing this sickening support of the BNP by big business:)

nspcc said...

Do the NSPCC know that the company they have linked up with, Clear Channel, support a nazi party who covered up allegations of child abuse in a Blackpool Hotel?

The NSPCC's campaign unit can be contacted at: -

help@nspcc.org.uk

Send them an email straight away to let them know about Clear Channel so they can end their contract with this evil company!

royal family fan said...

Represting Prince Charles, the Princes Trust are an equal opportunities charity that aims to represent opportunities to children and young people of all backgrounds, and as such, they actively oppose all types of discrimination including racism.

Working with ClearChannel is clearly against the ends and aims of the Prince's Trust.

Anti-racist campaigners can contact the Prince's Trust on: -

Head Office
The Prince's Trust
18 Park Square East
London NW1 4LH
phone: 020 7543 1234
fax: 020 7543 1200
minicom: 0207 543 1374
email: webinfops@princes-trust.org.uk

gqq said...

It's karma that Clear Channel are on the brink of failure.

If ChildLine, the NSPCC, the British government and the Prince's Trust tell them where to go, hopefully the administrators will be called in to take over the failing company's London office before the week is out.

Sorry for the job losses, but I'd be cracking open the champagne, folks.

By working with charities such as ChildLine, the Prince's Trust and the NSPCC, according to their boastful corporate bullshit website, "Clear Channel pride themsemselves on their ethical standards".

Complete and absolute poppycock!

Let's contact all the charities these corporate loonies work with to let them know the score!

Landale said...

See http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/470223/Clear-Channel-buys-Glastonbury-Reading-Festival-promoter-Mean-Fiddler-38m/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH

They seem to be involed with Glastonbury Festival - I wonder what Micheal Eavis would think about that......

jayson said...

Childline, the NSPCC and the child-abusing BNP?

You really couldn't make that one up.

Hope their corporate affairs department are getting seriously worried.

I would be if I was them!

ely said...

Barnados must also be contacted to warn them to sever links with Clear Channel: -

(from their website) For all general Barnardo's enquiries please email dorothy.howes@barnardos.org.uk.

Also: -

jo.hewitt@barnardos.org.uk
sarah.charters@barnardos.org.uk
sheila.patel@barnardos.org.uk
katrina.slater@barnardos.org.uk

... said...

The patron of the NSPCC is Lord Mandelson.

newshound said...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1186786/How-BNP-backers-really-foreign-actors-models.html

Another interesting story, Ketlan!

lizzy said...

The NSPCC will most surely want to question Clear Channel on their support for a racist political outfit that wants to persecute or deport all non-white people!

trindler said...

According to Wikipedia, Clear Channel UK's activities have often put it at odds with Local Authorities in the UK for erecting adverts without consent which is a criminal offence. The company has been convicted many times for such activities

SchnewsReader said...

BILLBOARD SUBVERTISING from SchNEWS: -

"The billboard artist's goal is to throw a well-aimed spanner into the media's gears, bringing the image factory to a shuddering halt. We work to unmask the real corporate activity behind the glamorous image. Our actions reclaim these billboards and use them as our own canvasses. After all, it's our walls that are being rented out for business propaganda."

BILLBOARD IMPROVEMENT - HOW TO CLEAN UP YOUR HIGH STREET

Destruction of any of the State's ideological weapons of control will always be a rewarding experience. Most times it may be that you don't need any more than a tin of paint, a little humour and a quiet night to turn a multinational's expensive advertisement into your own guerrilla tapestry. This deals with the direct subversion of the billboard's message - to answer it, question it, or overturn it, all at their expense.

Top

METHODS

If you want to use spray cans then beware illegible scrawl and spelling mistakes. Also: like the hip-hop graffitos, get yourself a pistol grip plastic handle that fits around the can, saving on tired fingers and ensuring that the paint goes in the right direction. These are cheap and easily available at any car-shop. The most effective alterations are certainly the simplest: the addition of one or two letters, or a speech bubble; or pasting over certain words or letters with appropriately coloured paper. A skillfully reworked billboard directs the passer-by to a consideration of the original corporate strategy, in the context of a thoughtful reaction.

For lettering, either paint your slogan on paper better still, find a computer and do the alphabet, one letter on each A4 printout. These are your originals - don't paste them up. When you want a slogan, take each letter in turn and blow them up a copier. With a computer you should be able to find the exact typeface that is already on the bollboard. Very impressive was some bright spark’s addition to Volkswagon's "We put people in front of cars" by reproducing in exact - type underneath: "And children under the front wheels."

REDECORATING

Use wallpaper paste for the hit, a bucket and a brush. Coat the area to be covered with lots of paste, place on the graphic and go over it again lots of paste (a little PVA in the mix makes it quicker and waterproofs it as well). A broom will get you higher - cut down the head to fit inside the bucket. Watch the billboards for when they change them - if you catch them right you can get plenty of outside studio space and time for your visual banditry. Rather than skulking around - in the middle of the night looking suspicious, put on some overalls, get a gang together and go for it during daylight hours - you'll be able to see what you are doing for starters. Most passers-by we've met think it's a good laugh. If caught while putting it up, "Why officer; look, it peel's straight off again!". "We think tampering's far more effective than just spray painting a billboard because people automatically dismiss that. With our slogans people don't immediately recognise it as agit prop." - AVI Billboard Interventions

continued on next post...... (please read on)

SchNewsReader said...

From SchNEWS....
(continuing, how to deface billboards)-

BILLBOARD FELLING

The following section is taken from the US EF! book "Ecodefense":

Safety: It is important to remove billboards. It is also important not to get caught (so we can remove more billboards). Personal safety from self inflicted injury is also extremely important when using the methods described below. Never stand in the area where a sign can fall (front or back). Walk outside of this danger zone. Watch the sign closely the entire time you are cutting. Leave the outermost poles for last. Always have an escape route planned if the sign shows evidence of falling prematurely. Good safety goggles, available at any hardware stores, can eliminate saw dust problems.

Sign-Cutting: Stop periodically to listen for any indication of discovery. Felling is accomplished - by pushing on the outermost poles, aided sometimes with ropes. Use the rope(s) only for monkey wrenching since it may have to be abandoned if your work is disrupted - you don't want it accumulating fibres, dirt and oil stains that can link it with your home or workplace. Store it in a plastic trash bag between jobs.

Evidence that will remain on your clothing includes bits of brush, dirt on boots and knees, and sawdust.

Field Notes: Effective sign cutting requires a three person team: a driver and two cutters. With four; your cutting team can have a look out who can also alternate with the cutters in shifts. A five person team is the largest size for safe operations and permits two teams of cutters and thus faster work at the target site. Axes are the least desirable billboarding tools. Sometimes microscopic marks left on the wood can be matched to a specific axe - saw marks, on the other hand, are usually impossible to match up.

Top

LONG ARM OF THE LAW

If you want to write on a billboard that's too high to reach, you can either get a ladder (which isn't particularly convenient) or build a spray can extension rod. You really need the details & diagrams for this, so see the EF! web site or contact Dead Trees EF! You may have to experiment a bit to get the right measurements to fit your can of spray paint. Although these extension rods are clumsy to use at first, with practice they become very effective.

FUN WITH PAINT

Fill thin plastic bags one third full with half and half paint and thinners (for better splatter); tie up right, squeezing all the air out; carry half a dozen in a box to the target and, standing at an angle - unless you want to cover yourself - throw. Another proven splattering technique involves borrowing a pressurized water-type fire extinguisher from a business or public building. The ones you want are the old red ones with a valve, the same valve as on inflatable tyres. Empty out the contents and relieve all the pressure inside. Next, open the top and use a funnel to pour in a well stirred 50/50 mix of paint and thinners or the preferred water and acrylic-type house paint. Pressurize the extinguisher secretly at a petrol station; watch the pressure gauge to know when to stop. Use this gun to deface billboard ads. Do not attempt to cover the whole sign but make the most of your paint. Clean the extinguisher out after each use or it will clog up. At your earliest opportunity, check your skin, hair and clothes to make sure that there is no incriminating paint on your person. Keep a small can of paint thinners (or water, depending on the type of paint used) and rags on hand just in case.

If you have time to burn and no surfing costs to incur, check out Smashing The Image Factory on ISD's web site: graphics, anti-media, hard politics and suggestions for struggle in the era of the millenium.

The above was taken from an article on subvertising on the UKEF! web site. For more, get in touch with the Subvertising Standards Agency c/o Corporate Watch, or

verify@patrol.i-way.co.uk

ann said...

Another useful guide for taking the law into your own hands, peeps!

http://www.urban75.com/Action/factory.html

Anonymous said...

If the Nazi posters go up, Clear Channel goes down.

David said...

Here's a reply I had from Clear Channel:

Thank you for your email. I have forwarded your communication to our Corporate head office for a personal response, however; you may wish to visit our website and view the Political Party advertising policy under the Corporate Responsibility section for information.I checked their policy and they allow advertising by "Legitmate" political parties. I pointed out that the Nazis were a "legitmate" party in 1933.