earthfirst – Page 140

Manchester Plane Stupid Breach Airside Security in Airport Protest

Update: Ten people from the Tripod part of the action were arrested on Monday morning around 11am – having been there since 6.30am.

They were held for roughly 10 hours in custody. They have been charged with obstruction of the highway and bailed to appear at Trafford Magistrates court at 9.45am on Thursday 3rd June.

The six people who went airside were arrested for criminal damage, conspiracy to commit criminal damage and entering a restricted airfield. They were held for around 13 hours in custody and had their houses searched. They have not yet been charged, but bailed to return to Altrincham police station on 20th August.
—
24.05.2010
Activists from the group Manchester Plane Stupid have breached airside security at Manchester Airport today in a protest against the expansion of the airport. The protest involves two groups. The first group of 6 people cut through the perimeter fence and created a human circle around a stationary plane using arm tube lock-ons.

A second group have used tripods to blockade the road entrance to the World Freight Terminal preventing airfreighted goods from being taken in or out. They have unfurled a banner reading: “More air freight = more climate change. Stop all airport expansion now.”

The group are protesting against the recent decision to expand the World Freight Terminal which will involve the demolition of historic homes on Hasty Lane.

Lisa Jameson from Manchester Plane Stupid said, “This isn’t just about airport expansion or rising carbon emissions. This is about challenging an economic system based on the absurdity of infinite growth on a planet of finite resources, a system which prioritises bail-outs for the banks and then makes us pay for it in public service cuts. Capitalism is the cause of the problem, climate change is just a symptom.”

Following the recent decision to stop expansion at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stanstead airports, the aviation industry is likely to look to regional airports such as Manchester to increase profits.

“The third runway at Heathrow was stopped because ordinary people stood up to the government at the time and the aviation industry using a broad range of tactics. Direct action has historically played an important role in creating social change and will continue to do so.”

The aviation industry consistently overstate their importance in creating jobs and their contribution to the economy.

The lack of tax on aviation fuel is costing the UK economy £9 billion per year. There is also a tourism deficit in the North West region of £2.2 billion.[1] That is the difference between what Britons flying abroad spend in foreign countries and what foreign visitors spend in the North West.

Each round of airport expansion is justified on the promise of more and more jobs. In the 1990s Manchester Airport promised to create 50,000 jobs with the second runway – but the actual number was far lower. We need to begin a just transition to a low carbon economy by creating jobs in sustainable industries such as rail and renewables”

Annie McLaughlin said, “Recently, we’ve seen attempts by British Airways to use the courts to overturn workers’ right to strike. We support the rights of all workers to fight for good conditions. It is essential that the changes needed to prevent climate change are not used as an excuse to restrict workers rights.”

The airport, which is owned by local councils, has kept local residents in the dark about the proposed expansion plans, failing to adequately inform them that their homes face demolition.

McLaughlin continued, “The proposed expansion of the freight terminal makes no sense, economically or environmentally. The existing capacity is not fully utilized and an expansion would simply be a stepping stone to expansion of the airport as a whole, which would be an environmental disaster.”

“ With the planet on the verge of climate breakdown it is essential that the real cost of aviation expansion is taken seriously – currently emissions from aviation are not included in Manchester City Council’s Climate Change Action Plan.”

The protesters say they are locked on to halt emissions and are prepared to stay for as long as it takes to get their message across.

Notes to Editors

[1] Brendan Sewill, ‘Airport Jobs: False Hopes, Cruel Hoax’
http://www.aef.org.uk/uploads/Airport_jobs___false_hopes_cruel_hoax.pdf

Plane Stupid / Manchester Climate Action
info@planestupid.com
http://www.planestupid.com

Brazil: Kayapo blockade heads into second month

May 23, 2010

It’s been exactly one month to the day since a group of Kayapo set up a ferry blockade across the Xingu River in an ongoing protest against the controversial Belo Monte hydro dam.

May 23, 2010

It’s been exactly one month to the day since a group of Kayapo set up a ferry blockade across the Xingu River in an ongoing protest against the controversial Belo Monte hydro dam.

The Kayapo were dispatched to the site on April 22, the same day Brazil’s government granted out rights to build the dam

Sadly, the effort has received little media coverage since then, even with a constant reference to celebrity activists Sting and James Cameron.

Nevertheless, as the front line effort heads into its second month, the Kayapo warn that they have no intention of backing down unless the government cancels the project.

The Kayapo Continue Blockades in Protest of the Belo Monte Dam

by International Rivers and Amazon Watch

For Immediate Release
May 21, 2010

The Kayapo Continue Blockades of Amazon Highway for the 28th Straight Day in Protest of the Belo Monte Dam
Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples Vow to Block Dam Construction or “Die Fighting for our Rights”

Piaraçu, Xingu National Park, Brazil – A group of Kayapo indigenous people led by Chief Megaron Txukarramãe have been blockading the Xingu River crossing of the BR-80 – a major Amazon highway in Mato Grosso State – since April 23 in protest of the government’s plans to build the massive Belo Monte Dam. Dozens of Kayapo warriors have been blocking the ferry crossing over the Xingu River for four weeks and are determined to remain there. Their actions have disrupted a major transportation artery for commercial goods in the region.

In a statement issued from the blockade, Chief Megaron referred to President Lula as “enemy number one” to Brazil’s indigenous peoples, and vowed to maintain the blockade until Belo Monte is canceled or “die fighting for our rights.”

Chief Megaron has been joined in these protests by Kayapo Chief Raoni Metuktire, an emblematic leader for over 20 years of indigenous resistance to the Brazilian government’s plans to dam the Xingu River. In a May 1st interview with the French channel TF1, Chief Raoni said “I have asked my warriors to prepare for war and I have spoken of this with other tribes from the Upper Xingu. We will not let them [build this dam].”

Leaders of the Arara, Xipaia and Juruna indigenous peoples of the Lower Xingu echo the vociferous opposition of the Kayapo to the Belo Monte Dam, and have also vowed to lay down their lives to stop the project, which would destroy their communities and livelihoods. “We are firm in this struggle, and continue more strong and determined than ever to stop Belo Monte,” said the leader Sheyla Juruna. Attempts to stop the Belo Monte Dam became known around the world last month when filmmaker James Cameron and members of the cast of Avatar joined protests in Brasilia and visited villages on the Xingu River and its tributaries to hear about the plight of the region’s indigenous people.

Slated to be the 3rd largest hydroelectric project in the world, Belo Monte would divert over 80 percent of the Xingu River’s flow through artificial canals, flooding over 500 sq km of rainforest while drying out a 100 km stretch of the river known as the “Big Bend,” which is home to hundreds of indigenous and riverine families. Though sold to the public as “clean energy,” Belo Monte would generate an enormous amount of methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Despite legal injunctions against the project’s auction, the Brazilian government announced that the auction’s winning consortium, “Norte Energia,” would proceed with plans to dam the Xingu River. President Lula’s insistence that the project move forward at all costs – in spite of serious social, environmental and financial concerns, as well as a massive local and international outcry – continues to be met with fierce denouncements from indigenous people of the Xingu Basin.

“The destruction that would be caused by the massive Belo Monte Dam in the globally essential Amazon Basin would have worldwide ramifications that can’t yet be fully comprehended. Indigenous people are determined to disrupt the ‘business as usual’ model of destructive development projects that ruin the environment and their traditional ways of life,” said Atossa Soltani of Amazon Watch. “Indigenous groups from the Xingu Basin have sent the Brazilian government a clear and resounding message that they will not allow the Belo Monte Dam to move forward. A Brazilian and international coalition of organizations and social movements stands in solidarity with these groups, and is mobilizing further social and legal actions.”

International bike ride links communities in resistance: Merthyr to Mayo cyclist

22.5.2010
Today, a 50-strong international bike ride begins the 400 mile journey from a community resisting Britain’s largest open cast coal mine in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales to County Mayo, Ireland, where local people have spent the last ten years fighting a Shell-led gas development. We aim to offer direct support to these two local campaigns resisting the fossil fuel industry.

30 cyclists from the UK will join the “Madrid to Mayo” cycle ride in Cork, and many others from Ireland are expected to join on route. We will spend ten days traveling up the west coast of Ireland, distributing a specially produced newspaper, “Changing Times”. Events are being held along the way, each night we’re being hosted by different community organisations, and we’ll arrive in Mayo for the Rossport Solidarity Camp June Bank Holiday Weekend Gathering at Glengad.

It’s gonna be a good laugh, but hopefully more than that – the line we are drawing from Merthyr to Mayo is a reminder that none of us can afford to see these places in isolation.

The ride begins today with an event in Merthyr Tydfil where local residents and the solidarity cyclists are sharing stories, ideas, music and food.

“Our communities’ stories are repeated across the globe in the places where fossil fuels are sourced. Large corporations move into areas regardless of the wishes of the affected population; resources are extracted and, whilst the corporations reap vast profits, the local people have to suffer the health and environmental consequences. And, as the fossil fuels are burnt they contribute to climate change, affecting everyone.” – Merthyr resident, Alyson Austin.

Both communities have a long history of resistance, and their efforts have resulted in amazing successes. In Erris, Mayo, the campaign won a sizeable victory in November last year, when Shell’s application for their onshore gas pipeline was effectively refused by the planning authorities; it is unclear when (or if) permission will be granted in the future. In Merthyr Tydfil, campaigners are currently taking out a Group Private Nuisance case against the mining company, Miller Argent. Significant numbers of local people are participating in the legal action which aims to limit the mine’s impact on residents. Climate activists recently did a solidarity action by blockading coal trains headed from the mine to Aberthaw Power Station. In recent months, Mayo has seen string of actions locally, nationally and internationally in solidarity with political prisoners Pat O’Donnell and Niall Harnett (more information on the prisoners and how to write to them, and the campaign in general, on the shell to sea website.)

Please join us on the ride, for the gathering, and in continued resistance against patriarchal white-supremacist capitalist imperialism, and the fight for social and ecological justice!

http://www.merthyrtomayo.org.uk

Cellphone Antenna Sabotaged with Fire, Bristol

FOR SELF-ORGANISATION & ANTI-CAPITALIST RESISTANCE

May 21, 2010, approx 2.30am.

FOR SELF-ORGANISATION & ANTI-CAPITALIST RESISTANCE

May 21, 2010, approx 2.30am.

A ‘T-mobile’ repeater was destroyed by fire. All effort was made not to endanger any life and the mast was chosen due to its distance from residential buildings and activity. The fence was cut with bolt-croppers and placed at the base of the antenna, wrapped around the electrical cables powering the mast, was a cut tyre filled with rags soaked in paraffin. Soaked rags were also tied to the cables and tucked into the tyre. Firelighters were used to ignite the lot. The antenna was situated near the central Temple Meads railway station close to a new ‘urban development’ area.

Destructive acts against the telecommunications infrastructure of capitalist economy are simple and reproducible, as are attacks against other facets of industrial society. The system relies on a network of cables, antennas and power units to enforce and sustain its exploitation. Far from being a faceless abstract enemy, the conduits of commodity production remain attackable at many points, vulnerable to our courage, rage and joy.

We dedicate this action to the arrested anarchists Constantino, Luca and Silvia in Switzerland, accused of conspiring against a nano-tech facility; to all the prisoners of the social struggle in Greece and to all those who have begun to fight, in a myriad of places, of different tongues, races and names.

FOR INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL & ECOLOGICAL STRUGGLE AGAINST STATE & CAPITAL

Cells of Fire: Storm of Butterflies

Giant Elephant attacks Manchester Council meeting

……well sort of. New councillors were reminded yesterday that Manchester Airport is still the ‘elephant in the room’ when it comes to the local Climate Change Action Plan – since the Council have refused to include the flight emissions from the Airport in their carbon reduction targets. The 9ft inflatable elephant highlighted that the Council’s much-lauded plans are totally undermined by the omission of the Airport– especially considering that Manchester City Council own 55% of Manchester Airports Group.

As Councillors met altogether for the first time since the election, a trailer bike soundsystem played a set of aircraft noises as a reminder of what life under the flight path can be like for communities in Stockport and Knutsford.
Aircraft Noise – audio/x-ms-wma 4.4M

In November 2009, Manchester City Council released ‘Manchester: a Certain Future’ which laid out plans to reduce the city’s CO2 emissions by 41% by 2020. These calculations did not include the full impact of the airport. The next day the Council Planning Committee approved proposals to bulldoze residents homes at Hasty Lane, to expand the World Freight Centre at Manchester Airport. [1]

A report by the Committee on Climate Change (December 2009) has predicted that Manchester Airport could become as busy as Heathrow with the number of flights doubling by 2050, leading to a flight taking off or landing every 70 seconds.[2]

Recently, the new coalition Liberal Conservative government in London have blocked expansion plans at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick. It seems the aviation industry will be looking to expand regional airports like Manchester to increase their profits.

Alex Fountain from the Stop Expansion at Manchester Airport coalition said, “The new councillors need to take a fresh approach to airport expansion. The council cannot continue to ignore its effects on local communities – such as rising carbon pollution and noise impacts.”

He continued, “There is a tourism defecit in the Northwest of England amounting to £2.2 billion. [2] That’s £2.2 billion more being taken out of the region than being brought in by airports. The argument that airport expansion is good for jobs and the economy is unfounded. We need an update assessment of the airport’s role in the region.”

Manchester Airport plan to become carbon neutral by 2015 – but this will not include emissions from flights.

A rendition of ‘Nellie the Elephant’ by the Toy Dolls was also heard playing out the soundsystem.
TUNE: Nellie the Elephant by the Toy Dolls – mp3 3.1M

Notes
————————–

[1] Council Approve Expansion Plans – Manchester Evening News – 21st November 2009 http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1183425_fury_over_airports_move_to_demolish_family_homes

[2] Manchester Airport to be as busy as Heathrow – Manchester Evening News – Monday 8th March 2010
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1194908_manchester_airport_to_be_as_busy_as_heathrow

[3] Brendan Sewill’s ‘Airport Jobs: Cruel Hoax, False Hopes’ – page 21.
Available here:
http://www.aef.org.uk/uploads/Airport_jobs___false_hopes_cruel_hoax.pdf

http://www.stopmanchesterairport.org.uk

The new Action Update – full of of action news and analysis

In the new summer edition of the EF! Action Update, read about coal trains blockaded, peat bogs defended, and gas terminals shut down. Find out about the dangers of nanotech, current state of nuclear GM trials in the UK, Tesco uprisings, golf course trashing, tar sands action and much more.

Be inspired by our protest camp feature and the recent Titnore victory. And from across the seas, read about our brothers and sisters struggling against whaling ship sabotage, coal port pirates, riots in Zagreb, mining firm occupations in Bolivia, dam resistance in Brazil and much more.

“We are going to inherit the earth . There is not the slightest doubt about that. We Are not afraid of ruins. We carry a new world, here in our hearts. That world is growing this minute.” – Durruti

To download the latest EF!AU for printing, go to http://www.earthfirst.org.uk/efau/actionupdate_summer10print.pdf

To read the latest EF!AU online, go to http://www.earthfirst.org.uk/efau/actionupdate_summer10.pdf

Eviction Threat to Kew Bridge Eco Village

Kew Bridge Eco Village faces an eviction threat, starting from this Friday, 21st of May, 2010. It is likely that they will evict on the friday, or the monday after or at some other date that suits their purposes.

The eco village is primarily a place for beings of different perspectives, experiences, ideals and aims to come together to create sustainable communities, wherever they might exist. The site is set to be turned into a monstrous development of expensive flats and more pubs and shops, in an area with two nearby shopping centers, and with 3 pubs in the immediate area, and copious amounts of disused properties standing empty as the numbers of homeless continue to rise. Kew Bridge Eco Village stands in the way of this rediculous development and against all unsustainable practices everywhere.

So if you want to protect the eco village, whether you consider yourself to be classwar, eco, feminist, hippy, hardcore, non-violent, survivalist, whatever: come on down and support the village! There are plenty of sleeping spaces, and you even have the option of setting up a tent.

See you at the barricades!!!!

See a map?

Note: clicking the map link will load data from Openstreetmap’s external server.

Nuclear Power Conferences in London Hit by Protests

Tuesday, 18 May 2010 – CAMPAIGNERS from London and SE England Stop Nuclear Power [1] protested outside the Financing Nuclear Power and Nuclear Interim Storage conferences in central London today. They invited delegates to invest in a green future instead of nuclear energy and demanded an end to nuclear waste production.

The first port of call for the three protesters, two of whom were dressed in white overalls, was the Financing Nuclear Power conference at the plush Crowne Plaza hotel near St James’s Park. They held up a banner that read “Green Solutions Not Nuclear Greenwash” and leafleted delegates and passing members of the public outside the main entrance to the hotel for over an hour and a half, closely watched by hotel security staff throughout.

Two of them then moved on to the Nuclear Interim Storage conference, which was taking place at Dexter House at Royal Mint Court, adjacent to Tower Bridge. Standing in the courtyard outside the entrance/exit to the building hosting the conference, they held up a larger banner that read “Green Our Future, No to Nuclear” and exchanged banter with delegates and other users of the building on their lunch break. Security guards were called and the protesters were told they were on private property and had to leave, but the protesters stood their ground. A Police Community Support Officer then appeared and also tried to get the protesters to leave, but they refused. Further back up was called, but the protesters left before it arrived, having been there for an hour.

The incoming Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government has said it will continue with the Labour government policy of allowing ten new nuclear power stations to be built in England and Wales. Ministers have said that no direct public subsidies will be offered for new nuclear build, although a carbon floor price is proposed. Nowhere in the world has a nuclear power station ever been built without public subsidy.

For five decades, the nuclear industry has failed to find a permanent solution for its radioactive waste, which remains dangerous for tens of thousands of years. [2] With current waste storage facilities at Sizewell B in Suffolk nearly full, plans are in place to build a new “temporary” store where waste from the reactor will be kept indefinitely in the absence of a permanent solution. This is before considering the waste from any new reactor(s), which would be more radioactive and remain too hot to transport for 160+ years.

Campaigner Daniel Viesnik, 35, from London, says: “Contrary to the nonsense that you hear from the nuclear spin doctors and their political mouthpieces, nuclear power is a dirty, dangerous and expensive technology that diverts essential investment from genuine green alternatives like energy efficiency and renewable and decentralised energy. It carries the risks of nuclear weapons proliferation, nuclear terrorism and a Chernobyl-type catastrophe [3,4]. Why waste money on nuclear white elephants and dump more nuclear waste on local communities when we could build a genuinely sustainable, nuclear-free, zero carbon future?”

All images may be reproduced free of charge for non-commercial use if credited to D. Viesnik. Please e-mail for high res versions.

Notes:

1. London and SE England Stop Nuclear Power is part of the Stop Nuclear Power Network, a UK-based non-hierarchical grassroots network of activists taking action against nuclear power and supporting sustainable alternatives.
http://stopnuclearpoweruk.net
network[at]stopnuclearpoweruk.net

2. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s Oxide Fuel Topic Strategy (2010) indicates that serious questions remain within the nuclear industry itself over whether any solution for permanent disposal of radioactive waste will ever be found.
http://www.nda.gov.uk/documents/upload/draft-oxide-fuel-topic-strategy-gate-0.pdf

3. EDF nuclear reactor carries ‘Chernobyl-size’ explosion risk – Guardian, 7 March 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/mar/07/edf-nuclear-reactor-chernobyl-risk

4. Academics demand independent inquiry into new nuclear reactors – Guardian, 11 March 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/mar/11/independent-inquiry-nuclear-power-stations

vd2012-imc [at] yahoo.co.uk
http://stopnuclearpoweruk.net

Thousands of Tibetans mobilize to defend Sacred Mountains

May 18, 2010
A massive police crackdown may be imminent in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), where thousands of Tibetan villagers have mobilized to defend their sacred mountains from exploitation.

According to reports from Radio Free Asia (RFA), the villagers are attempting to halt three separate gold mines in Tsongshen, Choeten, and Deshoe in Markham county, TAR.

As many as five thousand Chinese troops have been called in to make sure the mining operations proceed.

A local Tibetan source, who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity, says at least five protesters have already been injured in the protests, while numerous others have been beaten and tear-gassed by the troops. One also “attempted to kill himself with a broken bottle, the source said.”

Almost exactly one year ago, the same Tibetan villagers organized an indefinite roadblock to protect one of their sacred mountains, known locally as “Ser Ngul Lo.”

Translated into English as “Year of Gold and Silver”, Ser Ngul Lo has been worshipped by the Tibetans for centuries and it is the site of important ceremonies conducted in times of drought.

Government officials at the time granted a Chinese company permission to operate a gold mine in the region–most certainly, without consulting the Tibetans or gaining their consent.

In addition to protecting the Mountain, the villagers were also deeply concerned that their drinking water would be contaminated by the mine. And with a tense stand-off that ensued, the peaceful villagers declared that they were “ready to die” to protect the sacred site. The Tibetans feared the worst.

But then, as the international community watched on, the unimaginable happened: Government officials sat down with the Tibetans and reached a peaceful accord.

For their part, the officials agreed to completely abandon the gold mine and withdraw all troops in the area. In addition, they agreed to build a concrete barrier to stop any old mining waste from leaching into the local water system.

In return, the Tibetans agreed to end their 24-hour blockade and return home.

Hounslow squatted community land project

New land project occupied

Come and get stuck in at squatted Hounslow Community Land Project, on the Hanworth rd nxt to Gurdwara temple, ideas so far are allotments, sustainable living, creative workshops, recycled sculpture garden, spiritual space, sports pitches, adventure playground and nature trail! Come and be part of this! site phone kat on 07812 774110 or just turn up betwn 12 and dusk any day.

The Kayapo Continue Blockades in Protest of the Belo Monte Dam

The Kayapo Continue Blockades of Amazon Highway for the 28th Straight Day in Protest of the Belo Monte Dam Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples Vow to Block Dam Construction or “Die Fighting for our Rights”

The Kayapo Continue Blockades of Amazon Highway for the 28th Straight Day in Protest of the Belo Monte Dam
Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples Vow to Block Dam Construction or “Die Fighting for our Rights”