earthfirst – Page 153

The new EF! Action Update – bursting onto the seams…

In the Spring edition of the EF! Action Update, see how King Coal is being confronted – chimneys climbed, conveyors locked-on to, mines invaded, machinery occupied, ecotage, and more.

Marvel at the Mainshill strategy of continuous action, look with awe at the range of tactics they used in the many months before eviction…and then think about what you can do, with who, where and when.

“If not you, who? If not now, when?”

The Mainshill feature includes an action timeline, local community links and ideas for the future.

The Nuclear New Build CONsultation is over on 22nd February – read about what happens next, who’s involved, and an anti-nuclear camp in April.

“in the end we just need rebellion. Everywhere.” – what was your response to the Copenhagen climate chaos, whether you went or stayed at home?

Be inspired by an interview with “D Lock,our mystery digger diving activist” – get out there, bicycle lock in hand. In January, one person so-armed brought a whole coal terminal to a halt for many hours.

And from across the seas, read about our brothers and sisters struggling against high-speed train destruction in Italy, high-voltage power lines in Catalonia, and whale hunting on the High Seas.

And if you don’t get high on all that, try not to be inspired by conferences blockaded, dams delayed, earth-trashing machinery sabotaged, trees hugged, architects imposted, genetics roofed, biomess biomassed 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_feb10print.pdf

To read the latest EF!AU online, go to http://www.earthfirst.org.uk/efau/actionupdate_feb10.pdf

Mexico: Two Jailed For Earth Liberation Front Actions

Abraham López Martínez (age 16) and Fermín Gómez Trejo (age 17), have been held since December 15, 2009 at a youth detention center in Mexico City. They are accused of damaging property and criminal association, related to the burning of nine privately-owned cars and a bomb attack against a Harley Davidson dealer, actions claimed by the Frente de Liberación de la Tierra [Earth Liberation Front]. They are awaiting trial. Both are vegan.

Source: http://www.directaction.info/prisoners.htm

Mexico: Coca-Cola targeted by ALF/ELF

On the night of January 17 we decided to go out to once again prove that this war has not ended, that our actions have not stopped and that we continue to feel the rage that we have put into every action.
This time we put two packages of explosives in the front windows of the offices of the bottler FEMSA, owned by the filthy multinational Coca-Cola. The windows were completely destroyed in the explosion. The attack was carried out in Ecatepec, Mexico City.
Coca-Cola is an earth-destroying company that causeS the extinction of animal species, that uses extreme human exploitation to produce goods like soft drinks, and that claims and privatizes natural resources. Coca-Cola, one of the companies directly responsible for environmental deterioration, has been visited by us, anarchists and liberationists; we have decided in these cells to focus on quality actions, strengthening ourselves to expand our acts of sabotage.
While it is true that 2008 and 2009 were years of quantitative expansion, now it is 2010, a new year, with new strategies and new tactics, but with the same courage to act.
This action is dedicated with all our desire for freedom to the prisoners Víctor, Emmanuel, Abraham, Fermín, and Socorro of Tijuana. We hope that direct solidarity multiplies in clandestine actions, for their unconditional liberation.
We prepare our weapons for the climate change summit!
Hitting hard and fleeing!

Frente de Liberación Animal
Frente de Liberación de la Tierra

anonymous communique translated by Bite Back

Reclaim the Fields Gathering, Barcelona

Invitation to the Reclaim the Fields gathering
13th 14th and 15th February, Can Masdeu, Barcelona

http://www.reclaimthefields.org/
http://www.canmasdeu.net/

Invitation to the Reclaim the Fields gathering
13th 14th and 15th February, Can Masdeu, Barcelona

http://www.reclaimthefields.org/
http://www.canmasdeu.net/

The European Coordination « Reclaim the Fields » (RtF) was born of the gatherings and initiative of a small group of young farmers and landless people linked to Via Campesina, the RtF coordination met last October at a European camp of over 400 people involved in many different small agriculture and collective initiative projects. After the camp, new people were motivated to continue the process, proposing another meeting in Catalonia, to bring together people already involved here in out-of-the-ordinary agriculture and self-production initiatives such as collective agriculture and the occupation of land and abandoned villages, producers and consumer cooperatives, the fight against genetic engineering and for ecological agriculture, etc.

Aware that networks already exist around Can Masdeu and beyond, we invite you to come and meet with us and compare experiences, and
perhaps create connections that will go beyond this gathering…

For more information write to: reclamem-els-camps@pimienta.org.

We will send you more information about the political content and logistical details of the gathering. You can also sign up on the doodle
http://www.doodle.com/avyaivy5a6dy8ug4. We need you to do this to plan for accommodation and food.
The programme for the gathering is still being written.

—
European Coordination Reclaim the Fields

Mainshill Solidarity Camp evicted – not an end, but a beginning

30th January 2010
Yesterday was the fifth and final day of the eviction of the Mainshill Solidarity Camp – the last two arrests as the final occupiers were dragged out of the rapidly shrinking Wood. A total of 45 arrests were made over the course of the eviction with close to 70 people taking part and supporting the camp.

All five days saw the violence inflicted by the state on those who try to create positive change, and the collusion between the courts, police and corporations. But they also saw heroic acts of defiance, with people fighting off bailiffs until having their hands and feet cable-tied together and supporters maintaining a 24-hour vigil throughout the eviction.

This eviction is not an end, but the beginning of a campaign of community-based radical direct action sweeping Scotland’s central belt which can only grow in strength. From actions to stop work on opencast sites and the shutting down of a major coal rail terminal for a day (which happened for a third time on Wednesday), to community engagement and solidarity resulting in a seven-month occupation and a positive change in direction for radical environmentalism in Scotland.

But where can we go next? We’ve hit these capitalists and money-grabbers where it hurts most – in the pocket – and we can’t wait to hear how much it has cost them in total. Over 30 direct actions have taken place over the past 12 months, and that’s not including the eviction. Machines have been trashed, health studies published and bonds been made with those affected by heavy industry and the causes of climate change. We’ve dug tunnels, defended trees and climbed onto diggers.

The Mainshill Solidarity Camp has now been evicted, but the struggle continues!

mainshill@riseup.net
http://mainshill.noflag.org.uk/

Update from the ongoing Mainshill eviction, day 4

The ongoing eviction of Mainshill Solidarity Camp entered its fourth day with the struggle to clear the sycamores continuing.

Yesterday the battle for the sycamores had started with the removal of the skyraft, and one protestor being hauled out of a tree.

The ongoing eviction of Mainshill Solidarity Camp entered its fourth day with the struggle to clear the sycamores continuing.

Yesterday the battle for the sycamores had started with the removal of the skyraft, and one protestor being hauled out of a tree.

Treehouses were destroyed and the remaining anti-coal activists were left without tarps, bedding or in some cases, a way down the tree.

During the course of today, five other people were evicted from the sycamores.

The hidden treetop camp known as ‘Ewok Village’ was cleared as well with climbers tackling some tough defences.

In all, there were nine arrests.

A huge amount of heavy machinery has been moved onto site, so opportunities for actions to stop work on site are literally everywhere.

“The fight isn’t over yet”, said the almost infamous Barry Cader, recently released on bail.

Update from day 3 Mainshill eviction

Seven more protestors were arrested today, Wednesday 27th January, in the third day of resistance against the eviction of Mainshill Solidarity Camp.

As the tactics of the National Eviction Team grew increasingly aggressive and cavalier, spirits on site remained strong. Climbers attempted to evict the stand of sycamores but were met with determined resistance and succeeded in only removing one protestor. Branches have been stripped from the remaining trees and treehouses destroyed. The coal activists have been left without bedding or tarps for the night.

Bulldozers destroyed trees within 50metres of a hidden treetop camp as the locked-on protestors screamed and whistled to try and reveal themselves and stop work. The discovery of this further site has delayed the end of the eviction and raises doubts about the competency of the NET. A search helicopter had made several passes over the area but seemingly failed to find anything, despite hovering over their exact location for several minutes. As the bulldozers neared the treehouses, support folk outside site begged the NET to stop the work to secure the area and ensure the safety of those locked-on. Their whistles could clearly be heard from the front of site but the NET were stubborn in their refusal to accept the possible presence of another occupation. Work was finally stopped metres from the treehouses. The climbing team expect to start trying to clear the area, known as ‘Ewok Village’ tomorrow.

A treehouse, the net, and a skyraft were cleared of occupants. Tunnel teams continue to work through the night to clear the underground defences.

The 26 people held and charged over the last two days have all been released on bail, and are charged with either breach of the peace or section 68(1) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

In solidarity with the Mainshill Solidarity Camp, Ravenstruther coal rail terminal was shut down for up to five hours this morning as a protestor locked on to a digger.

It is still easy to get onto site so come down and support the Mainshill crew from the inside or do some support work from the outside.

For info about the campaign see www.mainshill.noflag.org.uk

European protests to stop bulldozers on uncontacted tribe’s land

26 January 2010
Protestors gathered in London, Madrid and Paris today to oppose the destruction of land belonging to one of the world’s last uncontacted tribes.

The protestors stood outside the Paraguayan embassies in Madrid and London holding placards reading, ‘Save the Ayoreo.’ The Ayoreo-Totobiegosode are losing their forest to a Brazilian company bulldozing it to graze cattle for beef.

In Paris, a letter was handed in to UNESCO’s head office expressing their concern for the Totobiegosode. The forest being destroyed by the cattle-ranchers is part of a UNESCO ‘biosphere reserve’, but despite pleas from the Totobiegosode to stop the destruction UNESCO has yet to respond.

The company, Yaguarete Pora S.A., recently won Survival’s ‘Greenwashing Award 2010’ for its decision to create a ‘nature reserve’ on the Totobiegosode’s land while destroying thousands of hectares of their forest. Yaguarete denies it is acting illegally and claims the land it is destroying does not belong to the Totobiegosode, despite the fact that many studies prove it belongs to them and a legal claim made by the Totobiegosode is based on one of those studies.

See the company’s deforestation plans.

Satellite photos clearly show the destruction of the Totobiegosode’s forest. They are the only uncontacted tribe in the world losing their land to beef.

Survival director, Stephen Corry, said today, ‘People all over the world are beginning to wake up to what is happening to the Totobiegosode. Paraguay risks being more famous for this tragedy than anything else.’

2 anti-nuke protests against new build plans

Anti-nuclear activists disrupt Parliamentary Select Committee
27.1.2010

This morning in Westminster, during the Department of Energy and Climate Change Parliamentary Select Committee on the proposed nuclear and other energy National Policy Statements, two anti-nuclear activists stood and unfurled a banner in the centre of the committee room reading “Local Democracy Dumped.” The banner also featured radiation symbols and drums of radioactive waste. A third activist handed out briefings on why they believe nuclear power is unacceptable and an inappropriate technology for tacking climate change. The three activists were taken away and detained inside the House of Commons, along with a forth man who was taking photographs. The four were held for over two hours for alleged breaches of the House regulations, before being released and banned from the Parliamentary estate for the rest of the day.

Representatives of energy giants EDF, E.ON and RWE npower and of the Association of Electricity Producers were giving evidence before the committee of MPs. The protesters were highlighting the lack of local democracy associated with the new fast-track planning process, which will be used to silence dissenting local voices on major infrastructure projects such as new nuclear power stations and nuclear waste dumps.

Yesterday the four protested with others outside the Nuclear New Build Conference at Charing Cross Hotel (see below)

Nuclear People Power / No New Nuclear
http://stopnuclearpower.blogspot.com

—

London Conference Protest Exposes Nuclear Greenwash
26.1.2010

A group of nine anti-nuclear campaigners staged a two-hour protest outside the Nuclear New Build Conference in central London this morning in protest at industry attempts to paint nuclear power as a “green” technology and win public support for new nuclear reactors.

Standing outside the Guoman Hotel adjacent to Charing Cross railway station in the morning rush hour dressed in white overalls and masks, the protesters displayed a large banner reading “Nuclear Power is Not the Answer to Climate Chaos”, handed out leaflets and detailed briefings explaining why they believe nuclear power to be a false solution to climate change and detailing other problems with this form of energy. During the demonstration, the conference’s keynote speaker, former energy minister Malcolm Wicks MP, exchanged views on nuclear power and energy policy with one of the campaigners.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change is currently undertaking a public consultation on its draft nuclear National Policy Statement (NPS). Once this is approved, decisions on new nuclear reactors will be left to an unelected quango called the Infrastructure Planning Commission, with no further opportunity for local objections to be heard.
The Government is keen to push through a new generation of costly and highly controversial nuclear reactors, despite widespread opposition and the lack of any long-term solution for over 50 years’ worth of high level radioactive waste from existing reactors. Campaigners are concerned that the high cost of building new reactors would divert essential investment from renewable and decentralised energy and energy efficiency measures. They say that new reactors take too long to build and would not in any case make a significant contribution towards meeting the UK’s carbon emission reduction targets. They also remain concerned about the health effects of radioactive emissions, such as the cancer and leukaemia clusters found near nuclear power stations, as indicated by the 2007 German-government sponsored KiKK study, and the risk of a terrorist attack or catastrophic Chernobyl-type reactor meltdown. A former director of the Forsmark nuclear plant in Sweden said of an incident at the site in 2006: “It was pure luck that there was not a meltdown.”

Daniel Viesnik, 35, a London-based activist, said “The nuclear industry’s long history of secrecy, cover-ups and shoddy and dangerous practices stretches back over fifty years. It wants us to believe that a leopard can change its spots, but the only thing that really seems to change is the industry’s PR tactics.”

Ian Mills, 44, a long-term anti-nuclear activist from Chippenham, Wiltshire said, “Nuclear power is a dirty, dangerous and expensive distraction from the major investment needed for a radical transition to a safe and sustainable low-carbon future and green industry, based on more modest consumption, energy efficiency and conservation, and renewable and decentralised energy.”

Mell Harrison, 38, Eastern Region CND’s campaigns officer, who lives near Sizewell nuclear power station in Suffolk, said: “It is frustrating that we are not included in the talks happening at the conference, especially as the energy needs of the UK concerns us all. A seat at the conference costs over £1300 and the future costs if new nuclear goes ahead are far greater. Surely now it is time for the nuclear industry to be open and accountable? But yet again as we have seen time and time again, all the ‘real’ talk goes on behind closed doors.’ Mell added ‘ This protest is just the start- we need real solutions to climate change – not nuclear green wash.’

Contact: vd2012-npp [at] yahoo.co.uk or mellcndeast [at] cnduk.org
Tel: 07760 161 755 or 07506 234 091
http://stopnuclearpower.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/nukepeoplepower

Ravenstruther coal rail terminal shut down + Mainshill eviction continues, 3rd day…

A coal terminal in South Lanarkshire was brought to a standstill this morning when a protestor locked himself to a piece of machinery.

At 9am this morning (Wed 27th) a man climbed to the top of a digger and locked himself to it by his leg, effectively shutting down Ravenstruther coal rail terminal.

A coal terminal in South Lanarkshire was brought to a standstill this morning when a protestor locked himself to a piece of machinery.

At 9am this morning (Wed 27th) a man climbed to the top of a digger and locked himself to it by his leg, effectively shutting down Ravenstruther coal rail terminal.

About 15 trucks full of coal are unable to access the terminal and have been forced to dump their load, and the coal train that was being loaded has been stopped.

Ravenstruther is where coal from the open-cast mines in South Lanarkshire is loaded onto trains and sent south to power stations such as Drax.

An hour after the action started NETCU and 6 police officers arrived.

This action was taken in solidarity with Mainshill Solidarity Camp which is in the third day of resisting eviction.

The Scottish Government is approving up to 33 new open cast coal sites. A protestor from Mainshill said: “As Climate Chaos grows exponentially worse, it is becoming more and more important to resist and obstruct the ever enlarging fossil fuel industry. We will do everything in our power to make the extraction, transport, and burning of coal as financially unviable as possible by continuing to fight against it at every step of the way, from the mines to the power stations.”

——–

Mainshill Solidarity Camp:

The eviction is still ongoing. The site perimeter cannot be secured so there is still massive scope for resisting this eviction and Scottish Coals activities generally, get yourself up to Lanarkshire and get stuck in. Four people were arrested from the camp this morning (27th).

More information about the Mainshill Solidarity Camp and how to get there is available at www.mainshill.noflag.org.uk