earthfirst – Page 153

Kew Bridge Eco-Village update (+ Seedy Sunday)

There’ll be a seed swap day on 14th Feb, inspired by Brighton’s original Seedy Sunday – details here.

On June 6th 2009, nearly a hundred activists converged on a piece of derelict land at Kew Bridge in south west London to create an eco-village community based entirely on sustainable technology and construction techniques.

This eco-village occupation is inspired by campaigns like The Land is Ours which campaigns peacefully for access to the land, its resources, and the decision-making processes affecting them, for everyone, irrespective of race, gender or age. for more information, please visit:

Please post any seeds or postcards or anything you like to:

The Eco Village
2 Kew Bridge Rd
Brentford
TW8 0JF
site phone number – 07967864370

In December we had a six month celebration and invited people from the community to a fire party. It was a great success.

In September last year, villagers cheered when Hounslow councillors put off a plan by St George to build 164 flats, a riverside pub, a business hub and a piazza on the site.

The development is not due to be discussed by a council committee before March and, with local elections taking place in May, a meeting may not take place until June – meaning the eco-village may remain for another six months.

Over the last 4 months we have gradually improved our living conditions on the site. We have a full working compost toilet, a kitchen and a roundhouse. Still 100% relying on donations and the rubbish you throw away, we have built up our community from nothing!

The best improvement so far is definitely our homes. You may have gone past us on the bus and seen a tarp village, assuming that it was all tents – but its not! We have learnt to build our own houses out of hazel wood poles. By bending them into arches, tying them down and then insulating with blankets and tarps, we have created wonderful little living spaces that are easy peasy to do!

We still maintain that we are essentially a community garden. We encourage everyone from the local area to pay us a visit and share their ideas about what we should do with the land, as well as getting them to help us plant our vegetables and also just to chill out and get to know us all.

We will hold a public meeting every Thursday night at 7pm on site, and we shall try to make every Sunday an event filled open day.

Needless to say, we still welcome everybody from all over London and the world. We have had quite a few international visitors lately! Everyone is welcome to come and stay as long as they follow site rules which include no drugs and alcohol, as well as being considerate to others and you must actively participate as a member of the community.

We especially welcome anyone with any skills or knowledge which may be useful or interesting. We encourage people to hold workshops to share their skills, whether it is about common law, herbal remedies, yoga, or even how to make didgeridoos or repair bicycles! Or even if you know nothing but just want to learn, come along too!

Our week:

Mondays – Closed (we go and protest outside MOD and downing street)

Tuesdays – Fridays – Open 11-1 and 5-7pm

Every Thursday – 7pm Public meeting

Every Friday – Wild Food Friday 10am – a walk around Richmond park tasting and learning berries nuts and mushrooms

Saturdays and Sundays – Open 11-6

(By ‘Open’ I mean the gate is open and we give tours. If you want to come and help us then please just come in anyway!)

…………………………………………………………..

You are welcome to come and visit us and stay over if you like, but:

1. You must sleep in the Hexiyurt guesthouse as we don’t have the room for any more tents. The guesthouse can accomodate about 6 people, so it may be best to ring us prior to your visit to check if there is enough room for you!

2. The Hexiyurt has to be cleared of your stuff by 10am so it is open for visitors and as a workshop space. (you can store your things in the mansion shed instead during the day)

3. You are welcome to stay up to 7 days, after which time you must leave as to give others the chance to stay over.

4. If, after staying for 7 days, you wish to move in permanently, we will have a meeting to discuss it, to determine if we have enough room, and then shall hopefully welcome you in!

Capacity is a big issue on site at the moment and we are unlikely to allow many more people to move in on a permanent basis. However as winter freezes over we might lose a few members and have room for some more. If you are desperate to stay with us then showing us that your are a good, hard worker who gets along with most people on camp and who is polite and courteous to all will defiantly help you 🙂

Soon after it started

update from Sea Shepherd in Antartica fighting the whalers – arrest attempt & another ramming

Ady Gil Captain Attempts to Serve Arrest Warrant to Captain of the Shonan Maru No. 2

On Friday, January 15, 2010, the crew of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s vessel Bob Barker surprised, chased, and engaged the Shonan Maru No. 2, a security ship from the illegal Japanese whaling fleet. The engagement took place between the hours of 8:30 pm and 12:30 am (AEST).

Ady Gil Captain Attempts to Serve Arrest Warrant to Captain of the Shonan Maru No. 2

The Shonan Maru No. 2 recently achieved infamy when it violently attacked the Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil, threatening the lives of its crew and sinking the vessel due to sustained damage. Today though, the Shonan Maru No. 2 was on the run from the Bob Barker, the irony being that Sea Shepherd adheres to a strict policy of non-violence and has an unblemished 30+ year record of never causing or sustaining any serious injuries while at sea.

Under New Zealand law, a citizen is empowered to serve an arrest warrant on a suspect for a crime that carries a penalty in excess of eight years imprisonment. The charge of attempted murder qualifies and thus Captain Pete Bethune acted in accordance with New Zealand law in his attempt to serve the captain of the Shonan Maru No. 2 who deliberately sank his ship and almost killed his crew and himself.

After a surprise launch, one of Sea Shepherd’s small boats snuck up on the Shonan Maru No. 2 and over a period of more than four hours the Bob Barker slowly closed the gap and harassed the vessel, ordering it to stop and submit to arrest for the crime of attempted murder on the crew of the Ady Gil. Each evasive maneuver from the Shonan Maru No. 2 cost the whalers critical speed.

Said Captain Paul Watson, President and Founder of Sea Shepherd, “Captain Pete Bethune had little choice but to attempt to serve the arrest warrant himself. Down here at the edge of nowhere, without back up from his government, he found he was the only sheriff in town. A captain of a ship that has been sunk by another captain has the authority to bring his attacker to justice. Captain Bethune has been attempting to do just that.”

Attempts by this illegal whaling vessel to discourage the small boats launched by the Bob Barker included the use of Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs), several very high-pressure water cannons, and evasive maneuvers. Some of the crew aboard the Shonan Maru No. 2 were also wearing cylinders on their backs attached to (as yet unidentified) hand-held devices resembling weapons.

Once it became apparent that the Shonan Maru No. 2 would not submit to the arrest, the Bob Barker turned around to continue the hunt for the factory ship of the illegal Japanese fleet. This will prove difficult with the Shonan Maru No. 2 continuing to follow and monitor the Bob Barker, but Sea Shepherd’s flag ship Steve Irwin is also on the prowl for the illegal whaling fleet, and hopes are high that the floating house of blood known as the Nisshin Maru will soon be located—and shut down.

—

February 6 2010
Bob Barker Rammed by Illegal Whaler

Nishan Maru rams Bob BarkerAt 1209 PM Fremantle, Australia time, the Yushin Maru 3 intentionally rammed the Sea Shepherd ship Bob Barker, penetrating it’s hull and endangering the lives of it¹s crew. The collision occurred at 65 degrees 21 South, 67 degrees 58 East, about 180 miles off Cape Darnley in the Australian Antarctic Territory.

The Bob Barker had been actively blocking the slipway of the Nisshin Maru, the Japanese whaling fleet’s factory ship when the collision occurred. Four harpoon ships, the Yushin Maru 1, 2, and 3 and Shonan Maru 2, were circling and making near passes to the stern and bow of the Sea Shepherd vessel. The Bob Barker did not move from its position. At which point, the Yushin Maru 3 intentionally rammed the Bob Barker, creating a 3-foot long 4-inch deep gash in the mid starboard side of the Sea Shepherd vessel above the waterline.

No crew was injured during the collision. The Bob Barker continues to block the slipway of the Nisshin Maru, preventing the transfer of slaughtered whales and effectively shutting down illegal whaling operations.

The incident demonstrates a continued escalation of violence by the illegal whalers in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

Said Captain Paul Watson from the bridge of the Steve Irwin, currently en route to join the action, “Because the whalers got away basically scot-free with the outrageous sinking of the Ady Gil, they now apparently think they can do whatever they want and they appear to have no qualms about endangering Sea Shepherd crew. What we really need is for the governments of Australia and New Zealand to step up and start enforcing maritime laws in these waters, or who know what the whalers will do next. Australian and New Zealand lives are at risk every day in these waters.”

The crew of the Bob Barker noticed that the Yushin Maru 3 stopped moving in the water shortly after the impact, and appeared to be falling behind as the Bob Barker maintained its position on the stern of the Nisshin Maru. It’s possible the Yushin Maru 3 damaged itself in the collision.

The Japanese whalers are far more aggressive this year than in past campaigns.

Non Commercial House is gone again…

On Wednesday 3rd Feb at 9.20 am, High Court Bailiffs came round the Non Commercial House Free Shop, armed presumably with a restitution warrant, and evicted the place and i

On Wednesday 3rd Feb at 9.20 am, High Court Bailiffs came round the Non Commercial House Free Shop, armed presumably with a restitution warrant, and evicted the place and its occupiers.Owners and Bailiffs seemed quite happy to prevent us from running a FreeShop (oooooh, scary, giving out shit for free!!!!) and making some more people homeless because they want to keep their building empty for another couple of years.

Once a person coming into the shop simply asked: “but why do they want to evict you?” Thats a very good question isn’t it? Why? Probably hundreds of reasons, just pick your favorite one. Maybe the reason they want us out is exactly why we’re moving in! 🙂

So the Non Commercial House Free Shop is gone. It’s been an amazing project, so many people just passing by, coming in, having a quick chat, being so shocked that this was a squat and that some of the people they were talking to were actually here in relation to their anarchist politics, taking a couple of cool things they liked, promising to bring some of their own unused stuff (and sometimes actually doing it!!!!).

Apart from having loads of people giving and taking the most incredible stuff on opening days, many complementary activities happened in the house: bike repairs, parties, Spanish lessons, mothers’ gathering, workshop of nothing, polyamory workshop, squatting meetings, wireless hacking, queer fashion show, film screenings and boxing in the basement, etc

It’s also been so much fun for everyone involved that it would be surprising not to see some more FreeShop blossoming later this year…

https://london.indymedia.org/groups/non-commercial-house
email: noncommercialhouse at riseup.net

Demonstrations in Kenya against Ethiopian dam

2 February 2010

Demonstrators have protested in four towns in Kenya, against the construction of a controversial dam that threatens the survival of a hundred thousand indigenous people throughout the Lower Omo Valley in Ethiopia and around Lake Turkana in Kenya.

2 February 2010

Ethiopia’s Omo River is a lifeline for various tribes, who cultivate crops on the fertile floodplains in an otherwise challenging environment. The river is the largest source for Kenya’s famous Lake Turkana, the most saline of Africa’s large lakes, essential to the survival of many Kenyan tribes. The Lower Omo Valley and Lake Turkana are both UNESCO World Heritage sites, in recognition of the ‘exceptional’ conditions there.

Friends of Lake Turkana organised the simultaneous demonstrations, but had to hold a press conference in Nairobi, because of a ban on public demonstrations in the capital.

A FoLT representative said, ‘Based on research and advice from environmentalists, we the Friends of Lake Turkana (FoLT) are concerned about the drastic two year infilling of the dam as well as the limited amount of water to be let out into Lake Turkana to maintain ecological needs.’

In Ethiopia it is much harder for people to demonstrate against the project. The government has introduced legislation to stop local organisations from working on human rights, democracy, justice and law issues. Most people know virtually nothing about the dam and its impacts.

The Italian company Salini Construttori has already built one third of the dam, called Gibe III. The Italian government and various multinational banks are now considering funding the project.

However, independent experts say it will disrupt the seasonal flooding of the Lower Omo Valley, decimating the forests around the river and making it almost impossible for the tribes of the valley to grow their crops.

Several NGOs have made formal complaints to the Africa Development Bank urging it not to fund the dam.

The volume of water flowing in to Lake Turkana is likely to fall dramatically. Tribes including the Turkana, Dassanech, Rendille and Samburu rely on lakeside livestock grazing, crop cultivation, as well as fishing in the lake itself.

Survival is calling on the Ethiopian government to freeze the dam project until an independent environmental and social impact assessment has been carried out and the Omo Valley tribes have been properly consulted.

http://www.friendsoflaketurkana.org/

Brighton RBS painted – the lines are drawn

Communique from the Fine Line Art Collective (FLAC)
Date: 3rd Feb 2010
Address: Old Steine, Brighton
Tel: 01273 821118

In the small hours of this morning the Brighton branch of The Royal Bank of Scotland fell foul of a FLAC attack.

We claim full credit for the free public art installation of a fat red and black line of gloss paint on the floor across the doorway of the bank.

Communique from the Fine Line Art Collective (FLAC)
Date: 3rd Feb 2010
Address: Old Steine, Brighton
Tel: 01273 821118

In the small hours of this morning the Brighton branch of The Royal Bank of Scotland fell foul of a FLAC attack.

We claim full credit for the free public art installation of a fat red and black line of gloss paint on the floor across the doorway of the bank.

The black paint signifies RBS oil investments and the red paint, the lives that will be lost to climate change.

Black paint was applied to the cash point to create the impression of oil oozing from the unstoppable money machine. This illustrates the
filthy nature of this banks activities. We also proved we CAN stop a small cog in the machine. When we want to.

FLAC – the Fine Line Arts Collective – has used this publicly owned space – bought with tax payers money – to pose the question: “Where do we draw the line?”

Today FLAC members drew the line at RBS because…

RBS has financed companies involved in tar sands extraction to the tune of £8.3 billion. RBS is the UK’s biggest financier of one of the dirtiest projects on Earth.

This is destroying the Canadian wilderness, forcing the indigenous people off their lands and creating the biggest C02 emitter in the world.

FLAC says: “RBS deserves to take some flack for that.And don’t get us started on Chairman Sir Fred’s £16 million pension, not to mention the bankers’ £1million plus bonuses.

“We all have to draw the line somewhere. We draw the line at RBS using our money to destroy our planet and our future for private gain. Where do you draw the line?”

Artists notes.

FLAC used gloss paint for this action to signify the permanence of the bank’s destructive activities.

FLAC members hope other artists will feel inspired to draw a line at their own local branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Or indeed any other bank that consistently invests in human suffering and ultimately our demise.

Or draw your line wherever your sense of outrage deems fit.

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/