earthfirst – Page 204

Protests against beginning Airport extension in Frankfurt/Germany

13.01.2009
+++The Owner of the Frankfurt Airport, Fraport, started today the extension of the airport to build a new runway+++woodcamp still exists+++more than a hundred people on a spontaneous demonstration in the wood

Frankfurt Airport is the biggest german airport and one of the biggest in europe. Some may remember the fierce controversies in the 1980s when a new runway was built (known as “Startbahn 18 West”, in those times more than 30.000 people gathered in the wood to fight against the extension an police brutality). Now the owner of the airport, the Fraport corporation, wants to build a new runway because they think they need more capacities to compete against the other european airports. The new runway will be in the north-side of the Frankfurt Airport, in the forest of Kelsterbach.

After Fraport began on Tuesday to fence the forest of Kelsterbach in, the day X chain alarm was triggered. The fence is the first building in the forest and serves to limit and eventually closure of the forest area, which the Fraport wants to be cleared until the end of February. The forest area is only transferred in the possession of Fraport since yesterday. Before the fence was setup, one hundred cops searched the area for protestors. The Hüttendorf (protestors camp) itself has not yet been affected by the fencing.

Already in the morning police showed up in the Hüttendorf and the camp was searched. The searches can be understood as part of a preparation for the eviction to be, because the police surveyed some areas and made the photographs. After the search officers in vehicles and on foot patroled through the adjacent forest.

At the same time different engineering firms began under the surveillance of hundred vops with measurements and the fencing in of the wood-area, which will be cleared first. The company signs of the vehicles were covered. The construction workers etahblished a 200-meter fence.

By 18 o’ clock more than a hundred people came togehter to a spontaneous demonstration in the wood. The demonstration went with flares to the point, whre the fence was built, there are rumours, which say the fence was partly dismantled. Constant surveillance of the fence was not evident and the police had disappeared from the forrest.

According to media reports, Fraport will wait with the clearing of the 300-hectare piece of wood long enough to wait until the Hessian administration court has decided an urgent appeal of the village of Kelsterbach the airport expansion. But Fraport will start to fell the trees soon, because due to german “ecology” law they are only allowed to fell trees until the beginning of march.

For an accurate assessment of events please visit in the coming days the Internet sites of www.waldbesetzung.blogsport.de or www.flughafen-bi.de

It the coming days there will be further actions. Tomorrow at 18 clock some initiatives (environmentalist, social groups, antifascists) will demonstrate together against the politics in Hesse (thats the federal state Frankfurt is in and which politicians did decide to allow the airport extension) in Frankfurt.

Next Saturday there will be a demonstration at the airport.

The resistance against the airport expansion will not be finnished with the building of the fence, not with the grubbing-up, not with the evacuation of the “Hüttendorf” – We will continue to resist the airport as a climate killer, as a source of noise and environmental pollution as well as an important element of European racist foreclosure system.

The fence will fall – Smash Fraport!

Solidarity with and greetings to Climate rush – Stop airport extensions worldwide!

http://waldbesetzung.blogsport.de/english-information/

Chester (Australia) Forest Rescue Needs You!

14 JAN 08: Chester Forest Rescue Camp is heating up with the first arrest yesterday (impounded surveyors vehicle with lock on) whilst they were trying to enter forest while wet, and possibly spread dieback.

We also issued them with an infringement with a penalty of 40 hours tree planting.

The minister announced that logging will start in February!

Call out for the cavalry!

Chester Forest Rescue Poster here – More details asap…

More arrests in Tasmanian forest destruction

JAN 14, 2008: A camp set up by conservationists almost three years ago was broken up by police on Monday morning at the request of Forestry Tasmania which wants to start logging.

A protester who locked himself in a spiderhole tunnel for over 30 hours has been charged with trespass in Hobart. The activist was one of a group attempting to stop Forestry Tasmania building a road into a logging coupe in the Upper Florentine Valley.

Two other men have also been charged after trying to enter the same tunnel. A Queensland woman was also arrested after evading police earlier by climbing higher up a tree as they used a cherry-picker to bring her down.

Four protesters remain in tree-sits as more people arrived to support activists who have been living in the area. Still Wild Still Threatened say 150 people have gathered for a community walk through the area in support of protesters who are trying to stop a logging road.

“The community members who are out in the Upper Florentine Valley in defence of our old growth forests will be attempting to get into this exclusion zone by any means so they can witness the ongoing destruction of our old growth forests…”

Protesters in Standoff with Power Company Over Swamp Access (Florida, USA)

Jan 6th, 2009

As part of their ongoing struggle against Florida Power and Light (FPL), activists from Everglades Earth First! have set up an encampment at the entrance to the Barley Barber Swamp, demanding entry to ensure that ancient cypress trees are not being killed by water pumping for the adjacent Martin County Power Plant. Following a combined protest/picnic, demonstrators attempted to hike in to inspect the swamp, but were prevented from entering by police. A standoff has ensued.

Jan 6th, 2009

—

Swamp Standoff Ends With 17 Arrests
Jan 12th, 2009

Seventeen protesters from Everglades Earth First! were arrested on Saturday, January 10, six of them for crossing into the Barley Barber Swamp, which is owned by Florida Power and Light. This ended a 6-day standoff, in which protesters had camped at the entrance of the swamp demanding entry, accusing FPL of barring the public in order to conceal the fact that its adjacent Martin County Power Plant was destroying the swamp and its 1,000-year old cypress trees through excessive water pumping.

Everglades Earth First! has put out a call for financial support to help bail out those arrested. “Direct action is a community effort that goes well beyond the risk of arrest,” the group said. “It requires broad support from those who wish to see grassroots efforts succeed.”

Watch videos of this and other Everglades EF! actions at their YouTube page

Ex-oil exec’s luxury home burned down by molotovs

Edmonton, Canada – The luxury home of former Syncrude president and CEO Jim Carter was burned down by an arsonist Saturday night. Investigators believe that environmental concerns may have been the motive. The building was struck by two molotov cocktails and was quickly consumed by flames, before firefighters had a chance to control the blaze. Damages were estimated at $850,000. Carter who has ties to the oil and gas industry was out, as were his family members, at the time of the incident which took place at approximately 8:15 PM. No one was injured fighting the fire.

Manchester & Heathrow Climate Rush picnics

Northern Climate Rush at Manchester Airport

While 500 protesters occupied the domestic departure lounge at Heathrow airport at 7pm on Monday 12th Jan, others tried a simultaneous occupation at Manchester airport….

Northern Climate Rush at Manchester Airport

While 500 protesters occupied the domestic departure lounge at Heathrow airport at 7pm on Monday 12th Jan, others tried a simultaneous occupation at Manchester airport….

At the Northern Climate Rush at Manchester airport between 50 and 100 people attempted to occupy the domestic departures lounge but found large numbers of police screening entry at the doors. The police cordoned off protesters in an area away from passengers.

The group spelled out ‘flying kills’ in coats, scarves and an umbrella on the floor. A man with a cello and a woman with a violin played music by the composer Handel while others ate food from a picnic hamper. However, frustrated at being moved out of passengers sight one of the protesters attempted to breech police lines and was arrested.

Supt Dave Hull said: “Despite repeated attempts to contact the organisers, they failed to engage with us. Therefore, officers did not know how many protestors would attend so we had to prepare for a range of contingencies. One man was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence.”

For VIDEO footage see
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1586371503/bctid6995110001

Around 50 climate change activists gathered in Terminal 3 of Manchester Airport last night to protest against airport expansion and domestic flights. The demo mirrored the Climate Rush ‘Dinner at Departures’ protest at Heathrow’s Terminal 1 at the same time. ( http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/manchester/2009/01/418105.html)

There are around 32 flights a day between Manchester and the London hubs, despite the high speed rail connection. ( http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1026945_plea_to_scrap_london_air_link)

The protesters dressed in Edwardian period arrived to find Terminal 3 locked down with around 70 police officers, including Forward Intelligence Teams from the Metropolitan police. They were read parts of the Riot Act before entering a ‘designated protest area’.

Former Manchester City Councillor, Vanessa Hall, who attended the Northern Climate Rush said:

“ With the speed of intercity trains there is no longer any just or sensible reason to take domestic flights. All expansion plans, including those at Manchester and Heathrow should be shelved. Passenger numbers at Manchester Airport have been falling for at least the last 6 months.”

She added, “In a time of recession and climate crisis, government money should be spent on improvements to rail, trams, and buses, not on subsidies and infrastructure for the aviation industry.”

Aviation accounts for 13% of UK global warming emissions and is the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gases. Airlines pay no tax on aviation fuel, costing the public purse an estimated £10 billion.

Manchester Airport claims it intends to go carbon neutral by 2015 – but this will not include the emissions from the aeroplanes.

www.stopmanchesterairport.org.uk

————–
Heathrow Terminal One Climate Rush Picnic a success!

I arrived at Heathrow terminal one with alot of trepidation and caution. Not knowing what to expect, I dressed in a suit and tie to avoid attracting interest. It did not work.

I entered the terminal and when up to domestic departures to see what was happening. I found a place to sit and enjoy a coffee whilst waiting. Being near the place where alot of BAA security guards were gathering, I overheard them trying to guess who was a protester and who was a passenger…it was very funny knowing I sat yards away and they had did not realise….

The airport was in a state of some considerable alert. It seems that Climate Rush and a devilishly criminal plan to have a militant picnic (by mostly women) in departures had BAA on the run.

The cops were another matter. FIT crews were on the upper gangways and over 100 police occupied the departures lounge when i arrived about an hour before. Even more arrived as I sipped my coffee and read the Guardian.

After twenty minutes, two cops sauntered over to me and ask whether they could search me. I asked why. they said there is a protest planned and they were looking for climate chaos extremists. I said I was waiting for a friend. After finding nothing and believing my story, they let me go. I decided to move to Cafe Rouge where everybody was gathering…safety in numbers I thought. soon as I got up there, there was another 30 cops watching absolutely everyone…

As the minutes counted down, I moved with undercurrents down into the departure check in area and was joined by about 50 or 60 people who started to lay out a banner and a well stocked organic and home cooked picnic. Ten minutes later, the bulk of protesters arrived and the departures check in filled up fast. Real passengers moved aside and the police moved in to encircle the picnic. By this stage close to 500 climate rush protesters were spreading themselves out in a ever widening circle. The strings Quartet began playing and a few people started playing with a big ball which looked like the planet.

The BAA corporate media descended and so did lots of TV camera’s hoping for an interview. at one such so many interviews were being given, it became difficult to move around. Speaking with some of the organizers, they claimed an enormous success in suspending the operation of terminal 1. It certainly looked like a success to me.

A while later and after most of the food had been eaten (flushed down with a little wine), everyone rose to their feet and started chanting. After Stanstead, the government, media and police were saying that everyone was an extremist and possibly eco-terrorists. So the protesters, mostly women (some in the 50 and 60’s) started chanting ” do we look like terrorists?” and ‘down with BAA’

After one hour, the cops were closing the circle fearing a blockade or a long-term occupation. I feared we were all going to be hemmed in and arrested so I decided to retreat with my video camera intact and get back home.

Worried about what I had walked away from, I rang a friend who said that everything was alright. the demo had finished 15 minutes after I left and there had been no arrests. In fact the cops relaxed and got quite bored as climate-rush activists offered them food!

http://www.climaterush.co.uk/

Walk of proposed opencast site, NE, 18th Jan

The good folks from the NO OPENCAST TODAY OR TOMORROW campaign have invited us along to walk the site that U:K coal are planning to destroy with a surface mining ‘development’.

The good folks from the NO OPENCAST TODAY OR TOMORROW campaign have invited us along to walk the site that U:K coal are planning to destroy with a surface mining ‘development’. This walk will outline the site that U:K coal plan to mine and we should hopefully see some of the wildlife that is under threat. Lunch will be provided in the community centre after the walk.

When: Sunday 18th Jan
Where: 9.45am Dipton community centre http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
Why: why not?
The n.o.t.t campaign has fought a long battle with U:K coal to stop the open casting of the Derwent valley. The political climate is currently in favour of coal extraction at any cost community, ecology,climate. The application is due to be heard around April by Durham/Derwentside county council.

Please help stop the needless destruction of the Pont valley sign the on-line petition at www.pontvalley.net or even better write to county hall but best of all get out on the walk this coming Sunday. Please forward this mail to publicise this

Florentine Arrests – Police raid Tasmanian forest blockade

JAN 12, 08 – Nine anti-logging protesters remain locked to a road in the Upper Florentine Valley in southern Tasmania after refusing to leave their campsite.

Police are trying to break up the two-year-old protest camp so that Forestry Tasmania can begin roadworks and logging. Forty members of the group ‘Still Wild Still Threatened’ were camped in the area this morning when police arrived just after 8:30pm.

The imminent logging of the Upper Florentine forest is a national disgrace, Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.
“The Upper Florentine Forest has been deemed of World Heritage value. The imminent logging operation there is a national disgrace. Claims by Prime Minister Rudd that native forest logging is sustainable are patently stupid,” Senator Brown said.

The convoy reportedly contains 12 police cars, including two small buses with an estimated 30 police involved in the operation.

Senator Brown was flying over the site in a helicopter this morning, which was recalled to base following contact from the police. A large banner reading ‘Save our Forests’ can be seen from the sky.

Spokesman Christo Mills says police asked them to leave but they refused. Mr Mills says after a two hour stand-off 30 activists have now been removed, one has been arrested and nine remain locked to a road, according to reports on the ABC website.

“Forest defenders are continuing to hold their positions and will do so for as long as it takes,” he said.

Senator Bob Brown says police had better prepare for a long fight. “I think it will take quite a while to remove these folk…”

——–

RED ALERT!!!! CAMP FLORENTINE HAS BEEN BUSTED

RED ALERT!!!! CAMP FLORENTINE HAS BEEN BUSTED AND THE BULLDOZERS AND CHAINSAWS ARE MOVING IN RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Early this morning, police stormed a peaceful community blockade in the Upper Florentine Valley. Camp Florentine, located in logging coupe FO044A, has been defending the globally recognised old growth forests of the Upper Florentine for over two years.

This move by police is designed to allow Forestry Tasmania to build 4km of new logging roads into the heart of the valley. These roads will rip apart an ancient and globally significant ecosystem, opening up the valley to industrial scale devastation at the hands of woodchipping barons Gunns Limited.

THE BULLDOZERS AND CHAINSAWS ARE MOVING INTO THE PRISTINE FORESTS OF THE UPPER FLORENTINE VALLEY RIGHT NOW AND WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PEACEFUL COMMUNITY WALK IN THIS WEDNESDAY AT 10AM.

If you are living in Tasmania, please stand up and speak out against the destruction of our precious old growth forests. A community walk in will be held this Wednesday, 14th January 2009 at 10am. Meet at Timbs Track carpark, Upper Florentine Valley. To get to the Upper Florentine Valley, take the Brooker Highway out of Hobart, take the New Norfolk turnoff and follow the signs to Mt Field or Lake Pedder. Continue on through Maydena. Camp Florentine and Timbs Track are 20 minutes past Maydena on the side of the Gordon River Road.

WRITE TO THE POLLIES AND THE NEWSPAPERS. CALL UP YOUR LOCAL MP AND TALKBACK RADIO STATION.

Politicians need to know about your serious concerns with the destruction of the globally significant forests of the Upper Florentine Valley. Become an active citizen and exercise your democratic right to let the government know that old growth logging and the destruction of ancient ecosystems is unacceptable, and that serious changes to legislation and policy need to happen now!

Write a letter (every hand written letter is viewed as representing the opinions of 100 voters, so it’s certainly worth making the extra effort) or send an email to your local federal member and any (or all!) of the following members of parliament. Make an appointment with your local MPs … they are your employees and need to listen to your concerns.

Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper and call up talk back radio. Get the word out in the media!

The Tasmanian Government.

THE PREMIER OF TASMANIA

David Bartlett, MHA

Level 11. 15 Murray St. Hobart, TAS 7000

david.bartlett@education.tas.gov.au

THE LEADER OF THE LIBERAL PARTY, TASMANIAN DIVISION

Will Hodgman, MHA

Parliament House, Hobart, TAS 7000

will.hodgman@parliament.tas.gov.au

The Australian Government

THE PRIME MINISTER

The Hon. Kevin Rudd MP

PO Box 6022, House of Representatives

Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600

Email via the PM.s website . www.pm.gov.au

THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION

The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP

PO Box 6022, House of Representatives

Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600

Malcolm.Turnbull.MP@aph.gov.au

MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, HERITAGE & THE ARTS

The Hon. Peter Garrett

PO Box 6022, House of Representatives

Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600

Peter.garrett.MP@aph.gov.au

tellpeter@petergarrett.com.au

MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER

Senator The Hon. Penny Wong

PO Box 6237

Halifax Street, Adelaide SA 5000

Senator.wong@aph.gov.au

MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY

The Hon Tony Burke MP

PO Box 6022, House of Representatives

Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600

Tony.Burke.MP@aph.gov.au

SHADOW MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENT & WATER

Mr Greg Hunt

PO Box 6022, House of Representatives

Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600

Greg.Hunt.MP@aph.gov.au

Please contact us at stillwildstillthreatened@gmail.com for more info on what you can do to help us save the outstanding forests of the Upper Florentine Valley.

Donate online or at any Westpac Bank to the campaign to save these precious forests.

Account name: Tasmanias Southern Forests
BSB #: 737001.
Account #: 704815.

——–

“For the woodchippers. immense power threatens not only our forest, but Tasmania’s future. Not content with our great forests, their greed now destroys not only our natural heritage, but distorts our parliament, deforms our polity, cows our media and stunts our society . Have courage, speak of love, take action yourself, stand up for what you believe, and our world will surely change.”

Richard Flanagan

Speech made at a Parliament Lawns forests rally on 16 March, 2006. Hobart, Tasmania.

Blockade stops British company’s midnight entry into tribes’ land

7/1/09 – A blockade mounted by more than 50 protestors stopped British mining company Vedanta entering the land of the Dongria Kondh and other Kondh tribes under cover of darkness last night.

The FTSE 100 company plans to mine bauxite on the Dongria Kondh’s sacred mountain in the state of Orissa, laying waste to the forests they depend on for their survival.

Last night’s action follows high level meetings at the weekend between Vedanta’s billionaire chairman Anil Agarwal and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who backs the mine. After the meeting, Agarwal told journalists that mining would start ‘within a month or two’.

India’s Supreme Court has approved Vedanta’s plans, but the mine is yet to receive the environmental clearance required for it to go ahead.

The stand-off between local villagers and Vedanta’s bulldozers at the blockade site continues. Protestor Ajun Chandi, who has received a series of threatening phone calls from Vedanta, says, ‘You must let the whole world know what Vedanta is doing.’

The Dongria Kondh have said they will mount armed resistance if Vendanta try to evict them and destroy the forest covered mountains they call home.

More info at: www.survival-international.org/tribes/dongria

rockwool polluting croatia

Rock wool, whilst sold as an eco-friendly product, is a dirty thing to make. In the USA, Erin Brokovich is investigating claims that a now-closed Rockwool Group factory is responsible for the high rate of cancer locally. Meanwhile, the residents of the municipality of Pican, Croatia are protesting against a new factory which was built illegally. The factory regularly floods the valley with thick smoke.

Read their press release below:

URGENT APPEAL FOR HELP

In October 2005, Rockwool Adriatic (part of the Danish-based Rockwool Group) bought land in Croatia for 1.98 Euro per m2 – a gift from the Croatian Government, which was falling over itself in eagerness to accept foreign investment, no matter what the future costs would be. Rockwool had already established a headquarters in Zagreb before the land was bought! They do not have to pay ANY income tax for the next TEN YEARS!! The agreement states that Rockwool will be made 10,000 Euros a month if for any reason they are prevented from normal production.

But many facts point to an obious conclusion: The multinational corporation moved in under false pretences. Local residents were initially told a blanket making factory would be built (in the USA, building insulation is labelled ‘insulating blankets’). The site was presented as a greenfield project and there is evidence that the EU is blackmailing the Croatian government to this factory. It is in fact being used to produce rock wool, which is a fibrous solid (an amorphous silicate to be precise) manufactured from slag metal and used as insulation. Whilst undeniably safe as an end product, and ironically enough, praised as an ecofriendly means of insulation, the production process is a dirty one.

The factory was built in Pican, which lies in a region at the top of a large peninsula called Istria (Istra in Croatian). Istria is next to Italy and is a popular tourist location, but for how much longer? Prior to the factory’s arrival, the state offered incentives for rural development and growth. The factory itself is built in the midst of an agricultural area, on protected national water reserves which are the only source of drinking water on the peninsula.

Rockwool’s modus operandi appears to be to produce for 10 to 15 years and then movE on before encountering problems, that is to say, before the consequences of pollution become visible.The impetus in Croatia may be a new EU law that prohibits the use of formaldehyde. Rockwool multinational continues to use this chemical in Croatia, which is still not under EU laws. The factory has transferred parts from Poland, where rumour has it the workers have started getting all sorts of diseases.

In 2007, a complaint was filled against the Rockwool factory by the Inspector for Environmental Protection for using the emergency chimney (in contravention of the Environment Protection Law). In September 2007, a legal complaint was made for breaking the Waste Management Law for improper disposal of waste. Both of these legal actions have failed in the lower courts.

In November 2007, a legal complaint was made for emitting polluting substances into the air – SO2 and ammonium above the the limits prescribed by Croatian (and EU) laws.

Laws were broken or bent to the maximum to get the factory running. There were changes made to the location and construction permit which fundamentally altered the conditions of factory production; but no new Environmental Study was made (July 2008). The factory has no legal agreement on water use – they need vast amounts of water and right now they buy it privately, literally pumping water from an adjacent abandoned business site.

Activists have made independent measurements. The results are shocking, but the state refuses to verify them. The measurements: CO2, CO and methane portions in the air were way above the allowed limits. There was not enough oxygen, whereas CO2 and CO were way above the measured numbers on Rockwool’s “official” measuring stations.

Zdravko Beric, scientist and a director of the firm that did a measuring with a non-pilot flying vessel (his licence is not acknowledged in Croatia although he is one of eight people in Europe that is qualified to make such measurements), stated: K – 40 (Kalij): limiting value 3000 Bk/kg, value measured above Rockwool:11.730 Bk/kg, for Ra – 226 (Radium) limiting value 300 Bk/kg, value measured above Rockwool: 2.570 Bk/kg. He also found 7 hard metals and 29 carcinogenic substances. Further on, salts of nitrates, sulfides, sulfates, acetates of mercury’s compounds antimone and cadmium that fall on the earth contaminate the agricultural area 100%. Consumption of fruit and vegetables containing these substances at 0,53 gr/m2 causes health problems, but WITH consistent exposure, cancer is caused by 1.430 gr/kg of vegetables or fruit. [1]

Beric comments “With this amount of radioactivity we guarantee that in 10 years all the population will start getting ill from throat, thyroid and bronchial cancer, getting skin allergies, and for every month of the factory’s production 10 years of decontamination will be needed.” [2]

Beric’s observations are interesting in the light of the situation in the USA where Erin Brokovich is currently considering a case to sue Rockwool on behalf of 87 people with brain tumours who live near the site of a former Rockwool factory in Cameron, Missouri. [2]

By any intelligent standard, every facility of this type needs to be based on a legal-scientific document – this study was done by the firm Ekonerg, hired by Rockwool and the Environment Protection Ministry. It is full of false data, comprised of incomplete and estimated measurements. For example, the nearest settlements are said to be 3.5 km away, when in fact they are 300 to 500 metres away. The study says that the population resides in this area only temporarily. The data from the cost-benefit analysis are also false. The study was not done by qualified independent scientists who were familiar with atmospheric conditions, geography and demography.

The local community here is spontaneously resisting; the last bigger protest was November 30 (approximately 1000 people) and before that August 31st (1500 people). The entire population of the immediate surrounding valley and hillsides is only 2,500.There are three ecological and environmental associations fighting against it, but it feels like we are fighting something that is bigger than us. The week after the last bigger protest the factory fumed like hell and smelled of urine, firecrackers and sawn iron. The factory works mainly by night, since the smoke is less visible. 200 protestors spontaneously appeared in front of the factory every night until the operation was shut down. Heavy police escorts were deployed to protect the workers and the poice also intimidated protestors. Neighbourhood families coming out in the middle of the cold and rainy night prompted politicians to reinvent themselves as ‘concerned’.