earthfirst – Page 208

Tree Sit Ends But Resistance Continues in Santa Cruz, U$A

December 13th, 2008
Santa Cruz, CA — Over four hundred days ago, a handful of activists climbed up into the trees on Science Hill as a symbol of resistance to the university’s plan to destroy 120 acres of campus forest. For the past 13 months, the tree sit has drawn attention to UCSC’s reckless plan to develop upper campus without regard for the welfare of one of Santa Cruz’s last wild ecosystems.

At approximately 8 AM this morning, the tree sit drew to a close as police seized control of Science Hill, arresting one Tree Sitter. Later, a tree cutting service hired by the university cut down a grove of 100 year old redwood trees to make way for construction of a new Bioscience building.

The three clusters of redwoods which have now been clearcut were inhabited since November 7, 2007, when over 500 students, alumni, and community members rallied in opposition to the University’s “Long Range Development Plan”. The Tree Sit and the University entered mediation to find a solution to this conflict, but the University was unwilling to modify any of their plans, despite the devastating effect that upper campus development will have on the Santa Cruz ecosystem. Precious watershed regions, unique manzanita groves and hundred-year old redwood forests will be destroyed by the University’s development of the wild lands just north of campus. The homes of such rare native animals as the burrowing owl and the endangered red-legged frog will be irreparably damaged.

The Tree Sit tactic was employed due to the University’s failure to meaningfully address the concerns of Santa Cruz city and county officials, community members, environmentalists and UCSC faculty and students. Instead of acting upon the concerns of the thousands of people who have voiced opposition to increased University construction, UCSC has spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to hire riot police to intimidate community members who oppose their plans.

The end of the Tree Sit is not the end of resistance to the Long Range Development Plan. The determination and integrity that sustained the 13 month occupation will continue to incite action against the Long Range Development Plan. The diverse communities that united to oppose the destruction of upper campus are renewed in their commitment to resistance.

………

One Year Anniversary Celebration at the UCSC Tree-Sit

………

Police Officers Pepper Spray People on Science Hill
………

Struggle on Science Hill.

Nov 7 Noontime – a group of students protesting the UCSC’s Long Range Development Plan (LRPD) struggled with police while bringing food and water to a group of about five old-style activists who, using mountain climbing gear, had placed themselves and several wooden platforms inside the upper reaches of several redwood trees.

The march, and chaos.

The police had arrived on the scene early that day and had cordoned off the area on science hill just outside the Science and Engineering Library with tape, plastic fencing, and portable metal barriers.

However, the protest turned ugly when the march circled the enclosure. One protestor speaking with a police officer took a step too close, was told to step back, and was pushed forward by the crowd.

One of the protestors, Jane Olivera, retold what happened next. She had been walking around the enclosure at the front of the march when she saw her friend Robin Speaking with someone who wasn’t part of the protest.

“I came around just to hang out with him and then he moved in a little bit and the cop said ‘ no, no you can‘t do that,’ and then there was a crown of people that followed him as he moved in a little bit, and then he moved in a lot more, and then before I knew it there was a cop on him. They had jumped on him, and tackled him to the floor, and I don‘t like it when my friends get arrested, and so I jumped in because he was using force. He was holding his hands and he was hitting him so I ran in and said ‘no, you can‘t do that‘ and before I knew it one cop threw me to the floor. I flew,” she said. “I had just moved in a little bit. After I had moved in they just got on top of me and started hitting me.”

Olivera sustained multiple bruises and a scratch on her left arm, was arrested, ticketed, and then released on the scene along with the rest of the protestors. No one was hospitalized.

Along with the arrests an indeterminate number of students received blows from batons around the arms and head and were hit with pepper spray. Students pulled down fences and climbed across, the police stepped back while spraying, clubbing, and pushing.

Almost an equal number of students ran towards the fences and away from them. One girl stood rooted to the ground while the metal grate was being lifted by police and pulled away by students.

Later reinforcements arrived in about six to eight squad cars with what appeared to be tear gas and armor. When the officers who were armed were asked about their weapons they did not respond. These officers formed a line across the middle of the grove where they remained for several hours.

Students then read the entirety of ‘The Lorax’ using a megaphone, shouted at the police, and helped bring supplies to the trees where the sitters hoisted up water, food, and blankets.

Olivera and other protesters were released by police officers only a little after the reading of the Lorax. She was scratched and shaken.

“A lot of my friends are organizers and I just don‘t think that development is really a good idea because we can‘t support the number of students we have now and the development is going to stress the water table, the town – there are a lot of reasons outside the trees that makes this not a good idea,” Olivera said. “I don‘t want to go to school inside a cement block.”

The development plan.

The LRDP was approved unanimously by the UC regents in on September 28 ‘06 who had originally drafted the plan three years earlier in 2003. The plan makes way for the development of 120 acres of upper campus, the possible destruction or relocation of the UC trailer park, the addition of 4,500 new students, and the construction of a biomedical sciences facility on what is now a grove of second growth redwood trees.

The district supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt, and the members of the Coalition for Limiting Campus Expansion (CLUE) have been fighting the LRDP. To do this Wormhoudt drafted measures I and J, which made the University responsible for complying with the Local Agency Formation Commission’s (LAFco) guidelines before the City extends water and sewer service to the university, which would, in effect inhibit University growth by preventing the toilets from flushing in whatever buildings the University makes if the guidelines aren’t met. Currently CLUE is engaged in a legal battle over the proposed construction as well.

Jennifer Charles is a UCSC alumna, and the media contact for the protest. She said that campus expansion would decrease the quality of the education that students receive.

“This comes at a time when UCSC is increasing enrollment but really decreasing the quality of education. They’re putting a lot of money towards expansion,” she said. “but not a lot of money for the programs that students need.”

Charles said that the nonexistent ethnic studies program and the now nonexistent journalism minor were two good examples.

“Those are programs that students really want to see. Instead the University is expanding things like the facility planned to be on this site. It‘s an 80 million dollar facility for research that includes live animal testing. It includes no classroom space. The entire building will be used by graduate students and researchers which will probably be funded by outside corporations. And as we‘ve seen at other universities when private corporations are funding research at public insititutions they want control over research.”

Charles said that the LRDP would change the university from a small liberal arts college into a massive science college which would annihilate the feel of UCSC.

“We don‘t want to be UCLI or UCLA or even UC Berkely,” said Charles. “We want to be UC Santa Cruz. We certainly don‘t want to be the UC of the Silicon Valley.”

Tree people.

After the violence, after the chanting, and after the reading of the Lorax the police left. Supplies were hoisted up into the trees. The sitters have climbed the trees and are now living in the branches around science hill.

One of the tree sitters wearing a sweatshirt with a hood and a camouflaged mask came down and refused to give his name or reveal his face. He referred to himself only as Malachi.

Malachi said that the sitters’ voices had not been heard. He said that he and the other tree sitters were going to remain suspended above the ground for as long as it took to change the LRDP “to accommodate all of upper campus and not just corporate interests.”

“We just need support,” said Malachi. “If people want to come up and sit for a few days then they can do that. If they want to come and bring food – day or night – just tell them you‘ve got some food and they‘ll lower a line.”

According to the organizers the tree sitters need blankets, buckets (the ten gallon kind with lids,) portable stoves, and food.

………

Original occupation of the site:

Standoff with Police as Activists occupy redwoods to oppose UCSC Expansion

Early Wednesday morning, activists opposed to UCSC’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) launched a tree-sit in redwoods near Science Hill. UCSC plans to develop the occupied site into a new Biomedical Sciences Facility.

Contact: Jennifer Charles
(831) 430-6791
LRDPaction.media [at] gmail.com

Press Release

Standoff with Police as Activists occupy redwoods to oppose UCSC Expansion

UCSC Students launch tree-sit at site of controversial Biomedical Sciences building.

Nov. 7, 2007 Santa Cruz, CA Early Wednesday morning, activists opposed to UCSC’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) launched a tree-sit in redwoods near Science Hill. UCSC plans to develop the occupied site into a new Biomedical Sciences Facility.

One person was arrested by UC police early in the morning. Police surrounded the site, where at least 4 activists were 50 feet up redwood trees. A scheduled rally and march that began at 11am drew hundreds of supporters to the site. A tense standoff with police commenced, as supporters attempted to get close enough to the trees to send up supplies. Police pepper sprayed the crowd and at least four people were arrested.

The Biomedical Sciences facility would be the first project under the University’s plan to develop 120 acres of forest in order to accommodate 4,500 new students. The Biomedical Sciences building will have no allotted classroom space, despite student complaints about overcrowded class sizes. But it will have room for live animal experimentation, which includes such practices as food/air deprivation, infection, and non-anesthetized surgery, according to campus guidelines (http://carc.ucsc.edu).

This building, which will house biotechnology and nanotechnology research, is exemplary of how the new LRDP marks a clear shift from UCSC’s commitment to undergraduate, liberal arts education to the more lucrative programs funded by large corporations. Following the trend of privatizing public universities, students are paying more for education and receiving less. Students are calling for more funding for humanities and arts, including the creation of an Ethnic Studies department. Meanwhile, the UC is cutting faculty, increasing enrollment and ignoring the concerns of students.

Critics say the planned addition of 4,500 full-time students is irresponsible given the existing shortage of resources. They cite overcrowded classrooms, overworked teaching assistants and dissatisfied faculty as signs that the UCSC has already exceeded its capacity. In addition, the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) accompanying the LRDP does not bind the UC to mitigate the impacts of growth. The LRDP calls for the development of 120 acres of forest. Environmentalists say that the current development plans will significantly damage unique ecosystems, including Moore Creek, the Jordan Gulch wildlife corridor and the Campus Natural Reserve seep zone. Again, UCSC refuses any binding language requiring them mitigate the effects of development on impacted habitats.

Students, faculty, city council, community members, and environmentalists all expressed concerns about the impact of expansion during the planning process and were disregarded by the University. The group of individuals who are occupying the trees believe that action is needed to oppose UCSC’s destructive plans before construction begins on any of the LRDP buildings.

http://lrdpresistance.org

Direct Action in Iceland

Since early this winter, Iceland has been facing economic crisis. The three major business banks have been nationalized, putting their dept on the people’s shoulders. People have been losing their livelong savings, loans have increased and are getting sky high (and for sure they already were high enough).

Activists vs. the police

People are getting angry, some of them wanting back the “good old” prosperity, while others and hopefully the majority, are realizing the real cost of capitalism. More and more people are standing up against corruption and demanding new form of society – society of justice. But every day the current government proves that it’s main aim is to save their own and their friend’s ass. A loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been granted, most likely leading to the common aftermaths of an IMF loan: the privatization of social systems as the health care and the education system, and more destruction of the Icelandic wilderness.

Weekly demonstrations

For more than 2 months people have gathered weekly in a park in front of the parliament. The first protests demanded that the government would “break it’s silence” about the current situation. People were tired of not even being told about what was happening and what the government was doing about it.

One of the weekly domonstrations

But soon people realized that it was not enough to ask the government to speak, so the protests took up another and more radical demand: the resign of the government and new elections as soon as possible. The government has completely ignored this demand and people are getting more and more angry.

Anarchists and other radical leftists have come to most of the protests, but not to protest against the economic situation, not to ask the government for solutions, not to ask for new elections, not to ask any member of the government or parliament or any other official institution to do anything to “solve” the crisis we are facing. But to spread anarchistic and anti-capitalistic information among people, analyse the problems of authority and capitalism and to encourage Icelandic people to take direct action against the forces of corruption.

Burning flag and money

Burning of bank flags and “hanging” of a capitalist

During a protest in front of the prime minister’s office in late October, the flags of two Icelandic banks were burned. A group of anarchists, probably the biggest in Icelandic history at that time, shouted anarchistic slogans, pointing out capitalism as the real problem. Until then, capitalism seemed to be a ban-word among the protesters. The flag burning caught the interest of foreign media, e.g. CNN which showed the burning in their news show later the same evening. An event like this had not happened in Iceland for a long time.

Burning the flag of Landsbanki bank

A week later, a big demonstration parade went through the center of Reykjavík, demanding the resign of the government. Anarchists, which grew bigger and stronger every week, joined the march with banners, black flags, leaflets about direct actions, and anarchistic slogans. While other protesters chanted “Away with the government”, anarchists shouted “Never again government!”

When the parade came down the the park were weekly speeches took place, a group of people climbed a big fence and hung a doll of a capitalist. Again foreign media captured the performance on tape and screened it around the world.

Couple of meters away from the park were the protests take place, a Food Not Bombs groups has been giving away food every Saturday for the last 8 or 9 months. Food Not Bombs has for sure had it’s effect of the walking-by Icelanders, who are getting more curious and interested in alternative solutions to the problems of capitalism.

During a protest, Saturday November 8th, an anarchist climbed on top of the parliament were he hung the flag of Bónus, Iceland’s cheapest supermarket. The message was clear since the flag is yellow with a pink pig on it: “The government is a cheap and dirty pig!” Unlike to the usual Icelandic protesters, people celebrated this act and sang along “The government is a cheap and dirty pig!”

Soon hundred protesters surrouneded the parliment to help the anarchist to get away from the police, which had already arrested a mate of him. After a bit of a struggle with the police, people managed to help the flag-man (like he later became known as) to get down of the roof and de-arrested him more than once. One could feel some change in the air.

Illegal arrest

Less than a week later, on a Friday night, the police arrested the flag-man. He was in the middle of a research trip to the parliament, organized by his university, when some parliament staff recognized him and called the pigs.

The man had been arrested two years before, for an action with the environmental direct action campaign Saving Iceland, protesting against the building of a big dam, Kárahnjúkavirkjun, in the eastern higlands. For this action he had got sentenced and fined, but refused to pay the fine and instead insisted on sitting in jail for 18 days. But after only four days of his jail-sentence he was “thrown out” because of lack of space in the prison.

Now, the police stated that the man would have to sit the other 14 days of the sentence. The fact is though that the it is not allowed to split the sentence like this, and the man was supposed to get an announcement about finishing his sentence with at leas 3 weeks notice. This had not been done in his case.

People claimed this was especially done by the police, fundementaly to “take out” an activist who was likely to take more actions during the upcoming weekly demonstration. So the next day, during the protest which 10.000 people had joined, another protest was announced, this time in front of the police station, a little bit later that day.

Riots by the police station

500 people came to the police station and demanded that the man would be set free. After a while, no sign of the police was seen and nothing looked like the man would be set free. The protest got heated and soon people had started to break windows of the station and in the end the door of the station was broken. A group of people went in were the police welcomed them with a splash of pepper spray, without even announcing it.

The protest got even hotter, red paint and eggs were thrown at the station and on the riot squad which now had formed a chain in front of the station. A lot of people were peppersprayed, including the flag-man’s mother and young kids down to 16 years old. In the end, the flag-man was payed out of the prison by an unknown person. The flag-man came out were he was celebrated like a hero. He thanked people for the support but encouraged people to use their energy for something else: a revolution!

The Invasion of the Central Bank

A week after the riots by the police station, the weekely protest was a little more chilled. Instead people hoped for something big taking place the upcoming Monday, December 1st, the day of Iceland’s sovereignty.

1st of December used to be a free day in Iceland but couple of years ago the proletariat movement disclaimed it´s right. This 1st of May people were encouraged not to pay their bills, not show up in work and come to a big outdoor meeting on a big hill close to the government offices and the Central Bank. Few speeches took place, most of the including some nationalistic piffle which the radicals answered with a slogan: “No nationalism – International solidarity!”

After the meeting was formally over the word on the street was that more radical action was going to take place. Suddenly a big group of people marched to the Central Bank and entered the first entrance.

The entrance was completely full of people shouting and demanding that Davíð Oddsson, the chairman of the Central Bank board and a former prime minister, would resign. Few policemen had closed the second entrance but people shouted at them, asked in “what team” they were in, telling them to join the public, leave the entrance and let the people in. Suddenly the police left the entrance, the people cheered and opened the door to the second entrance.

Pepper spray again?

The second entrance became completely full as well as the first one, but behind big glass doors the riot squad had formed a chain of c.a. 30 pigs, armed with shields, clubs and pepper spray. Again, instead of speaking to the people, the pigs started shaking their spray cans, forcing to use it against the people it they would not leave.

The riot squad, ready to strike inside the Central Bank

People started banging on the door, shouting slogans against the Central Bank and the police. After a while, when a police officer had several times threatened to use the pepper spray, people decided to sit down peacefully and not stand up until Davíð Oddsson would resign. The action stood over several hours and had it’s peaks when people stood up, lifted up their hands to show they were unarmed and challenged the police to leave, open the doors and let the people bring Oddsson out.

When it became clear that Oddsson had already left the building the protesters gave the police an offer: the riot squad would leave and than the protesters would leave the building. About 30 seconds later, the pigs walked back and the people cheered some kind of a victory of the people.

Into the parliament

A week later, last Monday December 8th, thirty people went in to the Icelandic parliament, heading to the inside balcony were the public is legally allowed to sit, watch and listen to what takes place there. The group announced that the parliament no longer served it’s purpose and the government should therefor resign right now, the other MP’s should use their time for something more constructive.

Protester thrown out by police after telling the MP’s and ministers to leave the parliament

Only two persons got to the balcony and shouted at the MP’s and ministers to leave the building. Quickly they were brutally removed by a police officer, while the rest of the group was stuck in a staircase inside the building. The parliamentary session was delayed and all the MP’s left the room.

Meanwhile the protesters were brutally handled by security guards and police, which ended up arresting 7 people, most of them for housebreaking. But like said before, the public is allowed to enter the parliament balcony.

Police carries a man out after handcuffing him and rope his legs – “Fascist, fascists!” the man shouted while being carried out

The next morning, 30 people had gathered in front of the prime minister’s office were a government meeting was supposed to take place. The people had formed a human chain blockading the two entrances of the house. When ministers started to show up, the police had already arrived and started to try to remove the chain. The people resisted heavily and read out a statement sent out by the group.

The statement said that the aim of the action was to “prevent the ministers from entering the house and therefore stop further misuse of power. Money has controlled people on the cost of their rights and the authorities and their cliques have manipulated finance for their own benefits. That manipulation has not entailed in a just society, just world. Time of action has dawn, because a just society is not only possible, but it is our duty to fight for it.”

With the help of the police, all the ministers got in, but heard the statement and were under big pressure from the media. They were not prepared for questions and came out badly when asked. The government meeting was delayed because of the actions.

Two were arrested, one for entering a police line and the other one for sitting in front of the police car which was about to drive the other arrested one to the police station. More people sat on the street and it took the police quite a long time to get out of the street. Only when a police officer gave the driver an order to “just drive hard”, the driver did so and nearly drove over two persons.

One of the biggest newspapers in Iceland, DV, reported the brutal behavoiur of the police. The paper’s journalist and photographer were both attacked by the police, as well as noticing when a police punced a protester in the face, while he lay on the street. Most other media did not dare to report the brutal behaviour.

A left wing website, Smugan, told about a police officer who was asked by the protesters if he would have protected Hitler. His answer was simple: “Yes, if it would have been my duty.”

More actions have been announced and it will be interesting to see what comes next.

http://aftaka.org/

ELF sabotage phone booths in Columbia & Mexico

“On the night of December 5th activists from the Autonomous and Anarchist Cell of the FLT (ELF) and FLA (ALF) took to the streets of Bogota to sabotage the telephone booths of ETB (Bogota telephone company), well known as a major sponsor of the speciesist slaughter in the bullring. Armed with shears, spray paint and stickers with anticivilization and threatening messages, we ripped out the mouthpieces and left the phones unusable.
This was only the beginning, the disgusting ‘bullfighting season’ is approaching and the actions will not stop.

For the liberation of all, wild and green violence!

CAAELF ¿bogota?”

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“The born-evil owner of the company Telmex, Calos Slim, knows more than anyone else that he and his great industrial power in this country are the ones responsible for the exploitation of animals, of the water, of the land, of the mines and other natural resources, for that reason and because we consider it one of this planet’s executioners, we sabotaged 12 Telmex phones and popped 4 tires of one of his trucks.

These attacks will not stop, because our rage is infinite!

Frente de Liberación de la Tierra (FLT) – México”

reported by http://directaction.info

URGENT Tree Protest Weymouth -Aroooga – updated

Update, Monday 15th:
another person has climbed up into the same tree; council want to finish work before Christmas; local residents sending hot water bottles up tree. Get down there to help – contact numbers below.

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Sunday, 14.12.2008:

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Sunday, 14.12.2008:
One protestor still in trees, with the others coming down on Friday and Saturday – chopping down of trees clearance work continuing all weekend. “They’re already over half way through cutting them and they’re working today and have been working over the weekend.”
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11.12.2008
Action in the trees now get there.

Urgent many trees being cut down some over 400 years old. For another unneeded road. There was a camp at the site 12 years ago with some of the Fairmile posse there. Which won and camp dismantled ..now roadbuilders , the council and homegrown Timber company are at it again.
The site is …Two Mile Coppice next to the railway line Weymouth..
3 activists currently in trees with security around…. any old tree protesters dust off your harnesses and get there. Or any new recruits next generation welcome.
On site mobiles ( batteries getting low) 07792717821 / 07807952822
Just get in da van and get there now.

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Ancient tree sit-in against road

12th December 2008
Two protesters are sitting in trees in ancient Dorset woodland to try to stop clearance work taking place ahead of the building of a new £84m relief road.

Work to clear part of Two Mile Coppice restarted on Thursday after a legal bid by the Woodland Trust temporarily suspended work on Tuesday.

The Weymouth relief road aims to ease traffic around Weymouth and Portland, which are hosting the Olympic sailing.

Dorset County Council said work would continue despite the protesters.

A spokesman said trees would be cut down around the demonstrators and that the council hoped to complete the work by Christmas.

“The council is now discussing how the protesters can be safely and legally removed,” he added.

One protester, 35-year-old Nicky Baines, came down from the trees on Friday.

He told the BBC the two remaining men, Nick Pepper, 41, and a man known as Noddy, had both lived in Weymouth in the past.

He said they did not represent any particular group but the idea was to “stick it out as long as possible”.

“We’ve been having a bit of trouble with the amount of equipment – food, water and staying warm.

“But at least one person has got a lot of stuff they can keep going with.”

Work restarted

Trees and other vegetation were being removed from 1.5 acres of woodland on the western edge of Two Mile Coppice, when Tuesday’s legal challenge halted work.

The Woodland Trust, which owns the land, said the county council had failed to provide a Notice to Enter document.

The coppice is among land in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) that Dorset County Council was given permission to buy, using compulsory purchase orders, in September.

But until the orders are processed, the land still belongs to the trust. The correct documentation was later provided and work was allowed to restart.

Steve Marsh, of the Woodland Trust, said the legal challenge was started to make sure the council was following the correct procedures.

“We didn’t think we’d ever be able to stop the work in the long term,” he said, adding that the trust was against the road.

“This is the last remaining ancient woodland in the Weymouth and Portland area. It’s a very much-used wood and a much-loved wood.

“Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever, it can’t be recreated because the climate was different 400 years ago.

“Ancient woodland is the richest habitat we’ve got in Britain – it’s our equivalent of the rainforest.

“We feel the road is a near act of vandalism on the environment, all to help cut people’s journey times by five minutes.”

Environmental groups, including the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), lost a High Court legal bid to stop the road in 2007.

A public inquiry followed, which ended in March 2008, but many residents and businesses said they supported the plan for the road.

Work is due to start in spring 2009, if the Department for Transport (DfT) gives the funding.

—

Work”>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/7772693.stm”>Work restarts background

Just to let those wishing to help know that there is a local campaign group – Bypass the Bypass and they have a website: http://www.bypassthebypass.org/

Also, the Woodland Trust have been fighting this road for years (they own Two Mile Coppice) and have held it up for years through various means. You can view info on the Weymouth Road on their website here

Previous protest camp background

Bath Bomb 17 Cordially Yours

THE BATH BOMB
@nti-copyright: copy and distribute!
Issue #17
free/donation

Dec 08 ‘No, he doesn’t exist you whiny little brat’

Bathonians Stand Up As The Economy Falls Down!

THE BATH BOMB
@nti-copyright: copy and distribute!
Issue #17
free/donation

Dec 08 ‘No, he doesn’t exist you whiny little brat’

Bathonians Stand Up As The Economy Falls Down!

Saturday the 22nd of November saw the start of BAN’s latest campaign, aimed at community self-defence against the effects of the recession. The ‘We Won’t Pay For Their Crisis!’ campaign has these key demands: fair heating subsidies, bailiffs out of our communities, no more house repossessions, no job or benefit freezes, control of the banks and no to lay-offs. The demo started off with around 20 activists (although the number later grew to around 35) congregating at Bath Abbey before taking to the roads and making a beeline for Milsom Street. Outside the strip of banks, the crowd started a spontaneous roadblock, snarling up traffic and taking advantage of the huge amount of attention to inform the public what the action was about and shame the banks through BAN’s shiny new megaphone! During the roadblock, several Xmas shoppers decided to join the action, and stayed with the march until the end. From there, the demo moved towards Guildhall, where a brief blockade was staged (this was only lifted to allow a wedding party into Guildhall; the supportive bride-to-be even posed for piccies with protesters!). After this, marching in the opposite direction that the (by now slightly despairing) police pushed the crowd in, the protest moved back up to Nat West, where another blockade took place, and during which the bank was adorned with ‘Where’s our bailout?’ stickers. In many ways, the day was a huge success. Many on the march were first time protesters, who refused to be intimidated by pushy and threatening police. The public were overwhelmingly in support of the march – with hundreds of leaflets being given out, and frequent cheers and applause coming from the pavements. Above all, the march marked the beginning of what promises to be a strong and effective to defend our communities against greedy bosses, politicians and landlords, who would rather see us freezing, jobless and homeless than sacrifice their own mountains of wealth.

How To Survive A Recession

With the recession now deepening, all of us are feeling the pinch. Some already cannot afford to turn on their heating, while others are getting laid-off and having property stolen by bailiffs. We have talked a lot about taking the fight to the greedy system that caused the recession, and we have given a lot of column inches to promoting the idea of fighting against the system to protect and improve our standard of life. While this is definitely vital if we are to roll back the effects of this recession, we at the Bath Bomb have not given much time to talking about what we can do in the here and now to make things a bit easier. All of the ideas we will look at involve the reclaiming of your own life – breaking the umbilical cord of dependency on super markets, banks and politicians, and it is this disassociation from the rich’s system of capitalist greed combined with direct attacks upon it that will allow us to live our lives free of their financial crisis and social oppression. With the rant behind us, let’s have a look at some budget-busting recession survival measures:

1. Grow some veg!: now is the time to be planting garlic and winter peas, and from January to March, everything from runner beans, tomatoes, carrots and potatoes go in the ground. If you have an unused fence, you can grow runners, and even the tiniest bit of garden can be turned into a good source of food. If you don’t have any space, start gardening with friends, or pop down to the Bath Organic Allotments on Upper Bristol Road, who exchange huge bags of veg in return for volunteering.

2. Start a food co-op: this is a really simple idea. It involves you and your mates chipping in, ordering from a wholesaler and getting the goods at cost price, sidestepping the huge profits slapped on by supermarkets. You will each have to stick in a bit of money to get started, then ‘buy’ the food from yourselves to generate money to order in next month’s stock. Trust us – it’s cheap, and more info can be found at http://www.cooperativegrocer.coop/cg_special.html.

3. Five finger discounts: a bit controversial, but hey, supermarkets have been stealing from us for years. They steal land and resources from impoverished farmers here and abroad, then steal our cash by charging tens of times above the cost of transport and production. So go on, rob – don’t feel guilty, you are poor and they are grossly rich, and most of their wealth comes from our pockets.

4. Jacking electricity: there are loads of good ways to jack electricity to help beat those winter bill blues. One involves locating the cog that turns the meter on your electricity box, heating up a pin and pushing it through the casing to stop the ticker turning. Hey presto, free electricity! But make sure to take the pin out for a few hours a day so the electric company doesn’t start asking questions.

So there we go, just a few hints and tips to get you started. We will try and bring you monthly advice on beating those recession doldrums (by any means necessary) from now on, and we’d love to hear your ideas. All messages to bathbombpress@yahoo.co.uk

The Little Big Screen

Sunday the 30th November saw yet another fine Bubbling Under offering at the Porter Cellar, showing ‘Live Nude Girls Unite’ – a documentary chronicling the formation of the first exotic dancers’ union in the US in the late 90’s. This proved to be both entertaining and inspiring, as it tackled racial discrimination, exploitative bosses, family struggles and common stereotypes of the sex industry. After all that excitement, though, Bubbling Under is taking a well-earned break this month. However, it’s coming back thick and fast on Sunday the 18th of January from 1-4pm, with both a documentary about the British Poll Tax riots, and GI resistance to Vietnam with ‘Sir No Sir’. More fraggings and lobbed bricks than you can shake an iron lady at! Get there early to get a good seat, or bring your own.

Bath Bomb Wordwatch: fragging (v); the act of killing a superior officer with the use of a grenade

http://www.sirnosir.com/

Christmas Chrompetition

Here at the Bath Bomb we’re often accused of hating the upper class. So we thought to ourselves, what better time to prove it! So, to win a free exclusive one-year subscription to the Bath Bomb, simply send in your stories about how you’ve managed to get up a toff’s nose this festive season.

EVENTS
2nd and 4th Mondays of the month, Bath Hunt Sabs meeting, 8pm, the Bell, Walcot Street
Wednesdays, London Road Food Co-op, 4-7pm, Riverside Community Centre, London Road
Saturdays, Bath Stop The War vigil, 11.30am-12.30, outside Bath Abbey
Friday 12th December, anti-foie gras demo, 7-9pm, meeting at the Circus
Friday 19th December, anti-foie gras demo, 7-9pm, meeting at the Circus
Wednesday 7th January, Bath Animal Action meeting 7.30-8.30pm, back room of the Bell pub, Walcot Street
Thursday 8th January, Bath Activist Network meeting, 7.30-9pm, downstairs at the Hobgoblin
pub, St James Parade
Saturday the 10th January, Bath FreeShop, 12-3pm, opposite Holland & Barrett, Stall Street
Tuesday 13th January, Transition Bath Forum, 7.15pm, Widcombe Social Club
Wednesday 14th January, Bath Green Drinks, 8.30pm, upstairs at the Rummer pub, Grand Parade
Thursday 15th January, The Power of Community film screening, 7.30pm, the Cork pub, Westgate Street
Sunday 18th January, Bubbling Under film screening, 1-4pm, Porter Cellar, George Street
Monday 5th February, Bath Friends of the Earth AGM, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place, 8pm

My Big Fascist Greek Shooting

Many of us in England have witnessed police brutality, either first hand or on the news. To those of us who have been on the receiving end of the raised truncheon of the law, it will come as no surprise that in Greece, the brutality has reached a peak. On Saturday the 6th of November, a detachment of blue-shirted police (hated in Greece, and usually reserved for situations of political turmoil) provocatively cruised through, and parked in a traditionally left-wing estate in Athens. Exerting their right to be free from unnecessary surveillance, local anarchist youths intervened to remove the police from their community. The police responded with stun grenades and live ammunition, leaving 15-year-old anti-capitalist Alexandros-Andreas Grigoropoulos dead on the street. Greece has since erupted into spontaneous rioting, described by Greek police as the worst in a generation with dozens of banks and police stations getting burned to the ground. Tens of thousands of people have been demonstrating since Saturday night, and are already planning for further unrest. The cities of Thessaloniki, Athens, Patras and others have become battlegrounds in which an angry civilian population is fighting the police and demanding an end to indiscriminate and brutal repression. While the senseless murder of a child by arrogant and violent police is news enough, this story fits into a bigger picture. This is not just the story of a Greek tragedy, but one that resonates across the world. In countries where police are allowed to kill indiscriminately (e.g Burma and Indonesia), they do so. In countries where police are given access to tear gas, pepper spray and stun grenades (Germany, Spain and Italy etc.), they use them with abandon. As anyone who remembers the miners’ strike, the Poll Tax riots in Trafalgar square, the Beanfield, the murder of Jean Charles de Menezes, or any other example of police brutality in the UK knows, the difference between a cop in this country and the murderers in Greece has nothing to do with compassion or decency of the British bobby, but more to do with the fact that the average cop in this country does not have access to lethal weaponry… yet.

GOT A STORY? WANT TO RECEIVE THE BATH BOMB BY EMAIL? HOPING TO SUE? Contact us by e-mailing bathbombpress@yahoo.co.uk. Large print e-versions available on request. For more information on any of our stories, check out http://www.mypace.com/bathbomb

Monsieur, With Zees Protests You’re Really Spoiling Us

Friday the 28th of November saw a follow-up demo in the third rendition of the campaign against foie gras seller The Pinch of Margaret’s Buildings. Long-time readers should be well versed in the ins and outs of this exciting saga, or maybe sick to death of hearing about it – well, so are we! Come on, Christophe, haven’t you had enough yet? After two hours of megaphones, noisy chanting, leafleting, spontaneous song and dance routines, heated debates and even the odd fisticuffs (some well-to-do jolly old bean’s birthday meal got ruined), the demo and attendant PCSOs moved off. Local opinion seems mixed, with some residents in great support of the campaign, whilst other big spenders couldn’t yank the wads of cash out of their wallets quick enough as they spluttered their red-faced way inside the restaurant – that’ll teach them bloody protesters!

So now the campaign is upping the ante: the demos will now be every Friday night, from 7pm. So, if you like your fine dining to be sans ear-splitting disruption, it’s best to eat elsewhere. And if you live local, and you want a bit of peace and quiet, tell owner Christophe LeCroix to do the right thing: stop selling foie gras!

The Pinch
11 Margaret’s Buildings, Bath, BA1 2LP
tel: 01225 421251
e-mail: info@thepinch.biz

All The Food Of The Fayre

Saturday the 22nd was also the date of the first Bath Vegan Fayre, showing nearly 200 punters just how simple eating vegan can be. Info on nutrition and animal rights issues was available, as well as recipe books, but the food proved more appetising: pizza, soft drinks, pies, cheesecake, biscuits, burgers, veggie bacon and sausage, soups… This journalist is getting hungry just thinking about it! Though the scheduled talk on genetic engineering was replaced short notice with one on food security, the event was very much a success, and happy bellies were made full. Look out for their next bigger, better (don’t quote us on that) instalment in early summer, when the next is planned.

http://www.vegansociety.com

Bath Activist Network are a local umbrella group campaigning on issues as diverse as development, environmentalism, anti-war, animal rights, workers’ rights and more. Helping to produce The Bath Bomb, we are open to anyone, and our members range from trade unionists to anarchists, liberals to greens, and people who just want to change Bath for the better. For details on meetings, demos, or just to get in touch, ring us on 07949 611912, email bathactivistnet@yahoo.co.uk, or see our website: http://www.myspace.com/bathactivistnetwork

Steal Something Day

Saturday the 29th of November has been celebrated as Buy Nothing Day for some years now – a day aimed at highlighting the human rights and environmental concerns generated by excessive consumerism in the run up to Xmas (the season of shoddily made sweatshop goods, and overflowing rubbish bins). But this year, anonymous Bathonians decided to make a slightly different point. While we can make responsible decisions when buying – it is not our fault that the products we buy are made using slave labour in far off sweatshops, not our fault that most large companies show scant regard for the environment and certainly not our fault that the company puts a mark-up of several hundred % on the product before passing it on to us. While the sweatshop workers who produce the products are the biggest victims, we are also victims of corporate greed emptying our pockets at every opportunity. With this in mind, activists set off on a marathon ‘steal something’ spree. While declining to comment whether they themselves indulged in an orgy of shoplifting, the activists did reveal that, over the course of several hours, they visited some of the biggest, baddest chain stores and human rights abusers in town and improved hundreds of products with invitations encouraging consumers to liberate the product rather than part with hard-earned cash. The letter outlined the ethical argument for shoplifting, and the unethical argument for rampant free-market capitalism. The message was well and truly spread that ‘buy nothing’ can also mean ‘take something back’. If you want to join the campaign against sweatshop conditions, why not contact either No Sweat or Labour Behind The Label? After what these companies have done to our environment, our high street and our fellow human beings, the question begs to be asked – who are the real thieves?

http://www.nosweat.org.uk/
http://www.labourbehindthelabel.org/

Making A Song And Dance About It

Welcome to Tesco Town: the hotly contested Tesco Express on Bathwick Hill finally opened on Monday the 24th of November, though not without incident. They’d been dragging their heels ever since their projected opening in February, after being vocally opposed by residents every step of the way for two years; the tale of toadying, bribery and trickery that finally got them their desired store is a legend unto itself. They also got away with not installing the traffic-calming measures they promised… but what’s a broken promise among neighbours? For their so-called ‘grand’ opening, singers from local charity Golden Oldies provided the music, and manager Brendan Tucker wore his fixed grin. However, proceedings were disrupted by two modest-sized protests that day, with four cheeky pirates waving a jolly roger during the opening credits, and then another five later on, from 6pm, freezing their bits off long into the night.

The charity above was set up to combat alienation, community breakdown and loneliness amongst the elderly. The great irony is, though, that when local independents like Bathwick Stores are worn away, then that is itself yet another example of community erosion: what sort of familiarity or communal bonds can you construct with a revolving door policy of bored checkout staff? The cash that Tesco injects into these groups is a drop in the ocean compared to the PR payback they reap through such associations. Not that you should be taken in by their friendly face, anyway – not when they’re sponsoring sweatshop conditions in ‘fair-trade’ banana packing houses in Luton, responsible for the deaths of cockle-pickers in Morecambe Bay, or engaging in such other humanitarian ventures as helping kill off local food varieties, industrial farming health scares, pollution and animal abuse, or building up retail monopolies. And they’ll probably lock up their skips, too. In terms of positive solutions, ironic leaflets and subvertising notwithstanding, local food co-operatives are a much better way to go – such as the London Road Food Co-op, the Southside Food Co-op or, if you can afford it, Harvest on Walcot Street. But the question still stands with these food giants (and Tesco aren’t the only culprit) – what to do about them?

http://www.impacttlimited.com/2007/05/23/abuse-of-workers-packing-fair-trade-bananas-in-the-uk-on-today-programme-this-morning-2/
http://www.tescopoly.org/
http://www.golden-oldies.org.uk
Southside Food Co-op: http://www.twerton.con/twerton-articles/southside-food-co-op-a22.html
London Road Food Co-op, Riverside Community Centre, York Place, London Road, Bath, BA1 6AE, tel: 07837 784715

Your Name’s Down, You’re Not Coming In

Antifascists across the land last month were celebrating Christmas early, as the entire BNP membership list was leaked on November 18th. Whilst threats of legal action, arrests and the hypocritical invocation of the Human Rights Act (which the BNP actively oppose) has been bandied about the net, it’s all a bit futile as the list has beamed far and wide. In Bath we allegedly have a measly nine proud bulldogs to disown, and Frome has four, whilst Bristol seems to have a 100-strong infestation to clean up. For a party that is all about apparently rescuing the endangered great white working class, it’s curious that the majority in Bath are from middle class areas; how disappointing. If anyone has any more information on the fascist scene to impart, such as shoe size, IQ, favourite chat-up lines or places of work, send in to the usual address.

http://blogs.journalism.co.uk/editors/2008/11/19/bnp-members-list-leak-gathers-pace-online-to-link-or-not-to-link/

I Think We’re Alone Now…

You know you’re in trouble when the band you book for the end of your protest stand around making snide remarks at your expense. “Of course, we could all go and occupy parliament,” suggested that nice chap from Seize the Day, to sheepish laughter and nervous foot-shuffling from the crowd of hippies in Parliament Square. We were in London for the annual Climate March, expecting to join 15,000 marchers and a healthy anti-capitalist bloc, using our sheer force of numbers to make the government listen.

Sadly, on the day only around 5,000 turned up, and our anticipated bloc didn’t quite break double figures. We marched a winding route from the empty-looking US embassy to the definitely empty Parliament, demanding CO2 cuts, no to airport expansions, and green jobs. Feeling increasingly marginalized, surrounded by a sea of ‘Carbon Cap, Not Hippy Crap’ placards, and in constant danger of being run down by an encroaching samba band, our merry group clung together behind our ‘Capitalism Isn’t Working’ banner for half the march, then promptly disintegrated.

Two of us, red and black flags in hands, ended up at the very head of the march for almost a minute before being quickly removed by the stewards. Walk behind the greenhouse, they told us. It’s the symbol of the campaign. Go on; get back in your box. Everyone else is doing it.

And that’s the issue. The campaigners turn up once a year to demand somebody else fix their problems, then they go home. The only way this march will help at this point is if it becomes an annual get-together to unite the movement and give us a chance to brag about all the successful direct actions of the past year. Otherwise, the reduction in marchers from 30,000 to 5,000 in a handful of years will be reflected in the movement as a whole. Without solid actions and solid accomplishments, we’re all fucked.

Now hand over those boltcroppers – I’ve got stuff to do tonight.

Special Yuletide Disclaimer: Like you, we probably disagree with everything every contributor has written. We’re just in it for the scene points. We especially wouldn’t encourage anyone to do anything that might get themselves in trouble with the law… Play safe kids!

Climate Rush at Heathrow 12th January

On Monday 12th January 2009 at 7pm the Climate Rush will hit Heathrow. We will arrive in Edwardian dress (under a big coat!) with hampers of food to have our ‘Dinner at Domestic Departures’. This will be an action against the construction of the third runway and the unsustainable use of short-haul, national flights.

When the string quartet plays its first note we will reveal our dress and share our food. Ours will be the first peaceful sit-in of the environmental movement. Hundreds will join us and together we will make history. We have waited too long and been misled too many times. It is time for us to take control and to lead social change.

After a hugely successful storming of Parliament, The Climate Rush is back in town!

Any day now the government will announce its plans to expand Heathrow and no amount of marching or letter-writing will make them stop. Sipson Village will be demolished. Millions of Londoners will find themselves under new flight-paths. The UK will continue to lag behind the rest of Europe and the world as it misses climate target after climate target.

It is time to take our future into our own hands. It is time to take action.

You and all of your friends, networks and neighbours are cordially invited to our ‘Dinner at Domestic Departures’, 7pm on Monday 12th January at Heathrow Airport Terminal One. Join ‘The Climate Rush’, ‘Climate Action Now’, ‘The Women’s Environmental Network’ and Caroline Lucas MEP as we celebrate the UK public’s commitment to beating climate change.

www.climaterush.co.uk

Plane Stupid protest shuts Stansted Airport

8.12.2008
Over fifty young protesters from the climate action group Plane Stupid have this morning shut down Stansted Airport by camping on the runway and surrounding themselves with fortified security fencing.

The peaceful protest began at 3.15am this morning (Monday) whilst the runway was temporarily closed for maintenance work. Plane Stupid aims to prevent the scheduled reopening of the runway at 5am. The group intends to maintain its blockade for as long as possible, preventing the release of thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

10:20am update: The Press Association reports that 57 people have been arrested, and 56 Ryanair flights cancelled.

8:10am update: At least 39 people have been arrested and the runway
re-opened. BAA are claiming that 21 flights have been cancelled. Every
minute the airport emits around 4 tonnes of CO2.

6:00am update: BAA have confirmed that the first flights out of the airport have been delayed. The average flight out of Stansted has a climate impact equivalent to 41.58 tonnes of CO2.

One young woman, Lily, aged 21 said:

“We’re here because our parents’ generation has failed us and its now down to young people to stop climate change by whatever peaceful means we have left. We’re afraid of what the police might do to us, we’re afraid of going to jail but nothing scares us as much as the threat of runaway climate change. We’ve thought through the consequences of what we’re doing here but we’re determined to stop as many tonnes of CO2 as we can.”

The young campaigners have raised a banner reading ‘CLIMATE EMERGENCY’. Wearing high visibility vests which have the message “Please DO something” printed on them, they chose this day for the peaceful trespass as they knew the runway was closed for maintenance works and no flights were due to take off or land for two hours after they arrived.

Tilly, 21, said:

“We all grew up listening to Blair and Brown talking about the urgent need to slash emissions, but nothing ever happened. Even now politicians from our parents’ generation are in Poland holding talks about talks, but still nobody’s actually doing anything. The scientists tell us we’ve got about seven years to make emissions peak then drop, and if we fail it will be the people on this runway, and our children, who’ll live with the consequences. That’s why I’m doing this.”

The campaigners chose to close Stansted after the government approved the expansion of capacity at the airport by ten million passengers a year. Aviation is Britain’s fastest growing source of emissions, already amounting to at least 13% of our country’s climate impact. With plans for new runways across the UK, including at Heathrow and Stansted, experts from the Tyndall Centre for climate research say Labour’s aviation policy alone will scupper any chance the UK has of hitting its climate targets.

Daniel, 24, said:

“We fully appreciate the scale of what we’ve done here today and we know many people will struggle to understand why we’ve done it, but the Arctic ice cap is disappearing, the seas are rising and our last chance to save our future is vanishing. With people taking more flights in Britain than anywhere else on earth, we have a unique responsibility to tackle emissions from flying.”

Intruder enters E.ON power station and switches off 2% of UK supplies

Police have begun an investigation after protesters broke into one of Britain’s biggest power stations last week [28th November 2008] and cut almost 2 per cent of the country’s electricity supplies.

Up to 500 megawatts of generating capacity was lost from the national network for about four hours after the incident at Kingsnorth coal and oil-fired power station in Kent, The Times has learnt. An intruder scaled an electric fence, entered a secure area and switched off one of four turbines supplying London and the South East.

E.ON, the German power group that operates the plant, is understood to suspect that some of its own staff or contracted employees were involved in the incident last Friday night.

According to figures from National Grid, total UK electricity demand at the time was about 33,000 megawatts – meaning that 500 megawatts represented more than 1.5 per cent of the total, enough to power a city the size of Bristol.

The protesters, who have not been caught despite much of the episode being caught on CCTV, climbed an electric security fence that was not working at the time. Having switched off Unit Two, they left through an entrance that only employees would have been familiar with. They also managed to go through a complex procedure at a control panel inside one of the turbine halls to turn the machinery off.

Kent police are involved in the investigation. E.ON has ordered an internal investigation, and is examining its own security procedures.

E.ON has become a key target for climate change protesters because Kingsnorth has been earmarked for construction of Britain’s first new coal-fired power station in decades. The plant, which has a total generating capacity of 1,960 megawatts, making it one of Britain’s biggest power stations, is to be retired from service soon and E.ON wants to build a £2 billion coal replacement, which environmentalists say would lock in the emission of many millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases for decades to come.

Protest messages were also left strewn across the turbine hall during the incident.

An E.ON spokesman confirmed that an incident had taken place in which the site was entered illegally and equipment was tampered with. “While we are respectful of people’s right to peaceful and lawful protest, this was clearly neither of those and could have had very serious implications, not least because of the potential for serious injury or worse. Thankfully, our site team responded very quickly and professionally to ensure that the situation was brought under control.

“We have launched an investigation and are working closely with the police on their inquiries. Kingsnorth power station remains operational.”

E.ON has defended its plans for a coal-fired plant at Kingsnorth by saying that it would be fitted with equipment designed to strip out carbon dioxide for safe storage.

So-called carbon capture and storage (CCS) remains an experimental technology that has not yet been demonstrated on a commercial scale anywhere in the world.

— from The Times newspaper.

— or the below from BBC News; pick & mix the facts you prefer:

Intruder shuts down power turbine

A turbine at a power station in Kent where climate change campaigners have been holding a series of protests was shut down by an intruder.

Energy company E.On said it believed whoever shut down the turbine must have had specialist knowledge to carry out the “potentially deadly” sabotage.

The shut-down happened on the night of 28 November during two days of action by the Camp for Climate Action group.

However, no organisation or individual has claimed it turned off the turbine.

“We don’t know whether it was a protester or not,” said E.On spokesman Jonathan Smith.

“But they gained access to the site, tampered with a pretty specific board and managed to turn off unit two.

“It is completely unacceptable. If you ignore the fact they have broken into our site, what they were doing was potentially dangerous, potentially deadly even.”

Targeted offices

He said engineers located the problem quickly and turned the turbine back on.

Customers were not affected by the shutdown because the shortfall was made up by other suppliers to the National Grid.

During the two days of action, Camp for Climate Action protesters targeted E.ON offices in London and across England.

It followed a week-long Climate Camp near Kingsnorth power station on the Hoo peninsular in August.

The current Kingsnorth power station is due to close in 2015 and E.ON wants to replace it with two new coal units, which it claims will be 20% cleaner.

Mr Smith said police were investigating the shutdown.

He said Kingsnorth was probably the most secure coal-fired power station in the UK.

“Security at Kingsnorth is extremely high,” he said.

“We are looking at security and working with police to make sure this can’t happen again.”

— from The Guardian newspaper:

“It was extremely odd indeed, quite creepy. We have never known anything like this at all, but it shows that if people want to do something badly enough they will find a way,” said Emily Highmore, a spokeswoman for E.On.

Yesterday the full story emerged of what happened. “It was about 10pm, very dark indeed,” said Highmore. “It looks from the CCTV like he came in via a very remote part of the site by the sea wall and got over the double layer of fences.”

The intruder then crossed a car park and walked to an unlocked door. But instead of going to the power station’s main control room, where about eight people would have been working, he headed for its main turbine hall, where no one would have been working at that time.

Within minutes, says E.On, “he had tampered with some equipment” – believed to be a computer at a control panel – “and tripped unit 2, one of the station’s giant 500MW turbines”.

“This caused the unit to go offline,” she added. “It was running at full 500MW load and the noise it would have made as it shut itself down is just incredible. CCTV shows that he then just walked out, and went back over the fence.

“It could be that no one has taken responsibility because they were so frightened by the noise it would have made. It’s probably taken them a week just to get over the shock.”

“He left a banner but it was a real DIY job. It was really scrappy. This was an old bedsheet with writing done out of gaffer tape. It was very crude,” said Highmore

“People at the station are gobsmacked,” she added. “This is a different league to protesters chaining themselves to equipment. It’s someone treating a power station as an adventure playground. You have to be trained to work here. People do not just wander about on their own. He could have killed himself. We do not have a problem with public protest but this was reckless. Whoever it was has crossed a line they should not have gone over. Power stations are dangerous places.”

(full article)

McTrial Cambridge – This Monday!

An all day trial so get some McDonalds Burgers in!

When : 8th Dec 08, 10 a.m.

Where: Cambridge Magistrates Court
12 St. Andrews Street,
Cambridge

What: Back in June an activist was arrested on a walk in protest at McDonalds. The activist is charged under Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

An all day trial so get some McDonalds Burgers in!

When : 8th Dec 08, 10 a.m.

Where: Cambridge Magistrates Court
12 St. Andrews Street,
Cambridge

What: Back in June an activist was arrested on a walk in protest at McDonalds. The activist is charged under Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

See http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/cambridge/2008/06/401637.html

Why: You may very well ask that?

Any support appreciated!

Tyres of luxury cars ventilated

December 5th 2008
This night the action Air gone! started to flatten the tyres of luxury cars as a contribution to the climate action day to paralyse climate killers.

While the climate alliance calls for promotion parodies against the greenwashing of the companies, radical climate activists went a bit further that night.

In different cities the tyres of expensive jeeps and sports cars were ventilated. Aim of the action is not only carbon expulsion, but also to put on the agenda the social and global injustices connected to climate change, the group calling for the action explained. The biggest amount of emissions are caused by the industrial states – and, as it is made more than

clear by the example of luxury cars, it is mainly the rich here as well – while the countries in the South are most affected already by the effects of climate change.

Flyers were left at the cars explaining the actiond and demanding from the owners to immidiately shut them down permanently.

Similar actions happened a year ago in Berlin and aroused a lot of public attention. This year the newspaper taz reported about the call to the action.

Meanwhile the world climate summit discussed about a follow-up of the Kyoto Protocol in Poznan (Conference of the partied COP 14), producing nothing but hot air, as a lot of climate activists think. Background info and statements from a semi-critical NGO perspective on wir-klimaretter.de. For the following summit in December 2009 an international mobilization was already started by the radical leftb from Denmark (Ungdomshuset-Scene) as well as b y sozial movements from the global south like Via Campesina

http://luftraus.wordpress.com