earthfirst – Page 227

Police try and enter Bodge House

Earlier today (25 July) several police turned up to look at a hole in the field, in actual fact it is a tunnel, but hey!

The police then came on site after apparently swearing was heard and was there excuse for entering the boundary around the house. they tried to get up on to the roof of the house and fetched a crow bar and to leverage there way in through one of the boarded up windows but failed to get in any ware as the house has had a month of fortifications built into it.

Details at this point are sketchy, the police claim swearing came from the tree house, but according to the site crew, it was from elsewhere so they attempted to arrest the occupier to no avail, and have threatened to come back latter with police climbers

Not content at that one of the female crew at Bodge house, striped naked and jumped into the bucket of a digger working at the bottom of the drive and refused to move, this meant that the police had to go back to the house and plead with some of the female crew to come and ask her to give up the protest. There was no answer from in the house and one protester they should knock on the front door, the police man was puzzled and said he didn’t know there was one, and was sent around the front to look for it….only to return embarrassed for being taken for a fool

So are if you are around and want to join in the fun get down to Bodge house

http://leaveitintheground.wordpress.com

Art Not Oil Plymouth & friends protest inside & outside Shell Wildlife Exhibition, 12.7.08

On Saturday 12th July, activists from Art Not Oil Plymouth, Greenpeace Plymouth and Peace Boat, took action – for the second time – inside and outside Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery, to protest against Shell’s sponsorship of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. (Shell will not be sponsoring the new Exhibition, but the 2007-8 version is still touring.)

Activists dressed as Greenwash inspectors entered the Museum to detect and spotlight the terrible greenwashing that Shell is trying to do in this city. The activists spoke with the people inside about it and found that there was strong agreement that Shell is guilty of trying to launder its image as a friend of wildife and of the planet!

Outside, the rest of the Art Not Oil group and Peter Le Mare (who had just docked his Peace Boat nearby, on his way to Climate Camp and beyond) held banners and gave away more than 130 leaflets about the protest. BBC news were there and interviewed both groups giving to the action a central place in the local news that evening!

In September, Art Not Oil Plymouth will be showing the ‘Shell’s Wild Lie’ exhibition in one of the local cafes of the city, which features images of what this oil and other companies are really doing to our planet.

www.artnotoil.org.uk
www.littlepeaceboat.net

Community halts illegal work on Special Area of Conservation, Ireland- pls help!

24th July 2008
The fight goes on- be part of it.

24th July 2008
The fight goes on- be part of it.
This is an urgent call for support to protect the community and environment of Rossport in Mayo, Ireland. Shell is now attempting to construct the first 200m metres of the onshore section of the pipeline without any planning permission. 13 residents were arrested on Tuesday and this morning a 10ft fence was erected and guarded by40 police & 70 security.
Help is urgently needed. Come if u can. Protest at Irish Embassy, Shell garages etc.

At 8am this morning, over 40 police, who are now stationed in the Shell compound, and 70 Shell specialist security forced the local community away from Glengad beach. The crowd who had assembled to monitor the illegal work being done on the cliff-face at Glengad were peacefully protesting on the beach. However the local community were then forced off the beach to allow 10ft high fencing to be placed down to the water edge. This has blocked of the right of way on Glengad beach. All attempted questions regarding the legality and the consents for the work were ignored by both Gardaí and Shell staff alike.

The legality of the consents given is still an issue of major concern to the people of the locality as it is still unclear what permissions Shell have received and for what exact work. While Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan has claimed that it was just an “oversight” that the latest authorisations for the project wasn’t published, this clouding of what consents have been granted has been a characteristic of the whole Corrib Project.

Local resident Terence Conway said “The fact is that this first onshore section is the most dangerous part of the whole project as the pressure could be as high as 345bar and still it will not have gone through any planning if it is constructed”.

Shell is now attempting to construct the first 200m metres of the onshore section of the pipeline without it going through planning permission at all. Although the remaining 9.2km of the onshore pipeline is currently being examined by An Bord Pleanala, Shell are attempting to lay the first 200m metres before a decision is made.

On Tuesday 22nd July, 13 residents were arrested at Glengad, while challenging Shell on the permissions they had to do excavation and other works around the site of the proposed landfall area of the pipeline. The arrested people included Goldman Prize winner Willie Corduff as well as Shell to Sea trailer hostess Mary Horan. The 13 were arrested around 2pm and held at Belmullet police station for 3 hours before being released without charge, with files being sent to the DPP. One of the people arrested had to be brought by ambulance to Castlebar Hospital after seeing a doctor in Belmullet station. The mood of the arrestees after release was definitely one of resolute defiance. After the 13 were arrested, Shell attempted to re-commence the excavation work however another group of around 20 locals arrived and halted the work for the remainder of the day.

On Wednesday 23rd July, a Shell digger began clearing the topsoil from the area around the cliff-face to begin the procedure of creating a causeway down to the beach. Roughly an hour later they were requested by local residents to produce the permissions but were only met with silence from the line of security which at first tried to let the digger continue but eventually the digger retired to behind security gates.

While Shell have received a Foreshore Licence in 2002 by the then Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources for the offshore part of the pipeline, this Licence is only valid up to high-water mark. However Shell are seeking to do work that would involving creating a pipe pull-in facility that would lay the pipeline up to the proposed pressure reduction facility which will be over 30m back from the cliff-face. Planning permission for all of the onshore pipeline section is currently before An Bord Pleanala since May 2008 under the new Strategic Infrastructure Act and it is believed that an Oral hearing will be heard before An Bord Pleanala provides the necessary rubber-stamp.

However in the meantime it is believed that all the work currently being done in Glengad doesn’t have the necessary permission. Shell have now installed about 5 large port-cabins which include office and cafeteria facilities on the Special Area of Conservation (SAC) only about 300m away from where the Rossport Solidarity Camp stood, until they were removed less than a year ago.

After about an hour standoff, the gardaí led by Superintendent John Gilligan arrived at the scene, parking all their squads, jeeps and paddy wagons inside on the Shell compound on the SAC. After speaking with Shell personnel, Supt Gilligan approached the group and was told about the concerns over the permissions for the work. Supt Gilligan was told that members of the assembled protestors had met with Conor Ó Raghallaigh, Director of the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) on the previous day and that it had been agreed that the necessary permission were to be sought from the Dept of Energy, Communications and Natural Resources and the Dept of Agricultuture & Fisheries. However, the Departments hadn’t replied to any of the queries sent so far, and so it was requested by the protestors that the work be halted until the situation was clarified. After again speaking with Shell personnel, Supt. Gilligan said that Shell were willing to stop for 2 hours so queries could be made into the permissions granted, however he was told that it was believed that this would not be long enough. Supt. Gilligan was also reminded how last October he had attempted to push through drilling work in the area for Shell that was challenged by locals and which was subsequently found to be illegal. Supt. Gilligan then once more spoke with Shell personnel inside the compound and after warning all the people assembled, people began to be arrested.

I would like to say that I have been trying to establish the legality of these works for almost 2 weeks now, and have sent off countless emails and made a lot of phone calls and am still no clearer than when I began (and many other people have hit blank walls too). I have been dealing primarily with NPWS which is the section of the Dept of Environment whose duty it is to oversee work on SACs and other sensitive areas. I was first of all told on the phone that the work was under the Foreshore Licence and I would receive a detailed email which would clarify my concerns. However no clarification has been forthcoming and now NPWS have decided to wash they hand of it and have started referring any queries to the other 2 departments involved. The whole episode once again shows way that this project has been split up from start to finish and how no person or department will take any responsibility once questioned.

It should be noted that NPWS in their report seeking the removal of the Rossport Solidarity Camp, stated that site where the camp was would take “10 to 15 years for the site to fully recover” and recommended that the camp be removed and “the habitats allowed to recover naturally”. Now NPWS turn a blind eye when a whole compound (which is probably illegal) has been set up.

One of the most infuriating sights of the day was the 2 NPWS rangers who hung out with the Shell paid ornithologist on the beach for the day watching over the sand martin colony while only 10 metres away a digger had begun destroying the cliff-face. Luckily however the people of the locality have long given up hope that any of these authorities will protect either them or their environment and took action.

If you wish to join the fight and visit the area, there is space to stay in the Rossport Solidarity House ( http://www.rossportsolidaritycamp.110mb.com).

The fight will go on regardless but any help is invaluable.
http://www.shelltosea.com

Phones and privacy at the camp for climate action.

Traditionally it has been the content of communication that has been the focus of government surveillance but the police are increasingly interested in data mining techniques to uncover patterns of association. Simple data, when stored, aggregated and analyzed using sophisticated computer algorithms, contains far more information than is commonly appreciated. Collating mobile phone numbers, and the data retained by network providers, can provide the police with a powerful incite into our networks of associations. This is not only an invasion of our privacy but may also threaten our ability to work together effectively.

At least years climate camp the police were taking people phone from them during stop and search. As well as browsing through people
phonebooks and text messages, they were typing *#06# to get the phones unique serial number (IMEI). They would then look up the registered owner of phone then threaten the holder of the phone with being arrested on suspicion of theft if they refused to prove that they were the owner of the phone by revealing their identity.

To reduce the ability of the police to steal our identities and learn
more about our social networks, please consider the following advice.

Mobile phones are useful tools for communicating and organising – we do not advise you to leave them at home. You will find them essential for staying informed and informing others. However…

Copy the entries in your phonebook and leave it at home.

Delete from your phonebook all but the numbers that will be essential during the week.

Rename those contacts to remove surnames, perhaps using code names instead.

Erase your sent and received call logs and text messages and do repeat this regularly.

Make use of the security features of your phone so that a PIN code is required to access any of its features.

There are generally two types of security on mobile phones, the PIN that protects the phone and PIN2 that protects the SIM card so it can’t be used in another phone without the code. It may be a little inconvenient to have to type in the number each time but it’s better than allowing the cops to browse through your phone book, call logs and messages.

If you can’t set your phone to require a PIN code each time it is used, simply switch off your phone when it looks like a police stop and search is likely.

—-

Might be worth noting about mobiles:

* That the police are also able to retrieve phone calls and sent text messages, both from the phone and the SIM. Once deleted off the phone they are NOT gone for good. If you have made a foolish phone call or sent something dodgy, and you are at risk from having your phone taken, get a whole new phone and SIM card.

* Police can use your mobile as a tracking device of your whereabouts, this evidence has already been used in cases – especially if making a call. This pinpoints your exact location. So don’t take it anywhere you’d rather the cops didn’t know about. Disconnecting the phone by taking out the battery apparently can stop this as the phone is no longer connected to any electrical source.

* Police can bug a mobile and use it as a listening device… if you are saying something you don’t want the cops to hear, and you want to be extra paranoid, remove the battery from your phone or leave it elsewhere. Turning it off will not necessarily work!

* If the cops ever get your phone and give it back to you… give it to someone else not involved in anything you are, donate it to charity or burn it. Do not ever use it again!

—-

Your advice about having an alternative SIM is OK if police are searching the physical phone for text messages. However if you are concerned about surveillance involving your mobile phone company, you should be aware that text messages (and phone calls too I would think) send a SIM ID *and* the phone IMEI. On that basis, sending a message using your contract phone but a PAYG SIM will still be easily traceable to you.

The best approach is to buy a PAYG phone with cash and only top it up with vouchers bought with cash, and use that alongside your regular phone. However you can’t get away from the fact that it is still a location-tracking device. If you have special need to be careful – and that’s a personal judgement – only put the battery in when you are away from your house to collect messages or to make calls. That said if you live in a highly populated area – such as flats in a city – then you have less reason to worry – the location tracking is not very sensitive AFAIK and it’s a right royal pain for the authorities to get the data. If you’re a Climate Camp activist and not part of a terrorist cell then it’s probably too much hassle for them.

It should be obvious but also be careful when sending personally-identifiable information in text messages – telephone numbers, addresses, email addresses, account numbers etc. In theory the same goes for voice content as software now can transcribe voice content quite reliably – however this often can’t be avoided and the best thing to do is not to worry about it too much. Remember: our worrying is what some upper echelons of the police want!

Ultimately for the activist there is a anti-surveillance/convenience trade-off. Don’t get paranoid as this makes you less effective in your chosen field. Be careful but, unless you are doing activism that is targetted for the harshest oppression, tolerate a bit of surveillance rather than re-organising your habits completely to avoid it.

—

DO BRING A PHONE TO CAMP!

If you can, bring a new PAYG phone, don’t fill it with your friends numbers, don’t use it from home and don’t call your mum on it.

Don’t ever put your normal SIM in your new phone or your new SIM in your normal phone.
Use the phone at the climate camp to:
keep the legal team informed about arrests and stop & searches
keep the media team informed about protests and actions
keep yourself informed about things going on around camp and beyond
call for help in a medical emergency

http://www.activistsecurity.org/

Little Peace Boat on the way to Climate Camp, arrives in Brighton Marina

Update on veteran peace campaigner,
Peter Le Mare, in his Little Peace Boat,
“Be Disarming”
…on the way to The Climate Camp and then to Westminster, London for this 50th anniversary year of CND peace symbol on Hiroshima Day, August 6,
….to draw attention to the linked problems of Catastrophic Climate Change and World Peace.

Peter under sail on the “Be Disarming”

The journey so far:
Monday 7th July the “Be Disarming” little peace boat slipped out of Penzance Harbor gates, the start of its voyage, moored in Newlyn for the night. Tuesday headed for Falmouth, arriving late after an eventful first days sailing including storm sun rain and calm.
Plymouth Friday for the SW regional Climate Camp meeting.
Sunday arrived in Brixham and stayed there to catch the tides right for Exmouth, arriving Monday,
leaving Wednesday morning for Weymouth catching some good winds taking the 20ft boat to 8 knots.
Arrived in Southampton Sunday after an easy trip through the Needles and with the tide managed 10 knots.
As they sailed towards Selsey Bill a RIB with 2 MOD Police came along and one boarded the Little Peace Boat.
Very pleasant conversation and enquiries, lastly asking if there was any intention of doing anything on “Navy Days”
They were given a Give Peace a Chance sticker!
Wed morning (23rd), arrived in Brighton marina just before 1am
Now looking around for support and interest in Brighton before leaving for Hastings in the morning tomorrow

Call Peter on mobile 0788 619 5596

Peter says:
“Almost every war that involves the Major Powers is about oil and the global power it represents.
He is using his epic voyage to highlight the UK Government’s decision to deploy new nuclear weapons.
In 1967 the UK signed a treaty obligation to get rid of these weapons of mass destruction.
In 1996 the World Court ruled that they were subject to international law which says that any weapon which incinerates and irradiates people indiscriminately could never be used lawfully.”

Peter argues that billions of pounds are being squandered on useless, illegal, and dangerous nuclear weapons. If we concentrated on measures to combat climate change we could effectively reduce our Carbon Footprint.

The email: info@littlepeaceboat.net
News, downloadable leaflet PDF’s and links will be established through the website.
www.littlepeaceboat.net

The project is running on a shoestring budget, sailing close to the wind.
Please help in any way you can

Plane Stupid Activist Glued To PM Inside Downing Street

22nd July 2008
A campaigner from the climate action group, Plane Stupid, is currently super-glued to Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the State Dining Room of 10 Downing Street.

Dan Glass, a 24 year old MSc student based in Scotland, gained access to the PM’s official residence at 5pm this evening. He greeted Mr Brown and asked the Prime Minister why he and his ministers have refused to meet West London residents opposed to the construction of a third runway at Heathrow. He simultaneously put his super-glue covered hand onto Brown’s polyester suit. When Brown went to turn away he found he had been super-glued by his clothing to Plane Stupid, and had no option but to listen to Dan.

Dan read messages to the PM from people whose villages will be bulldozed if Brown agrees to BAA’s expansion plans. He also read out testimony from communities across the world threatened by climate change while Downing Street aides attempt to extract the Labour leader from the green campaigner. Dan hoped to stay glued to the PM long enough to begin quoting from confidential documents secured through the Freedom of Information Act, which reveal the government’s public consultation on Heathrow expansion was fixed. The papers reveal Ministers have engaged in an extraordinary level of collusion with airport operator, BAA, fiddling pollution figures and developing a joint strategy to beat opposition groups.

The government consultation received 80,000 responses from the public, almost all of which opposed the government’s plans, despite the fact that people were not even asked whether they wanted a third runway and no consideration of the climate impacts appeared in the consultation documents.

Dan took today’s extraordinary step because Brown and his Transport Secretary, Ruth Kelly, have refused to meet residents from Sipson – the west London village, which would be wiped off the map if new Labour gives into BAA’s demands for a third runway. Some of the messages Dan is reading out to the Prime Minister are quotes from newspaper interviews with Sipson residents.

Plane Stupid activist, Graham Thompson who is currently facing prosecution for scaling Parliament in February and branding the Palace of Westminster “BAA HQ,” today said:

“Gordon Brown’s only got two possible legacies, the first Prime Minister to really get climate change or the last one not to. Brown needs to realise we can beat climate change, but not by doubling the size of the world’s biggest international airport. That’s why we took our peaceful campaign from the roof of Parliament to 10 Downing Street.”

When BAA first sought permission to build Terminal 5, the company wrote to nearby residents promising never to seek further Heathrow expansion. Now they have colluded with the government to get a third runway and a sixth terminal by manipulating the consultation process which has been widely condemned as unfair, undemocratic and fundamentally dishonest.

Graham Thompson continued:

“Brown’s consultation was a fix, pure and simple. It was the single most anti-democratic thing this wretched government has done since the Iraq war, and that’s saying something. Dan thought that if super-gluing himself to the Prime Minister was the only way to cut through the power of giant corporations like BAA and ensure he hears what people from West London really think, then so be it.”

– ENDS –

MORE INFORMATION AND AUDIO OF THE ACTION:

www.planestupid.com
press@planestupid.com

NOTES:

Dan Glass biog:

Dan Glass is a 24 year old student from Barnet, north London. He is currently studying an MSc in human ecology and climate change at Strathclyde University in Scotland where he is researching the impacts of airport expansion on community cohesion. Dan joined Plane Stupid about 18 months ago after he was inspired by reading George Monbiot’s books. Dan is a graduate of Sussex University where he studied Geography and Development Studies and where he was elected to be president of the university student union. His father is a lawyer and his mother works for a Jewish Music Institute. Dan says he draws his motivation to stand up for what he believes in from his grandparents who are holocaust survivors.

Details of the FoI documents detailing the fixed consultation:

Sunday Times revelations: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3512042.ece

FoI documents: www.greenpeace.org.uk/baa

Audio link available here

info@planestupid.com
http://www.planestupid.com

Traps & Enclosures Sabotaged – Ilkley Moor Shoot

Grouse Liberation Front Communique:

“Up in the White Crag plantation off Ilkley moor. A large grouse pen was identified and trashed, the water pipes and distributors were left split and smashed. The wire fencing from the entire enclosure was brought down. The electric fencing was cut and the system destroyed. Two set fen traps were discovered and placed permanently out of commission.

Grouse Liberation Front Communique:

Two smaller pens were found nearby and the netting roof and wire surrounds were left in tatters. Feeders in the area were also tampered with.

Grouse Liberation Front”

Reported by Bite Back Magazine

50 Turkeys Liberated For Sarah Whitehead

“Animal liberation volunteers are claiming responsibility for the direct intervention in the animal farming industry, as an act of solidarity with Sarah Whitehead who is currently behind bars for doing the right thing. While Sarah remains locked in her cell for freeing animals from pain and misery, volunteers successfully liberated 50 Turkeys from an Eastern factory farm.

This action means these sentient beings were spared from constant suffering, their lives destined to be cut short with the blade of slaughterhouse machinery. No longer will their existence be to fill the mouths of a salivating and greedy nation. They now exist as valued individuals, remaining happy and free.

Love and liberation for Sarah and all other captive individuals!
Animal Liberation Front”

Anonymous communique reported by Bite Back Magazine

ACTIVISTS SQUAT NEWHAVEN INCINERATOR SITE IN PROTEST

22.07.2008
‘Stop Incineration Now!’ protestors demonstrate their fury now that construction on the highly controversial incinerator plant has begun.

Activists have taken over the site of the proposed new incinerator plant in Newhaven. They entered the premises under the cover of darkness last night in an organised attempt at non-violent direct action, after resistance through democratic means failed them. Several protestors formed a barricade by superglue-ing themselves to the road in an attempt to prevent vehicle access, whilst on the site itself, other members of the group ‘locked-on’ to machinery in order to halt further activity. They claim to be exercising their democratic right to protest non-violently in a last-ditch attempt to promote their concerns about the consequences of incinerators on public health and safety.

Amidst a storm of controversy and fierce opposition from local residents concerned about pollution and health risks, construction of the incinerator by Veolia (Onyx) began early in June this year despite the fact that planning permission had not been officially approved and a judicial review of the process was still incomplete. Angry at what they saw as a direct attack on the health of the public and a lack of transparency throughout the planning process, local Newhaven campaign group Dove2000 fought to keep the issue in the public eye and generated 15,000 written objections to the scheme. It claimed that, falling way short of providing a necessary solution to waste management, the plant instead would be responsible for the inevitable contamination of the local area, the release of highly dangerous toxins into the atmosphere and the disastrous consequences of toxic ash disposal.

The devastating health implications for the environment and those living or working within the (10-15 mile radius) fallout zone of the incinerator plant have been well documented by groups like Dove2000, and according to Dr. Neil Catman (former incinerator inspector and internationally recognised expert on toxic waste incineration),

‘in licensing these incineration operations, the government is creating zones of sacrifice….I’m not just talking about people getting sick. I’ve seen them die. If the wind would blow the smoke towards the school on a Monday you’d see the children being at home sick on Tuesday and Wednesday. The schools near the incinerators had the highest absentee rates in the district. I met a lot of these children. I’ve seen them die of leukaemia, brain cancer and a host of other disorders’.

It is claimed* that incinerators emit some of the most toxic and bioaccumulative air pollutants including acidic gases and fine dust particles which penetrate deep into the lungs causing respiratory disease and asthma; dioxins which suppress the immune system, cause cancer, and pose a particular problem for pregnant or breastfeeding mothers as they pass through to babies, readily reducing the rate of male births, causing hormonal disruption, learning difficulties and behavioural problems. Also emitted are nanoparticles and 2.5 micron particles which are known carcinogens able to migrate around the body, and a variety of dangerous heavy metals which affect the kidney and lungs, cause nerve and brain damage and adversely affect the central nervous system.
* (www.dove2000.org.uk). The decision to use incinerators for burning radioactive waste from nuclear power stations is also being considered.

By last year alone the cost of the project had soared to £145.7 million, with Brighton and Hove City Council and East Sussex County Council having collectively invested at least £2 million in legal fees to bring the project beyond the planning stage. There are a further 100-168 incinerators planned for use in the UK, though it appears that the Stop Incineration Now! network of protestors are determined to assert their belief that this money could be more advantageously spent on recycling initiatives to combat waste management problems more sustainably without creating further environmental problems for present and future generations.

The activists from Stop Incineration Now! continue to occupy the site determined to bring the discussion to the national forum.

# # #

If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Francesca Corvino, please call herself on 07828178710 or email Francesca at fmcveigh@yahoo.com.

Cambridge Critical Mass Bike Ride

On Saturday 19 July more than twenty cyclists took to the streets of Cambridge in the evening, to regale in the joy of two-wheeled transportation. From the meetup point at the underpass of the Newmarket/East Road roundabout, the group covered some ten kilometres in a little over an hour. On the way we managed to pick up some random cyclists who decided to join forces with us.

Besides the predictable odd cheesed-off car driver, the event went smoothly. The ride ended up in the Cafe on Jesus Street. Given the success of this critical mass event, the participants decided to make it a monthly outing. So watch this space…