earthfirst – Page 232

Brighton squatted social centre eviction

88 LONDON ROAD SOCIAL CENTRE EVICTION

At 7am this morning the anarchist social centre at 88 London Road, Brighton was forcibly evicted, despite resistance. The Victorian church had been occupied since the Squatting Days of Action on the 4th and 5th of April. The space was intialy opened as part of a two day international event, committed to creating autonomous spaces and highlighting the importance of squatting and global networking.

Since then, the community at 88 London Road had successively resisted one prior eviction attempt from police. The space was being used as a social centre for grassroots movements, free cafes, workshops and a lot of other possible projects for the benefit of the local community.

Two of the occuping members of 88 were arrested when they prolonged the eviction by climbing to the rafters, clambering into a cargo net and hanging high above the injustice below. The whole eviction was over by midday and the council spent the rest of the afternoon boarding up an amazing space that held so much potential.

we will be back……..

http://www.myspace.com/88londonroadsquat

Wembley Summer Camp Open: Squat The Land, Smash School Privatisation

Teachers, residents and campaigners in Wembley, Brent, North West London, have re-squatted the Wembley Sports Ground and are calling out for people to join them, squat the land and join the largest protest against

Brent local teachers, residents and campaigners have made a call out for people to help squat the land at Wembley Park Sports Ground on Bridge Road, next to Wembley Park underground station, and join the largest and most prominent campaign against the accelerating privatisation of the UK education system, the brain child of ex-prime minister Tony Blair.

People are asked to join the Tent City Occupation or just visit, help build networks, share information and knowledge on non-violent-direct-action, and when the construction workers arrive, which could be as early as this week, help in and execute non-violent-direct-action to halt the project.

On 03 June 2008 Brent Town Council approved the child charity Ark proposal to begin the construction of the privatised Wembley Academy School.

The meeting held by council heads at Brent Town Hall, descended into farce, as the local community, angry that they were ignored during all public consultations with the council and Ark, were threatened with removal from the planning meeting and the Academy planning application decision to be made in secret, which would have been an illegal move on the part of the council.

That planning meeting approved the temporary housing of 200 school pupils in huts while the Ark Academy is built around them over the next two years, putting children in danger on a construction site, cranes overhanging the portacabins and temporary accommodation, just so the money flow from UK taxpayer to the privatised school investor, and the profit, can start by September 2008.

One reason the Wembley Academy opening date was moved forward from September 2009 to 2008 was because local opposition against the Academy and the privatisation of UK education has been so massive in Brent, Ark thought that advancing the school start date would crush the resistance.

Connections are being made with the Battersea Crane Disaster Group, the Construction Safety Campaign and the Pimlico school teachers who are also fighting the privatisation of their school by venture capitalist, and Tory party funder, John Nash and his company Sovereign Capital.

Pimlico school pupils are already being put at risk, as 1050 children are being educated while the school is demolished around them. Cranes are already overhanging their class rooms and construction debris and dust believed to contain asbestos is sweeping across the playground into classrooms.

But this situation, authorised by local and national government, will see 200 children being educated in the middle of a construction site. With the current safety record of UK construction sites, it draws serious concern for the wellbeing of the students.

But another concern is private investment taking over the UK education system, instilling their private, corporate, and religious individual beliefs in the education system.

The Vardy Foundation, set up by Christian fundamentalist Reg Vardy, already has its hands on several UK Academies and has since eradicated evolution from the schools, teaching only creationism.

The Wembley Ark Academy will be run by french/swiss and multimillionaire Arki Busson – long-term friend of Tony Blair – who is known to hold what can only be described as strict Catholic beliefs.

Ark is set to run 12 UK Academy schools, six of which will be opened by September 2008.

As construction work begins and the resistance turns to non-violent-direct-action to halt the project, construction could begin as early as this work, private security and police are expected to be employed to force eviction on the protestors.

The teachers, residents and campaigners of Brent have asked for all to come, squat the land, save the Wembley Sports Ground and surrounding green space for the local community and wildlife, and halt the further gentrification of Wembley.

Bring your mum, your brother, your dog – squat this land, join the protest, make a stand and to say no to the privatisation of UK education. Say no to education for profit. Join the Wembley Park Tent City Occupation.

Make a stand. Say no to privatised education. Get on the Metropolitan Underground line to Wembley Park, bring a tent, bring a friend, and make a stand.

All photos courtesy of freelance journalist Jason N. Parkinson
All Stills (c) Jason N. Parkinson 2008 All Rights Reserved

Tent City Occupation (see here for contact details)

http://www.tentcityoccupation.co.uk/

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Previous coverage

Anti-Academy Teachers Take To The Trees

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/09/380945.html

Wembley Teachers Say No To Privatised Schooling

http://jasonnparkinson.blogspot.com/2008/06/wembley-teachers-say-no-to-privatised.html

200 School Pupils In Huts On A Construction Site

http://jasonnparkinson.blogspot.com/2008/06/200-school-pupils-in-huts-on.html

Save Our Schools 22-minute film available on Reel News issue 13

http://www.reelnews.co.uk/

Climate Camp Bike Ride

People will be riding to the climate camp, starting from Glasgow, descending southerly picking up thousands en route.

The final leg, London to Kingsnorth is on sunday 3 August meeting under Waterloo bridge (southside) at 9am
For more info on the route and how to get involved e-mail climatecampbikeride@lists.riseup.net
Up the the velorution.

People will be riding to the climate camp, starting from Glasgow, descending southerly picking up thousands en route.

Coal Gets Left In The Ground A Bit Longer

Activists occupying Bodge House / Lodge House / Prospect Farm (all the same place) to obstruct its destruction for opencast coal extraction had a court victory on Monday.

Harworth Estates (Agricultural Land) Limited, the new greenwash name for the outfit formerly known as Harworth Mining International Limited were sent packing by the judge with a flea in their ear. They couldn’t prove they actually owned the place or had properly ended the farmer’s tenancy. If they do the all homework set by the judge properly, they’ll be allowed to try again on 18th July.

Meantime, the occupation goes on.

pre-Climate Camp street medic training – Leeds- 18-20th July 2008

The UK Action Medics are running a 2 1/2 day street medic training in Leeds during the run-up to Climate Camp. It will be a 20 hour course that will teach you the basics of general First Aid, as well as skills to deal with medical situations specific to direct action, such as dealing with chemical weapons and the police. We will also be offering sections specifically tailored to situations likely to arise at this year’s Climate Camp, such as water safety and public health. The course will involve scenarios and hands-on practice and, although we cannot offer you any official accreditation, the 2 1/2 day training is the minimum standard for membership of the Action Medics, and will equip you for a wide range of situations, from hypothermia to baton wounds.

The training will be on the 18th-20th of July, which is Friday to Saturday. There will be 3 or 4 hours on Friday evening and two full days on Saturday and Sunday. Vegan food will be provided, as well as accommodation if needed – we ask for a donation of £30 to cover costs, although this will be less if we can find a venue for free.

The venue is as yet unconfirmed, but the training will take place in central Leeds, and we can give you directions from the train/bus station. It is essential to book a place so we know how many people are coming – please email medics@climatecamp.org.uk to do this, or with any questions.

The Action Medics will be running a medic space at this year’s Climate Camp. Your help would be welcome – we require that volunteers have either taken:

a) our weekend Action Medics training & CPR training
OR
b) First Aid At Work, with experience of scenarios and CPR training

If you’d like to be involved, please email us at medics@climatecamp.org.uk

www.actionmedics.org.uk

Products expropriation from supermarket (Athens, 1/7/2008)

“Another novel robbery of foods was realised at Marinopoulos supermarket on Evdoksos street, Neos Kosmos. Unknown persons entered the super market as mere customers, filled their trolleys with foods and left the store without paying. Continuously, they distributed the foods at the people shooping in a nearby open market, throwing leaflets with slogans against costliness…”

Translation from: http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=887219

Today around 12:30 an intervention was realised at Marinopoulos supermarked on Evdoksos street, at Neos Kosmos. The people’s behaviour was encouraging and supportive. A typical example of that is that during the expropriation, outside the store people gathered with their wheel-carts waiting for the products distribution.

Following is the text distributed at the open market.

Every day that passes we experience intensely the consequences of the increasing raise of prices the capital is enforcing on society, the same time that wages and pensions remain at the same poor level, leading us below survival limits. Simultaneously, every kind of experts and responsibles, cry out for the continuous raise of prices suggesting “boycottage” styled solutions that lead to the illusion of a stronge reaction to the problem.
We select to react taking products of basic needs from shelves of large supermarket chain stores and distributing them freely to those that they belong to.
We do not regard our action as robbery, because these products are the fruits of our own exploited work and belong to all of us.
This action isn’t altruistic, but a symbolism with the aim to encourage the social ensemble to an unconstrained, free circulation of goods and the conscious erasing of the cash desks, overcoming the legal limitations. For the generalisation of the challenging of state and capital.
Our choice to act with our faces covered doesn’t mean in any case to frighten the people, but to our personal security against those that think our action is illegitimate.

Initiative of anarchists for the free circulation of goods

Note: It is the fourth of this kind of expropriations. Previously, there were Sklavenitis on 31/5 and Veropoulos and DIA on 13/6

Activists disrupt work at site of opencast coal mine

29.06.2008

Activists yesterday obstructed a steamroller which was being used to set a tarmac ramp designed allow heavy plant machinery access to the fields where UK Coal intend to extract around 1 million tonnes of coal.

Once the steamroller had halted, one activist proceeded to d-lock themselves to the machine.

29.06.2008

Once the steamroller had halted, one activist proceeded to d-lock themselves to the machine.
All remained until the police arrived, which was a considerable time later. However, the spontaneous action clearly delayed their work, as the site foreman spent much time talking to the police etc.

Concerned of Smalley
http://www.earthfirst.org.uk/leaveitintheground/

London, Brighton & Manchester Critical Masses commemorate dead cyclists

June’s Critical mass in London saw a slightly different route. As always we met at Southbank and managed to leave at 7.15pm.

Following the killing of Marie Vesco on the A23 her friends, rampART and Food Not Bombs asked people to ride to Brixton, where she served free food every Sunday afternoon with Brixton Food Not Bombs.

Approximately 600 cyclists left Waterloo going South via Lambeth North, then Elephant& Castle, going round a few times stopping the traffic. Via the Oval we went to Brixton, where we stopped at Windrush Square. By now there were maybe 300-400 cyclists left (there was a bit of North-London snobbery). Different people spoke about Marie and how they missed her. How she died and why she worked with Brixton FoodNotBombs and how giving out free food was so important to her. There was a minute’s silence for her.

Then we cycled North again, police stopped us halfway up towards Stockwell. They had tried to dictate the tempo previously, but rogue cyclists broke through, stopped the traffic ahead of the police line and in that way forced the police to let the Mass go (Health and Safety and all…).

They managed to block Stockwell Road and we didn’t quite get the momentum of breaking through. To the coppers’ surprise the tip of the Mass turned around, cycling back on themselves and turning off the main road further down (Sidney Road I think). We made our way to the Oval, cycling past the Cricket knobs, some of which were using bad language, when we came in sight. Others were supportive.

Vauxhall Bridge ended up being a bit of a splitter were we lost a few people. Going across the bridge, past Parliament we hit the square, encircling it a couple of times, until something happened with the sound system (as always) not quite sure what. music stopped. Raising bikes, blocking road, we then went to see the queen. The whole ride took about two hours and a bit. Nice atmosphere, good mix of people and bikes and so good to have some music on the way (three sound systems).

What happened with the sound system on the North side of Parliament Square was that the police stopped it playing and riders strongly objected to this ban which caused a long traffic holdup.

The cycle police keep on targeting Critical Mass sound systems in the SOCPA zone around Parliament while doing nothing to stop sound systems in cars, buses and lorries. Also the SOCPA legislation is currently under review and other police are tending not to enforce it.

video of ride.

On the arson of Sprider store (Athens, 28/6/2008)

“After puting off the fire, firemen found gas canisters inside the store, a fact leading invstigations to an arson case, and police takes over…”

“After puting off the fire, firemen found gas canisters inside the store, a fact leading invstigations to an arson case, and police takes over…”

Communique sent via e-mail to directactiongr@yahoo.gr:

On June 28, 2008 we chose to strike one of the well-known Sprider chain stores, at Lykovrissi. This choise wasn’t random at all.

We live an every day life turned into an arena of competition as well as accumulation and demonstration of lifeless objects. The expensive car, the classy outfit, the new mobile phone and fast internet are the modern values of your world. The consumer crowds grumbles over costliness while they buy off at their shopping therapy a piece of “joy” and a sterile image of success and show-off. In our days, humans seek for an identity at the new accessories of their mobile phones, their cars’ covers and fashion trends. And everything seems cool.

It is enough for one to choose, of Saturday night’s dilemma between Kolonaki or Psyrri area, the right dress, the appropriate mobile phone and most of all that fake smile, to impress everybody around.

When it comes to everyday life, the lack of communication, loneliness, the slow suicide of alienation, the servitude to a job, the cops’ orders, the reporter’s truth, the bosses’ exploitation… Who cares about all that? Besides, they’re not even a life-style trend to be advertised and followed faithfully.

Thus, all of you faithful consumers, titled with misery and proprietors of the lie can keep dressing up your fancy nothingness tissued with all the shades of compromise and indifference. We instead have chosen for ourselves the colors of war: As long as our life suffocates in the tissue of commercial advertise, useless objects, stylish orders and all the symbols of a consumer paradise, our rage with consiousness will keep searching for break-outs.

We had written in our communique concerning our previous strike against the Aigaleo Police Station, that we do not need an incident or a concurrence to get to action. Now though, we come with an event. On July 11, 2008 the comrades Marios Tsourapas and Chrissostomos Kontorevithakis face a jury, for their arsonist attempt against a municipal police car, an action they have claimed responsibility for, and stand up to it.

All we have to say on that, is that the material damages and the total destruction of this luxurious store are illustrative of our wilfulness, in case of our comrades imprisonment continues.

Gangs of Conscience

Note: You can read the previous claim of the Gangs of Conscience (Symmories Synidisis) on their attack against Aigaleo Police Station here:
http://directactiongr.blogspot.com/2008/05/attack-against-police-station-plus.html

Arrests As International Whaling Commission Fails To Protect Whales

Fifteen people were arrested by police at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), held this year in Santiago, Chile.

Fifteen people were arrested by police at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), held this year in Santiago, Chile. The protesters were supposedly trying to ‘storm’ the meeting but other reports state that the mere presence of people in front of the meeting’s venue was seen as a ‘security threat’.

The IWC meets annually to regulate the whaling industry and make decisions on conservation of whale populations. So far the meeting hasn’t reached any agreements and the commission continues to be strongly devided between the pro- and anti-whaling nations. Skye Bortoli, an activist from Teens Against Whaling described the meeting this year as ‘pathetic’, saying “this body will be known in the future as a small group of ecologically arrogant people who are condemning the world’s whales to agony and oblivion for petty politics and a few lousy bucks.”

Previous Features: Armed Canadian Coast Guard Storms Conservation Vessel | Nottingham Activist Returns From Whale Saving Mission In Antartica | Injured Among Sea Shepherd Crew As Japanese Military Open Fire | Activists Held Hostage By Japanese Whalers In Southern Ocean

This year, like many a year before, the IWC fails to make progress in their protection of whales. Japan and other pro-whaling nations push for a partial lifting of the ban on commercial whaling. Also, the US (which has been involved with Japan’s whaling industry) has been pushing for the regulation of ‘scientific whaling’, something which conservations argue would only legitimize an already illegal activity. Japan uses the ‘scientific research’ as a smokescreen for their illegal commercial whaling practices.

There has been a debate about whether Greenland should be allowed a bigger quota of whales for their hunt and discussions are ongoing about Japan’s hunt in the Southern Ocean. It has been reported that the earliest the IWC might come to some kind of agreement is by next year’s meeting, which is to be held in Madeira, Portugal. The commission continues to be strongly divided between pro-whaling (Japan, Denmark, Norway, Iceland) and anti-whaling (Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa) nations.

Captain Paul Watson, from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, did manage to get into the hotel this year. He normally never makes it inside as the Sea Shepherd is the only organisation officially banned from attending IWC meetings. Paul, like Skye Bortoli, isn’t impressed with the state of affairs at this year’s meeting: “There were many things that could come out of this meeting. Japan could withdraw from the IWC and become a renegade whaling nation along with their partners in conservation crime Norway and Iceland. Or a compromise may be brokered that will allow the Japanese to withdraw from the Southern Ocean without losing face or thirdly, and most likely, nothing will come out of this meeting at all. From the way things are going so far it looks like Sea Shepherd will be returning to the Southern Ocean to once again enforce the regulations that the IWC and the nations of the world refuse to uphold. Oh well, I come to these meetings with no expectations hoping to be pleasantly surprised. After more than three decades I am still waiting.“

Greenpeace was also present in Chile, with a dominant presence among the various anti-whaling NGO’s and conservationists. Dave writes on the Greenpeace blog: “We hope something good comes out of these meetings, and that the commission transforms itself into a body that protects the whales and not the whalers. While commissioners sit in rooms talking, whales are still dying in the Southern Ocean and around the world from commercial whaling, ship strikes, sonar-related deaths, netting and pollution, amongst other human-induced hazards.”

On a positive note, Chile, the host of this year’s meeting has declared a permanent ban on whaling in its waters. Speaking at a former whale processing plant that Chile closed in 1967, President Michelle Bachelet said she sent a bill to Congress proposing a whale sanctuary along Chile’s coastline and declared the whale a national monument.