earthfirst – Page 301

Week of Iceland Actions in the Low Countries

16.03.2007
This morning, Saving Iceland and the Dutch/Belgian environmentalist network GroenFront! built a dam blockading the entrance of the Icelandic Embassy in Brussels (photo-report). Earlier this week, a picketline was held at the Icelandic Consulate in Rotterdam and the folk singer Armand, the “Dutch Bob Dylan”, performed songs of praise to Icelandic nature. Last night, EarthFirst! closed down both ALCOA’s Dutch head office in Drunen and an ALCOA factory in Kerkrade, the Netherlands in opposition to heavy industry. The actions this week express growing international concern on the plans for expansion of the aluminium industry and megahydro in Iceland and other countries such as Trinidad and Brazil.

http://www.savingiceland.org/node/694

URGENT! PEOPLE NEEDED AT ANTI-PIPELINE TREE CAMP!

Lots more people are URGENTLY needed at the protest camp near Brecon. Trees are now being felled in the area around the camp and eviction is expected within the next two weeks. We need people, it doesn’t matter if you can’t stay for long, we still want you!

The ancient woodland is scheduled for decimation by National Grid to clear a path for the 48″ high pressure gas pipeline. The protesters aim to stop the destruction of yet more ancient woodland by National Grid and it’s contractors.

People on site are requesting any donations. Please send supplies of all sorts, especially beams for building, tarp, rope, nails, D-locks, heavy chains, stuff for lock-ons (sand, cement, gravel.), harnesses and other climbing gear, scrap metal, cuddles etc etc etc.
We can use almost any tat…

The spring is springing, the flowers are starting to cover the woodland and it’s the most beautiful time of year. As National Grid are scheduled to be trashing this land in April, this is your last chance to see it.

DIRECTIONS:

The protest camp is in ancient woodland at Penpont, 4 miles west of Brecon on the A40 close to Bettws Penpont church.It is located at Ordnance Survey national grid reference SN9728728525. There is a bus going from Cardiff coach station to Brecon town (X43, takes aprox 1hr, costs around £4). From the bus stop you get off at in Brecon (the only one there) there is another bus that goes right past the camp (£1.60, aprox 10 mins- ask driver for tree camp,you will probably see banners).

Map link :- http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&GridE=-3.49420&GridN=51.94540&lon=-3.49420&lat=51.94540&place=Penpont%2C%20Powys&db=freegaz&scale=100000&search_result=Penpont%2C%20Powys〈=&keepicon=true
http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/swanbrec/churches/brecon/5844.html

http://fightthepipe.co.uk

London Climate Campers update

Only four months to go till the 2007 Camp for Climate Action – are you getting involved?

Get inspired, watch the Reclaim Power movie about last years camp at the rampART social centre tonight from 8pm. (see https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/03/364997.html). Copies are now available on DVD in this country from Rising Tide and local groups working towards this years climate camp.

Only four months to go till the 2007 Camp for Climate Action – are you getting involved?

The London climate camp group had a meeting last tuesday and among the issues discussed was the lack of strength in terms of people committing at this stage. This raised the prospect of joining forces with other groups from the South East to organise a neighbourhood rather than try to have London as an entity in it’s own right. Contact has been made with the Brighton group but no further news yet on that.

The London group is planning on organising a fundraiser for April 28th. If you can help or have contacts with good DJs, bands, etc to draw crowds; who know about good venues; etc get in touch!

The London group has volunteered to organise the May gathering and host it in London. The dates will be the 19th and 20th May so put it in your diary now. Venue is yet to be decided. Help will be needed with the general organisation (kitchen, facilitation, etc), so step

In the meantime, this weekend is the national climate camp gathering in Bristol. Minutes of previous meetings can be found on the climate camp website http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/meeting.htm

The next London meeting will be on Monday 26th March at the Institute of Education cafe. Up to now the meetings have been fortnightly, but there are plans to skip April 10th as this will be Easter tuesday and then make the meetings weekly from Tueday 17th Apri. It would be great if more people could make the meetings so that London can have a vibrant gathering and neighbourhood.

New Squatted Centre, Camberwell South London

A bunch of local south londoners have opened up a building in Camberwell, South London and are fixing it up to run as a social space. Right now, lots of work fixing and repairing is going on towards getting the space ready for a caff, and social nights with films.

There will be a small ‘work-in-progress’ Potluck Caff and B.Y.O on SUNDAY 18th MARCH from 2pm onwards. So bring food and drink to share and come on down. This event will also give folks a chance to see the space, meet the residents and others involved, here the plans and suggest ideas. Become occupied and be involved!

CAMBERWELL SQUATTED CENTRE
192 Warham St
Camberwell SE5
opp Union Tavern on Camberwell New Rd
buses: 36, 436
tube; oval
There is a evolving website up at:
www.56a.org.uk/warham.html

Soldarity, Love and Rage

Camberwell Squat Centre
http://www.56a.org.uk/warham.html

Earth First! Shut Down Aluminum Giant ALCOA in The Netherlands

Last night “Earth First!” closed Alcoa’s headquarters in Drunen, the Netherlands. Alcoa’s largest dutch factory in Kerkrade was also shut. Entrance gates were locked with chains. The gates’locks themselves were sabotaged with a liquid.
Alcoa is constructing new aluminum smelters in Iceland. Alcoa also plans to build new smelters in Trinidad and in the Amazon. There is fierce local and international opposition to these plans. Effects on nature and climate are devastating. Various planned smelters would be powered by constructing new megadams that would flood large areas of unique wilderness.

With this action, we are declaring our solidarity with the Saving Iceland campaign. Saving Iceland has called out for an international week of action against heavy industry. This action has been done in response to that call.

Earth First! in Belgium and the Netherlands is also called Groen Front!.
Earth First! is not an organisation but an international banner for direct action.

NO COMPROMISE IN DEFENCE OF MOTHER EARTH!

(Source of this report:
https://prod.indymedia.nl/nl/2007/03/43107.shtml)

Also relevant:
http://www.groenfront.nl
http://www.savingiceland.org

14 Landrovers covered in Paintstripper

Fourteen 4x4s were covered in painstripper in a Land Rover Dealership near Hereford in an action against climate change. Slogans were also sprayed while the vehicles were left to ruin.

This action was taken to warn any dealership specialising in these cars, that they are a target. Driving one of these vehicles is the equivelent to leaving the TV on for 32 years, cars like this must be stopped in their tracks.

Fourteen 4x4s were covered in painstripper in a Land Rover Dealership near Hereford in an action against climate change. Slogans were also sprayed while the vehicles were left to ruin.

Climate Change is the most massive globally destructive issue that is facing us today, we can not wait for anyone else to take action but ourselves. The new dawn is coming for direct action in defence of the Earth. There will be no more tolerance.

Earth Liberation Front

Next BIG Aldermaston Blockade Monday 19th March

Next blockade: Monday 19th March
http://www.blockthebuilders.org.uk/Blockades.php

This will be the first blockade since the vote in parliament last
Wednesday 14th March in favour of replacing Trident. Because of that vote and
the total lack of public debate and consultation that preceded it, this needs
to be the most massive show of strength ever to tell them that there is,
and there will continue to be, massive opposition to any new nuclear weapons.

Next blockade: Monday 19th March
http://www.blockthebuilders.org.uk/Blockades.php

The building work at Aldermaston has continued throughout the so-called
parliamentary “debate”; millions are being invested in new facilities.
Right now, work on the Orion laser site – a key facility for the future of
Britain’s WMD project – is well underway.

Meet up on Sunday 18th March at 6pm at the Friends Meeting House in
Newbury (map: http://tinyurl.com/beuyo) for a planning meeting on the
action on Monday morning, and a meal. Please bring a sleeping bag and a
mat. More details on http://www.blockthebuilders.org.uk/Blockades.php

Climate Camp Meeting this weekend in Bristol, and Film

Last year saw 600 people gather in the shadow of Drax Power Station for the ten day Camp For Climate Action. This weekend in Bristol is the next national planning meeting, Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th March. The venue is Barton Hill Settlement which is 5 min from Lawrence Hill Station.

Any questions, suggestions or proposals for the meeting can be sent to gatherings [at] climatecamp.org.uk.

Last years camp was captured on video and turned into a documentary by Cine Rebalde called Reclaim Power. Copies are now available on DVD in this country from Rising Tide and local groups working towards this years climate camp.

Those in London can check out the climate camp film as part of two evenings of climate chaos related films at the rampART social centre (see http://rampart.co.nr for details). Also showing is the epic documentary The Planet, plus Global Dimming and The Denial Machine. Additionally there will be speakers and info.

More info on film at http://www.cinerebelde.org/site.php3?id_rubrique=22&lang=en
More info on camp for climate action at http://climatecamp.org.uk

20th April Liverpool Critical Mass Returns!

Friday, 20th April 2007, 6pm
Meet at the Chinese Arch, Nelson Street, Liverpool

“We aren’t blocking traffic, we are traffic”

flier (.doc) 151K

Friday, 20th April 2007, 6pm
Meet at the Chinese Arch, Nelson Street, Liverpool

“We aren’t blocking traffic, we are traffic”

flier (.doc) 151K

A critical mass is a group of cyclists, wheelchair users, rollerskaters, skateboarders, in fact anyone with self-propelled transport is welcome to join. We travel around the city on a random route following whoever is in front to celebrate non-polluting transport. Sometimes it’s just for fun and sometimes it’s to campaign for better transport facilities. This first ride is for fun.

concrete lock-on tips (following Parliament Square blockade)

If they took only 20 mins to demolish each lockon then your concrete doesn’t sound up to scratch. Don’t mean to brag but a similar lock on I once built took them 6 hours to demolish with jack hammers and angle grinders. In future you need to include some metal reinforcing mesh or crinkly rebar rods, either offcuts of the proper stuff from builders skips or sawn up supermarket trolleys are ok. Including metal mesh serves not only to bind the concrete together but it spreads the shockwave from jack hammers throughout the material rather than allowing it to be concentrated at the chisel tip. Also good to include some short lengths of blue 6mm rope which prevents the forces of darkness from being able to separate the chunks of fragmented concrete which really winds them up. The other really important things are to use freshly bought cement, be sure your concrete mix is very thoroughly mixed – absolutely no sandy or cementy streaks visible – and then poured in less than 20 mins or so and when pouring it, don’t do it all in one go but ram or tamp (jiggle and shake) it in thoroughly into the container in stages with the end of a bit of 4 x 2. Your concrete looks like it has voids in it which is always a considerable weakness. Good luck with future courageous actions.

Never ever use ordinary “building” or soft sand which is only used for bricklaying and will make very crumbly concrete indeed. You should be using all in ballast which is sharp sand already mixed with pebbles. In some parts of the country – mostly the north – you can’t get this so will have to mix your own using SHARP sand and mixed size pebbles from pea size up to the size of brazil nuts or so.