Category: Animal Rights/Liberation

Sea Shepherd Ploy Leaves Two Frustrated Japanese Whaling Captains Looking Silly at Sea

28.2.12

Since February 22nd, The Sea Shepherd ship, Steve Irwin, has led a Japanese harpoon vessel and the Japanese whaling fleet security vessel on a merry wild goose chase away from the Japanese whaling fleet.

28.2.12

Since February 22nd, The Sea Shepherd ship, Steve Irwin, has led a Japanese harpoon vessel and the Japanese whaling fleet security vessel on a merry wild goose chase away from the Japanese whaling fleet.

With the Sea Shepherd ship, Bob Barker, fully refueled and heading back to the Southern Ocean to hunt down the Japanese whaling fleet, the Sea Shepherd ship, Steve Irwin, headed north for Macquarie Island under the ruse of a fuel transfer with the Bob Barker.

Sea Shepherd had declared that the Bob Barker would refuel the Steve Irwin and that both ships would return to chase the Japanese whaling fleet until the end of the season. The intention, however, was for the fully fueled Bob Barker to return to the Southern Ocean alone. The Steve Irwin’s job was to decoy the two Japanese ships away from the Bob Barker.

The two Japanese ships followed and illegally entered the Australian Economic Exclusion Zone where they have been prohibited by order of the Australian Federal Court and the Government of Australia.

The Yushin Maru No. 3's hull obliterated with black and red paint. Photo: Billy DangerThe Yushin Maru No. 3's hull obliterated with black and red paint. After a day at Macquarie Island, the Steve Irwin made the move northward to Auckland Island, New Zealand as a change of plans to refuel with the Bob Barker. The Yushin Maru No. 3 and the Shonan Maru No. 2 followed.

Meanwhile, the Bob Barker was putting hundreds of miles between them and the two ships waiting for the refueling operation that we never intended to actually happen.

The Bob Barker will continue to chase the Japanese whaling fleet for the remainder of the season, to the end of March if need be, while the Steve Irwin returns to Australia.

“We have placed the Japanese security ship, the Shonan Maru No. 2, and the harpoon vessel, the Yushin Maru No. 3, a great distance from the whaling operations and the factory ship Nisshin Maru. It could take them more than a week to return. It was a very successful ploy that has allowed the Bob Barker to be free of its tail and to knock out two of the Japanese ships from the game for more than two weeks,” said Captain Paul Watson.

Captain Peter Hammarstedt, of Sweden, is now in command of the Bob Barker. He replaced Captain Alex Cornelissen who needed to return to his duties as Sea Shepherd director of operations for the Galapagos.

“The Japanese ships fell for the bait, following hard on our heels first to Macquarie Island and then onto Auckland Island. They have wasted tons of fuel and weeks of time to accomplish nothing more than to escort the Steve Irwin back north. Now they have no one to follow anymore and the Bob Barker is free to continue the chase,” said Captain Watson.

With only three weeks left in the season, the whalers are running out of time fast. They have not had much time, or the harpoon vessels, available to realize their quota.

“Because we lost our scout vessel, the Brigitte Bardot, we have been handicapped this season. But despite that, we have chased this outlaw fleet more than 16,000 miles from west to east and from north to south. I am confident that we have severely impacted their kill quota once again.”

Sea Shepherd Chases the Japanese Whalers into Yesterday

22nd January 2012

The Japanese whaling fleet are not where they should be this time of year.

Last year the fleet was operating in the Ross Sea. This year their “scientific survey” was supposed to take place in the waters south and west of Tasmania, east and south of South Africa.

22nd January 2012

The Japanese whaling fleet are not where they should be this time of year.

Last year the fleet was operating in the Ross Sea. This year their “scientific survey” was supposed to take place in the waters south and west of Tasmania, east and south of South Africa.

Every year they alternate. But not this year! Although the whalers attempted to begin their killing operations in the waters southwest of Australia, the Sea Shepherd ships have chased the entire whaling fleet ever eastward. At 1700 hours AEST, the Bob Barker encountered the Yushin Maru No. 3 at 66 Degrees, 22 minutes South and 179 Degrees, 05 minutes West.

From being intercepted 500 miles west of Fremantle, Australia, the Japanese fleet has run over 4,500 nautical miles for the last 30 days, all the way into the Ross Sea, far to the East of Australia. This is an average of 150 miles a day, leaving very little time to kill whales with only one harpoon vessel. The other two harpoon vessels have either been tailing or searching for the Sea Shepherd ships.

“You can say we chased the whale killers into yesterday since we have crossed the International Date Line,” said Captain Paul Watson, of the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin. “This illustrates that they really have no scientific agenda at all since their so-called survey requires them to “sample” whales from the two different areas alternatively each year. This is not about science and it never has been. It’s not even about profit anymore because we have negated their profits. It’s simply about pride. Whaling in the Southern Ocean has become a heavily subsidized welfare project for an archaic industry that has no place in the twenty-first century.”

Sea Shepherd’s campaign, Operation Divine Wind, has been challenging this year due to the thirty million dollars allocated to the whaling fleet for added security. This money was taken from the tsunami and earthquake relief fund.

“They have ten million dollars for every one million dollars we have to finance our three ships,” said Captain Alex Cornelissen of the Bob Barker. “They have the full support of their government and literally have a license to kill because if any of us are injured or killed, their government will back them and justify their actions. Our governments condemn us just for tossing rotten butter on their decks.”

The chase across the bottom of the world involves five ships from the Japanese whaling fleet and two ships from Sea Shepherd. The third Sea Shepherd ship, the Brigitte Bardot, was damaged by heavy seas and had to return to Fremantle, Australia for repairs.

Never before has the Japanese whaling fleet abandoned one designated whaling “survey” area for another. Sea Shepherd has apparently seriously disrupted the Japanese whaling plan for this season and has cost them a huge amount in fuel costs. In addition, two of the three harpoon vessels have been taken away from killing whales in order to tail the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker. The Yushin Maru No. 2 is tailing the Steve Irwin and the Yushin Maru No. 3 is tailing the Bob Barker. This has left only the Yushin Maru to hunt for whales.

Sea Shepherd has been able to keep the whaling fleet on the move and continues to track their movements by relying on drone operations and ten years of experience following the predictable movements of the whalers.

Last season the Bob Barker was able to chase the Nisshin Maru all the way to the tip of South America before they quit and returned to Japan in humiliation after taking only seventeen percent of their kill quota.

Three Sea Shepherd Crew Injured in Skirmish with Japanese Harpoon Vessel

January 18th, 2012

The Japanese whalers have escalated their aggression by throwing iron grappling hooks at Sea Shepherd boats.

Two Steve Irwin crew were struck in the shoulder with iron grappling hooks and one crewmember was struck twice in the face with a long bamboo pole.

January 18th, 2012

The Japanese whalers have escalated their aggression by throwing iron grappling hooks at Sea Shepherd boats.

Two Steve Irwin crew were struck in the shoulder with iron grappling hooks and one crewmember was struck twice in the face with a long bamboo pole.

The Yushin Maru No. 2 continues to tail the Steve Irwin. The incident occurred at 0400 Hours AEST at 64 degrees 17 minutes South and 155 degrees 41 minutes East. This is about 300 miles north of Mawson Peninsula off the George V Land coast of Antarctica.

“Our small boats were attempting to slow down the Japanese harpoon vessel Yushin Maru No. 2, which is aggressively tailing the Steve Irwin,” said Captain Paul Watson.

Yushin Maru sprays Delta boat with water cannonYushin Maru sprays Delta boat with water cannonAmerican crewmember Brian Race, (25) from New York, was jabbed twice in the face with a bamboo pole receiving lacerations above his right eye and on his nose.

Russell Bergh of South Africa, (35) a cameraman for Animal Planet, was struck in the right arm and shoulder with an iron grappling hook thrown from the harpoon vessel resulting in deep bruising.

Photographer Guillaume Collet of France, (27) was also struck in the right arm and shoulder by an iron grappling hook resulting in deep bruising.

There were no injuries incurred by any of the crew on the Japanese vessel.

Two of the three harpoon vessels have been assigned to tail Sea Shepherd ships, effectively knocking out two of the three killing boats.

“We are almost at the limit of the eastern boundary of their self assigned hunting area,” said Captain Watson. “We should be getting close.”

Whale Wars Victory – Activists to be Released

10.1.12

An unscheduled meeting between Japan’s whalers and environmental activists on the high seas seems an unlikely backdrop to an outbreak of détente.

10.1.12

An unscheduled meeting between Japan’s whalers and environmental activists on the high seas seems an unlikely backdrop to an outbreak of détente.

But Australia was quietly celebrating a minor victory for diplomacy on Tuesday after Japan agreed to release three anti-whaling activists who illegally boarded one of its whaling ships over the weekend. 

The trio, all Australian citizens, have been detained on the Shonan Maru 2, which is providing security to the fleet, after clambering aboard early Sunday morning to protest Japan’s annual hunts in the Antarctic. The International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986 but allows Japan to hunt a limited number of whales for “scientific research.” The fleet left port last month with plans to kill some 900 whales this season.

The incident threatened to cause tension between Australia and Japan, close trade and security partners. Soon after the men were detained it seemed likely that they would be kept aboard the Shonan Maru 2 and taken to Japan, where they faced a trial and possible imprisonment for trespassing.

By late Monday evening, however, Japan had agreed to release the trio, a move welcomed by Australia’s prime minister, Julia Gillard.

Prime Minister Gillard, who came under immediate pressure at home to secure the activists’ release, thanked Japan for its cooperation, but sounded a warning to campaigners thinking of employing similar forms of direct action.

“No one should assume that because an agreement has been reached with the Japanese government in this instance that individuals will not be charged and convicted in the future,” she said in a statement. “The best way to stop whaling once and for all is through our court action.

Australia has lodged a legal challenge to the annual whale hunts with the international court of justice in the Hague but a decision is not expected until 2013 at the earliest.

Canberra’s delicate task was to balance an election pledge to end the whale hunts with a public show of respect for maritime law.

The release, which won’t happen until an Australian coastguard boat rendezvouses with the Shona Maru 2 in several days’ time, was welcomed by Sea Shepherd’s founder, Paul Watson.

But in an interview with Macquarie Radio, Mr. Watson said: “If the Australian government would do their job and fulfill their election promises, these things wouldn’t be happening.”

Japan, meanwhile, insisted the decision to release the men did not mean it had gone soft on Sea Shepherd.

The trio are not members of the group – they belong to another organization called Forest Rescue – and had not injured any members of the Shonan Maru 2’s crew when they boarded, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Osamu Fujimura, told reporters.

“The three activists were not violent during or after they boarded the whaling vessel,” he said. “There was no evidence that they were part of Sea Shepherd, which has been engaged in obstructing the fleet.”

Japan may have also had in mind the negative international publicity it attracted in 2010, when it prosecuted former Sea Shepherd member Pete Bethune, who had boarded the Shonan Maru 2 to protest the sinking of the group’s high-tech speedboat. Mr. Bethune, who had been carrying a knife, was given a suspended sentence and deported.

Official support for the whaling program was also put under the spotlight last month when it was revealed that the government had used 2.28 billion yen ($30 million) of taxpayer money intended for the tsunami recovery effort to fund this year’s hunt, on top an existing $6 million annual subsidy. The fisheries agency said the use of the fund was justified because one of the towns destroyed in the disaster was a whaling port.

Sea Shepherd Dancing Dangerously With the Outlaw Whaling Fleet in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary

11 January 2012

The nautical chess pieces continue to move and the board keeps changing in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

11 January 2012

The nautical chess pieces continue to move and the board keeps changing in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

The Shonan Maru #2 is no longer chasing the Steve Irwin. The security vessel has been replaced by the harpoon vessel Yushin Maru #2. It is assumed that the Shonan Maru #2 will now head west towards the Australian customs vessel Ocean Protector to turn over the three Australian prisoners onboard. With the Yushin Maru #2 now following the Steve Irwin, and the Yushin Maru #3 still at Macquarie Island, the Nisshin Maru now has only one harpoon vessel left – the Yushin Maru.

Sea Shepherd has temporarily lost drone contact with the Nisshin Maru and cannot guarantee that whaling has not begun. If so, it will proceed with two of the three harpoon vessels not involved in killing operations. “If we had one more ship, there would be no possibility of any whales dying,” said Captain Paul Watson. “In July I met with Greenpeace representatives at the IWC and requested of them that they send one ship to support us. I told them that one more ship would shut down this entire fleet. They refused, and that is deeply disappointing, and as a result whales may die.”

Sea Shepherd is working to secure a third large, fast, ice-strengthened vessel to return next season. The Sea Shepherd fast scout vessel Brigitte Bardot remains in Fremantle undergoing repairs from damage caused by the extreme weather conditions of the Southern Ocean.

“We have demonstrated that we can shut these poachers down and every year we become more effective than the year before. One more ship will give us the ability to throw a blanket of intervention over them that will completely extinguish their illegal operations,” said Captain Paul Watson.

The dropping away of the Shonan Maru #2 removes the possibility of the transfer of the three Forest Rescue men to the Steve Irwin. The transfer of the men to the Steve Irwin would have saved the Australian government hundreds of thousands of dollars. Meanwhile despite being ordered out of the territorial waters of Australia’s MacQuarie Island, the Yushin Maru #3 continues to illegally remain inside the twelve mile territorial limit.

“The Japanese whalers act like they own the entire Southern Ocean,” said Bob Barker Captain Alex Cornelissen of the Netherlands. “They go where they want, when they want, and do what they want, with complete contempt for Australian sovereignty.”

 

Sea Shepherd Intercepts the Japanese Whaling Fleet with Drones

24.12.11

Japanese Security Ships Move In On the Steve Irwin

The Sea Shepherd crew has intercepted the Japanese whaling fleet on Christmas Day, a thousand miles north of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

24.12.11

Japanese Security Ships Move In On the Steve Irwin

The Sea Shepherd crew has intercepted the Japanese whaling fleet on Christmas Day, a thousand miles north of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

The Sea Shepherd ship, Steve Irwin, deployed a drone to successfully locate and photograph the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru on December 24th. Once the pursuit began, three Japanese harpoon/security ships moved in on the Steve Irwin to shield the Nisshin Maru to allow it to escape.

This time however the Japanese tactic of tailing the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker will not work because the drones, one on the Steve Irwin and the other on the Bob Barker, can track and follow the Nisshin Maru and can relay the positions back to the Sea Shepherd ships.

“We can cover hundreds of miles with these drones and they have proven to be valuable assets for this campaign,” said Captain Paul Watson on board the Steve Irwin.

The drone named Nicole Montecalvo was donated to the Steve Irwin by Bayshore Recycling of New Jersey.

Captain Watson having received reports from fishermen when the Japanese ship passed through the Lombok Strait waited south of the strait at a distance of 500 miles off the southwest coast of Western Australia. Sea Shepherd caught the whalers at 37 degrees South, far above the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary

“The chase is on for the next 1000 miles,” said Deckhand Eleanor Lister of Jersey (U.K.).

With the Steve Irwin taking up the resources of three of the Japanese ships the Bob Barker remains clear of a tail and the Brigitte Bardot is clear to scout out the factory ship, having superior speed to the harpoon vessels.

The Sea Shepherd crew have found the Japanese whaling fleet before a single whale has been killed.

“This is going to be a long hard pursuit from here to the coast of Antarctica,” said Captain Watson. “But thanks to these drones, we now have an advantage we have never had before – eyes in the sky.”

Background on the Steve Irwin Drone:
Bayshore Recycling striving to protect and conserve nature

Drone Nicole Montecalvo aids Sea Shepherd in preserving ocean wildlife worldwide.

Woodbridge NJ‐ Bayshore Recycling Corp (BRC) not only strives to protect the planet’s natural resources through recycling but also encourages everyone to help endangered wildlife. To promote and encourage this effort, BRC’s owners recently donated a long‐range drone fitted with cameras and detection equipment to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS). The SSCS is an international non‐profit, direct action marine wildlife conservation organization. SSCS necessitated an additional aerial vehicle that could add to their fleet and expand their capabilities in order to scan hundreds of miles more with each flight in order to assist in finding and documenting whaling ships and other illegal poaching operations. The drone will also assist in helping protect the fleet, her crew and alert them to potential dangers, when their helicopter may not be available for use.

A long‐range drone is defined as an unmanned aerial vehicle that does not require human operation and can fly independently or be operated remotely. The drone named Nicole Montecalvo has assisted in locating Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean previously has assisted in operations against blue fin tuna poaching operations off the coast of Libya. The drone Nicole Montecalvo was delivered on board the vessel Steve Irwin by the Vessel Security Officer during transit to Antarctica while in search of the Japanese flagship, Nisshin Maru. BRC stresses the importance of conserving our planet’s natural habitats. Whether it is saving natural resources, conserving energy, preserving endangered wildlife or recycling household debris—Bayshore rises to the challenge. Together, BRC and the SSCS will fight to save the ocean and its vulnerable inhabitants.

Mc-hammer time

In the early hours of Tuesday morning (27/09/11) McDonalds drive thru in Bedminster was visited and thoroughly smashed, with all it’s windows attacked.

Fuck Mcdonalds and the death culture they perpetuate and symbolise globally, which means:

In the early hours of Tuesday morning (27/09/11) McDonalds drive thru in Bedminster was visited and thoroughly smashed, with all it’s windows attacked.

Fuck Mcdonalds and the death culture they perpetuate and symbolise globally, which means:

abuse and mass slaughter for millions of animals caged all their miserable lives, poisonous food, sickness and cancer for humans, mind numbing drudgery and workplace control and discipline for workers treated like slaves, destruction for the environment and of course massive profit for capitalists.

If you thought smashing up Mcdonalds had gone out of anticapitalist fashion, think again. We don’t forget or forgive.

For earth, animal and human liberation.

ALF / ELF

The Black Fish is looking for crew members

The marine protection organisation The Black Fish is looking for people to join its direct action team and future ship’s crew.

The marine protection organisation The Black Fish is looking for people to join its direct action team and future ship’s crew. “In order to be effective in our marine conservation campaigns, we need to be out at sea, opposing the most destructive fishing and hunting activities, where they happen away from the public eye.” For this reason The Black Fish is working towards the purchase of an ocean going vessel and is looking for crew members.

“There are possibilities opening up to us which might see us getting access to a vessel in the near future. We need a crew for the initial overhaul of this ship and preparing it for its first campaign.” according to Wietse van der Werf, spokesperson for the organisation.

The Black Fish has launched a crew application page where people can apply for voluntary crew positions. “We are looking for people with sailing experience but this is not a necessity for the entire crew. Willingness and dedication to commit time and hard work to make future campaigns of The Black Fish a success, that is a must.”

Any questions related to crewing with The Black Fish, please see the crewing page on our website or contact the crewing coordinator at crew@theblackfish.org

We look forward to your application!

http://www.theblackfish.org/

Sea Shepherd Prevents Pilot Whale Bloodshed in the Faeroe Islands

26 August 2011

26 August 2011

Operation Ferocious Isles Pilot Whale Defense Campaign is a Success

"Sail forth – steer for the deep waters only,
Reckless O soul, exploring, I with thee and thou with me,
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, our selves and all."
– Walt Whitman 

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s Operation Ferocious Isles pilot whale defense campaign is almost over and it looks like our objective has been achieved. Not a single whale or dolphin has been killed on the beaches or in the waters of the Faeroe Islands under our watch this July and August.

Earlier in the summer, the Faeroese police ordered that no grinds (pilot whale drives and slaughter) would be allowed for as long as the Sea Shepherd ships were in Faeroese waters. Thus, our mere watchful presence prevented any killings this summer saving hundreds of whales as a result. Not a dramatic campaign by far, but enormously successful nonetheless.

It remains possible that whales may be killed after the Steve Irwin and the Brigitte Bardot leave patrol, but June, July, and August are the three most notorious months for the slaughter of the whales as they are peak migration months. Our objective was to prevent the killing of any whales during this period and that objective has been realized, therefore, Operation Ferocious Isles has been extraordinarily successful.

Additionally during the duration of the campaign, the crews of our two Sea Shepherd ships were able to meet and speak to hundreds of Faeroese youth. We were pleasantly surprised to find so many young people in opposition to the grind.

Sea Shepherd had hoped to make a public presentation but unfortunately, our request was denied by the Faeroese government, although our presence generated a great deal of publicity both in the Faeroes and in Denmark.

Significant campaign achievements include increasing international awareness of the whaling that takes place in the Faeroes, provoking controversy and discussion amongst the local people, increasing spending for the Danish Navy and police during the Sea Shepherd’s time in Faeroese waters, and most importantly, preventing a single grind from taking place.

The two Sea Shepherd ships will return to Great Britain to begin to make preparations for a return voyage to the Antarctic waters to once again intervene against illegal Japanese whaling activities in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

The Steve Irwin will host a fundraising event on the Thames (river) in London on September 13th.

The crews of the Steve Irwin and the Brigitte Bardot are very happy with the results of this year’s campaign and are anxious to return and once again intercept the Japanese fleet to prevent them killing whales off the coast of Antarctica.  

“Over the past few months we saw whales, we deterred whales from approaching the islands, we prevented the killing of whales by just being here. We could not be any more pleased with the results of the campaign. Zero kills translates into a perfect campaign and we are extremely happy with the results of our efforts this summer,” said Captain Paul Watson.

This has been a very busy year for Sea Shepherd beginning with our victory over the Japanese whaling fleet by driving them out of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary a month and a half before their season ended and preventing them from killing 83% of their intended kill quota. Since our victory in the Southern Ocean, we have captured poachers in the Galapagos, confronted tuna poachers off the coast of Libya, protested at the 63rd Annual International Whaling Commission meeting in Jersey, exposed the atrocities of the seal slaughter in Namibia, helped catch the criminals who viciously clubbed seal pups in New Zealand, reduced the number of dolphins killed in Taiji, Japan by half, and now, we can relish in this victory for the pilot whales here in the Faeroes.

Never before has Sea Shepherd been so active and effective on a truly international level.

And the reason for our successes is your continued support. We do the best we can with the resources available to us and increased support translates into increased activism.

Our support base is steadily growing thanks to the momentum of recent documentary films featuring Sea Shepherd including Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson, Minds in the Water, and Confessions of an Eco-Terrorist. And of course, thanks to Animal Planet’s hit television series Whale Wars now in its fourth season.   

“What gives me such satisfaction is knowing that because we have intervened, because our ships have been on the water around the world, that so many marine lives have been saved,” said Captain Watson. “When I think of a mother whale and her calf swimming free in the sea because we silenced the harpoons this year, I feel deeply and warmly satisfied, that all our efforts have been worth the rough seas, the long voyages, the dangerous confrontations, and the political harassment. And to be at sea surrounded by hundreds of pilot whales that we were able to keep away from the killers onshore – that was the highpoint of our summer.”

Read more in Captain Paul Watson’s An Open Letter to the People of the Faeroe Islands.

Beneath The Fae'roes Sky  

The Northern lights were dancing, 
On the waves across the sea.
The stars of heaven hovered,
Across our shimmering galaxy.

A refrain from down the ages,
So in haunting in its song.
These ancient isles shall tell us,
Our love must make us strong.

The wind it swirled around me,
As we stood there off the shore,
And listened to their song,
Like we never heard before.

The whalers they may find them,
No choice may ours to be.
Yet we defend life proudly,
For this truth will set us free. 

Memories recalled across the years,
Of rages and of strife.
Of cetacean misery,
And the horrific waste of life.

We wondered where love was,
In the face of so much pain.
I looked into the sea below,
To find it once again.

We travelled the wide oceans,
Heard many call us names.
With harpoon and gun and hatred,
The insanity of human games.  

Some used the whales for glory,
Some use them for their gain.
But Sea Shepherd intervenes,
To cleanse the cruel human stain.

Is it not our place to wonder,
As the sea does weep with tears,
And all the ocean’s creatures,
Look on with mortal fear.

It is ours to hold the trident,
It is ours to hold it long,
It is ours to voyage forward,
Our love must make us strong.  

With the trident in one hand,
In the other, the shepherd’s crook,
We try to regain the balance,
To return what man has took.

And as the cold wind carried,
The whale’s  song into the night.
We closed our eyes and dreamt,
Until the morning light.

We saw the pilots swimming,
They did swim into our lee,
It was in this magic moment,
Came this song from mother sea.  

Our hearts were all a dancing,
On the waves, out on the sea.
The whales turned from the shore,
And from the islands they did flee.

A host of ghosts on the beaches,
So haunting in their song,
These ancient isles have shown us,
That our love has made us strong.  

-By Captain Paul Watson, inspired by and with lines borrowed from “Beneath a Phrygian Sky” by Loreena McKennitt

Earth First! Summer Gathering Update 2011

Location announced, workshop schedule published, and how the kids space is going to work. All for the Earth First! Summer Gathering which begins on the 10th of August and runs until the 15th.

Get in touch if you need more information.

Location announced, workshop schedule published, and how the kids space is going to work. All for the Earth First! Summer Gathering which begins on the 10th of August and runs until the 15th.

Get in touch if you need more information.

The gathering this year will be held at Woolseybridge Farm – a lovely site in Norfolk with lots of trees and a little stream. It’s approximately 1.5 miles NNE of Diss. Diss has regular train services and a wholefood shop.

If you can come down to help set up please do, we start on August the 5th, if you can stay a few days after the gathering to help bring it all do that’d also be grand.

Site phone number 1 is 07551689365 or try number 2 on 07866797016.

Here’s a detailed map

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And here’s the workshop schedule:

Wednesday

11:30-1

National Bargee Travellers Association

Information and discussion session on the current struggle of travelling boat dwellers to keep their homes in the face of harassment and unlawful enforcement by British Waterways. Come along if you live on a boat, or if you want to know how you can help the boating community fight back!

Frack-Off! An introduction to the threat of hydraulic fracturing.

Fracking is a nightmare! Toxic and radioactive water pollution. Tap water you can set on fire. Runaway climate change. To produce expensive gas that will soon run out. So why are we doing it? This will be a detailed practical, participatory workshop aimed at bringing people up to speed on the issue, the specifics of which areas of the UK are directly under threat and particularly, where to find organised resistance.

Squat Electrics

Dealing with our shit- Men against the Patriarchy. An open discussion on the ways in which men can unlearn the arsehole patriarchal behaviours they’ve picked up by being alive in this society, and reinforce within the radical environmental movement.

2-4

Popular Education & Training

Skill-share for Trainers! Interested in popular education & training? Come learn & share popular education exercises & games designed for group participation and horizontal learning. Find what collectives are working in the UK (& beyond!) and the work they are doing.

Oh Fuck it’s the Apocalypse

working on the basis that the collapse of industrial society is fairly imminent, and that we need to plan for it. To this end we’re looking at sustainable living, permaculture, etc, with a survivalist angle; at ways to survive a collapse and build a more sane society from the ruins; and discussing how this analysis affects our other activism and priorities. We’re a bit like Transition Towns with an Edge and a Clue.

Using Radios- A beginners guide to using radios during actions.

Setting up a Tripod- Never put up a tripod before, want a use one on an action. Here’s your chance to find out how.

4-6

Squatting,Direct Action and New Laws

Film: ‘Gasland’

When a documentary film-maker is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is a US documentary, however shale extraction or ‘fracking’ is now heading to the UK.

Tinkers Bubble

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Thursday

10-1130

Intro to Consensus

Consensus is widely regarded as one of the most empowering and creative ways of making decisions in a non-hierarchical group, but it isn’t always easy. This participatory workshop provides an introduction or refresher to what it’s all about and how to make it work.

Reccing

Structured and facilitated discussion to share skills and tips for successful reccies for action. Including a check-list of what to find out, internet and phone searches, site visits, tricks and disguises for getting info, security tips etc.

Intro to EF!

London Olympics

Resisting the London 2012 Olympics (Corporate Watch and the Counter Olympics Network)
What can we do to resist the Olympics in London next year? People are aware of the problems with the games – surveillance, gentrification, environmental destruction, privatisation, job insecurity etc and the benefits to corporations. Come and discuss these and how we can resist, taking inspiration from people who have resisted other Olympics.

How to plan a kick ass action:

You’ve taken action before and now you’re ready to start planning your own proactive and creative Kickass Actions…

1130-1300

Banking & finance

Locking on

Practical workshop for learning different lock-on techniques for blockades and other actions. Arm-tubes, d-locks, chains, handcuffs, superglue and more!

20 years of EF! Looking forward

Fight Fracking

Shale gas extraction or ‘fracking’ has been polluting drinking water and the climate in the US, where it has caused numerous health problems. It’s been blamed for mini-earthquakes in Blackpool and there are plans for projects across the UK, including in South Wales, Lancashire, Somerset, Kent, Surrey and Scotland. Join an open discussion & planning session on how we can resist these projects.

Infiltration- Activist Trauma

2.00pm-4.00pm

Dealing with Conflict

An introduction to understanding and dealing effectively with disagreement and conflict in our groups. www.seedsforchange.org.uk

Intro to Anarchy

Smash Edo

Anti-cuts and Against Austerity

An open discussion on how we’re currently working against the cuts, what are we learning about the situation, what is proving to be effective, do we need to unlearn certain behaviours that have dominated activist circles in order to broaden and connect the resistances currently occurring.

Mental Health

4pm- 6pm

Action Planning for a kick ass action

You’ve taken action before and now you’re ready to start planning your own proactive and creative Kickass Actions…

Self-Defence for Pacifists

Safe self-defence that doesn’t rely on strength and appropriate for any level of experience. Can be applied in direct-action or every day scenarios. Bring your (empty) plastic water-bottle and we’ll play with some ‘weapon/baton’ defence at the end. Numbers capped at 20, only appropriate15yrs and over (apologies for that arbitrariness).”

Shell to Sea

Trouble Shooting in meetings

A workshop on troubleshooting and improving your meetings.

Puppet show

Performance and discussion of a puppet show celebrating the history of environmental direct action in the UK.

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Friday

10.00am- 11.30am

Affinity groups

Participatory workshop exploring how and why work with others for action, including inspiring case studies of successful autonomous actions.

Basic bike maintenance.

An informal workshop on brakes and gears, can also cover truing wheels and look at other repairs with no or few tools, by Bicycology.

Intro to EF!

Facilitating Participatory Workshops

Have you got skills or information you’d like to share? Or maybe you want to support people to learn from each other, or share experiences? Develop skills, confidence& understanding to facilitate fun, participatory & dynamic workshops.

Solidarity is a Weapon

1130-1pm

Intro to Direct Action

Direct action is about taking things into our own hands instead of asking the rich and powerful to do the right thing. Empower yourself to go out and make change happen!

Intro to industrial Agriculture and GM

Anarcho-Feminist

Black Fish

The Black Fish is a newly founded European based conservation organisation that takes action on the issues of whaling, industrial fishing and marine animals in captivity. Using education, investigation and non-violent direct action, The Black Fish has set out on a mission to change attitudes towards our precious oceans and work to protect the unique life within them.

2-4pm

Sustaining Resistance- A workshop to explore how we can make our activism more sustainable and effective in the long term. Finding sources of personal support to help us stay inspired, nourished and creative for the long haul and identifying how we can challenge damaging cultures of overwork and burnout in our activist groups.*

Doing Actions without getting caught

Practical workshop covering various aspects of doing actions without getting caught, including getting to your target without detection both in the day and in the dark, forensics and dress sense, getting together materials, communications, getting away. Parts of the workshop will involve physical practise, please wear suitable clothes for crawling through bushes…

Women’s Self Defence

The luddites 200 year anniversary and technology politics today

Celebrating the 200 Anniversary of the Luddite Uprisings: Technology Politics Then and Now (Corporate Watch and the Luddites200 Organising Forum
In 1811-12 Artisan cloth workers in the Midlands and North of England rose up against factory owners who were imposing new machines and putting them out of work. Since the 1950s the Luddites have been painted as fools opposed to all technology and progress, but in fact the Luddites were very selective in their attacks, breaking only machines they thought were ‘hurtful to Commonality’. What can the Luddites teach us about the ongoing use of technology to replace workers’ jobs, as well as issues like GM food and nuclear power? Can we escape the myth that technology always brings progress?

Activist Trauma

4-6pm

Getting over Fences

Privilege and Oppression

Power and privilege play out continuously in our group dynamics. This workshop will explore the roles we each play as privileged and as oppressed in our movement and in wider society.

Dale Farm

this is the biggest unlawful Traveller site in the UK. Residents own their land but have been repeatedly refused planning
permission and Basildon Council have now gathered £18million in order to evict them. After years of fighting their eviction through the courts they have now been served their papers, and have until the 31st August to leave. this workshop will outline the history of the campaign, discuss plans for resisting the eviction and, if there is enough interest, organise a working party to visit Dale Farm to help them prepare for eviction.

Coal Action Network

Intro to what’s happened so far with CAN. Discussions about what people would like from the network/website and where people think coal campaiging is going. How to get involved in CAN.

Tripods

Doing Actions without Getting caught part 2

We’ll be practising how to move in the dark without being spotted. Please wear dark clothes suitable for crawling through the bushes and a torch if you can. Meet at 8.30 sharp at the gate tent. The practise will finish by 10pm.

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Saturday

10-1130

Facilitation

If you’ve never facilitated a meeting before, or want to brush up your skills and gain confidence, this workshop is for you.

Intro to EF!

Basic land navigation

An introduction to navigation with map and a compass for total beginners or improvers. Please bring a compass if you have one . Also, an overview of very simple route finding using the sun, stars and other natural signs.

Environmental and Autonomous Education for young people

A discussion about various alternative education projects for young people, a space to share ideas, experiences and rethink the ways in which we engage in these projects.

Coal Action Scotland- What’s going on in the Valleys at the moment and how can people get involved.

11.30am- 1.00pm

Building Strong Groups- Share ideas and learn from others for making your group more accessible, inclusive and sustainable.

Organising the next winter moot and summer gathering

Enjoyed this gathering? Thought this gathering was crap? Come along and start working out how next years gathering could turn out.

Nutrition 101

Mayday Indymedia

What is indymedia and how does it work? This workshop, run by members of the collective which looks after the indymedia.org.uk website, will attempt to answer your questions about indymedia and will give you the information you need to report your news effectively on the uk site [and the local sites Birmingham, Sheffield and Oxford?], including writing middle column features for the uk front page to give prominence to your campaigns and actions. Find out about the editorial guidelines and moderation, as well as how to raise queries and how to start up an indymedia collective in your local area.

Rewilding

Facilitated discussion.

2.00pm-4.00pm

Who Cares?

Open discussion based around recent article published on Ceasefire entitled “Who Cares?” which talked about the failures of the radical movement within the UK to engage with child care in a way which related to anarchist politics.

Know your rights: Legal and arrest workshop

Covers basic law for activists and the arrest process. If you’ve
never been nicked before or you want to brush up on your knowledge, this is for you. www.seedsforchange.org.uk

Anti-Nuclear- Campaign update and info session

Using Radios

Saving Iceland and Samarendra Das: The Global Crimes of the Aluminium Cartel

Behind the shining image of aluminium is a dark side of environmental catastrophes, the arms industry and cultural genocide. A joint presentation by Saving Iceland and Indian author/activist Samarendra Das. It will include current threats to the Icelandic highlands, one of Europe’s last great wildernesses, the history and future of the campaign and the fallacies of hydro and geothermal energy. Samarendra Das will speak about the present struggle of Adivasis against companies such as Vedanta and the real facts behind the aluminium industry.

2.00pm-4.00pm

Self-Defence

Safe self-defence that doesn’t rely on strength and appropriate for any level of experience. Can be applied in direct-action or every day scenarios. Bring your (empty) plastic water-bottle and we’ll play with some ‘weapon/baton’ defence at the end. Numbers capped at 20, only appropriate15yrs and over (apologies for that arbitrariness).”

‘The True Cost of Coal’

The Beehive Design Collective (part of the Rising Tide North America Network) create portable murals of collaboratively produced illustrations with an amazingly engaging central narrative. ‘The True Cost of Coal’ will take you on an interactive visual tour of the connections between Coal Mining, Climate Change, the Ever Expanding Capitalist Economy, and the Struggle for Justice in Appalachia, North America and throughout the world.

GM Campaign- Campaign update and info share.

Community Defence: Building our own Exarchia’s

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Sunday

10.00am- 11.30am

Regional Meetings

Dsei

DSEi is the worlds largest Arms Fair, as many EFers know. This year it’s from September 13-18. It’s not simply about the arms trade. It’s about public services “cuts”: the environment: banking and investors: the conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa. Not to mention the borders that stop people fleeing conflict There’s a call for a mass blockade of the DLR on the Tuesday. Previous Days of Action- and other days in the week -have included street parties, Critical Mass bike rides, die-ins, mock sales of “arms”, legs and even a tank; splashing fake blood across the entrances, engaging with arms dealers on the trains and platforms, invading the car park and rail entrance, blocking the roads, locking on to the trains, even swimming in the dock! And visiting the investors offices of course. And in ther run-up- your local arms factory. Will be talking about all this – Not to mention that visit to your local arms factory!

11.30am- 1.00pm

Action Update

Gatherings Collective

Basic Plant I-d

Discussion about Veganism

Direct Action Training

Come and get active in this interactive and hopefully fun workshop where we’ll be looking at some fundamental building blocks for taking non-violent direct action to fight suffering, and practising different non-violent echniques to hold occupations, blockade, break out of kettles, de-arrest people, and to deal with other police tactics, like snatch squads, horses and dogs. We’ll also give lots of other tips for dealing with public order situations and for affinity group actions, including some key legal information which you should know when you’re taking action, and some tips about dealing with the media. And we’ll look at some of the values and attitudes which are key to taking NVDA, like non-hierarchical organising and consensus (and others). We’ll hopefully be able to adjust the workshop to cover what you want, and to answer all your questions.

2.00pm-4.00pm

Gathering Feedback Show

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Kids’ space and activities

If you do not have a kid, we might still need your help, so read
on…….

The kids’ space is designed as a place where children and those caring for them can relax, play and eat. The space contains books, toys and craft materials.

The kids’ space is NOT a creche and doesn’t have staff or facilities to care for children.

Parents and carers are respectfully reminded that they will need to collect children at meal times/breaks and that they much keep adults in the kids space informed of where they can be found; please also fill in the forms in the kids kitchen regarding food allergies etc.

If you do not have a child at the gathering, but would like to help in kids space, please talk to the collective. Help with reading stories, playing games, art and crafts always welcome.

Kid’s kitchen

This provides meals suitable for and at appropriate times for children. Kids meal tickets cost £2 or £3 a day for 2 meals (the lower rate is for toddlers); please buy these at the gate tent. This is the first time we have sold kids meal tickets and hopefully this will cover the cost of meals, but we may need to ask for help if this is not enough to cover our costs.

Even those without children can help by with cooking and washing up in the kids space, please volunteer if you can.

Games and activities

During the morning (approx 10 am -noon) there will be activities and workshops for kids in one of the workshop spaces.

In the afternoon (after lunch), there will be games in the top meadow for children and adults together. Again, any help with these very welcome – just ask the collective/kids space crew.

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Public Transport

The site is easily accessible by public transport, you can get the train either to Diss or Norwich and then catch the bus route no 1 (Simmonds) from Diss to Norwich. Or you could walk or cycle – it’s only 1.5miles away from Diss train station. Please come by public transport if at all possible! .

We will run pick-ups from the train station for anybody who can’t use the bus service or for larger groups of people. If you need a lift please let us know well in advance (and not in the middle of the night, when you’re at a train station somewhere!). !

Wheelchair users intending to use Diss station will need to book assistance with the train operator. There are no lifts so station staff have to assist mobility impaired customers across the track. Apparently the station is not manned 24 hours a day and the gate for the crossing is kept locked – so do phone and book to be sure .We have been told the bus service includes some low-floor buses with easy access for pushchairs, people with mobility impairments etc.

Hitch to Norwich or Diss; from Norwich hitch south on the A140 to Dickleburgh. It is then a 3 -4 mile walk or hitch to the site; on the Dickleburgh bypass (don’t go into Dickleburgh village) is a right turn to Shimpling and Burston; follow this road through Burston village, past the village green and out of the village. There is a sharp left turn, then down a hill to a sharp right turn. Site is on the right just over a little brick bridge.

From Diss either walk or bus, or carry on up the A140 to the turning on the Dickleburgh junction as above (only this time the junction is on the left).

[some even more detailed info including post-code, from previous year, at http://www.earthfirstgathering.org.uk/2008/where.html]

efsummergathering2011@riseup.net