Capitalism / Globalisation – Page 2

Massive convoys of test frack equipment arrive at West Newton

3rd July

Rathlin Energy yesterday, Wed 2nd July, brought massive convoys of equipment on to the West Newton test frack site near Withernwick.

This is in flagrant breach of 2 key Planning Conditions- they need to give 2 week's written notice before activities on site (Condition 2) and there must be no convoys of vehicles, with at least 10 minutes between vehicles. (In the Traffic Plan referred to in Condition 7)

There were multiple large convoys, totalling 64 vehicles. The well pad was extremely crowded with vehicles and equipment.

There was a very heavy police presence with numerous vans and riot vans, around a hundred police through the villages of New Ellerby, Marton and West Newton.
High Fosham road was closed to pedestrians and traffic.

West Newton has had anti fracking Protectors camping at the site since May 9th. There is another camp at Rathlin's other well site in East Yorkshire, Crawberry Hill.

Louise Castro, a protector camping at the site said, "It's chaos and mayhem here- local villagers were forced to trail across the fields just to see what was going on, and were devastated- some burst in to tears when the scale of it hit home. Rathlin have ridden roughshod over the traffic plan worked worked out with the villagers."

Ian Crane, a former oil executive also living at the anti fracking camps said, "Today the locals got a taste of what is to come on a daily basis if the unconventional oil and gas industry is allowed to go ahead with fracking in this area".

Pauline Hakeny, a resident of nearby Skirlaugh said, "I'm really shocked at the amount of vehicles- they promised us this would never happen- and also the amount of police- there were loads of vans and officers in all the surrounding villages."

Grapes of Rathlin

3rd July from SccNEWS Convoys of trucks carrying equipment descended on West Newton yesterday, where Rathlin Energy are commencing their exploratory

3rd July from SccNEWS Convoys of trucks carrying equipment descended on West Newton yesterday, where Rathlin Energy are commencing their exploratory fracking drilling. As the first major activity at the East Yorkshire site kicked off, a handful of protesters and many more anxious locals could only watch in horror as the fracking trucks made their way along the long single track lane towards the well.

The convoys were protected by hundreds of police and riot vans, while local residents were blocked from accessing their own homes and one elderly resident burst into tears at the scale of what was happening.

West Newton is one of two locations in East Yorkshire that Rathlin are attempting to frack. At both West Newton and Crawberry Hill, Rathlin have had planning permission for exploratory drilling since 2012. Earlier this year they also got Environment Agency permits that last until September, in the case of Crawberry Hill, and longer in the case of West Newton. “We knew they were due to do the tests at either site at any time”, says our source from campaign group HEY Frack Off.

Small protests camps were set up at both locations in May. Crawberry was the larger, with number averaging at 20: Not only was it looking likelier that Rathlin would hit there first as the permits ran out sooner, but it's nearer urban centres like Beverley and Hull. Crucially, it is in the area of the massive underground aquifer that is relied on for drinking water for much of the population of Hull and East Yorkshire: “If that were to be contaminated it would be an absolute catastrophe”. So far, Crawberry Hill has yet to see any significant activity.

Over at West Newton, the protection camp has been tiny but doggedly persistent. The villagers in the very rural area have been slow on the uptake but now seem to be waking up to what's about to happen on their doorsteps. At first, they'd been bizarrely anxious about the camp and upset about the protesters' presence, rather than their villages surrounding a hellmouth of the environmental armageddon.

“It's an unbelievably conservative area. Some people didn't even want to contact HEY Frack Off because of our 'controversial' name!”, says our contact. “Most of the local residents have swallowed Rathlin's line and their PR hook, line and sinker.”

But recent well-attended public meetings, and individual conversations, have shown awareness is slowly starting to sink in. Maybe the locals are slowly starting to organise?

Just to show how much they respect the local residents, when the convoys came onto site at West Newton yesterday, they “ran roughshod” over the planning conditions that had been agreed between the local council (East Riding of Yorkshire) and Rathlin Energy to sweeten the fracking pill for local residents.

Firstly, they failed to give the stipulated 14 days notice before any activity commenced. Sneaky, but not surprising given the momentum the anti-fracking movement's been gaining. Secondly, they spectacularly flouted the traffic management plan which promised local residents no more than one truck every ten minutes. Yesterday saw two massive convoys of lorries – around 65 vehicles entering the site. Needless to say, the well pad was crowded.

In terms of policing, our contact reports: “Police have said they have learned from the mistakes of Barton Moss and Balcombe where they allowed peaceful protest in the form of slow walking in front of vehicles down public highways. It's been made quite clear in East Yorkshire that anyone who gets in the way of a vehicle on the public highway will be arrested immediately.”

Police have even admitted to campaigners that it's a “game of numbers”, and that if there were as many protesters as police they'd have to review their tactics.

The location of the West Newton site is so rural that keeping up communications – from simple phone calls to live streaming – is difficult. The campaign is encouraging any potential protectors to get in touch. The camp phone number is 07773739937.

Protests in Nigeria After Mobil Spills 600,000 Barrels of Oil

1st July Youths in Eket and Esit Eket in Akwa Ibom on Monday staged peaceful protests against fresh oil spills in Nkpana community from a Mobil facility i

1st July Youths in Eket and Esit Eket in Akwa Ibom on Monday staged peaceful protests against fresh oil spills in Nkpana community from a Mobil facility in Ibeno.

The youths numbering more than 500 protested on major streets in Eket, including the Marina and Terminal roads.

The protesters, under the ages of Core Youth Forum, carried placards with inscriptions: “Oil spill is killing our aquatic life’’, “No compensation for oil spill” and “Enough of this oil spillage,’’ among others.

Mr Godwin Peter, the spokesman of the protesters, said the spill occurred on Saturday and occupied communities along the spill line on Sunday.

He said the spill had devastated aquatic life and destroyed fishing equipment, among others.
Peter appealed to Mobil to urgently clean up the environment.

The youths threatened to disrupt Mobil activities if their demands, which included immediate clean up and compensation, were not met.

Also reacting, Mr Inyang Ekong, the Secretary of the Artisanal Fishermen Association of Nigeria, Akwa Ibom Branch, noted that fishing had been suspended in the area as a result of the spill.

He said that fish would be scarce in the state and appealed to Mobil to replace its old pipes to forestall further occurrence.

Ekong said the spill would cause untold hardships to the people of Ibeno.

When contacted, Mr Akaninyene Esiere, the Manager of Public and Government Affairs at the Qua Iboe Terminal of Mobil, confirmed the incident.

“We have confirmed a liquid release from our Qua Iboe terminal on Sunday, June 29, following serious weather conditions and lightning strikes over the area at the weekend. We have activated our emergency response systems to contain the release. All relevant regulatory authorities and community leaders have been notified.We will continue to work with the community to allow progress in the effort by Mobil to contain the spill,’’ he said.

Esiere said that Mobil was committed to safe environment during its operations.

anarchists claim string of fires in east bristol

Just before sunrise this morning we launched a targeted arson spree along Glebe Road — which meets the main east Bristol thoroughfare of Church Road — and burned out corporate, luxury, private security and hunt-scum vehicles. Wildfire in the arteries of the city-prison! To break the lie of social peace and intensify the hostilities!

Emergency services were too slow to catch the responsible as the empty street was brightened from end to end as by torches. In a few words, the selected vans and cars were active components of the life they represent and also enforce.

Virgin Media supply television and also internet, and a national fibre optic cable network. To keep us enmeshed in the modern information economy and the spectacle of celebrities, video games and advertising is their business. Destroy what domesticates and stupefies us!

A car as fancy as a Quattro is an extra spit in the face for the property-less as well as the earth. In wealthy areas or parts undergoing gentrification they're commonplace, in England as in Argentina, Sydney as in Berlin, and there to be picked off at our leisure.

BWS's security vehicle in ashes is one less to aid their task across the UK of keeping the haves from the have-nots by threat or force and of expanding the matrix of surveillance cameras we pass under hundreds of times in a day. Minions of the established order have chosen their side! Insurrectional action against the constructs of authority above us, around us, within us.

Either an active fox hunter or a supporter and promoter of killing wild animals solely for entertainment — either way, owner of a heavy-duty 4×4 bearing pro-hunt stickers — got their incendiary gift too. Some call bloodsport uncivilised, but it's really perfectly reflective of the disdain for the nonhuman, upper class entitlement and also cross-class collaboration which is the basis and content of civilisation. Let's make the rich and their terrier-boys the hunted, let's harass them in city or countryside.

This deed coincided with the call for collective action in support of our caged brother G. Pombo da Silva (Spain), who's resisting his forced transfer to a maximum security module. Hopefully our flaming regards will also make it through the prison bars to the wandering she-wolves A. Trudeau and F. Rouiller along with compa C. 'Chivo' López (Mexico) — they all face charges over Molotov attacks against State and Capitalism. We're also thinking of the unnamed animal liberation fighter who prosecutors have tried to link to the anarchist paper UpprorsBladet (Sweden) and the co-convicted who also had the sense to stay silent before the cops. While A. Cospito and N. Gai, G. Iacovacci and A. Antonacci will all be tried next on July 4th, we take aim to light up their jail cells with the warmth of our solidarity. Prisoners to the streets, running wild and free!

ABOUT THE ACCUSED IN BRISTOL
We learned from the scum-press newspapers that early on June 12th an individual was stopped in their vehicle by police in the Bradley Stoke area and suspected of going equipped to commit a crime, then arrested on suspicion of four counts of arson. This was in the context of four coordinated sabotages in the days before which took down many phone signals and also radio services — all of which had already been claimed by Live Wires, FAI/ELF, as reported in the scum-press and carried by anarchist counter-information pages (although hidden once again by the moderators of Bristol Indymedia).

After the resounding silence so far from the local anarchist movement, the first thing we want to state is that — although none of ourselves, our wider network or fleeting affinities know who this person is or anything about their sympathies or complicities — the repressive move by the State aims to discourage similar actions and we will not stand complacent. Either police made an unconnected arrest in efforts to shed some of the criticism they've come under in the regional and national media for failing to stem the flow of anarchist attacks in their area, in which case it was a fruitless provocation as action continues, or that individual really did set out to somehow fight the system that night — singularly, in the context of decentralised informal groups open to anyone such as FAI or ELF, or anonymous — in which case they're a potential comrade and we would defend them as such.

It seems for now that police have little interest in the arrested individual as according to the scum-press they're out on bail after questioning, but we call on anyone with more information to release it if they see fit. Meanwhile, solidarity with the live wires and whoever shares their motivations to do the same!

Informal anarchist federation/Earth liberation front
Rogue fire brigade.

Summary of Repression from ZAD

30th June Summary of arrests and trials since the demo in Nantes, February 22nd, according to information found by the anti-repression committee (CARILA)

February 22nd: 14 arrests, two released without charge. Of the 12 people charged, 5 had immediate trials the next day, and the 7 others will have trials later (3 on June 19th, 2 minors in children’s court, and no news for the 2 others).

February 24th: 5 immediate trials, 4 of them judged for “violence against someone with public authority”, and “participating in an armed group”. They were all convicted.
100 hours of community service
5 months suspended sentence
5 months of prison
5 months of prison and 1 month probation
6 months of prison and 6 months of probation + 500 euros for the undercover cops supposedly injured

Of all those convicted this day, no one went directly to prison. This means that they can negotiate a lighter sentence.

March 31st: First wave of arrests after the demo: 9 people were arrested at home (in Carquefou, St. Herblain, Nantes, and Ille-et-Vilaine).

2 were released without charges
4 were judged the next day in immediate trials
2 minors: one accused of throwing fireworks at the police judged in juvenile court, placed under house arrest until their trial in 2015, the other we don’t think they were charged but we have no confirmation
1 person had a trial later but we don’t have contact with them

April 1st: Immediate trials for those arrested the day before

P: 4 months suspended sentence, forbidden to carry weapons for a year, forbidden to protest in Notre Dame des Landes and Nantes for a year
J: 5 months of prison, forbidden to carry weapons for 2 years, forbidden to protest in Nantes for 2 years
G: 2 months suspended sentence + 2 months prison (suspended sentence from last arrest), aquitted for vandalism
E: 1 year of prison, starting immediately after the trial, forbidden to protest for 3 years, forbidden to have explosives or flammable materials for 3 years. The judge doubled the sentence that the DA asked for!

May 14th: G arrested in Paris under a warrant for vandalism February 22nd. He refused an immediate trial, fuzzy photos were the only evidence. He was placed in preventative detention, but got out a month later because of a procedural error. His trial is July 16th.

May 27th: R. arrested in the street in Rennes by undercover cops, transferred to Nantes. He refused immediate trial, and was put under house arrest, and forbidden from the Loire-Atlantique region until his trial, June 19th.

June 13th: Additional trial for someone convicted February 24th to decide how much they should pay in damages to the undercover cops. No information on the verdict for the moment.

June 18th:
O. arrested at home in Rennes, accused of vandalism, he has an immediate trial the next day.
Someone from the ZAD arrested in Nantes, who had a warrant out for violence against the police and participating in an armed group.

June 19th:
Trial for 3 people arrested during the demo -K: convicted of throwing paving stones towards the police and arrested in possession of a hammer and an iron bar, 4 months suspended sentence, 18 months probation (forced to find a job or go to vocational school, and forbidden to carry weapons) + 105 hours of community service -C: convicted of participation in an armed group and throwing a beer can at the police, sentenced to 2 months suspended sentence -G: arrested in possession of a hammer, sentenced to 1 month suspended sentence
Hearing for O. (arrested in Rennes the day before): he refuses his trial and is put under house arrest until his trial, July 10th
Trial of R. (arrested in Rennes, May 27) for vandalism and participating in an armed group. Sentenced to 8 months suspended sentence + 1 month suspended sentence + 5218 euros in damages for the city of Nantes+ forbidden from Loire-Atlantique region for 2 years.
Hearing for 5 people arrested 2 days before by undercover cops while driving: -one person (a hitch-hiker) accepted the immediate trial, convicted to possession of 1 gram of hash + refusing fingerprints and DNA. No sentence 3 people refused immediate trials and are put under house arrest until their trial, July 18th 1 person refused an immediate trial and is in prison awaiting trial (July 18th)

“They were arrested tuesday after a “random” identity control by undercover cops on the ring road in Nantes. Amoung them was R., who had a trial Thursday and was on their way to Nantes to see their lawyer with their friends. After 48 hours of police custody, 4 of them were charged with “possession of stolen goods”, suspected of having stolen… a head lamp. Also they refused to give fingerprints and DNA. More seriously, they are accused, based on some flyers in their car and a toolbox, of “association of wrong-doers”, and “intent to commit an armed assembly in front of the courthouse in Nantes”. They risk up to 5 years in prison.”

June 20th: Hearing for S., who lives on the ZAD. He was arrested 2 days before in Orvault, accused of having stolen 2 books. He had a warrant out for participating in the February 22nd demo. He is accused of theft (with prior convictions), refusing fingerprints and DNA (with prior convictions), and participating with a weapon in an armed group, and violence against the police. He refused an immediate trial and has been put in jail awaiting his trial on July 7th.

2 people are currently in preventative detention, awaiting trial.

Climate Activists Blockade Oil Terminal, Demand Halt to Crude-by-Rail Traffic in Pacific Northwest

30th June This morning, climate justice activists with Portland Rising Tide shut down the ArcLogist

30th June This morning, climate justice activists with Portland Rising Tide shut down the ArcLogistics crude oil terminal in Northwest Portland.
Portland resident Irene Majorie, 22, locked herself to a 55-gallon barrel filled with concrete that was placed on the railroad track leading into the facility.

Train cars enter from a nearby yard to offload oil into 84 storage tanks, before it is piped onto oceangoing ships bound for West Coast refineries. Majorie’s arm was locked to a piece of metal rebar embedded in the concrete, stopping trains for four hours before being cut out by police.

Attempts by law enforcement to move her and the barrel simultaneously risked grave injury; likewise, any train traffic threatened her life.

“This is about stopping the oil trains,” said Majorie. “But beyond that, it is about an industry and an economic system that places the pursuit of profit before the lives and relationships of human beings seeking survival and nourishment, and before the communities, ecosystems, and planet of which we are a part.”

Oil trains are coming under increasing scrutiny recently owing to their propensity to derail in fiery explosions. Portland Rising Tide, however, disputes the notion that an oil train is ever safe, since crude oil is only transported to be burned. Whatever the risk of explosion, the guaranteed result is a worsening of the climate crisis, which is already wreaking ecological havoc and claiming human lives.

US crude oil production has risen from ~5 million barrels per day in the late 2000s to ~7 million barrels per day currently. Increased extraction is North Dakota’s Bakken Shale has resulted in a dramatic rise in oil train traffic, with 250 percent more oil trains traveling Oregon rail lines in 2013 than in the previous year.

Governor Kitzhaber has expressed “deep concern” about oil trains but thus far done nothing to stop them. “Society should be engaged in a rapid, radical decline in fossil fuel use,” said David Bennett. “Instead, policymakers—even those who claim to understand the magnitude of the climate crisis—are forcing us to engage in an absurd conversation about creating ‘safe’ oil trains and building more fossil fuel infrastructure.”

The ArcLogistics terminal, which began operation in January, is one piece of infrastructure facilitating increased oil production. When ongoing construction is completed, the facility will have the capacity to transport 16,250 barrels of oil per day.

In April, Portland Rising Tide entered the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s offices in downtown Portland, issued termination letters to employees at their desks, and announced the formation of a new People’s Agency, which would carry out DEQ’s mandate free of corporate influence. This is the first enforcement action of the nascent agency.

“If our policymakers listened, we would demand an immediate halt to oil train traffic in Oregon and the closure of all crude oil terminals,” said Emma Gould. “Since they don’t, we’re halting oil trains ourselves.” High resolution photos are available for download and may be used with attribution

Today’s action saw activists from across the continent joining together to say no to oil trains, showing that oil trains are an international issue of concern for people and nonhuman animals everywhere.

Blockade Halts Old-Growth Logging in Mattole Forest

30th June A forest defender has taken to the trees to defend an important area of the Mattole Riv

30th June A forest defender has taken to the trees to defend an important area of the Mattole River watershed in Northern California. Going by the name “Skunk,” the blockader is stopping the construction of a new logging road into old-growth forest.

Skunk is supported by residents of Humboldt county and allies who have worked for months to stop Humboldt Redwood Company’s plan for 1,000 acres of logging in the Mattole Forest.

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In April, activists hung a banner across from Humboldt Redwoods State Park to protest the logging in the Mattole.

While Humboldt Redwood Company claims they are not logging old-growth, their definition restricts logging only areas with more than 8 old-growth trees in the span of an acre. They also define old-growth as existing in the year 1800, cutting out any trees younger than exactly 214 years.

Skunk insists, “Our main demands to Humboldt Redwood Company are very simple—don’t cut unlogged forest, and don’t cut old-growth. This road threatens to destroy forest that has never been logged before, and will pave the way for logging even more important habitat if the community does not rise up to stop it.”

The Mattole provides shelter to Golden Eagles and Spotted Owls, among other rare species, and has long been the home of old-growth Big Leaf Maple, Douglas Fir, Tanoak, and Madrone.

This area of Northern California has a long history of forest defense against Maxxam/Pacific Lumber throughout the 1990s. What we are perhaps seeing is just the beginning of a new chapter.

Villager Wins Court Battle Against Hydroelectric Plant Construction

26th June An administrative court in the Black Sea province of Rize has ruled to halt the construction of a hydroelectric power plant (

26th June An administrative court in the Black Sea province of Rize has ruled to halt the construction of a hydroelectric power plant (HES) that was being built on the Andon River, which provides fresh water to at least 3,000 people in the village of Küçükçayır.

Küçükçayır village was declared an environmentally protected site in 2011. The village’s residents held a protest in February against a HES being constructed near the river, closing the main road of the village for hours as part of their protest and not allowing construction equipment to operate at the site.

According to a Cihan news agency report on Wednesday, Kezım Delal, one of the villagers, sold a cow and took a loan from a bank in order to file a lawsuit against the construction company. Emphasizing that he has been struggling in court against the construction plan, which is likely to harm the environment, Delal said the injunction to halt construction stands as an important step towards protecting the environment from other upcoming power plant construction projects that might destroy the country’s natural beauty.

“I have been living in this village for 70 years. I was born here. This is my home. I am so happy that court ruled in favor of our future. Now, I just want to see the construction company leave us alone right away,” he told the press.

Emphasizing that they have been keeping watch for almost eight months in order to prevent the construction company from doing any damage, Delal thanked all his friends who did not leave his side during the protest. “This victory belongs to all of us. Now we can move on with our lives,” he added.

Stating that they were taken into custody by gendarmes many times due to the their protests, Yusuf Esir, another villager, said that he was happy to take a stand against the construction plans. “In order to intimidate us, gendarmes took us into custody many times. But nobody can deter us. If anybody should leave this village, it’s the construction company, not us. Because this is our village,” Esir stated.

Indigenous boy protests on pitch during World Cup opening ceremony

16th June One of the three Brazilian children who released

16th June One of the three Brazilian children who released white doves during the World Cup opening ceremony used the occasion to demand recognition of Indian land rights – but his protest was censored by FIFA.

Immediately after releasing a white dove, Jeguaká Mirim, an indigenous Guarani boy, held up a red banner reading ‘Demarcation Now!’ But his courageous protest was not broadcast, as the TV cameras swiftly cut away.

Jeguaká’s father, Guarani author Olívio Jekupe, said that the act “showed the world that we are not standing still… My son showed the world what we need the most: the demarcation of our lands.”

The Guarani are Brazil’s most numerous tribe and they live in five states. Much of their land has been stolen from them and is being used for cattle ranching and sugar cane production, whilst many Guarani are forced to live in overcrowded reserves or in roadside camps where malnutrition and disease are rife. Some, like Jeguaká’s community known as Krukutu, live near urban areas like São Paulo on almost no land.

As a result of the loss of their land, the Guarani-Kaiowá of Mato Grosso do Sul state suffer the highest suicide rate in the world, and their leaders are targeted and killed when they attempt to reoccupy patches of their ancestral land.

The Guarani, Survival International and other organizations are calling on the Brazilian government to uphold its own constitution and international law, and map out the Guarani’s land for their exclusive use.

Coca-Cola, one of the World Cup’s main sponsors, has recently become embroiled in the Guarani land scandal by buying sugar from US food giant Bunge, which sources sugar cane from their ancestral land. The Guarani are urging Coca-Cola to respect their rights and stop this purchase immediately.

To highlight the deep irony of Coca-Cola and FIFA promoting the World Cup with an image of a happy Indian man with the words ‘Welcome to the World Cup for Everyone’, Survival has created a spoof ad featuring Nixiwaka, a Yawanawa Indian welcoming the viewer to ‘The Dark Side of Brazil’ and demanding ‘Let the Guarani live!’.

See Survival’s website on the ‘Dark Side of Brazil’ for more examples of Brazil’s assault on indigenous rights.

Argentina: Activists Arrested & Brutal Police Repression After Monsanto Law is Approved

14th June The legislature of Cordoba approved a controversial Monsanto Law yesterday. Protesters from Malvinas Lucha por la Vida, Madres de Itzuzaingó, and other social organizations held a peaceful protest to contest the law.

The police intervened violently repressing the protesters and arbitrarily detaining anyone who looked like a protester. 26 people total were arrested including Sofia Gatica and many were injured. Sofia Gatica told Argentina Independent the law was created so Monsanto can legally move into the province.

The new law has been passed after a 9 month blockade on construction of a new GMO seed processing plant. You can read archives of coverage from Revolution News of this epic battle against the multinational corporation here.