Nuclear – Page 8 – Earth First!

Call out for workshops for EF! Summer Gathering 2011

This year’s Earth First Summer Gathering takes place in East Anglia this year, starting on the 10th of August and running for five days. With six workshops tents we have space for over 100 discussions, presentations and workshops. The spaces are filling up fast, but there is still time to book a spot. So if you’ve got an idea you wish to highlight, whether it’s related to ecological defence or social resistance here is your chance. The gathering is attended by hundreds of individuals interested and participating in struggles around the UK and Europe.

To get in touch just email efsummergathering2011announce@riseup.net with a blurb of for you workshop or discussion and we’ll do our best to fit you in.

For monthly email updates for the gathering subscribe to efsummergathering@lists.riseup.net

Do You Remember Fairmile?

Join the Silent Victories Bike Ride.

Silent Victories is a free 10 day long bike ride around the South West of England from the 1st -10th July that will visit places saved by direct action and analyse wider political questions around what makes social change.

Join the Silent Victories Bike Ride.

The ride is passing the site of the Fairmile Road protest against the completion of the A30. Were you there? We are particularly looking for people with memories of the A30 protests to join the ride and share memories, reflections and learning.

On the ride we will:
– visit beautiful places in fine company,
– learn from communities that have successfully protected their area from destruction
– support ongoing campaigns
– investigate alternatives spaces
– discuss issues and learn from each other
– go swimming and eat lots of vegan food

All welcome, to learn, teach, share and take action.

To sign up to participate please contact: silent.victories@gmail.com

Stop the next generation of nuclear power stations with a blockade at Hinkley Point

Join us at Hinkley on 3 October 2011

Hinkley Point is the first of eight proposed sites for nuclear new build to go ahead. We stopped them here before, and we can do it again. If they fail at Hinkley, it is unlikely the “nuclear renaissance” will have the momentum to continue.

Join us at Hinkley on 3 October 2011

The catastrophe is still unfolding at Fukushima, but the British government is continuing with its plans for building new nuclear power stations – nuclear new-build. While other countries at least put a moratorium on new nuclear, or even make plans to phase out nuclear energy completely, in Britain it’s as if Fukushima didn’t happen. Like a mantra, government and the nuclear industry keep repeating that Fukushima could not happen in Britain because there are no earthquakes of that magnitude. We heard similar excuses after Chernobyl (1986) and Three Mile Island (1979). But nuclear accidents can and do happen – even in Britain; the disaster at Windscale in 1957 released massive levels of radiation into the atmosphere. If we continue to use and expand nuclear power, there will certainly be more catastrophic accidents, not to mention all the other enormous problems associated with nuclear power production, even when it is working ‘normally’.

Nuclear power is not necessary, not safe, not sustainable

More background at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/

We can stop new nuclear

The government and the nuclear industry want us to believe that nuclear new-build in Britain is a done deal. They want to discourage us from protesting – the message they want us to swallow is clear: opposition is futile, and we will be going ahead anyway!

However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, the government has introduced a framework which effectively will subsidise new nuclear at our expense – as electricity consumers and taxpayers. Yes, the government has effectively deprived local communities from having a say in the planning process for new nuclear and other major infrastructure projects thus dumping a crucial cornerstone of local democracy.

But nuclear new-build in Britain is already behind schedule and has faced legal and other setbacks. Public concern is mounting following the Fukushima disaster. If we can stop the building at Hinkley, we can stop the whole process. Now is the time to mobilise and take action.

New-nuclear in Britain is far from being a done deal, and we can still stop it!

NEW NUCLEAR — STOP IT AT HINKLEY!

The action:
A non-violent blockade of Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset

On 3 October 2011 we will – with hundreds of people – non-violently blockade the access to Hinkley Point nuclear power station for one day.

While the blockade will be the key focus, there will be plenty of roles and activities for people who do not wish to risk arrest. So everyone who is anti-nuclear can come and join us on the day to express their opposition in many different ways. We will prepare ourselves for this blockade with non-violence training, and we will not be deterred by police trying to prevent our non-violent action.
The blockade will be inclusive, allowing people from all walks of life and with a wide range of experience in non-violent action – or no experience at all – to participate. We will organise a safe environment for everyone, built on trust for each other, but also on our determination to stop nuclear new-build.

In the days before the blockade, there will be local actions in Bridgwater. There will be a camp and local accommodation for people over the weekend and non-violence training will be provided.

* Callout for action – http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/node/10

* Sign one of the pledges at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/pledges.

This is important, as it shows the strength of the campaign, and helps us to organise the blockade.
Web: http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-New-Nuclear/228971750452013
Phone: 0845-2872381

Stop New Nuclear is a campaign to stop new nuclear power stations and is an alliance of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Stop Nuclear Power Network UK, Kick Nuclear, Stop Hinkley, Sizewell Blockaders, Shutdown Sizewell, South West Against Nuclear, and Trident Ploughshares

Donate: We need your support. Please donate at
http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/donate

Sizewell Camp 2011, 22-25 Apr

Skill Share, Network, Protest and Remember
Power for the people, not profits for the few

Fri 22 – Mon 25 April
with NATIONAL DEMO – SAT 23 APRIL

Spend Easter weekend camping on the beach at Sizewell, on the picturesque Suffolk coast, eastern England, to show your opposition to new nuclear power and highlight the need for sustainable energy solutions.

Skill Share, Network, Protest and Remember
Power for the people, not profits for the few

Fri 22 – Mon 25 April
with NATIONAL DEMO – SAT 23 APRIL

The weekend will also mark the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. It includes a protest at the power station entrance, A public meeting, skill-sharing and info workshops, woodland and beach walks, vegan grub and networking. Now is the time to take action against new nuclear build. Come and join us to say: Nuclear power? No thanks!

Contact:
camp@sizewellcamp.org.uk
http://sizewellcamp.org.uk

The camp is organised by activists from the Stop Nuclear Power Network

Resistance to ‘Factory of Death’ continues

On Monday several actions took place against the government’s nuclear weapons and their plans to develop new ones. The focus was AWE Aldermaston, the military base near Reading where these weapons are developed and maintained.

Activists from Trident Ploughshares had been holding an “Aldermaston Summer Gathering” for several days sharing information and leafletting nearby villages. Co-inciding with this, folks from the Catholic Worker movement were holding a “Faith and Resistance” retreat in Oxford celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first Ploughshares action.

As the day began around twenty TP folks blockaded one of the main gates into the base, including four who “locked-on” with arm tubes. They left without any arrests after successfully blockading for two hours.

Soon afterwards, 3 of the Catholic Workers cut through the perimeter fence and broke into the base, “opening it for disarmament”, while others carried out a vigil at the gates of the base. They were arrested, held until evening, charged with criminal damage, and may also face SOCPA charges.

Successful Hinkley Demo

September 13, 2010
Protestors blocked the Hinkley Point main gates for almost an hour this liunch-time as they demonstrated against the premature destruction of upto 435 acres of open land and wildlife habitats before major consents are approved for the two giant reactors proposed by EdF.

A large group of campaigners, together with local residents including children, held banners and placards in front of Hinkley Point, preventing any traffic movements. The Hinkley main gates were forced to shut from 11.45 to 12.45pm and no traffic entered or left during that time. Some of the protestors wore face paint images of sunflowers, the Stop Hinkley logo and anti-nuclear signs. Others dressed as nuclear ‘boffins’ and with a loudhailer led a march through the ear-marked greenfield site.

The ‘nuclear boffins’ highlighted badger setts which had been cemented over or had been covered with metal grills, beautiful old woodlands and individual trees destined to be bulldozed and they walked down some of the scores of sunken lanes criss-crossing the fields lined by ancient hedgerows brimming with wildlife.

At the coast the tour-guides showed where the so-called ‘temporary’ jetty will be built over the 200 million year old fossil-filled rocky beach.

At the beach destination of the march, one campaigner read aloud a poem on the need to respect nature and its part in global ecology.

Crispin Aubrey, spokesman for Stop Hinkley who marshalled the demonstration, said: “There is obvious strong feeling against destroying this beautiful area. Despite being close to the existing power stations there are large expanses of beauty and tranquility. It’s wrong for EdF to jump the gun by trashing the area such a long time before it receives major consents for the two reactors.”

The protest was part of a two day Action Weekend. Yesterday a series of talks and workshops took place in Bridgwater for campaigners around the region. Three national-level speakers gave talks:

Greenpeace

Ben Ayliffe, nuclear campaigner for Greenpeace said: “Greenpeace is opposed to new nuclear power stations because they would make a minimal contribution towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, they have multiple dangers from long-lived radioactive waste through to nuclear proliferation, and they are a distraction from real solutions such as renewable energy.”

“In particular we see two major problems – waste disposal and economics – both could sink the proposal for Hinkley C,” he said.

“The coalition government has said that there will be no subsidies for new nuclear plant. Economics could be the thing that makes it impossible for Hinkley C to go ahead. No nuclear power station has ever been built without public subsidy.”

On waste he said that the amount EDF were being asked to pay for disposing of the radioactive legacy from Hinkley C was not enough to cover the true cost. “It amounts to a £1 billion subsidy to the company per year, according to our calculations,” he said.

He also referred to delays and cost over-runs on similar projects in both Finland and France, where the first reactors like the one proposed for Hinkley C are being built.

The Greenpeace strategy was to challenge the process of approving new nuclear power stations all the way. This included exposing the risky economics, promoting the alternatives and legal challenges.

Health

Professor Chris Busby talked about studies that he, and Somerset Health authority in the eighties, had shown that there was a higher incidence of cancers round Hinkley Point and other nuclear power stations. He said the international model used by regulators to estimate the effects of radiation on human health is being widely challenged, and a former head of the international radiation commission accepted that their model did not stand up in the case of a serious accident.

“Our studies have shown raised levels of cancer along the downwind coast from Hinkley to Burnham-on-Sea. Health officials have objected to our findings on spurious grounds including random clusters in other areas but year on year we keep finding an entrenched problem near Hinkley. The officials have got it wrong.”

Alternatives

Neil Crumpton, former Friends of the Earth energy campaigner, presented an alternative vision of the UK’s electricity supply in which nuclear power was marginalised and new sources of renewable energy, such as concentrated solar power imported from North Africa, were developed on a large scale. He also dismissed the suggestion that the lights would go out without nuclear, listing the many other options, including gas-fired plants, which were queueing up to fill any gap in supply.

“Friends of the Earth and other organisations are confident we can put forward a reasonable low carbon energy network based on current technology. More than that we can very soon tap resources like Clean Coal Technology and solar-power from the Sahara to boost our own abundant natural elements of wind, tide and wave driven electricity.”

Jim Duffy

Stop Hinkley Coordinator

www.stophinkley.org

07798 666756

Quotes from Crispin Aubrey who coordinated the Action weekend: 01278 732921 / 07920 523673

Professional photographs for the media available immediately from

Simon Chapman: 07889 747916

http://www.stophinkley.org

Stop Nuclear Power Network UK Gathering

Date for your diaries:

Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th October

Bristol
_______________________________________

Meet people from your region that are taking action, make plans together and build solidarity with people who live next door to Hinkley.
_______________________________________

Solidarity with Stop Hinkley

Date for your diaries:

Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th October

Bristol
_______________________________________

Meet people from your region that are taking action, make plans together and build solidarity with people who live next door to Hinkley.
_______________________________________

Solidarity with Stop Hinkley
Hinkley C in Somerset near Bristol, could become the first nuclear power station built in Britain for 20 years, Stop Hinkley is a community campaign to stop deadly nuclear sites being built near their homes.www.stophinkley.org

Action against EdF
EDF is one of the largest electricity companies and fully owned by the French state. In Britain, EDF is pushing hard for nuclear new build, and wants new reactors at four sites, the first being Hinkley C. www.boycottedf.org.uk

Campaign against the rerere-CONsultation
The government is taking its pro-nuclear propaganda on tour around the UK for the third time this Autumn in an attempt to escape legal challenges to its nuclear ambitions. We plan to be there, letting everyone know the Greenwashed, profit driven agenda they are spewing out.

More info coming soon.

Stop Nuclear Power gathering, 23-24 October 2010

Sat 23 – Sun 24 Oct 2010, Bristol

Meet, make plans, take action

Sat 23 – Sun 24 Oct 2010, Bristol

Meet, make plans, take action

Stop Nuclear Power is a grassroots network of groups and individuals taking action against nuclear power. If EdF get their way, Hinkley C will become the first nuclear power station built in Britain for 20 years and will sit next to two other radioactive and dangerous sites. Stop Hinkley is a long running community campaign to stop deadly nuclear reactors operating near their homes.
Their struggle is our struggle. Let’s sit down together in Bristol and make some plans together.

Hinkley is the battleground, if they get one in there, it opens the door for at least nine other nuclear power stations across the country. This Autumn, the government is taking its pro-nuclear propaganda on tour around the UK. We’ll be there. Come to the gathering or send us an email to find out how you can get involved.

www.boycottedf.org.uk

Info for the weekend:

Meeting space during the day on Saturday and Sunday tbc but will be in Bristol.
Crash space is available on a dry, warm and quiet floor space.
If you need a bed please get in contact with us as soon as possible and will try and help you out.
Lunch and dinner will be done communally on Saturday and lunch on Sunday.

For a telephone number to contact during the weekend send us an email.

Please help by letting us know you are coming so we can plan for space, food and logistics.

Email: nonewnuclear@aktivix.org

Bath Bomb #32 Out Now

THE BATH BOMB

@nti-copyright: copy and distribute!

Issue #32

free/donation

August 2010

“Fast, aggressive, and it wants your sandwich!”

Armaggedon Outta Here

THE BATH BOMB

@nti-copyright: copy and distribute!

Issue #32

free/donation

August 2010

“Fast, aggressive, and it wants your sandwich!”

Armaggedon Outta Here

An unpalatable modern-day truth is that human life, far from being sacred, is deemed expendable, almost an inconvenience, when the collision of politics, power and economics provokes conflict. Then, the bigger the conflict, the greater the number of lives wasted.

This month marks an especially poignant anniversary. In 1945, U.S. President Harry S. Truman took the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan: ‘Little Boy’ was detonated over Hiroshima on August 6th in that year ; on August 9th, ‘Fat Man’ was exploded over Nagasaki. Both cities were near-obliterated.

The tens of thousands who died instantly were mostly civilians. The ‘rationale’ for these acts of mass slaughter, if it is even possible to dignify them with that term, was that Hiroshima and Nagasaki had considerable industrial and military significance, and that their annihilation would put an end to Japanese prospects of territorial aggrandisement , terminating their involvement in World War II.

The body-count from both atrocities was a tragic coda to the tally of the total lives squandered in the entire six-year conflict. The American propaganda machine sought to spin what was in effect mass murder into a moral and military ‘success’, claiming that if the Japanese hadn’t surrendered after two of their cities had thus been blown to pieces, then a land invasion would have undoubtedly had to be carried out to achieve the same effect, costing the lives of thousands of U.S. troops.

It shows just what a moral vacuum the U.S. high command were living in when they had to skulk behind a hypothesis to avoid copping the blame for what in anyone else’s language would be interpreted as a cold-blooded war crime.

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was, and still is, indefensible. You can never ‘save’ lives by taking them. We all need to be reminded of the horrors which took place in Japan in early August 1945, because the nuclear monster that was unleashed upon the world then is still with us. It lurks off the British coast in the form of the Trident submarine fleet.

To tout the power-plant used by these weapons-in-waiting, as Cameron’s government is now doing, as a domestic energy source, shows that politicians continue to bamboozle the public with smokescreens while they harbour fantasies of nuking their way to world domination.

To blow billions on an unnecessary armament upgrade at a time of swingeing public service cuts would be laughable were it not such an obscenity.

Join The Resistance!

Considering the state’s massive attack on ordinary people, with cuts to jobs, services, pensions and benefits, the time has come to fight back. We should not be expected to pay for the crises caused by politicians and bankers. We are not all ‘in this together’ – the rich politicians in the Cabinet and the bankers with their bonuses are not affected. Members of B.A.N., along with others in the trade unions, are setting up an anti-cuts campaign in Bath, fighting to protect every job and defend pensions, services and benefits from cuts. The campaign is open to all those affected by government policy. We need to organise and fight back together.

The campaign will be organising a big public meeting at the end of September, and hopes to attract support from all affected groups. If you wish to get involved, contact johnbamphylde[at]yahoo.co.uk or phone 07908 355456.

More info is to follow in next month’s issue, but here are some important dates for your diary: the next Bath Anti-Cuts Committee meeting is at the Bell, Tuesday 24th August, 8pm; Sunday 3rd October will be a national day of action outside the Tory Party Conference in Birmingham; Wednesday 20th October will be the day of budget announcement; and Saturday 23rd October will be a regional day of action against the planned cuts.

And here are some websites to check out, too: http://www.righttowork.org.uk, and http://www.coalitionofresistance.wordpress.com.

Fight And Unite!

Some anarchists argue that the main trade unions are bureaucratic, their leaders have sold out and they have little relevance to working class people. They argue that anarchists should form their own unions. However, many young people find unions boring and do not really understand what they are. Others argue back that unions are still workers’ organisations, that they could still be the force to take on the capitalist state, and that workers should join and fight within unions to make them more democratic and combative.

At the Bath Socialist Forum meeting on Monday 30th August, at 8pm, we will be discussing the way forward for workers in trades unions, presented by John Bamphylde of Bath Trades Council. The following meeting, on Monday 27th September, will be presented by film-maker Ken Loach. The meetings take place at St James Wine Vaults, and all are welcome.

Killer Faces Unemployment!

A disciplinary hearing is to be held against P.C. Simon Harwood on the grounds of gross misconduct with regards to an attack on Ian Tomlinson on April 1st 2009. It is considered likely the outcome will be immediate dismissal.

I pose this question, doesn’t it seem a bit extreme to take away this man’s occupation simply for a light shove? After all, to push from behind is all part and parcel with policing a large-scale protest. Certainly, Tomlinson wasn’t dead immediately after the incident, so why then should Mr Harwood be subjected to mix with the doleys and scroungers?

A few individuals are claiming the P.C. to be guilty of manslaughter and hence deserves to lose his livelihood. These people are clearly revenge-bent or deranged as it is well known that there has been a long (and naturally therefore thorough) investigation by the C.P.S., which decided there was no case. Irrefutably trustworthy pathological evidence has shown the man died of natural causes. Further, the video footage doesn’t even show the man hitting the ground, let alone gaining injuries. Surely only one conclusion can be reached, that P.C. Simon Harwood is undeniably innocent.

Clearly, it was a highly volatile situation and a police officer cannot be blamed for getting a bit touchy-feely. If people get so het up about this, then with the home office more and more concerned about P.R., in the end we’ll have a police force too scared to catch any criminals.

Agri-Culture Shock

Transition Bath are starting up a new scheme in Bathampton, working with the Hughes family to restore a six acre area of land to organic production, and hope to bring together locals to explore how this can be done. Transition Bath are a local environmentalist group aiming to build a sustainable future using the power of community, in the face of declining natural resources and increasing costs. They hope to make the transition to a low carbon, local economy, whilst creating positive, self-reliant communities. This project should turn out to be the first Community Supported Agriculture (C.S.A.) scheme in the city – a partnership between farmers and the surrounding community, providing mutual benefits for both, and reconnecting people to the land. Whether you would like to grow your own, meet other locals, or get involved in a project to help reduce food bills and food miles, why not come along to the end of Holcombe Lane, near Holcombe Farm, Bathampton, at 1pm, on Sunday the 15th August for a barbecue and fruit pick. All donations to Transition Bath will be much appreciated. For more info, contact Jamie Colston at jamiecolston[at]gmail.com, or ring 01225 851377.

Another example of the link between ethical sustainability, the community and the food we eat, has been going on down at the Riverside Youth Centre on London Road since 2001. The London Road Food Co-op is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit members’ co-operative, opening Wednesdays from 4-7pm at the end of the lane behind the former Porter Butt pub. Membership is affordable and paid annually on a sliding voluntary scale between £3 and £10, and members get access to a whole host of organic, fairly traded and vegan-friendly wholefoods and groceries, without the price mark-up you will see in other stores. In the past the co-op has also operated a weekly veg, fruit, egg and bread scheme, which it hopes to revive. In the meantime, though, this is a great little friendly project, and is keen to attract members and volunteers. If you do want to find out more, why not pop along, or give them a call on 07837 784715?

http://www.transitionbath.org

Food Fayre Thought

Lazily aping our article from last month, in case you didn’t catch it, Saturday the 4th September will mark the day of the second annual Bath Vegan Fayre! Running from 12 midday til 4pm downstairs at Manvers Street Baptist Church, free entry, expect hours of free vegan savoury and sweet delights, as well as a sprinkling of talks and conversation, with a (non-dairy) creamy after-taste of nutritional and ethical info. In a delicious dash of déjà vu, there will also be a benefit gig at the Hobgoblin on Friday 27th August, from 8pm, featuring bands and D.J.s, £3 entry. Helpers for both would be much appreciated! E-mail bathanimalaction[at]yahoo.co.uk, or ring 07717 130954 for further info. And again, don’t forget Bristol’s grassroots vegan fayre/fair, taking place on Saturday 30th October in a venue near you.

GOT A STORY? WANT TO RECEIVE THE BATH BOMB BY EMAIL? HOPING TO SUE? Contact us by e-mailing bathbombpress[at]yahoo.co.uk. Large print e-versions available on request. And for more info on any of our stories, check out http://www.thebathbomb.blogspot.com

UPCOMING EVENTS

London Road Food Co-op, Wednesdays, 4-7pm, Riverside Community Centre, London Road, http://www.londonroadfoodcoop.blogspot.com

Bathampton Community Growers workday, Thursdays, 10am-dusk, Mill Lane, Bathampton, e-mail thelostplot[at]googlemail.com/ tel Chris 07792 444628

Bath Stop The War Coalition vigil, Saturdays, 11.30am-12.30, Bath Abbey Courtyard

Bradford-On-Avon peace vigil, Saturdays, 11.30am-12.30, by the peace statue opposite Westbury Gardens by the Town Bridge, Bradford-On-Avon

Recycle Your Sundays, Sundays, 10.30am, starts Abbey Churchyard, the regular series of sociable, easy-paced cycle rides, http://www.bathrys.org.uk/ tel Hazel 01225 469199

Bathampton Community Supported Agriculture barbecue & fruit pick, Sunday 15th August, 1pm, Holcombe Lane, Bathampton, e-mail jamiecolston[at]gmail.com/ tel Jamie 01225 851377 FFI

Regional hunt saboteurs get together, Sunday 15th August, 1pm, Bristol Downs

Bath Cycling Campaign meeting, Monday 16th August, 7.30pm, Rising Sun, Grove Street, http://www.bathcyclingcampaign.org.uk

Climate Camp Ireland, Thursday 16th to Monday 20th August, Victoria Bridge, County Tyrone, http://www.climatecamp.ie

Quebec Climate Action Camp, Wednesday 18th August to Sunday 22nd August, http://www,climateactionmontreal.wordpress.com/climatecam

Family Fun Day – Outdoor Cooking workshop, Thursday 19th August, 12-3pm, Broadlands Orchard, Box Road, Bathford, £15 per family (suitable for over 7s), booking essential: http://www.bathford.net/broadlands.php

Camp for Climate Action UK, Thursday 19th August to Tuesday 24th August, Edinburgh, http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/actions

talk: ‘The Venus Project’, Saturday 21st August, 1-5pm, Victoria Rooms – The Auditorium University of Bristol, Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1SA, £16.02 entry; http://thevpinbristol.eventbrite.com

Climate Camp Germany, Saturday 21st August to Sunday 29th August, Erkelenz- Borschemich, http://www.klimacamp2010.de

film: ‘The War Game’, Sunday 22nd August, 2.30pm, the Arnolfini, Bristol; http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/films/details/716

Bath Hunt Saboteurs meeting, Monday 23rd August, 8-9pm, The Bell, tel Justin 07854 062336

Bath Anti-Cuts Committee meeting, Tuesday 24th August, 8pm, The Bell, Walcot Street

Bath Stop the War meeting, Wednesday 25th August, 7.30pm, Friends Meeting House, York Street, Bath, BA1 1NG; http://www.bathstopwar.org.uk

Family Fun Day – Build Your Own Pond workshop, Thursday 26th August, 12-3pm, Broadlands Orchard, Box Road, Bathford, £15 per family (suitable for over 7s), booking essential: http://www.bathford.net/broadlands.php

Bath Vegan Fayre benefit gig, Friday 27th August, 8-11pm, Hobgoblin, St James Parade; more details tbc

Bath Stop The War Coalition vigil: vote with your money against Trident, Saturday 28th August, 11.30am-12.30, Bath Abbey Courtyard, other Bath human rights/trade & development/ justice/trades union organisations are invited to support Critical Mass Bike Ride, Saturday 28th August, 1pm, Kingsmead Square, http://www.bathcyclingcampaign.org.uk

Climate Justice Action meeting at the Netherlands Earth First! Gathering, Saturday 28th August to Sunday 29th August, Utrecht, http://www.climate-justice-action.org

Bath Animal Action info stall, Sunday 29th August, 2-4pm, Stall Street, e-mail bathanimalaction[at]yahoo.co.uk

Transition Bath Social, Monday 30th August, 7.15pm, the Love Lounge/ back room of the Bell, Walcot Street; bring food to share; http://www.transitionbath.org

Bath Socialist Forum meeting, Monday 30th August, 8pm, upstairs St James Wine Vaults, presented by John Bamphylde/Bath Trades Council

one year part-time ‘Practical Sustainability’ course, starts September 2010, Bristol; exploring permaculture design, organic horticulture, woodland management, green building, ecological interactions, energy, group dynamics, re-localisation, creating change, community engagement and more; http://www.shiftbristol.org.uk

Bath Activist Network meeting, Thursday 2nd September, 7.30-9pm, downstairs at The Hobgoblin, St James Parade, http://www.bathactivistnetwork.blogspot.com

Kilter theatre : ‘Roots: Replanted’ (performance about food security issues), Thursday 2nd to Friday 3rd September, St Werburgh’s City Farm, Boiling Wells, Bristol, BS2 9YJ, 7.30pm, £9 (£7 concessions), tel 01225 386777 to book, http://www.kiltertheatre.org

Bath Vegan Fayre, Saturday 4th September, 12-4pm, Manvers Street Baptist Church, free entry

Kilter theatre : ‘Roots: Replanted’ (performance about food security issues), Saturday 4th September, St Werburgh’s City Farm, Boiling Wells, Bristol, BS2 9YJ, 2.30pm & 7.30pm, £9 (£7 concessions), tel 01225 386777 to book, http://www.kiltertheatre.org

Kilter theatre : ‘Roots: Replanted’ (performance about food security issues), Sunday 5th September, St Werburgh’s City Farm, Boiling Wells, Bristol, BS2 9YJ, 2.30pm, £9 (£7 concessions), tel 01225 386777 to book, http://www.kiltertheatre.org

Bath Green Drinks, Wednesday 8th September, 8.30pm, the Rising Sun, Grove Street

Kilter theatre : ‘Roots: Replanted’ (performance about food security issues), Thursday 9th to Friday 10th September, Hampton Row Allotments, Bathwick, 7.30pm, £9 (£7 concessions), tel 01225 386777 to book, http://www.kiltertheatre.org

Bristol Anarchist Bookfair, Saturday 11th September, 10.30-6pm, Hamilton House, 80 Stokes Croft, Bristol; e-mail bristolanarchistbookfair[at]riseup.net; http://www.bristolanarchistbookfair.org

Kilter theatre : ‘Roots: Replanted’ (performance about food security issues), Saturday 11th September, Hampton Row Allotments, Bathwick, 2.30pm & 7.30pm, £9 (£7 concessions), tel 01225 386777 to book, http://www.kiltertheatre.org

Kilter theatre : ‘Roots: Replanted’ (performance about food security issues), Sunday 12th September, Hampton Row Allotments, Bathwick, 2.30pm, £9 (£7 concessions), tel 01225 386777 to book, http://www.kiltertheatre.org

Bath Animal Action meeting, Monday 13th September, 8-9pm, The Bell, Walcot Street, e-mail bathanimalaction[at]yahoo.co.uk

Kilter theatre : ‘Roots: Replanted’ (performance about food security issues), Thursday 16th to Friday 17th September, Peasedown St John Community Farm, Dunkerton Hill, BA2 8PJ, 7.30pm, £9 (£7 concessions), tel 01225 386777 to book, http://www.kiltertheatre.org

Kilter theatre : ‘Roots: Replanted’ (performance about food security issues), Saturday 18th September, Peasedown St John Community Farm, Dunkerton Hill, BA2 8PJ, 2.30pm & 7.30pm, £9 (£7 concessions), tel 01225 386777 to book, http://www.kiltertheatre.org

Regional South West Animal Rights Coalition meeting, Sunday 19th September, 12-5pm, The Factory, Cave Street, central Bristol

Kilter theatre : ‘Roots: Replanted’ (performance about food security issues),

Sunday 19th September, Peasedown St John Community Farm, Dunkerton Hill, BA2 8PJ, 2.30pm, £9 (£7 concessions), tel 01225 386777 to book, http://www.kiltertheatre.org

Kilter theatre : ‘Roots: Replanted’ (performance about food security issues), Thursday 23rd to Friday 24th September, Bloomfield Allotments, Bear Flat, 7.30pm, £9 (£7 concessions), tel 01225 386777 to book, http://www.kiltertheatre.org

Kilter theatre : ‘Roots: Replanted’ (performance about food security issues), Saturday 25th September, Bloomfield Allotments, Bear Flat, 2.30pm & 7.30pm, £9 (£7 concessions), tel 01225 386777 to book, http://www.kiltertheatre.org

Kilter theatre : ‘Roots: Replanted’ (performance about food security issues), Sunday 26th September, Bloomfield Allotments, Bear Flat, 2.30pm, £9 (£7 concessions), tel 01225 386777 to book, http://www.kiltertheatre.org

Bath Socialist Forum meeting, Monday 27th September, 8pm, upstairs St James Wine Vaults, presented by Ken Loach

No Borders Camp Belgium, Wednesday 29th September to Sunday 3rd October, Brussels, http://www.noborderbxl.eu.org/?lang=en

National March for Farmed Animals, Saturday 2nd October, 12pm start, Cavendish Square, London

anti-Tory demonstration, Sunday 3rd October, Tory Party Conference, Birmingham more details tbc

Legal fees benefit punk gig: ‘SUBVERT 2010 – A Festival Of Resistance’, Friday 8th to Sunday 10th October, Bristol, feat Hellkrusher, Ruidosa Immunidicia, War All The Time, Ignosy, The Wankys, The Extinguishers & Bulletridden, as well as vegan cafés/ stalls/ films/ workshops & picnic; more details tbc

Regional day of action against the cuts, Saturday 23rd October

Bristol Free Vegan Food Fair, Saturday 30th October, more details tbc

Camp for Climate Action Australia, Wednesday 1st to Sunday 5th December, Bayswater Power Station, http://www.climatecamp.org.au

Climate Camp Aotearoa, Thursday 16th to Tuesday 21st December, Wellington New Zealand, http://www.climatecamp.org.nz/node/51

The Only Good Boss Is A Dead Boss?

B&NES Council has managed to well and truly shit on its workers once again through its recent advertisement of a new job role to fill. After cutting loose 70 staff in the last couple months, and planning at least another 300 job losses in the near future, the creation of the new Head of Property post, with its wage packet of between £71,166 and £76,638 per year, tells those former employees exactly what the council thinks of them. The creation of this managerial role could only happen once the rank and file, who actually do the work rather than just fanny around sacking people, had been let go. Set to manage (i.e. leave them all boarded up for years then flog) the council’s portfolio of 1,000 buildings, many in retail, worth more than £500 million, this has left union officials furious with the council chiefs. But here at the Bath Bomb, considering the calibre of inhuman slitherings and evolutionary dead-ends infesting the rest of B&NES’s Property Services department, we wonder what sort of two-faced reptilian abomination they’ll dredge up to fill that role, and which carnival freak show will soon be missing its star attraction?

Bath Activist Network are a local umbrella group campaigning on issues as diverse as development, environmentalism, anti-war, animal rights, workers’ rights and more. Helping to produce the Bath Bomb, we are open to anyone, and our members range from trade unionists to anarchists, liberals and greens, and people who just want to change Bath for the better. For details on meetings, demos, or just to get in touch, e-mail bathactivistnet[at]yahoo.co.uk, or see our website: http://www.bathactivistnetwork.blogspot.com

Gull War Syndrome

There’s an epidemic going on! You may or may not have heard about the killer seagulls roaming the streets of bath. Or, EVEN WORSE the murderous foxes patrolling EVERY CITY IN THE UK!!! looking for pets and children to eat. The national press have bravely soldiered on to warn the general public of these menaces, one Bath photographer took his life in his hands to get a picture of the gull menace close up.

Bath landlords are feeling the need to join brave vigilante groups to oil the eggs and stop the demon spawn escaping. Unfortunately these brave souls have neglected to think about why wild animals would chose to move into urban areas.

The only reason that wildlife can survive in cities is our attitude to waste. Pigeons, gulls and foxes all survive on the disgusting amount of food waste scattered all over. ‘Gull prevention measures’ in one part of Bath simply move the problem to the next street. If homeowners, landlords and the council made a concerted effort to get rid of the birds they could do so easily. All it takes is to clean up our waste.

The disposable culture we live in means that a huge amount is thrown out, a lack of adequate recycling facilities (along with pure laziness on many peoples part) means that waste is left on our streets for days before being collected. Along with animals being able to survive on all of this, it also poses risks to them. The fact that food waste, when not composted, is mixed in with other rubbish means that animals are at risk of choking, poisoning, and numerous other horrible deaths – leading to the sight of rotting corpses on our streets. Surely not good for the tourists?

In order to ensure humans are kept away from this dangerous wildlife entirely, we need to make our cities uninhabitable to these menaces. Cleaning up after yourself – rather than tossing the blame at any old scapegoat – should do it.

From Our Unclothed Correspondent

“On Sunday 13th June, I took part in the first proper ‘Bristol World Naked Bike Ride’, to protest against oil dependency, in favour of curbing car culture and to have car- free Sundays in the city and a celebration of body freedom. By riding nude, protesters demonstrate the vulnerability of cyclists on the busy streets. It also feels good and liberating.

We met at the Full Moon pub, Stokes Croft, Bristol at 12 noon, and it was a lovely hot sunny day so people started stripping off beforehand in the beer garden, as you had to stay dressed inside the pub.

The ride headed off about 1pm, most of the cyclists were naked including myself, some were body-painted, others had small costumes on, it’s a clothes-optional protest, but the more that are nude the better. There was no police presence.

Spectators lined some of the route cheering and enjoying the event which went through Broadmead, Castle Green, the Centre, Baldwin St, Old Market and College Green, where we stopped for a photo call before heading back to the Full Moon where many remained naked outside until leaving late afternoon.

The protest was a great success, with good photos on Bristol Indymedia, and the local press. The World Naked Bike Ride is an international event and this year there were rides in London, Brighton, Southampton, York, Sheffield andManchester, it’s growing. It’s also showing that there is nothing wrong with the human body and being a free spirit.”

Hitting The Books

Continuing with the current plugging craze, the Bristol Anarchist Bookfair follows hot on the Bath Vegan Fayre’s heels, on Saturday 11th September. There is a definite growth of anarchist and alternative bookfairs happening through the U.K. and abroad, which shows both increased co-operation between different anarchist trends, and a growing interest in finding an alternative to the failures of capital – not too surprising, considering the state our economy and planet is in! The event will feature two floors of stalls, workshops, books, zines, merchandise, and talks, plus a radical history zone, film room, creche and vegan café. Taking place at Hamilton House, 80 Stokes Croft in Bristol, from 10.30am to 6pm, the fair (they obviously didn’t quite have the gumption to go with ‘fayre’) is free and accessible to all, and is guaranteed to open both eyes and wallets.

http://www.bristolanarchistbookfair.org

Don’t Think We’re Alone Now

For our Bristol readers, ‘The Autonomist’, Bristol’s new radical news sheet and directory, is out now: get it online at http://www.bristolautonomist.blogspot.com!

I Would Have Got Away With It Too, If It Wasn’t For You Heddlu Kids

The long-awaited Welsh Climate Camp/Climate Camp Cymru went into action on Friday 13th of this month, focusing once more on the polluting evils of the coal extraction industry, and set up near the Selar and Nant-Helen (due for expansion) opencast coal mines, in Glyn-Neath in South Wales. Both mines are owned by Celtic Energy. The Selar mine itself destroyed a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) back in the 1990s, for added ecocide – trashing vital marsh thistles, and failing to rehome the colony of rare marsh fritillary butterflies. For the camp itself, as with previous camps, a positive agenda of decentralised, renewable power systems, communal living, eco-action planning and skillshare workshops were all on the cards.

However, the Welsh police put paid to all that the next day, prematurely evicting the site and 30 or so activists present, drawing on a massive outlay of mounted police and at least 15 riot vans full. Maybe Friday the 13th wasn’t such a good day after all?

On related news, the 13 remaining defendants of April’s Ffos-y-fran coal train blockade were conditionally discharged at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on the Friday; the other five had their charges dropped in July. A lifelong restraining order barring them from the vicinity of Aberthaw Power Station and the Ffos-y-fran mine hangs round their necks. They were greeted outside court by more mounted police, two riot vans and the flashes of BBC and ITV photographers. Ahh, the price of fame.

http://www.bristol.indymedia.org.uk/article/693181

And now, to the disclaimer: as anyone is free to contribute, the opinions expressed in each article are not necessarily reflective of all contributors. Naturally, any right-wing or corporate bullshit will be binned and spat upon. Needless to say, the opinions of the author of this disclaimer do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any other contributor.

Trashing, dashing, bashing, mashing: the new EF! Action Update

So what have you been up to the last few months? Just hanging around?
Maybe you’ve been part of human wheel-clamping aeroplanes, climbing up scaffolding tripods inconveniently placed in the road, smashing machines at open-cast mines, playing nuked-dead in the street, kayaking against borehole drill rigs in Ireland, burning mobile phone masts, resisting Tesco, camping against trashing of woodland, with some success at Titnore (& other protest camp updates), or getting in on BP’s act, spilling oil in public places.

Or have you been on holiday, taking part in indigenous blockades against logging, dams and mining, spilunking against high speed trains, slashing tuna cages, blockading Monsanto HQ, trashing GM fields, and more?

Maybe you’re in need of a break. But if you’re not, and are just champing at the bit, the return of AUntie MIffy’s problem page might help, addressing what to do if there’s no local group near you. There’s an article about the beginnings of EF! in this country, looking forwards to the next 20 years, to help inspire. If you need support to get things going where you live, do get in touch. And if all that’s not enough, here’s a quotation, from Paul Watson, the Sea Shepherd captain:

“Future generations will not have the chance and those that came before us did not have the vision nor the knowledge. It is up to us — you and I.”

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