First segments eventually delivered to tunnelling compound,11 segments to come
On Thursday night Shell's efforts to move parts of a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) critical to the Corrib gas project hit another delay as protesters blocked the main gate of the refinery site with a concrete lock-on.
First segments eventually delivered to tunnelling compound,11 segments to come
On Thursday night Shell's efforts to move parts of a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) critical to the Corrib gas project hit another delay as protesters blocked the main gate of the refinery site with a concrete lock-on.
Two protesters from the Rossport Solidarity Camp locked themselves into a 400kg reinforced concrete barrel from 7.30pm until the Garda protest removal team finished cutting them out at about midnight. By this stage about 20 people had gathered at the gates in support, but this was out-numbered by a force of about 50 to 60 Gardaí which was clearly already planned to mobilise to move the TBM.
For the hour or two before the Gardai cordoned off the area around the lock-on, campaigners chatted drinking tea and eating scones. It was satisfying to hear that as the lock on was being set up at Shell's main refinery gate, Gardaí were searching the ditches on the Aughoose road (where most of the recent lock-ons have happened).
After the lock-on had been dealt with the Gardaí swept up its remains to clear the way for the TBM parts, then proceeded to clear the section of road outside the refinery with the usual lawless pushing and shoving. After a delay of over 2 months since the first delivery was attempted, Shell and the Gardaí finally managed to deliver some of the TBM parts to the Aughoose tunnelling compound two miles away.
The two lock-on protesters were released from Belmullet Garda station at about 4am this morning each charged with sections 8&9 (obstruction and refusing to obey the directions of a Garda when suspected of committing a crime) of the public order act, and join 5 more campaigners due to appear in court in Belmullet on November 14th.
In a recent letter to local residents Shell have said that they intend to start tunnelling in the coming weeks, but it is thought that there are still 11 sections of the TBM yet to be delivered before they can begin. There are signs that delays will continue – without any help yet another lorry delivering TBM parts went off road earlier in the week outside Bangor – after making its delivery however.
After a lie in today we headed down to remove the windmill – last vestige of the summer camp 2012. The previous week had been a massive moving effort to clear out the field and pack the camp infrastructure away for the winter. The house up the hill at Barr na Coilleadh Pullathomas is now the main camp base again for the winter. Come visit and check out the view for yourself!
See rossportsolidaritycamp.org for info about staying at the camp, email rossportsolidaritycamp@gmail.com or ring 085 1141170 to let us know you're coming or for other info.
WINNSBORO, TEXAS – Monday, October 1, 2012 8:00AM – A Tar Sands Blockade protester has stopped the destruction of a small family farm in East Texas by locking himself in front of oncoming Keystone XL clearing equipment.
WINNSBORO, TEXAS – Monday, October 1, 2012 8:00AM – A Tar Sands Blockade protester has stopped the destruction of a small family farm in East Texas by locking himself in front of oncoming Keystone XL clearing equipment. Houston resident, Alejandro de la Torre, 28, is taking action to stop the Keystone XL pipeline from destroying the home of yet another Texas family threatened by TransCanada’s poisonous tar sands slurry.
In a powerful display of conviction, De la Torre locked his arm into a concrete capsule buried directly in the proposed path of the toxic pipeline. This courageous act is preventing TransCanada’s unwelcomed onslaught of machines from devastating property captured through eminent domain abuse. Follow live updates on facebook and twitter.
“I was raised in New Orleans, so I’ve seen how local communities suffer at the hands of multinational corporations,” attests de la Torre. “I’m willing to risk arrest today to stop this tar sands pipeline because I have the privilege to help protect the safety of those most affected. Keystone XL endangers the health and safety of everyone from the landowners and their families now threatened by cancer causing leaks, to the refinery communities in Houston that have to breathe the dirty air, as well as people of color around the world who are disproportionately affected by climate change.”
In a separate protest just miles away on the other side of Winnsboro, Tar Sands Blockade’s aerial tree protest enters into its second week. Sitters in platforms nearly 100 feet in the air are not deterred by reckless behavior on the part of TransCanada’s work crews. Despite repeated warning of the dangers on the part of the protesters, the company is encouraging the use of dangerous tree clearing equipment within feet of protesters’ trees, endangering their lives.
Today’s blockade comes less than a week after TransCanada supervisors encouraged law enforcement to brutalize two peaceful protesters who were acting in defense of the largest tree blockade in Texas history. One of the abused protesters, Benjamin Franklin, explained why peaceful civil disobedience must continue despite the violence orchestrated by TransCanada, “I encourage everyone to persevere in the face of this type of sheer brutality. To follow one’s moral compass in spite of extreme challenges is the way we move forward towards a more humane, tar sands-free planet.”
Below is a previously recorded video of the landowner, Susan Scott whose land stands to be clear-cut today, confronting TransCanada’s surveyors.
“TransCanada doesn’t have any local community ties, it lies about the safety of its pipeline because it cares more about money than about people,” claims Ron Seifert, spokesperson for Tar Sands Blockade. “If this multinational corporation had any compassion for East Texan’s homes, it would respect our constitutionally protected property rights instead of condemning the land and using it for its own private gain.”
UPDATE: 9:30AM – Police Arrive and Begin to Calmly Access the Situation
UPDATE: 10:30AM – TransCanada Workers Bringing Shovels and Threatening to Dig Alejandro Out
UPDATE: 11:00AM – Police Baffled About How to Respond – TransCanada Helicopter Circling Overhead
UPDATE: 11:30AM – Fire and Rescue Crews Arrive With More Plain Clothes Police
UPDATE: 1:00PM – Police Steal Camera From Observers Standing Nearby on Private Property
After the the torture tactics used on our blockaders last week at the encouragement of TransCanada supervisors we’ve made ever effort to ensure we have observers on the scene carefully watching with a video camera. Observers were standing nearby on private property when police confiscated their camera! Fortunately, TV crews are arriving on the scene and hopefully they wouldn’t be subjected to this same obstruction of civil liberties.
UPDATE: 1:15PM – Police Attach Hand-Cuffs to Alejandro’s Ankles – Undeterred He Holds Strong
UPDATE: 1:25PM – Police Put a Screen Around Alejandro So Observers Can’t Watch and Protect Him
Since the police stole our main camera right now we only have photo of the screen taken far away with a cell phone camera. A backup photographer arrived on the scene later and took high definition photos that we’ll upload on our flickr stream tonight.
UPDATE: 3:00PM – Police Chiseling Away at the Underground Capsule That Alejandro is Locked Into
UPDATE: 3:45PM – Alejandro Has Been Arrested For Helping Save a Family Farm From Keystone XL
After delaying construction for almost an entire day Alejandro has been extracted from the underground capsule and arrested. Through his brave actions he was able to bring to light the disrespect that local landowners have suffered at the hands of TransCanada’s eminent domain abuse and trampling of landowner rights.
UPDATE: 4:00PM – Bulldozer Has Moved in to Level More of the Family Farm
After being delayed almost an entire work-day by Alejandro’s actions Keystone XL construction crews quickly moved in with machinery to get in at least one hour of work bulldozing a local landowners beloved family farm before the end of the work day.
UPDATE: 6:00PM – Read Alejandro’s Story of How His Passion For Environmental Justice Motivates Him
“I’m willing to risk arrest because I have a certain amount of personal privilege that allows me to participate. I don’t live near a Gulf refinery, or on land that’s at risk from a devastating tar sands spill, so I’m able to play a small part in an action that will really help people’s lives. I’m here to stand up for people on the front lines because they’re being trampled to make way for corporate profits.
I’m sick of seeing these devastating affects on a personal and community level and on a grand global scale in which corporations and their profits call all the shots.”
UPDATE: OCTOBER 2nd, 9:00AM – Alejandro’s Bail Set at $10,000
Yesterday Houston resident Alejandro de la Torre delayed Keystone XL clear cutting operations on a family farm outside Winnsboro, Texas for almost an entire day. De la Torre locked himself to an underground capsule in the pathway of Keystone XL to protect the farm, saying simply that “I’m here to stand up for people on the front lines because they’re being trampled to make way for corporate profits.” After Wood County Sheriff Department confiscated peaceful observers camera’s they arrested him for his courageous action.
De la Torre is currently being held on trumped up charges and a bail set at $10,000, an outrageous sum for a nonviolent peaceful protester. As a supporter of Alejandro and the blockade please demonstrate your support with a generous donation to his bail.
UPDATE: OCTOBER 2nd, 10:0AM- Alejandro Released!
Alejandro de la Torre has been released from Wood County Jail. When more information becomes available we will update. For now, check out what Alejandro said before he was arrested on our blog.
Tuesday afternoon in East Texas, after police brutally tortured two protesters locked to a backhoe and workers resumed destruction of the forest, members of the Tar Sands Blockade, determined not to be deterred by violence, moved in to try and stop work again. One activist sat down in front of a feller buncher, a hideous machine used to rapidly cut down smaller trees, and, after making eye contact with the worker, almost had a tree dropped on him. The video shows it all, and you can read the activist’s own telling of the incident here.
There’s really not much else to say. Big Oil is attacking our bodies, our homes, and the planet, and now that the cards are on the table, it’s time to fight back. Word on the street is that we’ve got a lovely crew of Earth First!ers ready for action joining us tonight or tomorrow morning, but there’s plenty of room for you to get involved too. Go here or email noneshallpass@riseup.net, and we’ll see you on the ground.
Despite summer being over, things continue to heat up in Texas for the Tar Sands Blockade as we enter day 3 of the tree-sit. On Monday, 8 people took to the trees to defend the land from clear-cutting that would allow for continued construction of the pipeline. And yesterday, two ground-dwelling allies locked themselves to a piece of construction machinery that was being used to build a road to the tree village, effectively halting TransCanada’s work for most of the day.
The police response to this action was predictable but nevertheless shocking. Under the encouragement of TransCanada supervisors, police used sustained chokeholds, violent arm-twisting, pepper spray, and multiple shocks from a Taser, all while the two blockaders were in handcuffs. Despite the torture, the two blockaders held strong for hours, and their perseverance has only further inspired blockaders to continue the protests. This morning, in response to the brutality inflicted on our comrades yesterday, another activist has ascended into the tree village to join the aerial blockade, bringing its total population to 9.
Benjamin Franklin, one of the tortured protesters, had this to say after being released from jail: “As someone who has a religious dedication to nonviolence, I have a duty to assist nonviolent tactics. This is a path to change that works. Despite everything that happened at the direction of TransCanada, I don’t regret my involvement at all. I encourage everybody to persevere in the face of this type of sheer brutality. To follow one’s moral compass in spite of extreme challenges is the way we move forward towards a more humane, tar sands-free planet.”
TransCanada has shown blatant disregard for the safety of peaceful people, local families, and our planet. Despite their claims to be concerned for safety, whether of protestors, landowners, or the planet, time and time again this has been shown to be patently false. From encouraging torture to defrauding and coercing people out of their land to cutting corners with safety measures for detecting and preventing spills, TransCanada’s only concern is abundantly clear – profit.
They can be stopped. Every day of delay costs them money and brings us a tiny bit closer to the goal of stopping the pipeline. The odds are low, but this is a winnable fight.
If you read the call to action or saw this awesome video, you know how devastating extracting and burning tar sands oil will be to the climate and how critical stopping this pipeline is. This action has the potential to be a huge turning point for the resistance movement against fossil fuels, but it needs your help to survive and succeed. If you can spare anything, make a donation here. If you want to do more, visit this page or email noneshallpass@riseup.net to get involved.
DATELINE WINNSBORO, TX — This morning two Texas-born Tar Sands Blockaders have locked themselves to a critical piece of equipment for TransCanada’s Keystone XL construction in order to protect a massive tree village in the direct path of the toxic tar sands pipeline.
The village, where eight tree sitters remain in vigil, is on property that TransCanada now claims ownership of through court action. Keystone XL construction crews have advanced just over 300 yards away from the northern boundary of Tar Sands Blockade’s tree vigil.
It’s only weeks until the Earth First! Summer Gathering begins. Five days of workshops, info sharing and learning new skills, 1-5 August.
It’s only weeks until the Earth First! Summer Gathering begins. Five days of workshops, info sharing and learning new skills, 1-5 August.
The Earth First Summer Gathering takes place each year to provide a space in which the radical ecology movement can share skills and plan for future campaigns and actions.
Discussions around the importance of community building in inner cities, the state of the anarchist movement and patriarchy in activism.
Skill shares including women's self-defence, researching corporations and navigation.
Campaign round ups from Frack Off! Smash Edo and Luddites 2000 amongst others.
Camping is on a sliding scale of £30 to £15, pay what is genuinely appropriate.
Food will be from Anarchist Teapot and meal tickets will be £5 a day.
Kids can have separate meals if they want for £3 a day.
There will be a couple of kids spaces, and special workshops being ran for kids. If you’d like to run any kids workshops get in touch at earthfirstsummergathering@riseup.net.
And of course there will be entertainment and a bar open in the evenings.
The camp is ½ mile from the Berrington village, and 1 mile from the larger village of Cross Houses.
We encourage non-cycling campers to use public transport if possible as Cross Houses is on a bus route.
BY TRAIN The nearest train station is Shrewsbury. You can then get the bus to Cross Houses (see below). If coming from a long distance it can sometimes be cheaper to get a ticket to a large station such as Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Manchester or Crewe and then a separate ticket on to Shrewsbury. Check national rail for train times and prices. If coming from the London direction, it’s generally cheaper to buy a Super Offpeak Return, specifying “London Midland & Arriva only”.
BY BIKE See here for directions and a map to the camp from Shrewsbury for cyclists and drivers.
BY BUS When you arrive at Shrewsbury train station, ask someone to point you to the bus station. It’s only a few minutes walk from the train station. The bus service that runs from town to within a mile of Crabapple is the 436 towards Bridgnorth. It runs every hour from 7.40am to 5.40pm with a “late” one at 7.40pm. The journey to Cross Houses is approx 15 mins. You will need to press the stop button when you see the sign for Cross Houses. Some of the services on this route are low-floor accessible buses. Please note that the last bus leaves Shrewsbury at 7.40pm, Monday to Saturday and there are no Sunday bus services. For the bus timetable see here http://shropshire.gov.uk/bustimes/timetable.jsc?timetable=436mfi0412. The camp itself is about 1 mile from the bus stop. From the bus stop at Cross Houses, walk back towards Shrewsbury past the petrol station (on your right) and take the first left turn signed “Berrington”. After about ½ mile, the road forks at the edge of the village. Take the right turn signposted “Betton Abbots” and we’re about ¼ mile up the road on the right. If you intend to come by bus but need help getting to and from the bus stop, you can arrange a pick up with us: details will be available nearer the time.
BY TAXI There is also a taxi rank just outside Shrewsbury train station. Accessible taxis can be got from here.- but it is MUCH cheaper to book a cab from a local company – Comet Cabs 01743 344444, or Vincent Cabs 01743 367777. Vincents also have a booking office just across the road from the station, which is handy if you don’t have a phone to book a cab in advance.
Last week a stone crushing machine central to the operation of Barretts Quarry in Bangor, County Mayo was decomissioned. Barretts Quarry was targeted because it supplies materials crucial to the construction of Royal Dutch Shell's dangerous and destructive raw gas pipeline in Broadhaven Bay.
This action was taken in solidarity with the local community who have been in struggle against Royal Dutch Shell for the past ten years, and should serve to demonstrate that any company complicit in supporting Royal Dutch Shell's activities in Mayo, and beyond, can and will be targeted.
“These people have more rights than us” was the response of the police to an irate driver. He was attempting to refuel at the Shell Garage in Old Street, London. Protesters had managed to blockade the station in the last action of a very successful day against Shell Oil.
Activists from Occupy Oil in solidarity with Anonymous UK closed the station for almost an hour. The protesters were carrying Anti Shell banners, placards and a coffin to represent the destructive nature of this 1% company.
On the 22nd of May activists from Occupy Oil held demonstrations in London and Las Vegas (See Video of action here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td8NNinikyc) against Dutch Shell Oil, who were holding their Annual General Meeting at The Hague and London via video link.
The morning began with six activists leaving St Paul's Cathedral with a coffin and banner to make a symbolic funeral procession through the streets of the City of London.
We were greeted with a small police presence; this scaled back policing response was possibly as a result of their behavior on the 12th of May, When peaceful demonstrators from Occupy May were assaulted and kettled outside of the Bank of England. In a very dignified ceremony, the 6 activists and coffin took around 40 minutes to get to the location of the AGM, which was being held at the Barbican Centre
Little did we know at the time that we were being followed and photographed not by the police but by a private security firm. This latest intimidation fits in well with their behaviour elsewhere as pointed out by Marc Vallee at the recent #netpol2012 conference.
@marc_vallee At #netpol2012 today I mentioned that a private intelligence company had contacted me for information on direct action protest groups. @marc_vallee The groups are: @climatecamp @RisingTide_UK @NoTarSands &@UKuncut << I will be providing the groups with the relevant evidence. #netpol2012
Despite the intimidation the whole day was very successful with garages closed and Shell's Annual General Meeting disrupted with zero arrests, Our message is clear, "TO HELL WITH SHELL" www.occupyoil.co.uk @OccupyOil
At today's Shell AGM link at the Barbican the suits on the Shell board were given a 3 hour grilling, with questioners focusing attention on its environmental and human rights crimes around the world. Spread throughout the auditorium hooded London Rising Tide & friends' grim Shell reapers, stood silently awaiting direction from the board toward their next appointment with Shell induced death and environmental destruction. They stood motionless for almost an hour while Messrs Ollila and Vosser, Chairman & CEO, attempted to defend Shell's ravenous pursuit of profit above all else at the expense of : the pristine Arctic- where drilling and probably spilling will begin in the summer; the Canadian boreal forest-where Tar Sands "extraction" has increased by 100k barrels per day; the once beautiful fish spawning grounds of the Niger Delta- now clogged with a "Deepwater Horizon's" worth of oil every year; and listened intently to Vosser spouting that so-called "ethical company status" was "very close to my heart and we are driving sustainability".
We all know where its being driven. Remember climate change?
Climate change may not be a fashionable subject these days, but it’s already claiming 300,000 lives a year. Glaciers are disappearing, sea levels are rising and extreme weather is becoming more extreme. As temperatures rise, we’ll see more flooding, drought, disease, famine and war, creating hundreds of millions of refugees and destroying entire ecosystems and species. We can’t afford to forget about climate change – or the fact that companies like Shell are at the heart of the problem and a shift to Fossil Fuel Gas and land grabbing biofuels isn't helping!
Meanwhile outside, many more Shell Grim Reapers managed to gain entry into the lobby before being ejected by what one shareholder inside referred to as "over the top security". There they met with Occupy Shell Oil coffin bearers who had processed the corporate body of Shell from St.Pauls Cathedral to be laid to rest at the feet of a 6 degree Celsius global temperature rise this century. There among the shareholders, City cops and many private security and corporate spies, the Shell Reapers handed out leaflets to inform of impending Shell devastation.
A delegation from Indigenous peoples attended Shell’s main Annual General Meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, they detailed the massive human and ecological rights violations and economic devastation that Shell's operations have brought to local communities. The tar sands development in Alberta, Canada covers an area the size of England, with toxic lakes so huge they are visible from space, leaking poisons into the local water supply. The effects that tar sands are having on local First Nations communities are devastating. Not only are indigenous livelihoods and futures being destroyed, but communities on land where tar sands extraction has been imposed are experiencing disturbingly high rates of rare forms of cancer and auto-immune diseases.
Eriel Deranger, community member and spokesperson for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), Alberta – an Indigenous community residing downstream from tar sands operations and who are currently suing Shell for violating past agreements, stated:
“Tar sands extraction projects on our traditional lands are being approved at a pace that is both irresponsible and irreparably destructive. People in the community of Fort Chipewyan
are genuinely afraid. Our food and water sources are contaminated, resulting in a fear of eating traditional foods and eroding the continuation of our cultural and subsistence lifestyles. Yet Shell plans to aggressively expand its activities, doubling production. The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation is calling on Shell to meet its past agreements and halt expansion until our broader concerns about the cumulative impacts of tar sands operations are addressed.”
Ron Plain, from Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Ontario – which has been called ‘the most polluted place in North America’ by the National Geographic Society, and the ‘the most contaminated airshed in Canada’ by the World Health Organization due to its proximity to ‘Chemical Valley’ where Shell’s and other tar sands operators’ refineries are causing serious health and reproductive impacts – said:
“Aamjiwnaang is the first community in the world to experience birth ratios of 2 girls to 1 boy due to endocrine disruption from the pollution. This is the first step towards extinction. Shell have admitted that their current facility, which is located at the fenceline of Aamjiwnaang, ‘could not meet today’s environmental regulations or standards.’ But Shell’s proposal for a new facility within Aamjiwnaang territory was recently denied by Canada for a whole host of environmental, social and other reasons. The corporate response to that set-back was to build onto the antiquated facility the equipment needed to process more tar sands bitumen.”
Robert Thompson, Chairman of REDOIL and an Inupiat from Kaktovik, a village on the edge of the Arctic Ocean in Alaska, where Shell plans to drill offshore in Arctic waters this summer, said:
“Shell plans to drill in the Arctic this summer without the proven technology or infrastructure to deal with inevitable spills. They have not demonstrated the ability to clean up spills within or from under the ice or during storms. Our culture depends on a clean ocean, and we have subsisted in this region for 12,000 years. We oppose Shell’s plans that have the potential to destroy the culture of our people and will further push the planet into irreversible climate change.”
Ben Powless, a Mohawk from Six Nations in Ontario, representing the Indigenous Environmental Network, said:
“Not only have Shell reveled in being a climate criminal, they have also been exposed as fighting the European Union’s proposed Fuel Quality Directive, in collusion with the Canadian government. Their continued environmental destruction and violation of Indigenous rights across Canada, Alaska and Nigeria show that Shell needs to change their operations or face increasing protest and opposition across the world. Our organization is supporting an Indigenous-led campaign against Shell’s extreme energy projects to bring together frontline impacted communities.”
Apart from street corner Petrol Garage blockades we can wage war on corporate branding. Join us to help kick Shell-out Sponsorship = buying us off .
Shell's sponsorship acts as a greenwashed blindfold to prevent us seeing the ravages of frontier oil extraction boundaries being pushed. When we challenge this, we strike a blow at Shell’s brand, chip away at its power and move towards the day when Big Oil – like Big Tobacco – is no longer seen as socially acceptable. As we once kicked the tobacco companies out of our cultural institutions we must now do the same to the oil industry.
Friday 4th May Day of Solidarity successfully stopped all Shell haulage for the day. Once folks were satisfied that Shell wasn't going to try and do any haulage, they went to the Rossport Solidarity Camp to start taking down structures and move the camp.
Stopping Shell, moving camp & dragging pallets!
Friday 4th May Day of Solidarity successfully stopped all Shell haulage for the day. Once folks were satisfied that Shell wasn't going to try and do any haulage, they went to the Rossport Solidarity Camp to start taking down structures and move the camp.
Over the weekend all but the kitchen structure was taken down, hundreds of pallets were moved to the new field, and the kitchen marquee was put up in the new field. The summer camp is located two fields away from the winter field, next to the Aughoose church. There is one large communal sleeping space, but most people will be sleeping in tents for the summer. If you are visiting the camp bring a tent if you have one, but don't let it stop you coming if you don't!
There were about 20 people on camp for the weekend, and aside from a bit of wind on friday we lucked out with the weather. The tunes were pumpin', and people really stepped up to get the work done! On Saturday we had a visit from a group of students who, with the help of a local farmer and his tractor, moved hundreds of pallets to the new field. Nighttime was relaxing with campfires and music, and everyone seemed in high spirits. Many hands, light work! The bank holiday Monday some pixies went down to Shell's forestry compound and undid a bit of Shell's work.
The week following the gathering will be a Week of Action against Shell, so come up for workshops and discussions at the weekend and if you can stick around to help with the actions afterwards. There are lots of roles involved in making an action as safe and effective as possible, for example taking photos, legal observer, support, as well as being in an arrestable role. You can read more here: http://www.rossportsolidaritycamp.org/?page_id=282
