Action Reports – Page 103

‘bikes alive’ action at kings x tomorrow

8th January 2012

In the absence of any timetable or genuine willingness from either the mayor or transport for london (tfl), bicycle activists will stage the first of several direct actions tomorrow evening at king's cross road junctions.

cyclists and supporters are expected to arrive in large numbers for tomorrow evening's 'critical mass' style blockade at king's cross in protest at the large numbers of cyclist fatalities at the junction and at tfl and the mayor's reticence to do anything about it.

tomorrow's action, which will last an hour from 6pm, follows on from a recent vigil, pictured above, which attracted around 100 cyclists and featured speakers from the london cycling campaign, road peace, london living streets, and the green party, as well as friends and relatives of some of those killed.

sixteen cyclists were killed on london roads last year, up from 10 in 2010.

campaigners are calling on tfl to introduce dutch-style cycling systems. in dutch cities, cyclists face statistically less than half the dangers of their london counterparts, and yet tfl have rejected proposals put forward as long ago as 2008, and instead is reducing the number of pedestrian crossings to 'improve traffic flow'.

tfl's grounds for rejecting junction changes at king's cross is that they may cause 'traffic delay'.

last year, 24 yr old fashion student 'deep' lee was killed by a lorry at king's cross. in december, after rejecting safety proposals at a meeting at camden town hall, tfl officials asked her boyfriend if they could now remove the flower-covered memorial ghost bike. he responded that they should 'sort out the junction first'.

in response to tfl's lethargy and failures, and in a direct challenge to their concerns about 'traffic delays', bicycle activists have called for cyclists and their supporters to join them at king's cross at 6pm tomorrow evening and to cycle around the junction en masse at a safe slow speed, perhaps stopping every now and then as sheer mass of cycle traffic sometimes causes delays.

this will be the first of several regular such actions to show tfl that cyclists are fed up of being treated as disposable citizens and are entitled to protection, safety, and consideration in road planning.

for more info and contacts for tomorrow's and future actions, see www.bikesalive.wordpress.com

and for some excellent opinion pieces and well-researched links, see www.cyclelondoncity.blogspot.com

Call-out! Eco-education centre reopened, Forest of dean, help needed!

This is a call out for support.

Last night the Forest of Dean Eco-village swooped and reclaimed an environmental education centre closed by the cuts, we intend to reopen it and run it as a free education space for the local community and beyond.

We invite you to come join us on our journey towards creating a sustainable future.

This is a call out for support.

We invite you to come join us on our journey towards creating a sustainable future.

We need people to come help hold down the space, work on the buildings, gardens, woodlands, run workshops, skill shares and help use this rare resource to its maximum potential.

If you have something to contribute in terms of time, energy, ideas, skills and resources you are welcome to join us.

If you are interested please contact us at…

admin [at] apokaluptein [dot] org [dot] uk

tel:0781 172 6372

See you in the woods!

Sea Shepherd Intercepts the Japanese Whaling Fleet with Drones

24.12.11

Japanese Security Ships Move In On the Steve Irwin

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

24.12.11

Japanese Security Ships Move In On the Steve Irwin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Indian Maoists set fire to a tipper and earthdigger

BHADRACHALAM: Maoists have allegedly set ablaze a tipper and a proclainer (earthmover) near Alubaka in the Bhadrachalam Agency area of Kammam district on Friday night.

It is said that the Maoists torched the vehicles to obstruct the road works taken up under the Left Wing Extremism Affected Districts Development Scheme. The Maoist had warned the contractor earlier not to take up work on the road that connects Bhadrachalam with Venkatapur and Bhoopalapatnam in Chhattisgarh. According to sources, around 60 Maoists, 20 of them armed, from the neighbouring state entered the district, poured kerosene over the vehicles, and set them ablaze. The contractor suffered a loss of Rs 50 lakh.

A case has been registered at Venkatapur police station against those involved in the offence and investigation is in progress, Venkatapur circle inspector of police KRK Prasada Rao has said.

from …. http://signalfire.org/?p=16492

original article …

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/maoists-set-afire-tipper-earthdigger/212951-60-114.html

Anti-Coal Plant Protesters Storm Buildings, Evict Officials, Block Roads in South China

21.12.11

CHINESE protesters against a coal-powered power station have blocked a main road and defied riot police.

Reuters reports that the situation seems to have escalated, with residents smashing cars and hurling bricks even though officials sought to calm tempers by suspending the unpopular plan.

Angry crowds smashed and overturned police cars and riot police fired teargas in Haimen town in Shantou city on Wednesday, the second day of the unrest, Hong Kong newspapers reported.

Residents of Haimen, furious with plans to build a coal-fired power plant, took to the streets , surrounding a government building and blocking an expressway.

Officials agreed to suspend the project this week, but residents refused to back down, demanding the plan be scrapped.

Outside a large and closed petrol station near a highway into Haimen, about 100 men on motorbikes watched a wall of riot police armed with batons and shields, blocking the highway.

"What place in the world builds two power plants within one kilometre?" said one of the Haimen residents, who was surnamed Cai, as he watched the riot police.

"The factories are hazardous to our health. Our fish are dying and there are so many people who've got cancer , " he added.

"We thought of protesting outside the government office but we know none of them has listened to us. So we had no choice but to block the highway. The police beat up so many of the protesters in the past two days."

At one point, Haimen residents screamed and surged forward when a riot policeman, waving his baton in the air, charged towards a man on a motorcycle who had been riding towards the police blockade on the highway.

State news agency Xinhua said several hundred people had protested on a highway on Wednesday. According to Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper, more than 1,000 residents gathered at a toll gate to confront hundreds of riot police.

Witnesses said police fired four rounds of teargas and beat up protesters, who do not want another power plant when existing power facilities there were already polluting air and seawater and had greatly reduced their catch at sea, the report added.

At least three protesters were hit and arrested.

Adds Reuters: "People in China are increasingly unwilling to accept the relentless speed of urbanisation and industrialisation and the impact on the environment and health.

"Protests are also often held over corruption, wages and land seizures, that officials justify in the name of development.

"Residents of Wukan village, also in Guangdong, agreed to end a 10-day standoff with authorities over a land dispute on Wednesday."

Video

Second report here

New Tree Sit in Tasmania

[On December 14 2011, the Tasmanian forest defence group] Still Wild Still Threatened…set up a 60m-high tree sit-in at the TN044B logging coupe near Maydena inside the 430,000ha being assessed for reserve status under the forestry peace deal.

The “Observer Tree” will be occupied by SWST’s Miranda Gibson, who was one of two activists assaulted by workers during a protest in 2008.

Speaking to the media via mobile phone from the platform, Ms Gibson said she would maintain a blog and a web camera to broadcast to the world.

“It’s a different approach because one of our major concerns is that there is a misconception out there that the forest has been protected,” Ms Gibson said. “We want people to see what is happening in the forests.”

She said she was committed to staying on the platform until logging in 13 coupes inside the area being assessed for protection stopped.

Technical difficulties prevented Ms Gibson from speaking to journalists via video-link, but SWST expect the webcast to be up in the next few days.

Senator Bob Brown yesterday used his taxpayer-funded charter allowance to hire a helicopter to allow media outlets to photograph and film the tree-sit from the air.

He said Premier Lara Giddings and Prime Minister Julia Gillard were dishonouring their own agreement by allowing Forestry Tasmania to log the coupes.

“Their word is being clear-felled by what I judge is illegal logging. If this agreement has any legal force then this logging is illegal,” Senator Brown said.

“I didn’t write this agreement, I didn’t have anything to do with it, but the Prime Minister did and the Premier did. The Prime Minister wrote to me and said these forests had been placed in informal reserves.”

Forestry Tasmania’s general manager of operations Steve Whitely said the coupe was one of 13 being logged inside the assessment area that was identified by independent schedulers as necessary for supply contracts.

He described the protest as frustrating and pointless given that forestry operations would shut down for about a month from tomorrow.

“Forestry Tasmania needs to keep operating and we need to select some coupes that are suitable to meet our customers’ needs and we’re doing that while there’s a verification process going on,” Mr Whitely said.

Ms Kerr said that she would not be deterred by the Christmas shutdown. “I’ll stay up here and keep an eye on things and be here ready when they get back,” she said.

Check out the blog theObserverTree to get real time updates and offer support.

Activists protest against Devada power plant in India

13.12.11

The 1,040 MW Hinduja Thermal Power Plant coming up at Devada village in the coastal district of Visakhapatnam has run into trouble again, with locals and activists staging mass protests against the mega project on grounds of environmental pollution and large-scale displacement of farmers.

A large group of residents and anti-project activists, supported by opposition parties and environmental groups, staged a demonstration near the plant site on Monday, demanding immediate halt to the works and effective rehabilitation package for the displaced families. As the protests led to tension in the area, police swung into action and dispersed the demonstrators.

The coal-based power project, being developed by the Hinduja Group, has run into rough weather with local farmers, opposition groups, energy experts and environmental activists putting up a stiff resistance.

Stop New Nuclear newsletter no 10, 3 December 2011

Dear all,

this is our first newsletter since the Stop New Nuclear gathering in Bristol on 5/6 November, where we decided on our next major action. We are all excited about our new plan, and with this newsletter we send you some information about the planned action to surround Hinkley Point on 10 March 2011, followed by a 24 hour blockade until 11 March 2011. All this to mark one year since the beginning of the catastrophe of Fukushima, which is far from over.

No more Fukushimas

Fukushima is the biggest industrial disaster in history, and has brought Japan to its knees. The reactors that went into meltdown in March have now melted through the foundations and 40 years of accumulated nuclear waste is emitting vast amounts of radiation, contaminating the land, sea and air. In desperation, the Japanese government is transporting and burning radioactive rubble all over Japan and exporting highly contaminated food as “aid” to developing countries. Men, women and children are living in highly radioactive areas but they are not being evacuated as they should be. This intense radiation exposure has very serious health consequences for these people.

How has Japan ended up in this dreadful situation? Their government always said “It can’t happen here.” Sound familiar? Powerful political and economic interest groups are gagging the world’s media on this unfolding tragedy. Ordinary people the world over will pay the price.
Since the first civilian reactor started generating in 1954, there has been, on average, a major accident every 14-18 years: Windscale 1957, Three Mile Island1979, Chernobyl 1986, Fukushima 2011.

Stop New Nuclear's answer to the crisis of Fukushima is clear: now new nuclear in Britain and anywhere else! Therefore, our action on "Fukushima day" will be to

Surround and blockade Hinkley Point, Somerset

Hinkley Point is the first of eight proposed sites for nuclear new build to go ahead. We stopped them here before in 1987, and we can do it again in 2012. If they fail at Hinkley, it is unlikely the “nuclear renaissance” will have the momentum to continue.
On the 10th -11th March 2012, one year since the Fukushima nuclear disaster began, we will return to Hinkley to form a human chain around the station to show our determined opposition to new nuclear.
In 2010, dozens of us blockaded the gates at Hinkley. In 2011 hundreds of us blockaded the entrance again. In 2012, thousands of us will surround the power station to say No to new nuclear! Not here, not anywhere!
In October 2011, people pledged to blockade. This time, pledge to bring 5 friends and tell them to do the same. Thousands are needed to surround the station!
Pledge to surround Hinkley Point, to bring five friends, or to blockade Hinkley Point

Help us mobilise

To ‘Surround Hinkley’ is to demand to have a voice in decisions about our energy future. Help to make this a festival of creative resistance with music, art, theatre, banners, and whatever takes your fancy! To mark the end of the ‘Surround’, there will be a gathering at the main gate of Hinkley for a rally and music. You may want to return on the coaches after the action or stay to blockade the gates for 24 hours. With tents and tubes we will remain at the gates to show our solidarity with the people of Japan.

The time to act is now! Join your local anti nuclear campaign, form affinity groups. The Stop New Nuclear Alliance can help by giving training in non-violent direct action, consensus decision- making, spokes councils and advice on transport etc….

In our hundreds, in our thousands we will come together to stop nuclear power at Hinkley Point and dismantle the whole new nuclear agenda! This is the chance to be part of smething massive. JOIN US!

Please help to spread the message by either downloading the flier, or ask us to send you a pack. We welcome some donation to cover postage, but even if you can't – we need to get the message out!

Get in touch with us if you want to organise a minibus or put on a coach.

News from nuclear new build

Hinkley Point

There was some news at the end of October that EDF is delaying its final investment decision about Hinkley C (and its other planned new nuclear power stations in the UK: Sizewell, Heysham, etc) until the end of 2012. However, EDF still insists that it will submit its application to the Infrastructure Planning Commission soon, and also declared that it wants to start preparing the site for Hinkley C from spring 2012 on. For us, this means two things:

The next year will be crucial to push EDF to abandon its plans for Hinkley C. We need to step our campaigning to show EDF that it is not a good idea to invest in Hinkley C, and that they should invest in renewable energy instead.
EDF still wants to prepare the site, which means it wants to destroy the land from spring 2012 on, even though there is not even a final decision whether they will really go ahead with Hinkley C. This shows that a legal challenge to the preliminary works permission is even more important. Stop Hinkley is raising funds for a legal challenge to West Somerset Council's decision to grant EDF permission to carry out preparatory work on the site, even though EDF is still far from a permission to construct the power station itself (and hasn't even made a final decision). Stop Hinkley needs to raise about £15,000 for this legal challenge, to please support Stop Hinkley. More information at http://stophinkley.org/LegChallAppeal.htm.

Nevertheless, EDF went ahead with its application to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC). The IPC has accepted the application, and from Friday, 2 December, there are 28 days for everyone to register that they want to comment on the application. This is only a first registration, and does not need to be accompanied by the detailed objections, but without this registration, you will not be able to object later.

The Infrastructure Planning Commission is also organising events locally near Hinkley Point to explain the process, when to register and how to make a representation to the IPC. They will be held between 10am – 9pm at the following locations:
– Stogursey – Monday 5 December, The Victory Hall, Tower Hill, Stogursey, TA5 1PR
– Cannington – Thursday 8 December, Cannington Village Hall, 2 Brook Street, Cannington, TA5 2HP
– Williton – Friday 9 December, West Somerset House, Killick Way, Williton, TA4 4QA
– North Petherton – Monday 12 December, The Walnut Tree Hotel, North Petherton, TA6 6QA
– Combwich – Tuesday 13 December, Otterhampton Village Hall, Riverside, Combwich, TA5 2QZ
– Bridgwater – Wednesday 14 December, Town Hall, High Street, Bridgwater, TA6 3BL.
More information on the planning process is available on the website of the IPC at http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/projects/south-west/hinkley-point-c-new-nuclear-power-station/.

Stop Hinkley will be presenting more than 12,000 petitions against Hinkley Point C at Downing Street on Tuesday, 6 December, at at 1.30pm and at the Department of Energy and Climate Change in London on 6th December at 2.00 pm. Members of Stop Hinkley will be accompanied by Wells MP Tessa Munt and Green Party leader and MP Caroline Lucas. The Department of Energy is at 3 Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2AW. More information in the Stop Hinkley press release at http://stopnuclearpoweruk.net/content/stop-hinkley-campaign-presents-petition-government-against-edf%E2%80%99s-nuclear-plans.

Wylfa

Things are also hotting up at Wylfa, where Horizon, a joint venture of German utility companies RWE and E.on, is planning to build two to three new nuclear reactors. Horizon continue to bully the Jones family of Caerdegog and have applied for compulsory powers to ascertain the suitability of their land for construction. Horizon Nuclear Power (HNP) recently applied to Ofgem for Section D of their Electricity Generation Licence to be “switched on”. Immediately upon approval, HNP applied to Ofgem for consent to exercise their new exploratory rights under the Electricity Act 1989. This would allow a generation licence holder to enter and survey any land to establish whether it would be suitable for the construction of an electricity generation station. It would also give them the power to execute their authority to make compulsory land purchase. On Thursday afternoon 17th November, Richard Jones and his family received a letter in English only from Ofgem informing them of the rights recently granted to HNP to gain access to their land at Caerdegog. Ofgem have failed in their duty under the Welsh Language Act to provide the Jones family with the documents in their own language. Furthermore it is considered unreasonable for any objections to be lodged within a time limit of five working days especially in view of the legal content of the correspondence (see the official consultation at http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Pages/MoreInformation.aspx?file=Consultation%20on%20Horizon%20Application%20for%20Consent%20to%20use%20Exploratory%20Rights.pdf&refer=Licensing/Work).
Horizon have continued to say that they would only use compulsory powers as a last resort yet they executed their newly acquired authority within days of it being granted.
On behalf of the family, Richard Jones said: “We as a family will resist Horizon’s bullying tactics in the attempted destruction of our heritage, our livelihood and our future.”
See the press release of People Against Wylfa B at http://stopnuclearpoweruk.net/content/nuclear-monster-continues-torment-local-family.

Donate

The new action to surround Hinkley, and the 24 hour blockade, will need a lot of money to make them happen. While we don't start with nothing, we are nowhere near what we will need. We are presently working on a budget, but one thing is clear: Please give generously. You can donate online at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/donate, or you can send a cheque made payable to Stop New Nuclear to:
Stop New Nuclear
c/o 5 Caledonian Road
London N1 9DX
Thank you!

Stop New Nuclear newsletter

Three days of action against Shell

December 13, 2011

Protesters give Shell an early Christmas present

December 13, 2011

Protesters give Shell an early Christmas present

The Shell to Sea campaign is still running strong 11 years after the inception of the Corrib gas project. Everyday people are becoming aware of the people's struggle against Shell, but still more are needed to come and see for themselves and save our country from the global corporate takeover.

On Friday 9th of December, Rossport Solidarity Campaign [http://www.rossportsolidaritycamp.org/] continued with the locals' protest slowing down Shell's work, spirits were high and people were pleased with the action despite the Chief’s legal judgement [http://www.indymedia.ie/article/101060] people still braced the cold conditions to continue the protest.

On Saturday the 10th a Day Of Action commenced with groups of people from all over the country coming out to support the Shell to Sea campaign. People from the Occupy camps [http://www.indymedia.ie/article/100863] in Galway, Dublin and Cork came to protest Shell's occupation of Erris. Protesters stood outside the compound at Aghoos for 2 hours preventing any work from starting. The action was a success and no Garda presence was noticed.

On Monday 12th a spontaneous action happened at the refinery site at Ballinaboy with 15 protesters from various parts of the country managing to stop up to 12 trucks simultaneously for an hour, no arrests were made, the small Garda presence were no match for the swiftness and bravery of the protesters. The only casualty was a bike unlawfully confiscated by the Garda.

On Tuesday 13th the regular protest took place at the Ballinaboy compound. Around 15 protesters were met with an equal number of Gardai who prevented people walking on the road. The right to peaceful protest was met with the threat of arrest. People still managed to stop 7 trucks for 40 minutes. Strong cold winds and hail, combined with the protesters, stopped Shell doing any work on the Tuesday.

Through the internet and Occupy groups in various Irish cities there is an outlet for information of upcoming actions and events. January 13th is the next Day Of Action; all are welcome to come and change our nation's history.

Community action: protests move Manchester tram depot plans off green

Residents halt building of Metrolink depot outside their homes on public green in Wythenshawe

November 25, 2011

A mass protest halted contractors who had started to build a 200 metre-long transport depot on a public green.

Residents halt building of Metrolink depot outside their homes on public green in Wythenshawe

November 25, 2011

A mass protest halted contractors who had started to build a 200 metre-long transport depot on a public green.

The compound, near Simonsway in Wythenshawe, is being built to contain materials while Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) construct the Metrolink line to Manchester Airport.
It will also contain machinery, a workers canteen and be floodlit at night.

But furious residents refused to allow workers to put up the building on Brownley Road claiming they were not consulted and do not want it on their doorstep.

And their protest stopped the work, and residents said they will chain themselves to trees and fencing if the workers return on Monday and attempt to continue.

Alan Birchenall, 63, said: “The children use this area all the time – especially after school.

“It's safe because it's not near the road. The signs say the Metrolink won't be finished till 2016 so it could be here for four or five years.

“We saw this fencing going up so we called a residents meeting on Thursday night and there was about 200 people there.

“They were all very angry. There are plenty of other sites nearby where they could have this.”

Around 100 protesters surrounded the builders on Friday and blocked their truck until they agreed to leave.

Protesters force a Metrolink re-think over Wythenshawe tram compound

November 30, 2011

Alan Birchenall, a member of the Peel Estate Home Watch scheme who co-ordinated the protest, hailed the result as a victory for community action.

He said: "It just shows that when you are organised you can change things.

"It’s about people being proud of their area."

Delight as road protesters win U-turn over Metrolink track in Droylsden

December 13, 2011

Residents who brought traffic to a standstill with a rush-hour protest are celebrating after plans to introduce a raised tram track were scrapped.

In a protest they walked across a pedestrian crossing for more than an hour, blocking the road. They were furious at Metrolink bosses, accusing them of trying to force through the plans which they claimed would cause traffic chaos and lengthy delays. But the proposals have now been dropped