Action Reports – Page 129

GM sunflower action in France

Scything of mutated sunflowers (or hidden GM) in Indre et Loire
24.7.10

Many Faucheurs Volontaires d’OGM (Volunteer Scythers of GM, as anti-genetic crop trashers are called there) on Saturday decontaminated a field of GM sunflowers, grown to be resistant to pesticide. One of the fields was in Sorigny and the other in Saint-Branchs, to the south of Tours. The gendarmes (the rural police) took 27 of the 200 into custody, and released them later in the afternoon.

‘Hidden-GM plants’ though classed as GM under European directive 2001/18/CE, they aren’t actually covered by GM legislation. They haven’t had genes inserted, but are mutated at the genome level through chemical genetic mutation, or irradiation. They have not been tested before being released into fields. A patent ‘protects’ the mutated gene, preventing farmers keeping seed. The action was also against the privatisation of seed. The decontaminators did the first field, held a press conference at a second field before doing that one, and though the police turned up then, they tried to arrest the journalists! They were arrested after being followed to their debrief point, when one car broke down and many others stayed in solidarity.

Pioneer decided not to lodge a complaint, but the protesters remain under threat from the owners of the field who continue to pursue them legally.

http://www.monde-solidaire.org

European Climate Exchange (ECX) target of decocidio hacktivists against carbon trading scam

On Friday, July 23 at 23:23 UTC, the public website of the European Climate Exchange (ECX),
the leading marketplace for trading CO2 emissions in Europe, has been targetted by hacktivists
of the autonomous tech collective *decocidio* (#ϴ).

In a public act of digital direct action, the ECX website was taken offline and replaced with our message in an effort to try to raise awareness about carbon trading as a dangerous false solution
to the climate crisis, in support of the grassroots activists aiming to oppose the power structures and companies profiteering from the dysfunctional Cap & Trade scheme.
+ ECX website: http://www.ecx.eu
+ Mirror(s) of our message at: , http://nassibou.atspace.org

Earth First! Summer Gathering set-up plans announced

We can now announce that set-up will begin from around 2pm on Saturday, 31 July. Marquees, tools and construction materials will be arriving on site from Saturday morning so there will be plenty to do. You will be able to camp on the site from Saturday and there will be skeleton facilities (water, basic kitchen) from that time.

We also have a mobile number for setup which is 07766 947852. This will be on-site from Saturday lunchtime, and may well get answered in the few days beforehand but please don’t try ringing until then – e-mail will remain the main contact point until nearer the time – summergathering -{at}- earthfirst.org.uk

What we need to know:

*Please can you let us know when you are coming? – this helps us plan foods, facilities and what jobs to do when.

*It is also helpful if you can let us know if you have any particular skills or interests with respect to set-up – we might need drivers, so if you are over 25, hold a clean licence, are confident driving a 3.5 tonne Luton AND can bring along both parts of your driving licence please let us know.

*Similarly if you are arriving in a vehicle and could potentially provide lifts, transport equipment en route or run errands from site once you arrive please let us know. In this case it is very helpful if you are able/willing to supply us with a contact phone number.

How to get there

As you maybe aware that we do not announce the exact site of the gathering until one week before the main event, this means directions will be available on the website http://www.earthfirstgathering.org.uk/ from Wednesday, 27 July. We realise this will be short notice for people arriving on the Saturday, however to make things easier we will e-mail directions to set-up crew on that day (that still 4 days to check a map!).

The nearest train station is Derby if you want to pre-book train tickets, you will also need to take a local bus service from Derby (these are frequent). We are aiming to have a vehicle on site that can assist if people have difficulties between Derby and the site, so hopefully everyone will be able to get there okay.

There may be a very small number of lifts available from the Nottingham area across the weekend of Saturday 31st July/Sunday first of August. There may also be lifts from the Leeds area first thing on 31 July. Let us know if this may be of interest to you.

What to bring

*Everything you need to the gathering, tent sleeping bags etc. and especially a torch

*It may be wise to come a bit more self-sufficient in food and snacks than you would need to for the main gathering – we will have a basic kitchen but Veggies and the tuck shop are not arriving until Wednesday

*If you are able to bring any tools, especially for basic carpentry, these are often useful

Big thanks for offering to help out

Do get in touch if you have any questions

Love & rage

The EF! Gathering crew

STOP VEDANTA’S AGM! 28th July

STOP VEDANTA’s KILLINGS, DISPLACEMENT AND DEVASTATION!
THROW THEM OUT OF INDIA AND the UK!

STOP VEDANTA’S AGM!

3pm, Wednesday, 28 July 2010,
The Institute of Civil Engineers, 1, Great George Street, London SW1P 3AA

Vedanta plc’s record in Orissa, India:

STOP VEDANTA’s KILLINGS, DISPLACEMENT AND DEVASTATION!
THROW THEM OUT OF INDIA AND the UK!

STOP VEDANTA’S AGM!

3pm, Wednesday, 28 July 2010,
The Institute of Civil Engineers, 1, Great George Street, London SW1P 3AA

Vedanta plc’s record in Orissa, India:
· More than 100 men, women and children have been killed in accidents, police firings, forced displacement, injury and illness
· More than 1000 people have been displaced and more than 8000 under threat
· More than100 square miles of land have been devastated and an equal area of forest under threat
· Rivers and streams which are the lifeline for tens of thousands of people are drying up
· Thousands of acres of fertile agricultural land have been destroyed in a region which has seen famines every year since 2007
· Drinking water sources are being contaminated by dumping of fly ash and toxic red mud into river streams
· The Niyamgiri hills – known as the most beautiful mountains in India – are under threat. The ancient civilization of the Dongria Kondh adivasi community, who regard the Niyam Dongar mountain and forests of the area as their Gods, is being wiped out
· Vedanta is causing mass unemployment and destitution as farmers, fishing communities and forest dwellers are being displaced and abandoned in shanty-towns

Why is this happening?

Mega-profits for billionaires with blood on their hands
Anil Agarwal, billionaire CEO of Vedanta is determined to mine for bauxite in Niyamgiri despite massive opposition of the local people, and a national and international campaign against it, which recently led
shareholders including the Church of England and Rowntrees, to pull out.
London –based Anil Agarwal is worth 4.1billion pounds and is currently the tenth richest person in Britain, whose personal wealth has grown even in the recession by 583%. Agarwal’s empire – Vedanta Resources – now spans four continents, with offices in London and operations in Zambia, Australia and India. Vedanta and Agarwal have been accused of ‘corruption, fraud, forgery, manipulation of share prices, and insider trading.’ as Norway’s Council of Ethics describes.

Who else is benefitting?
Anil Agarwal and Vedanta have close links with the Sangh Parivar, the umbrella group of Hindu right-wing organizations in India. These organizations have been held responsible for genocidal attacks on India’s
minority Muslim and Christian communities, in Orissa, Gujarat and elsewhere.
Vedanta has connections with many powerful figures. Its Board members have included P.Chidambaram, India’s Home Minister, Naresh Chandra, former Indian Ambassador to the US, and David Gore-Booth, former British
Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and High Commissioner of India.

What is the role of the British Government?
Vedanta was launched on the London Stock Exchange in December 2003 with the help of Britain’s Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for International Development (DfID). More recently, massive publicity of Vedanta’s crimes forced the British government to criticize it for not having a human rights policy.

BUT the British Government has continued to actively support Vedanta. For example, DfID has set up and continues to fund Business Partners for Development (Now renamed as Building Partnerships for Development) whose aim is to counter the effect of the powerful people’s movement against the company. And in 2005 DfID commissioned “Orissa Drivers for Change” a research project which urges mineral intensive industrialization of the region and supports Vedanta and other companies.

Organised by FOIL VEDANTA

Supported by: South Asia Solidarity Group, South Asian Alliance, All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), Ravi Dass Human Rights Organisation (UK), Hillingdon Womens Centre, Campaign Against
Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC), Peoples Global Action, Communities Empowering Network, Globalise Resistance

Details: sasg@southasiasolidarity.org

Sabotage the Machines! Cutacre coal mine visit

21 July 2010
Activists entered the Cutacre coal mine in the early hours of a June morning, & sabotaged 7 monster-trucks, used to transport coal around the site.

They report that metal hair-pins were cut to length, coated in superglue & inserted deep into the locks of the vehicles. Another healthy dose of glue followed for good measure.

It is not known how long the vehicles were out of action- oddly nobody hung around long enough to find out.

The site is located in the Greater Manchester area, & is operated by “lets trash the planet” UK Coal. It is on land owned by ” lets sell our mums for money” Peel Holdings.

The activists say they were inspired by fine examples of sabotage at Mainshill, & hope that all over the country, people will resist the destruction, & sabotage machinery.

Nobody was arrested.

Last resort?: Gegharkunik residents turn into live shield to protect their river, Armenia

A live shield appeared yesterday, July 19, on the Yerevan-Sevan highway, when the residents of the Gegharkunik province blocked the road to express their protest against the construction of a hydropower plant on the Gayladzor stream of the Argitchi River.

Since the morning about 500 residents from six villages blocked the Yerevan-Martouni section of the Sevan highway for about five hours paralyzing traffic for more than 1,000 cars. Later on, Gegharkunik marzpetaran (local administration body) employees arrived, and asked for ten days to settle the issue.

“Residents turned to all competent government bodies, and they had nothing else left to do in this respect. They are ready to repeat the same step in ten days unless something is changed for the better,” Lianna Asoyan, coordinator of the Aarhus Center in Armenia’s Gegharkunik province, told ArmeniaNow.

The river Argitchi is the biggest among 28 rivers flowing into Lake Sevan. It secures 12 centimeters for the rise of the lake level annually. The river provides irrigation water for more than 30,000 residents of six villages in Gegharkounik province. If the project of changing the course of the Gayladzor stream flowing to the river Argitchi is implemented, about 40 percent of Argirchi water will be directed to Vayots Dzor province, which is in the opposite side of Lake Sevan.

Asoyan says that Zangezour Eximp LLC is illegally conducting the construction of a small hydropower plant on the Argitchi River though the permit issued to this company says it is entitled to carry out construction only on the tributary of the Eghegis River in Kapuyt Berd, while construction works on the river Argitchi are illegal.

Environmentalists are sure that by means of changing the course of the river, the level of Lake Sevan – the largest sweet water basin in Armenia – will be dropped. The rise of Lake Sevan’s level influenced the lucrative businesses founded along the lakeshore during recent years. Besides, the abrupt rise of Lake Sevan’s level is considered to be one of the most important environmental issues for Armenia, where Lake Sevan is the main element of the whole ecosystem.

The RA Law on Lake Sevan, which prohibits the use of the lake’s basin water for other purposes, be it a hydro-power plant, irrigation or some other purpose, is being violated because of the construction of the hydropower plant. Besides, it is also dangerous for fish, especially trout, since they spawn at the source of the river Argitchi.

‘Die-in’ against nuclear transport at Olympic Park

What if… “Dozens died and thousands more were exposed to dangerous levels of cancer-causing radiation after a train carrying high level nuclear waste exploded as it passed through the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London this afternoon. The public is being warned to steer well clear of the area as the radioactive plume makes its way across the capital and the southern half of England.”

The risk of just such a scenario, whether caused by an accident or terrorist attack, prompted the Nuclear Trains Action Group to organise a die-in in front of Stratford station in east London as part of a demonstration on Saturday, 10 July 2010 against nuclear waste being transported by rail through the Olympic Park and densely populated areas of north London.

The protest started with a rally in Victoria Park, led by Kate Hudson, chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). Other speakers included London Green Party MEP Jean Lambert, and Dan Viesnik and Mell Harrison from the Stop Nuclear Power Network (SNPN).

Around 70 protesters then marched for around three miles around the perimeter of the site for the London 2012 Olympics, along a canal, accompanied by a significant police presence. Carrying placards, and banners from the Nuclear Trains Action Group, local CND groups, the Green Party, SNPN and Action East End.

Upon arrival at Stratford station, the marchers proceeded to “die” in front of the entrance (although it was difficult to tell whether they had not in fact fainted from the exhaustion of walking in the sweltering heat). Some of those who remained on their feet, seemingly impervious to the pervasive radiation, handed out hundreds of leaflets to curious passers by, whilst others chalked around the outlines of the corpses.

After around half an hour of this carnage, the corpses transformed into zombies, rising to their feet and promptly moving off to quench their terrible thirst.

More images from the demo:

http://tinyurl.com/nuketrainsdemopics10July2010

Olympics nuclear waste trains are potential terrorist target, warns London MEP
http://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2010/07/16/olympics-nuclear-waste-trains-are-potential-terrorist-target-warns-london-mep/

Transcript of Jean Lambert MEP’s speech
http://www.jeanlambertmep.org.uk/news_detail.php?id=576

Tonnes of radioactive waste casts doubt over London’s Olympic stadium legacy
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jun/20/radioactive-waste-olympic-site

‘Radioactive waste threat’ to future of Stratford site
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23847172-radioactive-waste-threat-to-future-of-stratford-site.do

‘Terror risk’ over nuclear cargo
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/5202024.stm

Links:

Nuclear Trains Action Group
http://www.nonucleartrains.org.uk

Stop Nuclear Power Network
http://stopnuclearpoweruk.net

Action East End
http://actioneastend.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/on-the-wrong-track

140 arrested in Zagreb protests against construction in Varsavska pedestrian zone

15.07.10
At least 140 people have been arrested in peaceful protests Zagreb, Croatia, today as works began on a heavily unpopular entrance ramp to a private underground car park, which would destroy part of the city’s Varsavska Street pedestrian zone.

Around 200 police including riot police sealed off the street while workers erected a fence around the construction site and cut down 5 trees. Contractors have been attempting to start work on the project since the beginning of the year but have until now been prevented by protests, including the destruction of a construction fence in May and a subsequent 33 day occupation of the pedestrian zone.

“It’s a tragic day for justice in Croatia when riot police arrest 140 residents for entering a public street instead of arresting the decision-makers and investor who engaged in corruption and nepotism in order to force this project through against massive public opposition”, commented Jagoda Munic of Green Action. “In mid-June the State Attorney (DORH) issued a statement that legal irregularities have been found in the project, but that investigations were still going on. Construction must stop immediately while these corruption investigations are completed”.

LATEST NEWS FROM 16 JULY – most of the activists have been released already and just few more activist are still arrested but will be out very soon. At the end 150 people in total were arrested. All of them have 8 days distrait order to come to the street where the protest was held (Varsavska) and to streets nearby.

http://www.nedamovarsavsku.net/search/label/english
http://pravonagrad.org/
More photos here and here.

Lewes Road community garden opposes Tesco – update

Following a sympathetic court hearing against developers Alburn Minos Ltd and Tesco on July 9 Lewes Road Community Garden supporters are more determined than ever to stay put on one of Brighton’s busiest and most polluted roads. The garden is OPEN!

Alburn Minos Ltd and Tesco failed in their attempts to get £3,500 costs awarded against two named individuals who have had to disassociate themselves from the garden because of the legal harrassment and bully-boy tactics typical of corporations in cases ranging from animal rights activists to McLibel.

Judge Coltart said the costs claim was not proportionate and awarded the developers £500 which was raised two days after thanks to ever growing public support now that Tesco is known to be involved. One anonymous donor gave £200 at a garden Eco- Fayre (July 11) and numbers signing the Save LRCG petition are running at 40 a day.

The next step? Gardeners, nearby residents and the wider community are continuing to bring water and plants to the site. Art students have installed a tree sculpture while long time garden supporters are returning now that it is clear Tesco ain’t gonna have it their own way.

An eviction order is expected soon with a second attempt by the developers to take the land.

On Friday July 23 a benefit gig is being held at Hectors House pub in Grand Parade featuring punk swing outfit Flat Stanley, Ade Sings Rosselsongs and DJ Gene Defekt. £4 on the door with all the money going to a garden fighting fund.

Lewes Road Community Garden was set up in May 2009 by a group from the local community. It has provided a meeting space and green haven ever since, enjoyed by thousands of people, providing a venue for community events and bringing together local residents many of whom don’t have gardens themselves. There is a food waste compost scheme, and regular events with close to 5,000 people have signed a petition of support for the garden and against Tesco, a betting shop and 7 flats planned.

The developers are:

Alburn Minos Ltd, C/O King Loose St Johns House, 5 South Parade, Sommertown, Oxford, OX2 7JL

Simon Tamplin
Taurean Management Services Ltd
Green Leaves, Westerham Road, Keston, KENT UNITED KINGDOM

Gilbert-Ash, Empson Road, Fengate, Peterborough,Cambridgeshire, PE1 5UP Tel: 01733 552091Fax: 01733 311355

Tesco boss: terry.leahy@uk.tesco.com
Tesco head of media: jonathan.church@uk.tesco.com

Gardens by the Community For the community!

Stop Tesco!

ELF BATTLE DEFORESTATION

received anonymously:

“On July 17 2010 a tracked tree transporter was torched by a group of elf activists. The action took place at the road construction site near

received anonymously:

“On July 17 2010 a tracked tree transporter was torched by a group of elf activists. The action took place at the road construction site near
Sheremetjevo airport in Himki forest, North of Moscow, Russia. We support local activists in their fight against deforestation campaign of Moscow authorities, although we disapprove of their half-hearted liberal tactics.

ELF-Russia”