Action Reports – Page 138

Bristol Eco Village Now Open!

17.4.10
After many months of planning and preparation the eco village was opened today around 12noon. Come down and visit if you can. Bring supplies as well if you can such as bedding cutlery and tools such as hammers, nail, axes and saws.

The village is in St Werburghs, 5 minutes’ walk from Stapleton Road station (2 stops from Temple Meads) at Junction 3 of the M32. There’s two entrances – one on Gatton Road if you duck the barrier, and the other on Saxon Road but for now you have to get through a hole in the fence.

—

Today a group of a few dozen young eco activists gathered at 11am at the city centre outside the Hippodrome under the watchful eye of the police and moved in two groups, a cycling group and a walking group to a chosen site in Bristol to develop an eco village. They arrived at the waste ground between Saxon Road and Sims scrap yard in St Werburghs and entered the site.

The idea was inspired by the Kew Bridge Eco Village The aim is no less than to build an eco-village community based entirely on sustainable technology and construction techniques. Two of the organizers, Tim Harris and Leah Richards started planning and networking at the start of the year leading to todays action. People have come from Bristol and the local area but also places such as Glastonbury and London.

The group leafleted local residences in Saxon Road and neighbouring streets to let people know of their plans for an urban centre for alternative technology. They stated that they chose this site because it has been unused for years and is filled with hazardous rubbish and frequented by hard drug users. It is next to Sims Metal Management’s Bristol scrap yard, which has been plagued with arsonist fires of the scrap cars there.

They have already started to clean up the rubbish on the site and plan to have it removed by skip. They have set up tents and aim to establish a kitchen bender, compost loos and other structures. The claim they will use permaculture principles to develop some of the land for growing, keep the existing wildspace and construct on the hard standing.

Their plan is to operate an ambitious no drink no drugs policy on the site, with vans and amplified music also being excluded. Their aim is to demonstrate sustainable living. Their website is here and facebook site here. Local film maker Ben Edwards produced a short film related to this here

They are inviting people to come down and get involved and hope to run workshops in the future.

This derelict site already has been given full planning permission by Chancerygate (Gatton Rd Ltd) on 25th February 2009 to put up a development of 12 industrial units with car parking, landscaping and access. See here . This permission would expire on 25th February 2012 if not acted upon. There has been a certain amount of opposition from local residents regarding this plan with one of the concerns being the traffic generated by the development of industrial units and concerns for the wildlife areas of the site.

BP + TAR SANDS = CLIMATE CRIME – Thu 15 Apr 10

Dateline: BP Shareholders Annual General Meeting, ExCel Conference Centre, London, Thu 15 Apr 10 – At the apex of the ‘BP Fortnight of Shame’, at the entrance to the BP AGM, climate chaos and human rights activists persuade BP shareholders to vote for the FairPensions anti-Tar-Sands motion. Mobilised by the UK Tar Sands Network, Rising Tide and Climate Camp, we let BP shareholders know, in no uncertain terms, that BP + TAR SANDS = CLIMATE CRIME.

Vidz at YouTube
• ‘BP + TAR SANDS = CLIMATE CRIME’ – 1, 2, 3, etc.
» LINKs to follow shortly, once editing and uploading is complete

TWO WEEKS OF INTENSE COLLECTIVE BP BRAND-TRASHING
Organised in solidarity with our indigenous First Nations sisters and brothers at the sharp end of the Canadian Tar Sands climate crime atrocity, the ‘BP Fortnight of Shame’ began on Fossil Fools Day, Thu 01 Apr 10, with widespread direct action pranks, including London Rising Tide delivering a ‘Back to Black’ Corpoate ID rebranding package to BP’s global headquarters in St. James Square – see, eg:
• ‘BP Goes Back to Black’
» video, 2:38 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNLzN3zld7o

Then on Sat 10 Apr 10, the London direct action component of an International Day of Action on Canadian Tar Sands saw 200+ people mount an “illegal” occcupation of the Shepherd’s Bush BP petrol station for a samba-&-ceillidh-powered ‘Party at the Pumps’ – see, eg:
• ‘BP hit by nationwide protests over plans to Enter the Tar Sands’
» video, 5:14 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An6-tdxd12M
» pix-&-vidz-led action report – http://london.indymedia.org.uk/articles/4613

The fortnight’s culminating protest occured alongside the Colombia Solidarity Campaign, demanding “BP MUST RECOGNISE ITS RESPONSIBILITY TO CASANARE WORKERS, COMMUNITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT”, on the west plaza entance to the ExCel Conference Centre, as vote-casting investors arrived for the BP shareholders Annual General Meeting. First Nations Tar Sands campaigners Clayton Thomas-Muller and George Poitras from the Indigennous Environmental Network of North America were on hand, giving interviews to journalists and videographers, before going into the BP AGM at for the 11:30 start.
For more on the international anti-Tar Sands actions, check out:
• ‘Anti-Tar Sands Protests Gather Momentum’
» IMC UK Feature article – http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/04/449169.html

MAKING A KILLING IN COLOMBIA, AGAIN AND AGAIN
Bruno Federico of COSPACC (Corporación Social para la Asesoría y la Capacitación Comunitaria) spoke in his native Italian, ably translated by Claire Hall of Espacio Bristol-Colombia, of the mass murder of social movements opposed to BP’s exploits in Casanare, eastern Colombia, where BP has been operating for twenty years.

“During that time, 2600 people have been disappeared, 6500 people have been killed by paramilitary groups, right wing armed groups that have institutional links to the Colombian government.
More recently there has been 100 documented cases of direct state assassinations of civilians. Community leaders were forced to flee and social organisations that challenged BP’s practices were exterminated.
There has also been severe environmental damage caused by the extraction; water contamination, water depletion, landslides from seismic exploration. There has been very little challenge to BP’s environmental impact due to the communities being unable to organise.
However communities and workers are currently mobilising and have presented a list of demands to BP around five key themes:
– labour issues,
– social investment,
– human rights,
– public good
– and environment.
More info – http://www.espacio.org.uk/bp/CasanareMission2007Report.pdf
[source: ‘Oil, Violence and Social Movements in Colombia’ – http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/04/449208.html ]

HOLDING BP TO ACCOUNT FOR CLIMATE CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES
The UK-based FairPensions ethical investment campaign had tabled Special Resolution 25, a deliberately softly worded proposal aimed at garnering the widest possible support from shareholders, to which Clayton, George and other Tar Sands campaigners spoke:

“Special Resolution
That in order to address our concerns for the long term success of the Company arising from the risks associated with the Sunrise SAGD Project, we as shareholders of the Company direct that the Audit Committee or a Risk Committee of the Board commissions and reviews a report setting out the assumptions made by the Company in deciding to proceed with the Sunrise Project regarding future carbon prices, oil price volatility, demand for oil, anticipated regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and legal and reputational risks arising from local environmental damage and impairment of traditional livelihoods. The findings of the report and review should be reported to investors in the Business Review section of the Company’s Annual Report presented to the Annual General Meeting in 2011.”
[source: ‘Oil sands [sic] resolution and response’ – http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/set_branch/set_investors/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/pdf/IC_AGM_oil_sands_resolution.pdf ]

In an attempt to marginalise any criticism of the “right” of the BP Board of Directors to commit what ever climate crimes they deem to be a profitable “investment”, Special Resolution 25 was shunted to the arse-end of the agenda, to be rushed past at the hurry-up so that the shareholders could adjourn for their free lunch, courtesy of the BP bosses.

By miracles of modern communications technology, we were able to listen in on the proceedings of the debate inside the BP AGM on the sound system (see pic B7 above). So in the debate around the FairPensions Special Resolution, we got to hear the impassioned pleas from George, Clayton and others to BP to account for the financial and ecological risks, the environmental damage (local and global), the health damage to downstream First Nations communities, and the human rights violations that BP’s Tar Sands encroachments would entail– and to the polite, bland, evasive, corporate greenwash reply supplied on behalf of the BP Board. But we did hear from a person supporting the Special Resolution of and article in Wednesday’s Financial Times:

“BP has until now not had a presence in the vast resources of Canada’s oil sands, which are second only to Saudi Arabia in terms of proven reserves. It is now working on the proposed $2.4bn (£1.5bn) Sunrise project, split equally with Canada’s Husky Energy, and expects to make the final investment decision by early next year.”
[source: ‘BP to press on with Canada oil sands plan’, by Ed Crooks and Fiona Harvey, at FT.com (free registration required), on 14 April 2010 23:27 – http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6828b3de-4813-11df-b998-00144feab49a.html ]

So in fact, as the questioner put in, BP had already POSTPONED their final investment decision for a FOURTH time, until 2011 – I wonder if all the pressure piled on them by our ‘BP Fortnight of Shame’ might have influenced them so to do?

As I was preparing to leave for home, we got word on an iPhone from FairPensions of the voting percentages on the their Special Resolution:
In favour: 06%
Absentions: 09%
Against: 85% (ie: voting as directed to do so by the BP Board of Directors)

WE WILL SHUT THEM DOWN
This is, of course, merely a single battle in the long-running war over the Tar Sands atrocity, in a struggle for the future life-bearing capacity of our small blue jewel of a home world, which pits the climate criminal oil corporations against people and planet. BP bosses thought they could get away with applying their corporate “Silent Running” tactic (adopted by analogy from the military submaniner’s tactic of that name) to their desire to mire BP in Tar Sands shit, whereby executives would gain big bonuses if they suceeded in keeping their corporation’s climate criminal activities OUT of the public domain, unscrutinised by jounalists, and under everybody’s radar. Thanks to the initiative shown by our First Nations sisters and brothers like Clayton and George, plus Susan and Ariel Deranger (see, eg: ‘From Athabasca to Copenhagen’, video, 3:49 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2vfa6qwKgw ), our campaigning direct action depth charges have blown them to the surface for all to see.

So now you know of the sigle most destructive industrial climate criminal atocity on Earth, we invite you to find out more via the links below, then to make the most important transition of all: from concerned citizen to active climate chaos campaigner. Because the greater our number, the stronger our forces, and the more quickly we can score the telling victory required for the future of our human civilisation and our precious ecosphere: SHUT DOWN THE TAR SANDS!

LINKS
» Climate Camp UK – http://www.climatecamp.org.uk
» Columbia Solidarity Campaign – http://www.colombiasolidarity.org.uk
» COSPACC: Corporación Social para la Asesoría y la Capacitación Comunitaria – no website found
» Espacio Bristol-Colombia – http://www.espacio.org.uk
» FairPensions – http://www.fairpensions.org.uk/tarsands/action
» Indigenous Environmental Network – http://www.ienearth.org/tarsands.html
» Rising Tide UK – http://www.risingtide.org.uk
» Support the Beaver Lake Cree – http://www.co-operativecampaigns.co.uk/toxicfuels/beavercreenation.php
• UK Tar Sands Network:
» website – http://www.no-tar-sands.org
» blog – http://www.tarsandsinfocus.wordpress.com

Footnotes

More photos at https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/04/449231.html?c=on#comments

All these photos and video clips are ‘CopyLeft’
This means you are free to copy and distribute any of my photos and videos you find here, under the following license:
• Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License
» http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
» Accreditation: tim.dalinian.jones@gmail.com

NB: These pix are edited and downsized versions (up to 800x800px, 0.64Mpx, typically 100-900 KB) for onscreen display. If you would like the free, edited, full-sized versions (up to 3072x2304px, 7.1Mpx, typically 1-2 MB) for print, poster, placard, banner, etc, please email your request to tim.dalinian.jones [at] gmail.com quoting the picture title(s) you’d like.

Eyjafjallajoekull – climate activist extraordinaire

Here’s to an incredible first action ..

In 24 hours the Eyjafjallajoekull Volcano made a small estimated release of 7,412 tons of CO2, in doing so grounding 60% of European flights for the day and preventing the release of 206,465 tons of CO2. I make that the most successful direct action of all time – hats off to the world’s latest domestic extremist.

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2010/planes-or-volcano

Upcoming action dates & activist gatherings, 2010 – updated

scroll down for latest dates…

8-10 October 2010
Earth First! tree planting weekend – Treesponsibility

10 October 2010
Glasgow airport shut-down action

12 October 2010

scroll down for latest dates…

8-10 October 2010
Earth First! tree planting weekend – Treesponsibility

10 October 2010
Glasgow airport shut-down action

12 October 2010
Global Minga for Mother Earth

12-16 October 2010
Direct Action for Climate Justice, CJA call-out

13 October 2010
It’s Hammertime! – Smash EDO

16 October 2010
Crude Awakening – big oil day of action in London City

23-24 October 2010
Stop Nuclear Power Network UK Gathering, Bristol

10-12 December 2010
Earth First! tree planting weekend – Treesponsibility

=========

Old dates from this calendar:

2010

15-17 January 2010
Peace News Winter Gathering, Nottingham

23-26 January 2010
Mainshill Pre-Eviction Gathering

5-7 February 2010
EF! Winter Moot, North East England

12-14 February 2010
UK Rossport Solidarity Gathering, Nottingham

19-21 February 2010
Camp for Climate Action national ‘where next?’ gathering, Bristol – regional ones happening over January & February (details here)

26-28 February 2010
No Borders Winter Gathering, Nottingham

14 March 2010
UK Tar Sands Campaign Gathering, York

11am till 6pm (Vegan lunch by donation)
With BP’s AGM just 1 month away, and 2 weeks of actions planned for 1st to 15th April, come and connect with other UK-based Tar Sands campaigners, share ideas and create actions. We’ll be looking at strategies and actions for targeting Shell, BP and the Royal Bank of Scotland – Britain’s Dirty Threesome on Tar Sands investment.

We’re meeting in Derwent College, York University, room D/056 – from the station or city centre, take bus number 4 to the very last stop, walk back about 50 meters, and the road entrance to the college is signed on the left. D/056 is accessed from the outside, beyond the dining hall and ponds.

1 April 2010
Fossil Fools Day

1-4 April 2010
The Huntington Lane Fossil Fools weekend convergence

1-15 April 2010
BP Fortnight of Shame
including London Mass Action

17-18 April 2010
Social Centres in a Time of Crisis, Leeds
A weekend of workshops, discussions and socialising for everyone with an interest in radical autonomous social centres

22-23 April 2010
anti-aviation 48 hours of sticker-whacking, subvertising, adbusting pandemonium

23-26 April 2010
Anti-nuclear Camp, Suffolk – see latest EF!AU for details

6-10 May 2010
Activist Tat training week: putting up marquees, erecting and mending flat pack toilets, as well as technical and theoretical (power, plumbing etc) skillsharing

15 May 2010
Party at the Pumps 2

21 May-5 June 2010
Merthyr to Rossport solidarity bike ride – Climate Chains

5-8 June 2010
Rossport Solidarity Camp Gathering, Ireland

11-19 June 2010
World Naked Bike Ride – 11 June: Manchester, Southampton; 12 June, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London; 13 June: Brighton, Bristol; 19 June, Sheffield, York

18-21 June 2010
Outdoor Skillshare, Scotland

19 June 2010
National Gathering of the Stop Nuclear Power Network, London

25 June-31 August 2010
Ecotopia Biketour, from Critical Mass, Towards Car Free Cities Conference, to the French & German climate camps and much in between.

6-12 July 2010
Anti-Industrial Land Defence Action Camp, Catalonia
Go only if you can speak Catalan or Spanish – http://acampadaderesistencies.blogspot.com

14-22 July 2010
Nordic climate action camp, Southern Sweden

22 July-1 August 2010
French Camp Action Climat, near Le Havre

22 July-2 August 2010
Swiss climate camp Fr / De

23-27 July 2010
Peace News Summer Camp, Oxfordshire

29 July-4 August 2010
Belgian Climate Camp, near Liege

4-9 August 2010
EF! Summer Gathering, Derbyshire

12-16 August 2010
Irish Climate Camp, County Tyrone

13-17 August 2010
Climate Camp Cymru

21-24 August 2010
Climate Camp targets RBS in Edinburgh: Action Days

21-29 August 2010
German Klimacamp, near Erkelenz

27-30 August 2010
National Animal Rights Gathering, near Northampton

27-29 August 2010
Dutch Earth First! Gathering and CJA meeting – Groen Front!

Peat Bog Extraction halted in Greater Manchester

15.04.2010
Update:

As you know, we locked on around 10:30. Some of the workers initially reacted aggressively, trying to move the digger while people were on it, using abusive language and assaulting one of our group – though we were emphasising that we were peaceful and that they were breaking the law by acting dangerously towards us. After about 20 mins of several members of our group talking calmly to them, they stood down and waited for the police to arrive. The police turned up shortly after, trying to talk us down, but we stayed locked on until the Tactical Aid Unit arrived with Bolt cutters to extract us.
Interestingly, it seemed they wanted everyone else out of the way, so they could ‘deal’ with us and get the job done as quickly as possible. We’ve found out that lots of local people tried to join us, but were being stopped by the police well out of visible distance. The police tactical aid unit also showed little regard for our safety – their intention was to simply remove me from the digger by any means necessary – which was effectively to try to throw me off it.

An ambulance also turned up preemptively, which suggests they were anticipating that our extraction would necessitate the use of force, and unnecessary harm to our persons.

I think we managed to stay there for a good while to halt the destruction of the bog and to get the message out.

After the police released us, we met up with some of the local campaigners (Save Our Northwest Greenbelt), who’d had a meeting in the evening, which was really empowering.

At first I was arrested for aggravated trespass, but then de-arrested and re-arrested after being cut free under new charges.

We’ve been charged, oddly, under section 4A of the Public order act, which covers using words/behaviour to cause harassment/distress, even though our protest was completely non-violent and good humoured.

Our court date is May 10th, 9:30am at Salford Magistrate’s court – a solidarity demonstration is being planned for this date, and any support would be gratefully welcomed!

——-
Activists shut down extraction on a Peat Bog extraction site by locking onto a lorry and a digger. Work was still halted at the time of writing.

Earth First activists shut down Peat Bog extraction at Chat Moss in Greater Manchester. They entered the site at 10.30 am, locked onto a lorry and digger which was being used to remove peat from the site. As of 2pm two activists were still locked onto the vehicles, with around 5 cops in attendance.

Peat bogs have recently become the focus of international attention because they act as huge ‘carbon sponges’: as peat is formed it locks away carbon that has been absorbed by plants as they grow, thereby helping to reduce the carbon in the atmosphere and slow global warming. The draining and extraction of this unique habitat causes the release of thousands of years worth of stored carbon. Globally, peat bogs cover just 3% of the world’s surface but store twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests combined.

The greatest threat to peat bogs is from peat extraction for use in horticulture. An area the size of 250 Trafalgar Squares is dug up every year for the UK horticultural industry, with 70% of this demand coming from amateur gardeners. This is despite the fact that there are a wide variety of good quality peat-free commercial composts, meaning that there is no need for the UK to consume any peat at all. The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, for instance, has been peat free since 1992.

Local campaigner Mary Chapel, said:

“We are stopping the destruction of Chat Moss bog and to protect this site for the benefit of present and future generations. They harbour a wide variety of birds, plants and animals that can be found nowhere else. Instead of protecting this valuable habitat Sinclair’s / Joseph Metcalfe are vandalising it in order to make a profit when there are countless alternatives to peat for use in compost, as well as more sustainable jobs in those industries.”

Another campaigner Justin Hocks continued:

“Peat bogs like Chat Moss store vast amounts of carbon and are potentially one of our best assets in fighting climate change. The Council tell us they are serious about climate change and the environment yet allow valuable sites like Chat Moss to be bulldozed. They say they will protect the Green Belt but it’s all just hot air. We have come here today in solidarity with the local Save Our Greenbelt campaign, and to protect this valuable habitat and to say enough is enough – leave our bog alone!”

Notes for Editors
[1] Earth First! is a Direct Action protest movement first formed in the UK in the early 1990s against the road building programme and protecting wilderness. Later Earth First! groups took Direct Action against the introduction of GM crops into Britain, and helped mount the campaign to save Thorne and Hatfield Moors, Yorkshire’s most important peat-bogs.

Over 94% of the UK’s lowland peat bogs have been damaged or destroyed, mostly in the last 50 years, and Natural England estimate that 3 million tonnes of CO2 is emitted every year in the UK from our damaged peat bogs – the equivalent to the average emissions of 350,000 households.

Protecting existing peat bogs and restoring damaged or degraded ones could lock carbon in the soil and help to actively reduce the UK carbon footprint, as well as helping to protect many rare species of plants and animals, improve biodiversity and protect a wild and rare habitat.
For copies of Natural England’s report: England’s Peatlands – Carbon Storage & Greenhouse Gases by Natural England. http://naturalengland.etraderstores.com/NaturalEnglandShop/product.aspx?ProductID=335ef60d-241e-4495-9625-094fc3cf9689

Link to higher quality photos – http://www.mediafire.com/?zloylojzlgq

BlueNG Superglued in Protest Against Agrofuels

14.4.10
Last night, Agrofuel company Blue NG had their head offices visited by activists and all of the doors superglued shut. This action was in protest at Blue NG’s involvement in plans to build an agrofuel power plant.

Blue NG are up to their necks in recent plans to build biofuel-powered plants in london. Despite their greenwash, it is well documented that this plant will contribute to global warming, food shortages, and respiratory diseases in the area around it.

With an important planning meeting regarding the plant happening today, anti-agrofuel activists decided to get their point across by visiting the company’s head office during the night, jamming all the locks with superglue, and leaving a brief communique explaining their motives.

Nottingham, Sheffield & Leeds Sabs January – March

Another busy few months of sabbing

Foxes, hares, and our group alike had a few days off from the sickening display of violence and stupidity that is hunting this December and January. Divine intervention, in the form of snow, ice and frost meant that many hunts cancelled several meets.

Another busy few months of sabbing

We were out again on January 16th and had a go at finding some much overlooked beagles, without success. So we decided to call in late on the Badsworth & Bramham Moor hunt. The hunt, who on this occasion totaled only 10 or so riders and about 10 supporters, took one look at us, changed course and headed straight back to their meet!

We helped Cumbria Sabs with a Monday visit to the Ullswater hunt on Jan 25th. This hunt had not been sabbed for 20 years due to their violent reputation, but on sight of around 15 sabs, they decided to run, and hide in the car park of an agricultural college – all day. Result!

We visited the Quorn hunt for the first time in 5 or more years, with Merseyside Sabs at the end of Jan. They too took one look at us and packed up immediately, claiming the weather wasn’t suitable for hunting! With some sabs escorting the Quorn back to their kennels, others went on to the nearby Meynell & South Staffs hunt. At the Meynell a fox was seen by sabs and hunt staff in the same field as the hounds, but due to our presence, the huntsman hunted the hounds along the foxes’ scent, in the opposite direction, leaving the fox to run free. Later in the day we saw hunt staff again taking action to ensure the hounds didn’t hunt in front of our cameras. We know that this hunt (like all the others), kills foxes when left to their own devices.

On Feb 6th we paid a visit to the South Wold hunt, who had not been sabbed for a long time. The hunt spent a good while lingering round the back of a farm pondering what to do about us. Although they eventually shot off, losing us for a while, we caught up with them, took control of their hounds, and packed them up early – a timely reminder to all hunts that though perhaps rarely visited, none are forgotten. On the way home, keen-eyed sabs spotted a lurcher racing through a nearby field. Jumping out of the van again, we found a guy out hare coursing, and swiftly saw him off.

The next day we sabbed a group of about 8 ferreters near Leeds. They had sadly killed at least 3 rabbits before we arrived – a strong reminder of why sabbing is needed. The group were clearly intimidated by our presence and packed up as soon as they could retrieve their ferret from below ground. Ferreting is fully legal.

In 2009, our visits to the South Notts hunt caused them to give up on attempts to begin hunting Saturdays. So when we turned up on a Monday this Feb, they weren’t best pleased! Unfortunately though, they won this round by turning violent and forcing us to leave – more on that next season (and below).

On the 17th, Nottingham and Birmingham sabs made a week-day trip to the DNS Beagles hunt in Derbyshire. This caused them to cancel their day of killing without even starting. All we had to do was wait outside their kennels for a few hours, and endure some stern words from some not-so-brave officers of the law!

We sabbed the Quorn hunt again on the 20th, with Manchester Sabs. We weren’t close enough to see it, but, after a few failed attempts at finding foxes – to kill them with a “quick nip to the back of the neck” – the huntsman fell from his horse, injured his neck and had to be air lifted to hospital! The hunt continued anyway, led and followed by members of the South Notts hunt, who were out with the Quorn (due to cancelling their own Sat meets). The South Notts hunt members were the very same people who had got nasty with us just 5 days previously. So, we gave them what they deserved – a good sabbing. We put ourselves in the fields to distract the hounds several times, and caused them to loose the scent of a fox that they attempted to hunt.

On the 24th we made another trip to Cumbria, joining the local sabs, with others from Merseyside and Birminham. We found the Blencathra hunt after a bit of scouting about, even though they had changed their meet in a desperate attempt at avoiding sabs. Upon our arrival, the huntsman walked past all his supporters and drove off with the hounds, without saying a word to anyone! But, rather than driving straight to the kennels, he drove way out of the way, with us following behind, and led us to the Cumbria Beagles hunt! As soon as we got out of the car, the beagles were seen hunting two hares, so we intervened and managed to call them off using whip cracks and voice calls, they packed up straight away after that! Some of the group had also stuck with the Blencathra, who were followed back to their kennels. This day demonstrated just what an impact Cumbria Sabs are having on the Blecathra hunt!

At the end of Feb, just a week after our first visit, we returned to the DNS Beagles, this time on a Saturday. As before, after a bit of a run around (in vehicles), they cancelled their plans altogether. Another day of relaxation for hares in Derbyshire!

We sabbed the Burton at their last meet of the season on March 6th. We had to run/briskly walk all day to keep near the hunt, who were determined to hunt and hide in a massive wood. We took action to disrupt them whenever we could, took control of a good percentage of the hounds several times during the day and stuck at it till they finished.

We visited the Lunesdale hunt on the Cumbria/North Yorkshire border with sabs from several other groups on the 11th. This hunt hadn’t seen sabs for 20+ years, so they were probably a little surprised to see us pop up in the middle of the fells. We didn’t waste any time, and upon sight of the huntsman on a distant fell ahead, took the whole pack of hounds from him just as they started to pick up a fox’s scent. When the hunt managed to reclaim the hounds they went back to their meet and packed up! Watch video footage here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1HzzUzerwA&feature=channel

We finished off the season with around 30 sabs from our usual groups, Merseyside, and other areas, and sabbed the Grove & Rufford hunt in Nottinghamshire, on March 13th. Dozens of police turned up – with motorbikes, a helicopter, vans, cars, horses, dogs and undercover officers at their disposal. They had come to prevent us from sabbing the hunt, but inadvertently did it for us, leaving us to watch in disbelief – as even the Grove & Rufford huntsman isn’t stupid enough to hunt in front of that many city folk!

So now we have a short break from such activities, but, if anyone is up for helping out, we will possibly sab some mink hunters in the summer; we’ll be working to protect badgers from baiting in South Yorkshire, and from culling further afield, from May; and we’ll begin the next sabbing season in August/September at fox cub hunts. Also if anyone can donate any funds or equipment, or help with fundraising then please get in touch!

Sab group contacts:
Sheffield: sheffieldsaboteurs@live.co.uk
Nottingham: huntsabs@hotmail.com www.nottinghamhuntsabs.weebly.com
Leeds: westyorkshuntsabs@yahoo.co.uk www.westyorkshirehuntsabs.wordpress.com
Merseyside: (contact via) sheffieldsaboteurs@live.co.uk
Cumbria: vulpuscarlisle@yahoo.co.uk
Birmingham: birminghamhuntsabs@hotmail.co.uk
Manchester: mcr-sabs@hotmail.co.uk
For other areas:
Hunt Saboteurs Association: info@huntsabs.org.uk www.hsa.enviroweb.org

Badger protection contacts:
South Yorkshire Badger Group: www.sybadgergroup.f9.co.uk
Coalition Of Badger Action Groups: get-active@badger-killers.co.uk www.badger-killers.co.uk

Colombia solidarity action closes BP petrol station, Barcelona

13.4.10
A dozen people closed a BP petrol station on Avenue Bonanova de Sarrià. Dressed in white suits, the Repsolmata collective and friends laid out the challenge: The BP dilemma: Bye bye Planet or Boycott Petrol?

http://repsolmata.ourproject.org

Video

http://repsolmata.ourproject.org

Video

Mainshill Coal Site sabotaged!

12.04.2010
In the early hours of this morning machinery at Mainshill open cast site was sabotaged. Two Caterpillar D9T’s and a 170 tonne face scrapping earth mover, an O&K RH90, were targeted, both will be inoperable today, and will cost Scottish Coal greatly.

A sustained campaign of sabotage has been waged at Mainshill and it was vowed to continue even when work on the mine started. The only thing that has changed since the eviction of the Mainshill Solidarity Camp is that the machines on the site are bigger and more expensive. The machinery at the Mainshill site, and any other coal site in Scotland, are extremely vulnerable. Sabotage against the coal industry will continue until its expansion is halted.

This action was done by autonomous environmentalists in solidarity with the people of South Lanarkshire who are fighting to save their community and their health from the coal industry. This is also in solidarity with people around the world, including Columbia and India, who are fighting for their lives against the coal industry.

Mainshill vive – la lucha sigue!

Activist Tat training week

There will be a free AT Co-op training week in Nottingham, from Thursday 6th of May to Monday 10th of May 2010.

This will include putting up marquees, erecting and mending the flat pack toilets and painting them for beauty and durability, as well as all the technical and theoretical (power, plumbing etc) skillsharing that launched the site crews of the No Borders Camp in Calais, and the Camp for Climate Action in Blackheath in 2009.

We would like to see 50 new people there. We can cope with 70 if they are
considerate and co-operative.

You can come for the whole week or just a couple of days. We’ll share the cost of excellent vegan food, and bring sleeping bags for the friendliest floors in Forest Fields, Nottingham. E-mail jed2f4[at]yahoo.co.uk if you’re coming.

======

Do you have equipment? Spaces activist groups can use? Skills you would like to share with others? ATC are currently doing an audit of grassroots movements to see what materials we have and what we have to offer each other. Please take part in our questionnaire, and help us create a strong network where we share skills and materials.

The AT Cooperative (commonly known as ‘activist tat collective’) is a group of people who have come together to provide equipment, transport and training for grassroots movements. The aims of the group are as follows:

1. To source and provide equipment for events to grassroots campaigns at below commercial rates, by using existing resources and purchasing new materials.

2. To train people up in essential skills for putting on outdoor events.

3. To be a point of contact for individuals and groups seeking who are happy for others to use their equipment or who want to pass on their skills.

In all this, ATC aims to be as professional as possible, maintaining and storing equipment responsibly and ensuring that it is returned or replaced. This will reduce waste and free up valuable time for actual campaigning!

There is a lot more information on our website, so please read on.

http://www.atcoop.org.uk