Action Reports – Page 246

Parliament rooftop protest against Heathrow 3rd runway

27th February 2008

27th February 2008
Climate campaigners hang ‘NO 3rd RUNWAY’ banner before PMQs

Campaigners opposed to Heathrow expansion have scaled the roof of the Houses of Parliament and hung protest banners from the building before Prime Minister’s Questions is due to begin.

The three men and two women from climate action group, Plane Stupid, opened an outside door before walking along the roof and dropping two banners. The non-violent direct action comes on the day a government consultation into Heathrow expansion ends. The protesters are making paper aeroplanes out of confidential Whitehall documents that reveal the process is fixed, and gliding the planes into the MPs’ car park below.

The documents – obtained under the Freedom of Information Act – prove that airport operator BAA wrote parts of the consultation document and that the government has already decided to build a 3rd runway and 6th terminal at the world’s biggest international airport.

One of the banners, facing Parliament Square, brands the House of Commons ‘BAA HQ’ while the other says ‘NO 3rd RUNWAY’. Richard George, 27, from London is on the roof. He said:

I’m standing on the roof of Parliament because the democratic process has been corrupted. The aviation industry has taken full advantage of a weak Prime Minister to get the Heathrow consultation fixed. It doesn’t even consider global warming, despite everything Brown has said about the environment and despite the massive impact that aviation has on the climate.

He continued:

This Prime Minister doesn’t even have the courage to ask Londoners the very simple question, do you want a third runway? Instead his government published a consultation document full of gobbledygook and industry spin. Now the consultation is over we can safely ignore the fixed result and get on with the job of stopping this new runway being built. A huge coalition of local residents, Londoners and environmentalists is coming together, supported by all the major mayoral candidates, to stand against Gordon Brown and say ‘no more’.

BAA and Brown want to see a sixth terminal and third runway built over homes, schools and churches in the villages of Sipson and Harmondsworth. This would increase the number of flights from 480,000 a year to at least 702,000. Two million Londoners face increased levels of noise, while CO2 emissions from the airport would shoot up despite claims by Brown that he’s committed to fighting climate change.

The rooftop occupation comes two days after Greenpeace protesters scaled an Airbus A320 which had just touched down at Heathrow from Manchester.

The protesters have branded Parliament ‘BAA HQ’ because of the extraordinary level of collusion between the aviation industry and government. Secret documents obtained under Freedom of Information legislation reveal the existence of a previously unknown body called the ‘Heathrow Delivery Group’ – comprised of government and BAA officials. The group is charged with getting the new runway through the consultation process and neutralising ‘risks’ to the project such as Londoners who oppose Brown’s aviation policy.

BBC news video 1

BBC news video 2

http://video.publico.es/videos/0/4705/1/recent

15 Actions to Topple the Fossil Fuel Empire

Rising Tide has just finished producing two new resource booklets …

1 – 15 Actions to Topple the Fossil Fuel Empire – perfect to help plan your action for up and coming Fossil Fools Day – more on that at http://risingtide.org.uk/node/241

Rising Tide has just finished producing two new resource booklets …

1 – 15 Actions to Topple the Fossil Fuel Empire – perfect to help plan your action for up and coming Fossil Fools Day – more on that at http://risingtide.org.uk/node/241

2 – Climate Action Popular Education Pack – packed with tools to help you run engaging, interactive workshops on all aspects of climate change for a wide range of people.

Both resources can be downloaded from http://risingtide.org.uk/resources/other

On site reports from the trenches at Rath Lugh

Monday 25th February:
There are fences across the proposed route each side of the Rath Lugh woods. At around 8am this morning a member of the Rath Lugh camp heard machinery passing by the rath. 6 of us went out and saw 2 dump trucks and 2 diggers outside the fence, coming from the Baronstown direction. Each digger was 40 tonnes, and wanted to drive though at the same time! A large crowd of SIAC, Ferrovial and Wills Bros workers were present, 2 members of the Garda Siochana were also present, both in incomplete uniforms; they didn’t wear hats, one of them wasn’t displaying his ID number on his shoulder. We explained no machinery would be passing by Rath Lugh, that the area is preserved and it is a criminal offence to interfere with or damage a national monument. The weight and vibrations of the machinery will affect the monument on the esker, and so endanger all of Rath Lugh. The workers took absolutely no heed of anything we told them.

Protesters climbed onto the machinery to peacefully blockade their path. The rest of us stood in front of the machines. The Gardai took our names and addresses. acThe protesters on the machinery climbed off the machines, because one construction worker tried to forcably pull a male protester off the digger. The female protester was walking towards the Rath, when she was manhandled by the Garda with no hat, car or ID number on his shoulder. The Gardai didn’t give her a caution but arrested her straight away. He handcuffed her and when we questioned him, he mentioned OPERATION BEDROCK. He then attempted to drag her to Mark Cleary’s jeep, as there was no squad car to be seen. We immediately objected to this illegal arrest, but the Gardai kept pulling her, even through she was visibly upset. There were no female Gardai present, we expressed our concerns about a young female being taken off site by 2 extremely unprofessional Gardai and driven off in a violent man’s jeep (Mark Cleary’s. Photos of this man can be seen on this site, or Indymedia.ie, his drives a white jeep and his registration plate is 07 D 60531).

The Gardai finally seemed to understand our worries about this illegal arrest, and decided to walk her off the site and take her to Navan Garda Station in their squad car, which for some unknown reason was parked down the route near Baronstown. I walked with the female protester and the 2 Gardai towards Baronstown. She was handcuffed behind her back, and when the wind was blowing dust in her eyes, they wouldn’t free her so she could wipe the dust out. It’s worth noting that this site has had its topsoil removed and is compacted earth with lime to dry out the ground. They joked rather insensitively I should wipe her eyes instead! When I asked the Garda with no ID why he mentioned OPERATION BEDROCK, he refused to comment. Finally we arrived at their squad car, but a Paddy Wagon was there, and around 8 men in plain clothes wearing Garda Siochana wind cheater jackets. When I asked them why they weren’t in full uniform they explained they were plain clothes Gardai. I again expressed my concerns about this dodgy crowd taking one of our young female protesters away, and requested I come with her, for her own health and safety. They refused immediately, one Bean Garda was extremely snappy, explaining the female protester would be safe with her. I said this was exactly what I was worried about and asked would they handcuff me so I could accompany my colleage. The same Bean Garda said I have often made my own way to Navan in the past when needed be. The Garda didn’t uncuff my colleage in the back of the car, so when they braked suddenly she hurt her back and now needs medical attention.

We made our way back to the front line at Rath Lugh and were about to head into the Garda Station in Navan when we got an urgent phone call from the front line. A dozer was at the left fence, coming from Baronstown direction. A smaller digger was working on a spoil heap a few feet away from the esker. We immediately blockaded the machinery peacefully to prevent them working. All of the SIAC, Ferrovial and Wills Bros were sitting in their jeeps as it was hailstoning and extremely windy. A Garda jeep approached from Lismullen, with the same 2 Gardai who arrested my colleage an hour earlier. The bald Garda without his ID number earlier now had his ID displayed, obviously he realised he made an illegal arrest earlier. We handed them the Rath Lugh Preservation Order, which they accepted. The Garda who displayed his ID number explained the dozer would be passing throught to Lismullen, but he was stopping the digger from working until the matter of the Preservation Order is clearer. We blocked the esker from being harmed as the dozer passed by s to the Lismullen site. When asked about the plain clothes Gardai, the Garda denied their existence. When I reminded hiym I spoke to the plain clothes Gardai myself, he corrected himself. He said they were on standby. On standby for what we asked, explaining our own health and safety is of paramount importance. He refused to comment further.

6 construction workers approached the front line bender, took measurements around the perimeter fence of the bender, using surveying equipment. Construction workers in jeeps attempted to drive past Rath Lugh again from Baronstown to Lismullen, but the Gardai refused them permission, until the Preservation Order matter is clearer.

I am now on going to bring the female protester who got released to hospital for medical attention.

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Update lunchtime:

Situation Critical as more machinery is arriving. 4 machines were allowed pass Rath Lugh in single file earlier en route to Lismullin. They have chosen this route to enter onto the Henge. Now 3 machines are stationed at Rath Lugh threatening to begin work in that area. There has been no reply from Gormley’s office despite several requests this morning in regard to the Temporary Preservation Order and for confirmation of the boundaries of same ,which seem now to be unclear.

Please support , BE PRESENT, contact all interested bodies, make complaints, spread the word, do what you can but do it Now!

The female Protector has been released. No details of charges yet.

Rath Lugh Camp Phone : 0861537146

Vigil Camp Phone: 0861758557

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Video of Standoff at Rathlugh today and the arrest of a protestor.

Paddy´s Day of Action Against Shell

This year´s St Paddy´s day, 17th March, has been called as an International day of action against shell, in solidarity with the people of Rossport.

People from all over Ireland are set to join forces and show their united strength by going all the way to London to demonstrate on shell´s front door step.

This year´s St Paddy´s day, 17th March, has been called as an International day of action against shell, in solidarity with the people of Rossport.

People from all over Ireland are set to join forces and show their united strength by going all the way to London to demonstrate on shell´s front door step.

Gluaiseacht, the Irish environmental network organising the trip, are calling for people to join them at the shell head office in London, or there is also a call out to take solidarity actions at shell garages and offices, St Paddy´s day parades and Irish embassies all over the world to coincide with the visit from 15th-17th March.

The shell centre is located on the South Bank in front of Jubilee Gardens (SE1)
right next to Waterloo train station and across from the London Eye.

What´s Wrong With shell? – The Corrib Pipeline Project

Since 2000 the small rural community of Rossport, County Mayo, Ireland have been engaged in an epic battle trying to prevent Shell, Statoil, and Marathon from building a potentially devastating toxic onshore gas refinery and high pressure pipeline in their remote and environmentally sensitive region.

Shell are the biggest stakeholder and beneficiary of the project, so have therefore been the main target of protest.

Community Strength

From the summer of 2005 mass pickets shut down the refinery construction site after five Rossport residents were imprisoned for refusing to allow Shell’s
sub-contractors access to their and their neighbours’ small farms which the pipeline is to go through. But in October 2006 the Irish state came to the aid of shell by bringing in a massive two hundred strong police unit to physically force a path for Shell to commence work. A large police presence, consisting of Gardai (Irish police) from all over Ireland, has stayed at the site to aid the work to continue undisrupted.

The costs to the Environment, Community & Health

Since shell started building the refinery, Carrowmore Lake, which is a Special Area of Conservation as well as the local water supply to 10,000 people, has been polluted with dangerously high levels of aluminium coming from the building site.

The gas pipeline is to operate at such high pressure that according to the
government’s safety study if ruptured could potentially kill people and destroy buildings for hundreds of metres around.

The waste from the refinery is to be dumped into Broadhaven bay, where 220 sightings of seven whale and dolphin species, plus sightings of two seal species have been recorded.

This is all not to mention the irreparable damage fossil fuels, like gas, are having on destabilising the global climate.

Although the resistance to shell in County Mayo is strong, the Irish state & shell´s tactics of brutality, repression and intimidation has paid a price on the people fighting the pipeline project.

So mark St Paddy´s day by showing solidarity with their fight!

For more info:

http://www.indymedia.ie/mayo – Reports of news and actions about the pipeline
http://www.struggle.ws/rsc – Rossport Solidarity Camp setup to aid the campaign against shell
http://www.corribsos.com – Campaign group Shell to Sea

http://gluaiseacht.nologic.org/wordpress – Gluaiseacht website

Manchester Critical Mass and after party!!!

Critical Mass Bicycle Ride
Friday 29th February
6pm Central Library M1
Bike ride around the city to celebrate the bicycle

7.30pm-Midnight Cafe Saki (opp EBC)
with…
GO LEBANON!
BLACK VELVET BAND

Critical Mass Bicycle Ride
Friday 29th February
6pm Central Library M1
Bike ride around the city to celebrate the bicycle

7.30pm-Midnight Cafe Saki (opp EBC)
with…
GO LEBANON!
BLACK VELVET BAND
CLEG
and DJ’s playing a
mixture of ska, reggae, punk, disco.

FREE
(Donations to I Bike MCR
Festival appreciated)

www.ibikemcr.org.uk

Greenpeace campaigners climb on top of Heathrow short-haul flight (& video clip)

As the banner on top of this London – Manchester flight says, we’re in the middle of a climate emergency. The fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK is just about to get another boost from Brown’s government. On Wednesday, the consultation on whether to nearly double the size of Heathrow by building a new runway will close, and the government looks set to cave in to the aviation industry.

This morning, four of our volunteers have climbed on top of a plane at Heathrow and are wrapping a banner around the tailfin. The plane – one of 32 flights every day between London and Manchester – had just arrived in Heathrow and the passengers had disembarked when four volunteers walked through the double doors at Heathrow Terminal One, crossing an area of tarmac and climbing onto the fuselage of the British Airways flight.

100,000 flights a year go between Heathrow and destinations that are easily reachable by train (the most popular destination is Paris – easily reachable by the Eurostar). And, looking at the price of train travel in Britain, it’s understandable that some people are still choosing to fly. If the £9 billion tax subsidies the aviation industry receives to make flying cheaper and airports bigger were spent on making trains cheaper and better, we could reduce the environmental impact of Heathrow instead of vastly increasing it.

Security threat? Yes, we’ve exposed a security hole at Heathrow, but we’ve done it to expose the gaping hole on Brown’s climate change policy. Brown’s carrying on as though climate change has never happened. The planet’s leading scientists are warning us we only have a few years left to get climate change emissions down, yet, if the aviation industry is allowed to expand as predicted, aviation alone would destroy any hope of hitting his emissions reductions targets.

The move came as protesters were gathering in Westminster on Monday to oppose plans to expand the airport.

A government consultation on the plan closes on Wednesday.

We are here to draw a line in the sand and tell Gordon Brown his new runway must not and will not be built

Anna Jones, Greenpeace activist

Greenpeace said protesters put a banner reading “Climate Emergency – No Third Runway” over the plane’s tailfin at about 0945 GMT.

It said two women and two men crossed the tarmac at the airport after the passengers had disembarked.

One protester, Anna Jones, said: “Our planet and the people who live on it are in danger.

“Climate change can be beaten but not by almost doubling the size of the airport.

“We are here to draw a line in the sand and tell Gordon Brown his new runway must not and will not be built.”

The four were arrested and taken to Heathrow police station at about 1100 GMT, a BAA spokeswoman said.

Video

Sea Shepherd Finds Japanese Whaling Fleet: They Are On the Run Again

The Japanese whaling fleet is on the run again. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship Steve Irwin re-located the Japanese whaling fleet at 0600 hours this morning, February 23, 2008.

A few hours earlier, the Steve Irwin had been side tracked when it chased a vessel that turned out to be a Namibian Toothfish vessel. The Antalles Reefer registered in Walvis Bay was found at 0200 Hours. The vessel refused to give a fishing permit number and threatened the Steve Irwin by reporting that it was armed. The Captain of the Antalles Reefer claimed to speak only Russian. The Steve Irwin has a Russian speaking crewmember and during the conversation the Captain said he would resist with force if there was any interference with his operations.

Captain Paul Watson relayed the information to the Australian Customs vessel Oceanic Viking and reported that a suspicious toothfish fishing vessel was operating inside the Australian Economic Exclusion Zone. At 0600 Hours, the Steve Irwin encountered the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 which immediately headed eastward to lead the Sea Shepherd crew away from the whaling fleet. The Steve Irwin continued west and the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 turned and began to pursue the Steve Irwin. It is believed that the Fukuyoshi Maru No 68 carries armed Japanese coast guard officers.

The Steve Irwin is now pursuing the Nisshin Maru and two harpoon vessels with the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68 in pursuit of the Steve Irwin. “The great Southern Ocean whaling ship chase is on again,” said Captain Paul Watson. “I don’t think any whales are going to be dying today. Our goal is to keep the harpoons quiet for the next three weeks.”

The weather is good, the seas are calm and the chase is threading its way southwest through an obstacle course of icebergs, growlers, and bergy bits. The Steve Irwin has plenty of fuel, water and provisions and a crew that is committed to shutting down the illegal whaling operations of the Japanese fleet. “I can’t think of a place I would rather be right now,” said Jeff Hansen from Fremantle, Western Australia. “Seeing the Japanese whalers running like cowards from the Steve Irwin is a very satisfying experience.”

The chase is taking place some 80 miles north of the Shackleton Glacier off the coast of Queen Mary land, well inside Australian Antarctic Territorial waters.

On January 15th, 2008, an Australian Federal Court ordered that Japanese whaling be “restrained” in Australian territorial waters. The Sea Shepherd crew is acting to enforce that court order and to uphold numerous international regulations that the Japanese whaling fleet has and continues to violate.

For previous coverage on the Sea Shepherd see the UK Indymedia feature article.

http://www.seashepherd.org

Weird Load visits leafy Chiswick

23.02.2008
After January’s thousand strong meeting against Heathrow expansion, protest continues apace.

23.02.2008
After January’s thousand strong meeting against Heathrow expansion, protest continues apace.

This week saw a 50,000 leaflet doordrop, and today local campaigners were joined by Baroness von Reichardt, partner Mr Spunky and members of her World Famous Treatment Rooms.

WEIRD LOAD

Saturday morning shoppers – more accustomed to bumping into Richard Briers or Ant’n’Dec than an anarchist art troop – were handed leaflets headlined “Last Chance to Stop This”, encouragement to turn up and show their opposition at Westminster’s Central Hall this Monday at 7pm

A straw poll outside Marks and Spencer indicated a likely showing of around 500 residents promising to meet up at Turnham Green Station for a mass move on Westminster. Past experience of active opposition in W4 however means that might well be an underestimate.

They join residents from all over London and the Heathrow villages – 6 coaches have been reserved from Sipson already – traveling to hear speakers as diverse as Lib Dem top banana Nick Clegg, Green MEP Caroline Lucas, Climate Change guru Mark Lynas and Plane Stupid’s Leo Murray.

This is a battle that can and will be won by the people, but only if the people act together. Do everything you can to be there on Monday and show the government and the corporations what they’re truly up against.

Sabotage against the Glensanda Quarry Expansion

An aggregates processing plant on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park has been sabotaged. The Plant is owned by Bardon Aggregates a member of Aggregate Industries, part of the Holcim Group. Aggregate Industries own the Glensanda Quarry on the north west coast of Scotland. The quarry is europes biggest coastal quarry and has it’s own port. Aggregate Industries plan to expand the quarry from 125 ha to 206 ha giving reserves of 814 million tonnes of granite. They currently extract 7-8 million tonnes a year and can increase this to 15 million tonnes. The expansion plan includes removing the peaks “The Mam” and “Lag a ‘mhaim” from the skyline. This would be visible from the Scottish islands and will effect the ecology of many species including otters, seals, and golden eagles. 20% of the stone extracted will go to major road network construction across europe.
The Plant in Yorkshire was entered and sabotaged. Vehicles including all bulldozers had holes drilled in vital parts of their engines and their tires. Both control rooms were broken into and all computers and instrument panels were smashed. Keys to all buildings and machinery were removed from the site. The message “Stop Glensanda” was left. Aggregate industries have sites all over the UK and the World, you know what to do!

‘Not An Eviction Party’ at the secret social centre

21.02.2008

Today, the backup venue for the rampART social centre faced a court hearing as the owners sought an interim possession order which would have seen the occupiers given just 24 hours to back up and leave. However, as luck would have it, only the squatters turned up to court so the case was adjourned. No eviction tomorrow and we guess not for at least another week…

21.02.2008

It was intended that we’d be having a day of resistance on Friday to see off the bailiffs, starting from 2pm with a vegan cafe and transforming into an all night party to get at least one big event out of the place we’ve put our blood, sweat and tears into since the new year. However, now there is no eviction threat tomorrow we’ve decided to party anyway with the RAMpart2 ‘Not An Eviction Party’

If you don’t already know the address, phone a friend. Anyone who regularly attends the rampART should know the address by now but we’re not posting it here.

Wanna perform or DJ? give us a call (you’ll have to be very self sufficient in terms of equipment).

This won’t be the last event at RAMpart2, but almost.