last fridays critical mass had well over a hundred people riding through the streets of manchester.. it was an amazing feeling, we chatted and sang along to the soundsystem and rode around in the sun..it was ace.. loads of people cheered and we had no bother whatsoever.. afterwards we went to hang out in the park it really was fantastic.
last fridays critical mass had well over a hundred people riding through the streets of manchester.. it was an amazing feeling, we chatted and sang along to the soundsystem and rode around in the sun..it was ace.. loads of people cheered and we had no bother whatsoever.. afterwards we went to hang out in the park it really was fantastic.
see some photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spinneyhead/476759467/in/set-72157600155903889/
the next one is friday 25th may meet 6pm central library
2.05.2007 Green activists today marked the tenth anniversary of Tony Blair coming to power by visiting his best friends in industry to highlight the revolving door between Labour and the aviation industry and his failure to tackle climate change. (1) A team of protestors from climate action group, Plane Stupid, (2) are blocking the ‘revolving door’ to BAA’s Heathrow HQ to oppose government and industry plans for airport expansion.
2.05.2007 Green activists today marked the tenth anniversary of Tony Blair coming to power by visiting his best friends in industry to highlight the revolving door between Labour and the aviation industry and his failure to tackle climate change. (1) A team of protestors from climate action group, Plane Stupid, (2) are blocking the ‘revolving door’ to BAA’s Heathrow HQ to oppose government and industry plans for airport expansion.
The activists have chained up the front doors to the offices and have dumped copies of the science of climate change, reports from the UN and from the Tyndall Centre, into the reception area. The activists have pledged not to allow the staff out until they’ve read the science. Other campaigners have unfurled a banner outside the building stating, “Read the science. www.planestupid.com”
Campaigner for Plane Stupid, Leo Murray, explained:
“In years to come, Blair will be remembered for systematically approving climate-wrecking projects like airport expansion. But it might not have happened if it weren’t for the fact that the revolving door between Labour and BAA just hasn’t stopped spinning.” (3) (4)
He added:
“We can’t believe that if BAA had read the science, they’d still be pushing ahead with their climate-crazy plans for airport expansion. With Blair preparing to leave office, UN climate scientists gathering in Bangkok, and the hottest April on record, it’s time BAA used their enormous influence to tell Blair to ditch expansion plans or leave with a legacy of failing on climate change.”
This Friday’s IPCC report on mitigation of climate emissions, a draft copy of which has been obtained by Plane Stupid, confirms, “Land use planning and transport demand management can make a significant contribution.”
Plane Stupid are one of the groups behind the advertisements in today’s national newspapers headlined, “Vote for climate change.” (5)
Notes for Editors:
(1) The BAA/Labour revolving door:
– In advance of the government’s 2003 aviation white paper which paved the way for their expansion programme, BAA was the main supporter of lobby group, “Freedom to fly.” This group is thought to be the brain child of Steve Hardwick, Director of Public Affairs at BAA who took time out to work on the Labour election campaigns of 1997 and 2001.
– “Freedom to fly” was directed by John Prescott’s former personal political advisor from 1999-2001, Joe Irvin. When, after a year, Joe Irvin resigned, he was replaced by Dan Hodges. Hodges is the son of Glenda Jackson MP, who happens to have been Labour’s first aviation minister.
– Joe Irvin has this week been appointed as one of Gordon Brown’s top advisors (4)
– BAA’s “Freedom to Fly” was chaired by Labour peer, Brenda Dean.
– The government appointed AviaSolutions to assess the responses to its consultation on expansion. AviaSolutions is run by former high-flyers from BAA, Seamus Healey, Paul Eden and his wife, Liz. Also on the company’s board was Lyne Meredith, who previously worked as BAA’s director of planning and environment.
– BAA hosts from its West London offices, “Future Heathrow,” an industry lobby group chaired by Labour peer, Lord Soley. Launched personally by then-transport secretary, Alistair Darling, it was established to ensure that the third runway and sixth terminal is built.
(2) Plane Stupid is Britain’s first national direct action group against the unsustainable aviation growth. www.planestupid.com
(3) For more details and sources on the revolving door between BAA and Labour: http://www.turnuptheheat.org/?page_id=24
(4) http://news.independent.co.uk/people/pandora/article2483864.ece and http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007180865,00.html
(5) For more on the ads, including the press release, see www.spurt-aviation.com
For interviews/info:
press@planestupid.com
www.planestupid.com
– ENDS –
At 5.30pm – four people were arrrested for aggravated trespass after BAA refused to read the science.
Opening tonight, 1st May 2007, for a limited time only (depending on input), is a new squatted social centre and café in the former Tramway pub on London Road, Sheffield. The first event is a Open Mic Night from 8pm, other planned events include:
Opening tonight, 1st May 2007, for a limited time only (depending on input), is a new squatted social centre and café in the former Tramway pub on London Road, Sheffield. The first event is a Open Mic Night from 8pm, other planned events include:
# Café
# Freeshop
# Bike Workshops
# Gigs
# Workshops
# Women’s day
# Discussions
# Bar-B-Qs’
For more info see the SQUAF web site: http://www.squaf.aktivix.org/
Press release: Save happy Valley Christchurch
Sunday 29th April 2007
Save Happy Valley members have locked onto the train tracks near Christchurch to call for an end to new coal mines in New Zealand. Other members have hung a twenty-two metre banner – ‘Solid Energy: Govt Sponsored Climate Chaos – along two of the coal wagons. They are on Kirk Road, Templeton.
Press release: Save happy Valley Christchurch
Sunday 29th April 2007
Save Happy Valley members have locked onto the train tracks near Christchurch to call for an end to new coal mines in New Zealand. Other members have hung a twenty-two metre banner – ‘Solid Energy: Govt Sponsored Climate Chaos – along two of the coal wagons. They are on Kirk Road, Templeton.
“Catastrophic climatic events are already occurring; climate change is happening now,” said Graham Jury, Save Happy Valley Christchurch spokesperson. “Earlier this year New Zealand finally reached the end of the line for coal fired power stations. It must also be the end of the line for coal mining.”
Two activists are locked onto the tracks, while a further twenty are on the tracks by the train. Save Happy Valley works for the protection of Happy Valley, proposed site of Solid Energy’s next opencast mine on the West Coast of the South Island. The group also campaigns for a just and swift transition away from coal mining.
“Solid Energy is ever increasing its production, leaving decimated ecosystems and waterways in its wake. Already, they are responsible for annual carbon dioxide emissions approximately equivalent to New Zealand’s entire transport fleet. Saying “no” to new coal mines would be an easy first step in actually addressing climate change,” said Simon Riddel, one of the activists locked to the tracks.
“The world’s climate is becoming increasingly unpredictable and human-induced greenhouse gas emissions are evidently responsible. The fossil fuel industry is a preventable cause,” said Gregory Curline, the second activist ‘on the line.’
“Half of the coal extracted is sent off shore, generating emissions outside of our Kyoto Protocol obligations. However, New Zealand is responsible for the coal it exports. The Government must pull its state owned enterprise back under control,” said Mr Jury.
// ENDS
Media Contact
Graham Jury, Save Happy Valley Christchurch spokesperson, 0273070448
Notes
In March 2007, Mighty River Power, another SOE, announced that it had discarded its plans to turn Marsden B into an operational coal fired power station.
Hey all. There will be a meeting on Sat May 5 at 7pm for anyone in Cambridge and East Anglia generally who is interested in going to the Camp for Climate Action on August 14-21, 2007. People who were at last year’s camp will talk about what it was like, and we will have a chance to get to know each-other and talk about going as a group to the climate camp.
Hey all. There will be a meeting on Sat May 5 at 7pm for anyone in Cambridge and East Anglia generally who is interested in going to the Camp for Climate Action on August 14-21, 2007. People who were at last year’s camp will talk about what it was like, and we will have a chance to get to know each-other and talk about going as a group to the climate camp.
The meeting is in the McCrum Seminar room in Corpus Christi College. The directions to Corpus are here: www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/about/directions.htm To get to the McCrum Seminar room, head to the McCrum lecture theatre off Benet St (marked on the map – its next to the Eagle pub); but turn right in front of the lecture theatre, up some stairs. Directly ahead are some more steps going down to the left, go down those into a passageway and the McCrum Seminar room is to the right.
The Camp for Climate Action (www.climatecamp.org.uk) is a week-long event that will include workshops about climate change and other topics, entertainment, alternative technology, low-tech living, and direct action against some of the industrial polluters that cause climate change.
Please invite anyone who might be interested.
cambridge@lists.riseup.net
http://www.cambridgeaction.net
Entering the radical community, many quickly find themselves constantly hearing about debate over property destruction. Is it violence? Does it matter if it’s violence? Is it effective? Is it alienating? And on and on. I’ve been hearing this argument pretty much since I regularly started attending protests. At this point, I almost don’t want to deal with the subject. Naturally, you’re asking, “Then why the hell do you want to make a zine about it?”
Entering the radical community, many quickly find themselves constantly hearing about debate over property destruction. Is it violence? Does it matter if it’s violence? Is it effective? Is it alienating? And on and on. I’ve been hearing this argument pretty much since I regularly started attending protests. At this point, I almost don’t want to deal with the subject. Naturally, you’re asking, “Then why the hell do you want to make a zine about it?”
The answer is simple: I may be sick of the debate, but that’s just me. As the war in Iraq drags on (dragging bloodied Iraqi corpse upon bloodied Iraqi corpse with it) and discontent and disillusionment with this whole socio-political-economic system increases, more people are getting involved in the fight against capitalism and its machines of war (both the armies abroad and the police at home). For many, when they start going to protests and demonstrations, they have at best mixed feelings about things like property destruction, violently resisting the police, or even just marching in the street without a permit. And some apprehension about these tactics is completely understandable. After all, everything in this system is designed to teach us that property (or perhaps more accurately, corporate property) is sacred, that police should always be obeyed (or else) and that breaking the law, even small laws, is morally and ethically wrong and can never be justifiable.
And so, this is a call for articles, stories, art, or anything else about the tactic of property destruction and its merits for a zine that seeks to give those on the fence about this issue a gentle nudge (and maybe convince them to rip down the fence!). Since this is meant to be a zine for people new to social movements, I respectfully ask that the tone of the articles keep that in mind when choosing their words. To put it plainly, please no anti-liberal rants–they piss me off too, but this is supposed to be the case for property destruction, not the case against liberals (maybe next time!).
When I say articles, I mean previously published or unpublished articles arguing for the validity or effectiveness of property destruction. It doesn’t even have to be something you wrote. If there’s an article that you think is really great and think that it should be included, tell me about it (things like, where I can find it, who wrote it, and how I can get ahold of them). There’s two kinds of stories that would be really great to have for this zine: personal accounts and “historical” accounts. Personal accounts would be something talking about witnessing or even committing an act of property destruction, how it made you feel, what impact it had, etc. Obviously this is very sensitive, so trying to be relatively vague is best (and also see the next paragraph for the best way to submit things like that). A “historical” account would be more of a general story (preferably contemporary) of how property destruction put pressure on an institution to win a concrete goal. Art would be anything that would be an image. A cartoon, a cool drawing, whatever.
If you have anything to contribute, please send an email to tacticaldiversity@gmail.com. I may want to edit some of your submission for various reasons (most likely space). Any edits or cuts will be run by you first. If for some reason you can’t or don’t want to submit something online, send an email and we can discuss other methods of submission. As was said above, sending personal accounts about property destruction over email is not necessarily a good idea. In fact, for both our sakes, it’s a bad idea. Any personal accounts should be submitted will an anonymous email service like www.willselfdestruct.com (be sure to make it at least 1 view). If you want me to respond somehow, you can leave an email address in the willselfdestruct message and I can respond in kind. If you don’t leave a way to respond to you, I may make edits without running them by you first. Also, a major goal is to make sure that every piece published is published with the creator’s permission. This zine isn’t going to be sold anywhere and will be distributed for free, but I still don’t want to use other people’s stuff in this zine without their express permission. So yeah, don’t submit other people’s work acting like it’s your’s and get people pissed at me. If you run an infoshop or any other radical space that could distribute this zine upon completion and are interested in receiving copies, drop a line and you’ll be kept in the loop when it comes time to publish.
In love and rage,
Casey Ford
Police charge cyclists at Glasgow Critical Mass
29.04.2007
Last night the police committed a surprising u-turn in their approach to dealing with Glasgow Critical Mass. The Mass has previously been accompanied by cycle officers “to ensure the safety of the cyclists” however there has been no police presence since last September. This changed dramatically with the April Critical Mass.
Police charge cyclists at Glasgow Critical Mass
29.04.2007
Last night the police committed a surprising u-turn in their approach to dealing with Glasgow Critical Mass. The Mass has previously been accompanied by cycle officers “to ensure the safety of the cyclists” however there has been no police presence since last September. This changed dramatically with the April Critical Mass.
Last night the police committed a surprising u-turn in their approach to dealing with Glasgow Critical Mass. The Mass has previously been accompanied by cycle officers “to ensure the safety of the cyclists” however there has been no police presence since last September. This changed dramatically with the April Critical Mass; the 50-70 cyclists were tailed by a police van for the majority of the ride with the police stopping some of the riders at the front of the mass and warning them not to continue else they may face charges. In the midst of the cycle run, while the Mass dutifully waited at a red light, the two officers (A303 and A628) made their way to the front of the mass and selected three cyclists, apparently at random. It should be noted that these three were not the cyclists spoken to by the police earlier. These arbitrarily chosen cyclists have been charged with “Cycling without due consideration for other road users” under section 29 of the 1988 Road Traffic Act (exact wording: If a person rides a cycle on a road without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road, he is guilty of an offence.In this section “road” includes a bridleway). They were informed that a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal for further consideration. Watch this space.
http://www.glasgowcriticalmass.org.uk
Critical Mass London 13th Anniversary ride.
16MB film – mp4
The very well attended Mass got off to a good start, despite a spelling mistake on the kindly donated t-shirts. There was the usual large police presence with its usual intimidating videoing of riders. Pity they can’t take their own medicine and try to conceal their faces.
The police returned to their previous tactic of blocking the front of the ride, thus adding to traffic congestion. At the entrance to Parliament Square the front of the ride was blocked for several traffic light cycles. Finally, in frustration, and after some booing at the blockers, riders decide to go around on the pavement to enter the Square. At some point the ride split into two but managed to join up again in the Strand. Videoing stopped at the couriers’ pub, while the ride continued on into the night heading Eastwards.
All in all very enjoyable and merry ride.
On Thursday, 26th April, a group of autonomous environmentalists shut down RNAD Coulport, the MOD munitions depot where Britain’s nuclear weapons are stored, for a two hour period. The activists used two 15 ft tripods each with a concrete lock-on round one of the tripod legs, to blockade the two roads leading to the main gate of the base. The action was part of the Faslane 365 Environmentalists Block, commemorating the 21st anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, and in protest at the upgrading of Britain’s Trident nuclear system.
On Thursday, 26th April, a group of autonomous environmentalists shut down RNAD Coulport, the MOD munitions depot where Britain’s nuclear weapons are stored, for a two hour period. The activists used two 15 ft tripods each with a concrete lock-on round one of the tripod legs, to blockade the two roads leading to the main gate of the base. The action was part of the Faslane 365 Environmentalists Block, commemorating the 21st anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, and in protest at the upgrading of Britain’s Trident nuclear system.
The two activists on the tripod blockading the northern access road were eventually arrested after the cutting team had removed the lock-on, and the climbing team had removed the activist at the top of the tripod, and charged with obstruction of the highway, part of the Roads Scotland Act 1984. They were held in the Faslane police cells for a three hour period before being released outside on the North Gate on caution and pending court dates.
The two activists on the second tripod blockading the shore road eventually unlocked after the northern access road had been cleared, although the activist locked on around one of the tripod legs had time to create additional disruption by unlocking only to super glue their hand to the tripod leg. Circular saws and pneumatic drills were replaced with a bowl of warm, soapy water.
In response to requests from local residents and school children preparing to sit exams, and a local MSP Jackie Baillie, Coulport was chosen as the target of the blockade instead of Faslane to maximise disruption to Britain’s nuclear programme and minimise disruption to local people. It is the opinion of the activists that the policing is responsible for long traffic delays and that police tactics are exacerbating and even capitalising on the disruption caused by the ongoing blockades.
The activists encourage other autonomous groups to take decentralised direct action against Trident and all military operations throughout the UK in order to hold back the growing tide of militarism and the environmental destruction that goes with it.
!!!MANCHESTER DIRECT ACTION TRAINING DAY!!!
Date: Sunday, May 6, 2007
Time: 10:00am – 6:00pm
Location: MOVED TO MERCI DUE TO FIRE AT BASEMENT – see http://www.merci.org.uk/bridge-5.php for directions
!!!MANCHESTER DIRECT ACTION TRAINING DAY!!!
Date: Sunday, May 6, 2007
Time: 10:00am – 6:00pm
Location: MOVED TO MERCI DUE TO FIRE AT BASEMENT – see http://www.merci.org.uk/bridge-5.php for directions
Manchester
Contact Info Email: manchester@climatecamp.org.uk
A fun filled day of workshops and briefings on non-violent direct action techniques and tactics, legal issues, security issues, and chances to discuss and plan your own direct action ideas. In light of the climate camp, the theme will be taking direct action against climate change. it will be a great chance to meet people with experience of and an interest in taking direct action!
Breakfast served at 10am, then workshops from 11-6
the old mountview theatre school site in crouch end is opening its doors to the public on sunday the 29th april after being abandoned by the drama school now based in wood green. the new social centre benefits from a small theatre, which can be converted for cinema nights, as well as exhibition space, large workshop spaces, a bar and kitchen, and residential area.
the old mountview theatre school site in crouch end is opening its doors to the public on sunday the 29th april after being abandoned by the drama school now based in wood green. the new social centre benefits from a small theatre, which can be converted for cinema nights, as well as exhibition space, large workshop spaces, a bar and kitchen, and residential area.
the launch party for this exciting new art community starts at 5pm on sunday and will be a showcase of talent featuring an art exhibition, live art, cabaret, bands, and film. there will be a wide range of music with a confirmed line-up of hip-hop, folk, electro, and indy. full details to follow.
there will be food and drink and entry is by donation.
members of project 142 and the 491 gallery are among the organisers of this new community which will be called “project 104” as it is situated at 104 crouch hill, london n8.
future usage and events are still in the planning stage – ideas are welcome
nearest tube is finsbury park, from where you can walk 15 mins up stroud green road and over crouch hill. or catch the w7 bus from the wells terrace exit of the tube station. project 104 is just over the brow of the hill about halfway down on the right.
crouch hill silverlink station is a short walk away too (turn right out of station and walk over the hill).
call 07903 297199 for more info
