As predicted, Monday 7 January saw the chainsaws back in force on the Bexhill-Hastings Link Rd being built smack through the middle of tranquil Combe Haven.
As predicted, Monday 7 January saw the chainsaws back in force on the Bexhill-Hastings Link Rd being built smack through the middle of tranquil Combe Haven. Despite the fact that the funding for the road isn’t yet in place East Sussex County Council seem determined to fell all the trees along the route. With most activity focussed on the area near the railway, just opposite Upper Wilting Farm (TN38 8EG). Activists rapidly occupied trees in the area, and then one of the excavators, also staging a sit-down protest in front of the latter.
“We were up and ready for them at six this morning, before it got light. They were trying to cut trees to the north of the second camp. There are three big oaks there that they clearly wanted to fell but we pushed through the lines of security and got people into the trees”
Two people were arrested and subsequently released: one charged, one cautioned (both for “aggravated trespass”).
“We obviously stopped a lot of what they were planning to do. They were mostly just brush-cutting all day. We were with them until it got dark. I’m not entirely sure what they brought a digger along for but they didn’t really get to use it”
Further action – by both road contractors & opponents of the road – is expected to begin early Tuesday (8 January) & more people are needed for both arrestable and non-arrestable roles!And don’t forget the ongoing Camp, not far away, near Adam’s Farm.
What: Tar Sands Blockade protesters take over TransCanada Keystone XL offices in Houston, demanding accountability for abuses by TransCanada
January 7th, 2013
What: Tar Sands Blockade protesters take over TransCanada Keystone XL offices in Houston, demanding accountability for abuses by TransCanada
Where: 2700 Post Oak Blvd, Suite 400, Houston TX 77056 (next to the Houston Galleria)
When: Underway now!
Who: 100+ protesters gathered to confront pipeline company over land abuses, toxic legacy and climate change connected to TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline.
The Tar Sands Blockade is a group of environmentalists and landowners working to stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline through direct action.
Why: This action kicks off a new phase of the Tar Sands Blockade targeting the corporate and financial infrastructure behind the Keystone XL pipeline. TransCanada’s pipeline uses seized land to transport toxic tar sands oil through Texas and Oklahoma communities, in order to export it from Houston ports. These dangerous business practices and the backlash from communities across the country make this pipeline a toxic investment for our state and TransCanada’s corporate lenders.
7th Jan 2013. Shares in Australian miner Whitehaven Coal fell almost 9% after a fake press release claimed one of the firm’s lenders had withdrawn funding.
The release, from an anti-coal action group claiming that ANZ bank had withdrawn A$1.2bn ($1.3bn; £784m), prompted the miner to suspend trading in its shares.
Once the hoax was uncovered, Whitehaven shares recovered the losses.
Other Australian firms have fallen victim to hoaxes in recent months.
The statement said that ANZ had withdrawn funding for Whitehaven’s proposed Maules Creek mine due to “reputational risks and analysis of the returns on this mine in the current climate of high volatility in the coal export market”.
Investors then sold shares in the company, fearing that the mine may be pulled.
Once the hoax came to light, ANZ issued its own release saying it had made no statement on Whitehaven and remained “fully supportive” of the company.
Jonathan Moylan from Frontline Action for Coal, which issued the hoax statement, said environmental concerns had prompted the press release.
For more info on Frontline Action for Coal and their continuing protest camp and actions, see here
[Please note: There is a replacement bus service for the train between Battle and Hastings all weekend (6 & 7 January), so check the times before you leave.]
[Please note: There is a replacement bus service for the train between Battle and Hastings all weekend (6 & 7 January), so check the times before you leave.]
The chainsaws have been silent over Christmas but they’ll soon be back. And when they come, they’ll come early. So: come and defend the trees, and celebrate 12th night (the evening of Sunday 6 January), all in one place!
Bring a dish to share, a song to sing, and be ready to defend the trees early the next morning (Monday 7 January – which also happens to be our best guest of when the contractors will be returning in force). (See here for directions to – and groundrules for – the Camp). Practical workshops – focussing on putting up structures to help with the peaceful defence of the trees – will also be taking place on Saturday 5 January.
Whether or not you plan to stay overnight you’ll probably want to bring a torch, wellies and some eating utensils. If you are going to stay over then you’ll also need to bring water, snacks, bedding and – ideally – a tent. If you haven’t got a tent, let us know, as there may be some spare tent space. The camp is near Adam’s Farm, Crowhurst: see here.
Finally, whether or not you’re able to make any of this weekend’s events, please try and come to the Camp as early as possible on the morning of Monday 7th January (when we anticipate the chainsaws will be back in force). We may be able to offer lifts at 5.45am from Crowhurst. If you require or can offer a lift please let us know – 07926 423 033
First Nations leaders have discussed plans to launch country-wide economic disruptions by the middle of January if Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn’t agree to hunger-striking Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence’s demand for a treaty meeting
First Nations leaders have discussed plans to launch country-wide economic disruptions by the middle of January if Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn’t agree to hunger-striking Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence’s demand for a treaty meeting
During three days of meetings and teleconferences, chiefs from across the country discussed a plan setting Jan. 16 as the day to launch a campaign of indefinite economic disruptions, including railway and highway blockades, according to two chiefs who were involved in the talks who requested anonymity.
“The people are restless, they are saying enough is enough,” said one chief, who was involved in the discussions. “Economic impacts are imminent if there is no response.”
Chiefs were still finalizing details of their plans Monday evening and it remained unclear to what extent their discussed options would translate into the official position.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo is expected to write Harper a letter outlining the chiefs’ position.
Spence launched her hunger strike on Dec. 11 to force a meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Governor General David Johnston and First Nations leaders to discuss the state of the treaties. Spence said in a statement issued Monday that the aim of the meeting was to “re-establish” the treaty relationship and finally put First Nations people in their “rightful place back here in our homelands that we all call Canada.”
The plan of action comes as the Idle No More movement continues to sweep across the country through round dances, rallies along with highway and rail blockades.
The Tyendinaga Mohawks briefly blockaded a main CN rail line between Toronto and Montreal Sunday, stranding about 2,000 Via Rail passengers. The Mi’kmaq from the Listuguj First Nation, Que., continue to hold a rail blockade on a CN line along with members of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation who have shut a CN line in Sarnia, Ont. In British Columbia, the Seton Lake Indian Band ended a rail blockade on Sunday.
How the chiefs’ action plan will mesh with the Idle No More movement remains to be seen. Idle No More organizers issued a statement Monday that distanced the movement from the chiefs.
“The chiefs have called for action and anyone who chooses can join with them, however, this is not part of the Idle No More movement as the vision of this grassroots movement does not coincide with the visions of the leadership,” said the statement, posted on the Idle No More Facebook page. “While we appreciate the individual support we have received from chiefs and councillors, we have been given a clear mandate by the grassroots to work outside the systems of government and that is what we will continue to do.”
One of the chiefs involved in action plan discussion said the leadership wanted to be sensitive to the grassroots-driven movement and make clear that their plans are being developed in support and as a response to Idle No More.
“Chiefs are standing firm in support of Idle No More and grassroots citizens,” said the chief. “We now need to unify.”
The Camp in Crowhurst has been in place continuously since 21 December, and now consists of several tree houses and at least one “fully operational tunnel”!
Current wish list (as at 8am on Fri 4 Jan): personal head torch (donation offered); cooking pot; blankets (esp. ones made of wool or cotton). More info: 07926 423 033.
GROUNDRULES FOR THE CAMP
Please note that the Camp has agreed the following groundrules which it is asking participants to abide by:
1. Peaceful resistance This Camp is about peaceful resistance to the construction of the Bexhill-Hastings Link Road (BHLR). By “peaceful resistance” we mean actions that: (1) do not harm or dehumanise any human being; and (2) Do not threaten to harm or dehumanise any human being. Campers need not subscribe to nonviolence as a life-philosophy, but we do ask that they restrict their activities to peaceful resistance while they are associated with the Camp. Because of the potential risk it poses to chainsaw operators, we do not consider tree spiking to be a form of “peaceful resistance”, and ask that Campers not engage in this practice.
2. Alcohol & drugs policy We want to make this Camp as safe a space as possible. We have therefore agreed a policy that there be no alcohol and no illegal drugs on site. If you want a drink then go to the pub in Crowhurst and mix with the locals!
3. Anti-oppression We want the Camp to be a welcoming, engaging and supportive space. Discrimination and oppressive behaviour (eg. racism, sexism, homophobia, prejudice based on disability, class etc…) are unacceptable and will be challenged. We also ask that campers respect each other’s physical and emotional boundaries and try to foster a spirit of mutual respect.
4. General safety Tree protests are inherently unsafe, and all participants are responsible for their own safety. If you’re going to be climbing high into trees then best practice is to have your own harness and climbing rope, and to rig it up yourself. Do not assume that people know what they’re doing just because they project an air of confidence!
We are also asking participants to please respect the privacy of the residents of the farmhouse, not bring vehicles on-site (tat can be ferried from a near-by drop-off point) and to only use the access down the disused railway track, not the Adams Farm track.
As part of the ongoing anarchist war for total liberation, we carried out a hit on the Bathampton radio and TV relay station. Fires were set at four points of the structures, and we left undisturbed. As a result of the sabotage, on top of causing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage, we regionally shut down all TV channels on Freeview as well as all national analogue and digital radio stations. Additionally it took down Vodaphone and other mobile networks, damaging police communications and other digital services. 80,000 homes and businesses in the area were affected.
The entertainment industry is an important tool to manipulate human behaviour. Without a steady supply of distractions it would be much harder to persuade people that their lives are satisfactory, to convince them to keep going to work or in whatever way to reproduce the system. So to deprive the network of the ability to offer this essential means of escape from chronic modern stress, anxiety, frustration and dissatisfaction is to undermine the smooth running of society, however temporarily.
There are many soft targets and many lo-tech methods available for us malcontents who gladly choose conflict over dispair. This gives rise to the prospect of rebellion with thousands of faces, with infinite reasons to blockade and destroy whatever stands between us and our goals. We want to experience harmony as a living planet, face to face encounter as intimate circles of proud and free-thinking individuals, and a chance to mould an existence filled with wild play and fierce joy. Our first response when faced with today’s crushing domination and a subservient society will always be outbreaks of disorder, refusal and beauty.
Our comrades from far and wide who also carry this fight share our thoughts so closely that often their words could be ours. So when they are kidnapped and held far away from us our determination is only further fuelled. Following many actions in Italy the state has unleashed a wave of repression against anarchists and their projects (Operations Ardire, Mangiafuoco, Ixodidae, Thor…), some across borders, accusing some of attacks of the FAI (Informal Anarchist Federation) and raising a trophy for the media-judicial circus: Nicola Gai and Alfredo Cospito, who they claim are FAI / Olga Cell. But if the prosecutors thought for one minute that they had dismantled the group even in Italy with their operations, another cell soon proved them wrong with an attack on the banking system in the capital, followed by grid sabotage in Indonesia, gunshots in Mexico, liberations in Russia, bombing in Greece, mass arson in Argentina, to name but a few. The new anarchist guerrillas laugh in the faces of the powerful because the repression is only throwing petrol on the fires of the open leaderless resistance.
We are on the side of everyone who has burnt stuffy textbooks and taken the offensive to reanimate an anarchy that had turned to dust in so many throats. Any rebel’s capture becomes yet another motive to strike, as we have before and will again, as a reminder of the social cost of their imprisonment.
This action carried out eight years to the day since Xosé Tarrio (a dignified prisoner of Spain’s FIES isolation units, against which a series of attacks last decade were later claimed by the first generation of the FAI) died in the cells, leaving his blood on the hands of the jailers, courts and cops.
Unprecedented “dump platforms” protected by intricate 100 ft perimeter web of safety lines to protect sitters; action declared in solidarity with “Idle No More” in Canada
From a TSB statement released at 9:00AM this morning — Late last night, blockaders set up two &ldqu
Unprecedented “dump platforms” protected by intricate 100 ft perimeter web of safety lines to protect sitters; action declared in solidarity with “Idle No More” in Canada
From a TSB statement released at 9:00AM this morning — Late last night, blockaders set up two “dump platforms” in trees outside of Diboll, Texas which would otherwise be cleared to make way for TransCanada’s Keystone XL toxic tar sands pipeline. These special “dump platforms” are shielded by an unprecedented 80–100 ft perimeter of life-lines arranged, which if disturbed would certainly dump the two blockaders nested in them roughly 50–60 ft in the air. The Blockaders are sitting in solidarity with the now global “Idle No More” campaign for First Nation’s human rights and tribal sovereignty that very recently started in Canada.
This new tree blockade comes just a couple weeks after the end of Tar Sands Blockade’s 85-day tree-sit near Winnsboro, TX. TransCanada rerouted the tar sands pipeline to go around the Winnsboro tree-sit, despite having told countless landowners, including Douglass resident Mike Bishop, that the route was set in stone and could not be altered to avoid bulldozing their cropland, or to go around schools, neighborhoods, or ecologically sensitive areas.
This new site is surrounded by barriers like Highway 59, railroad tracks, and Ryan Lake. With these nearby, blockaders have found a location around which the pipe cannot easily be rerouted.
The viability of this blockade depends entirely on the safe conduct of TransCanada and local police forces. They could easily end it by cutting ropes and seriously injuring or killing the tree sitters. Blockaders Audrey and Mike know the risks. They are prepared to stay on their platforms, just big enough to lie down on, indefinitely, to defend their collective home from the expansion of tar sands exploitation that Keystone XL would usher in.
“Protecting the living systems which we’re a part of is a moral necessity,” shared Audrey, who is sitting in a singular tree left in a newly-cleared field. “Extraction of the tar sands is the most destructive project on the continent. It threatens the integrity of the entire biosphere, not to mention the First Nations dependent upon access to clean water, land, and air for the health and food for their tribal communities.”
Mike, the other sitter suspended in a 50 ft skypod between two trees, agreed, “That their plight has been so long ignored by industry and policy-makers is a clear violation of their human rights and a crime of conscience. That’s why we are enthusiastically supporting the Idle No More movement!”
Tar Sands Blockade is a coalition of Texas and Oklahoma landowners and climate justice organizers using peaceful and sustained civil disobedience to stop the construction of TransCanada’s Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
“Institutional methods of addressing climate change have failed us,” explained Ron Seifert, a Tar Sands Blockade spokesperon. “Rising up to defend our homes against corporate exploitation is our best and only hope to preserve life on this planet. We must normalize and embrace direct, organized resistance to the death machine of industrial extraction and stand with those like Idle No More who take extraordinary risk to defend their families and livelihoods.”
[Blockade is located two miles south of Diboll, TX on northbound Highway 59, a massive banner deployed there is highly visible to highway traffic.] See TarSandsBlockade.org for more info.
A southwestern Ontario First Nation is planning a rally in Sarnia today — the fourth day of its blockade of a CN Rail line in the city.
Dec 25th, 2012
A southwestern Ontario First Nation is planning a rally in Sarnia today — the fourth day of its blockade of a CN Rail line in the city.
The Aamjiwnaang (AWN’-ja-nong) First Nation says both the demonstration at Sarnia city hall this morning and the ongoing blockade are part of the national Idle No More protests.
The mayor of Sarnia, Ont., says city police do not plan to shut down a CN Rail blockade by First Nations activists as long as no one is hurt in the protest.
Mike Bradley says CN obtained a court injunction that leaves it to police in the southwestern Ontario city to decide whether to end the three-day-old blockade.
Blockade spokesman Ron Plain says the protests are being led by young Aamjiwnaang First Nation members, who met Sunday with representatives from CN, as well as Bradley and Sarnia’s police chief.
Dozens of demonstrators set up tables, tents and vehicles on and around the track Friday as part of the national Idle No More protests.
Organizer Vanessa Gray says the rally aims to bring the community together “to stand up for what your rights are and what you believe in.”
Meanwhile, there’s no indication when the blockade will come to an end.
They say the blockade of the commercial-rail corridor will continue until Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with Attiwapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, who is on a hunger strike to bring attention to aboriginal issues.
CN Rail spokesman Jim Feeny says the rail company is urging governments and police to step up negotiations to come up with a peaceful settlement.
He says the stoppage is starting to affect CN customers, for example it’s preventing propane shipments from getting to Canadian consumers.
The trees at Adam’s Farm were successfully defended all day Friday (21 Dec), and the plan is now to hold and secure them over the weekend and beyond. Please consider doing a stint at the camp over the next few days. It is located on the disused railway: please respect the privacy of the residents of the farmhouse and access down the disused railway track, not the Adams Farm track. Please don’t bring vehicles in. More folk are needed to camp out during the day & overnight, and to support with wood, tools, carpentry, climbing skills, driving, and food. All welcome!
For more info call 07926 423 033. Map below: the camp is at the end of the old railway, in and around the trees at risk. Google map here.
