Caltrans Case Against Tree Sitter Dismissed

Falcon-300x274 10th June Long-standing trespass charges against Mark Herbert, aka “Falcon,” who perched in an old oak tree in April, 2013, above the hill west of Highway 101 that Caltrans is now

Falcon-300x274 10th June Long-standing trespass charges against Mark Herbert, aka “Falcon,” who perched in an old oak tree in April, 2013, above the hill west of Highway 101 that Caltrans is now excavating for soil to construct the much-protested Willits Bypass, where he observed and reported on developments, were dismissed entirely on May 29th by Judge Ann Moorman in Ukiah Superior Court. Falcon was charged with trespass 602K, “entering any lands, whether unenclosed or enclosed by fence, 1) for the purpose of injuring any property or property rights or with the intention of interfering with a lawful business…”

The District Attorney told the court that no one had subpoenaed the CHP officer from the Special Weapons and Tactics unit who supervised the arrest of Herbert, the witness who was supposed to testify. Unlike other tree sitters, including Warbler, the young woman whose original tree sit sparked the Bypass protests, Herbert was not extracted by force, but agreed to come down when requested to do so.

Herbert’s attorney, Ed Denson, said “Judge Moorman indicated the case was almost a year old and she dismissed it. The CHP investigation was very perfunctory and it should have been clear to the investigating officer that Herbert had committed no crime. The evidence shows that no intention on Herbert’s part to interfere with any lawful business or occupation. “

Denson elaborated: “Herbert’s case differed from that of all the other tree sitters, but the CHP failed to note that. Their report said his tree was north of 101, but the videos clearly show it was on a hill well south of 101 out of the construction area. No one from Caltrans or the CHP had even come to his site to ask him to come down until the day he was arrested by a team of 24 officers. He then voluntarily descended from the tree. It was clear that his purpose in doing the tree sit was to be a witness to the events occurring across the highway during the CHP blockade of the media preventing reporting on the extraction of the sitters. Herbert was a spokesperson for the effort to save the valley while the others were prevented from contact with the public. Had the CHP thought things through, the taxpayers could have saved thousands of dollars.”

The D.A. had almost a year to prepare and still was not ready to prosecute the case. A rally to support Herbert and fellow activist Will Parrish was held on the courthouse steps at noon. Parrish, who writes for the Anderson Valley Advertiser, stopped work on the Caltrans Bypass for more than eleven days last June and July by occupying a wick drain tower on the north end of the project, leading finally to his arrest and the arrests of several other activists trying to supply him with food and water denied him by CHP officers on site.

Parrish’s hearing on restitution demanded by Caltrans in the amount of $150,000 has been postponed to July 17. Assistant District Attorney Sequiera said the case has become confusing and he is insisting now that Caltrans supply their own lawyer to appear in court on the case, which will also be over a year old by the time of the hearing.

Sabotage on the High Speed Railway Track Bologna-Milan

luogo_sa2 4th June From the local media we learn that in the night between 19th and 20th May, copper and fibre optic cables were cut along the high speed rail track in Bologna, and two cockpits were

luogo_sa2 4th June From the local media we learn that in the night between 19th and 20th May, copper and fibre optic cables were cut along the high speed rail track in Bologna, and two cockpits were set on fire. In the area graffiti NO TAV were left.

From the press we learn that over 40 high speed trains were delayed up to 30 minutes, and consequently also a dozen local trains were delayed.

luogo_sa3

Nantes, France: Call for a Demo and Decentralized Solidarity Actions Against Repression of the Anti-airport Movement

17-mai8th May 2014 On February 22nd, 2014, more than 50,000 people gathered in Nantes for the biggest anti-airport demonstration ever.

17-mai8th May 2014 On February 22nd, 2014, more than 50,000 people gathered in Nantes for the biggest anti-airport demonstration ever. As it was declared illegal by the prefecture, it quickly faced stunning repression; hundreds of over-armed cops surrounded the demo while a huge anti-riot wall blocked the central street of the city (le cours des 50 otages). It was the first time in Nantes’ social struggles history that a demo couldn’t pass by there. Politicians and media talked about “lootings” and “devastations”, deploring the violence after a group of demonstrators attempted to walk the original route.

However, the Power and its accomplices failed to mention the extreme ferocity in the crackdown on this demonstration. On February 22nd, hundreds of people were hurt by police weapons. At least three of them lost an eye from rubber-bullet shots. A lot of people breathed tear gas, were shaken up from stun grenades, or wounded from dispersion grenades, or repulsed by water cannons.

 

A few weeks later, on March 31st, media exultantly declared a first “dragnet” following a special police force’s investigation. Nine comrades had their houses searched and were arrested in the early morning. Two of them were immediately released, as one of them was not even in Nantes on the day of the demonstration. Four others couldn’t prepare their defense since they were sent to the court through the immediate arraignment procedure. Sentences are as heavy as the records are empty: indeed, the only real evidence the prosecution had were the confessions of the accused. Three of them have been condemned to prison terms without remission. During this parody of a trial, judge Tchalian did not hesitate to double the prosecutor’s requisitions and put our comrade Enguerrand directly in prison. One year in prison without remission for some stones and smoke cans.

The purpose of the repression from police and the justice system that the anti-airport movement is now facing is only to terrorize those who revolt and start fighting against capitalism’s hold on our living spaces. It is to psychologically and physically touch a social movement, to mutilate and incarcerate some of us to reach all the others. The sentences and mutilations of the 22nd of February are not only an application of laws or peacekeeping techniques—they are deeply political. This real state terrorism expresses clearly what must be expected for those who resist.

Today, Enguerrand, Quentin, Damien, Emmanuel, Philippe, J. and G. are its victims. It could have been any one of us. According to the State and its so-called justice, taking part in a demonstration is sufficient to justify the loss of an eye or a prison term.

We shouldn’t step back as we are facing such violent repression. By doing so, we would only prove their case. The best support we can give to our wounded and incarcerated comrades is to keep on fighting. Our struggle has never been so powerful, and we have never been so close to realizing a future without concrete. More than ever, we must keep on fighting and not give anything up in the struggle against the airport and the world that produces it.

Against the assassin Power that mutilated and incarcerated, we have a weapon that it cannot take back. In a letter, on April 8th, Enguerrand stated: “The strength of activist solidarity cannot be defeated,” and indeed, we agree. Actions in support of those wounded and accused in the struggle have already been diverse and numerous, modeled on the diversity within the movement. Infinite are the potential actions. Organize a concert or a fundraiser to financially support the accused and their families. Call for a demonstration (“peacefully helmeted”? —a reference to the “Flashballes” song) to express revolt against police crimes. Cover the walls with painted slogans or posters to make sure that no one ignores what is happening…

Every initiative is welcome to bring reassurance to our comrades and remind the Power of our rage and determination. Against the conniving silence of the media spectacle, we can only rely on ourselves to make “justice” a meaningful word again. We strongly encourage every solidarity action against repression of the anti-airport movement, no matter whether it happens in Nantes or anywhere else, today or anytime.

No justice, no peace!
Solidarity with the wounded and the accused!
No to the airport and its world!

DEMONSTRATION Saturday, May 17th, 2014 at 3pm – Nantes prefecture

To write to the support committee for Enguerrand or to sign this call: soutien.enguerrand(at)riseup.net

BREAKING THE FRAME

A GATHERING ON THE POLITICS OF TECHNOLOGY

2nd – 5th May 2014

Unstone Grange, Derbyshire

YOU NEED TO BOOK -SEE BELOW

Organised by Luddites 200, Corporate Watch, and Scientists for Global Responsibility

A GATHERING ON THE POLITICS OF TECHNOLOGY

2nd – 5th May 2014

Unstone Grange, Derbyshire

YOU NEED TO BOOK -SEE BELOW

Organised by Luddites 200, Corporate Watch, and Scientists for Global Responsibility

Technology can bring some benefits for ordinary people, but its development is almost entirely conmtrolled by corporate, military and technocratic elites, so it usually serves their interests and reinforces their power.

The politics of food, energy, work, gender, peace, economics, health, etc are all shaped by choices about technology made by those elites. The whole way our society develops is massively influenced by technology, yet ordinary people never have a proper say in it.  We're always left reacting to the technocrats' latest plan, whether it's drones, internet surveillance, GM food, fracking, designer babies or nuclear power.

We think all these issues are linked. So it's time for a more joined up and more proactive approach, one which addresses the root causes of problems and is not limited by the dogma that technology equals progress.

  • We want to create a new politics of technology based on bringing together the insights of different movements and learning from each other.
  • We want a human-scale technology that serves real human needs, not corporate bottom lines.
  • We want democratic control of technology.

An world facing environmental meltdown and massive inequality -both caused byb 200 years ofn industrial capitalism- needs better solutions than more dangerous techno-fixes such as climate engineering.

Whether you're a technology politics campaigner, trade unionist, environmentalist. altech developer, artist or just plain concerned, BREAKING THE FRAME IS NOT TO BE MISSED.

YOU NEED TO BOOK

www.breakingtheframe.org.uk      

email: luddites200@yahoo.co.uk

(020) 7426 0005

Accommodation is either in the conference centre OR camping (which is cheaper).  The concessionary rate for camping is £36, which includes all meals for 4 days (it's a bank holiday weekend).

BUT if £36 is more than you can manage, we're committed to making sure nobody is left out for lack of money.  So get in touch now.  Rich people can make extra donations, of course!

Cycling guerrillas in Olomouc

Written for Edinburgh Critical Mass.

Written for Edinburgh Critical Mass.

My hometown Olomouc is a students´ city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city has about hundred thousand residents and is located in the floodplain of the Morava River. The flat ground makes the city ideal terrain for cycling, but a major obstacle for cyclists is insufficient supporting cycle infrastructure. Often a segregated cycle path will suddenly terminate at a bus stop or a pavement. With discontinuous cycle lanes and absent interconnections riding through the city center is a frustrating experience. Some town „squares“ are actually road junctions or parking spaces in practice so they need renaming. Uhelná Street is renamed to Uhelné car park in the picture below.

A local senior cycling advocacy group called Olomoučtí kolaři demanded improvements to the cycling infrastructure from the city council. Their voices had not been heard for many years. In early 2011 an open group of young cyclists inspired by Critical Mass decided to make demands for the infrastructure louder and they initiated grassroots bike rides. I dare to say that it was the first case of regular bike rides organized non-hierarchically in the Czech Republic. Bike rides in other Czech cities (Prague, Brno, Ostrava, Pilsen) and generally in the Eastern Europe are commonly called "Critical Mass“, but they are organized in a different way than in most English-speaking countries. Czech bike rides are for the most part organized by environmental or cycling NGOs; routes of bike rides are well planned in collaboration with police and often politicians and even corporations participate on events. Hence these actions can attract much more people. For example „Prague Critical Mass“ organized by group called Auto*mat attracts about 5 000 cyclists two-time per year (April and September) and dozens of participants in others months. In Olomouc we decided to develop more anarchist and spontaneous style rides without formal organizers.

   

The first Critical Mass bike ride hit the streets of the city on the last Thursday of March 2011. Have a look at this video showing more than twenty cyclists celebrating non-motorized traffic.

This one was the first of many. Since then Olomouc Critical Mass bike rides took place on the last Thursday of each month. The meeting point was in front of the dormitory on the playground in Šmeralova Street, and cyclists used to assemble at 6:00 pm and start at 6:15 pm. Usually 15 – 50 cyclists participated in a bike ride, but sometimes especially during summer holidays there were only about three cyclists at the meeting point. In this case they often abandoned the ride and decided on an alternative plan. Similarly from December to February Critical Masses did not happened because of unfriendly weather during winter months.

In May 2012 a local group of Amnesty International joined in with the Critical Mass bike ride in a symbolic protest against oil extraction in Nigeria by Shell. One of three Shell petrol stations in the city was closed for a short time (photo below).

In April 2013 about 50 cyclists who were in a good mood were stopped by police officers at one of high streets in the city (photo below). They asked for organizers, but after a while confused officers left the scene and Critical Mass went ahead.

After one year of Critical Masses, a different style of cycling action appeared. Unknown pushers modified five billboards advertising cars into pro-cycling and anti-car messages. Adbusters spread a witty on-line manifesto stating that the action was done in protest over occupation of streets and squares by four-wheeled vehicles. Thanks to social media the manifesto was read by many thousands. One of the billboards (photo below) stated: Death is cool – 2 549 dead on roads during two years.

Over the course of time it became obvious that Olomouc Critical Mass bike rides were attracting just a dozen or so cyclists and it was mostly an enjoyable event for a bunch of friends. It can be seen as a success for just that, but it most likely didn´t make enough pressure on the city council. Also the few altered billboards might not change a lot on the streets. This may explain why more powerful and empowering actions have developed. Why should we wait for building new facilities by authorities if we can do it by yourself? This question could have been asked by those who made concrete ramps up to high kerbs for cyclist at different places across the city in summer 2012. Besides spreading a proclamation of full of criticism about city council inactivity, anonymous activists had started to do something more tangible for cycling.

In the summer of 2013 other cycling facilities appeared in the city. The first was decorated home made cycle racks at a guerrilla garden in the city center in June. This installation inspired other activists who bought and posed cycle racks on public space in front of a newly opened shopping center in September. See the photos of cycle racks at the guerrilla garden and in front of the shopping center.

A lovely instance of direct action was carried out by cycling guerrillas who painted 30 meters of missing cycle lane in a park. They interconnected a current cycle path and a street road. The anonymous painters used an original paint specific for horizontal road signs and as far as I know the cycle lane has still not been overlaid by community services, hence it is still in operation for more than half a year. Before the cycle lane was painted police officers had penalized cyclists at that stretch, but now that does not happen anymore. Now cyclists pass through without fear of getting fines in July 2013 (photo below). Again the creators spread an on-line communique which criticized authorities about cycling infrastructure development in the city.

Unfortunately Olomouc Critical Masses stopped in summer 2013 and since this time bike rides have not been happening because the person that was the most active burned out. But that is the risk of informal hierarchy. In any case whether there are rides or not there is still a community of people around Olomouc Critical Mass who still meet with each other for open community vegan diners, dumpster diving, guerrilla gardening, food not bombs events, and other activities. Seeds are sowed and there are many who can hold the baton. Hopefully Olomouc Critical Mass will be resurrected in a spring.

 Yours fellow masser from Czech

Earth First! Direct Action Manual Is Ready for Print

Cover for Direct Action Manual

Cover for Direct Action Manual

Earth First! Direct Action Manual. To support this publication, preorder your copy or donate today.

After several years in development, the Earth First! Direct Action Manual is ready to go to press. A group of frontline activists has assembled over 300 pages of diagrams, descriptions of techniques and a comprehensive overview of the role direct action plays in our campaigns in defense of the Earth.

We are now in a three-week fundraising campaign to ensure that this critical book gets out to people who can use it. You can preorder your copy and get some extra thank you gifts for your early endorsement by donating today. More importantly, though, we have offered a chance for you to help us spread this knowledge. Every donation over $50 gives you the chance to send a free copy of the manual to a campaign of your choice. The more you give, the more manuals we can put in the mail.

The manual will be printed in the coming month with longtime Earth First! partner, The Gloo Factory. This community-minded, union print shop has supplied Earth First! and its affiliates with stickers and merchandise for decades and remains committed to using a high standard for recycled and reclaimed material, as well as supportive worker conditions.

The manual was first printed nearly two decades ago and has been out of print since its initial dissemination. Though many of the considerations for civil disobedience and intervention have remained tried and true, new elements have altered the ways we put these tactics into action. The Earth First! Direct Action Manual will continue the role of safe and effective actions in stopping the destruction of the planet.

Support this effort today!

Reclaim the Power gathering 8-9 February

After an incredible day of idea generation and visioning at the last gathering, it’s time for concrete proposals and decisions about our next steps.


Location: Oxford
Time: Saturday 8th February 11am ­­– Sunday 9th 4pm

Address: TBC
Crash Space/Social: Provided. Further details TBC.
Meals: Provided, donation cost TBC
Travel Pool: Available. Please book travel tickets in advance so that this can support the most people.
Notes from Manchester Visioning Day are here: http://bit.ly/1lQ0Yd3

In early December a large number of people came together to discuss the radical visions they had for the future – visions that Reclaim the Power, as a network, could help bring about.

It was a very open day of discussion with a clear structure, but with no pre-planned agenda. Everything we talked about was generated by participants, and a huge number of different ideas were placed on the table.

So what next? Well, the idea is that all of that discussion feeds into a month of creative proposal making before the next gathering. This will be a space for short and medium-term decision making where we work out what we’re doing in the next few months – and how this fits in with long term visions.

Rough proposal area groups formed at the December gathering, including:

1. How to challenge corporate power
2. Movement and diversity
3. Energy and fossil fuels
4. Positive solutions

If you would like to link up with these groups and input into proposals for next steps, just contact info@nodashforgas.org.uk and you will be put in touch with a group contact.

This said, all proposals are welcome! If you’re working on your own, outside these groups, then great. The more ideas the better.

The proposal deadline is the 31st January 2014. Please try and follow this rough four point list when writing them, as it is essential that all the proposals be considered on an equal footing.

1. What is it?
2. How does it link to long-term strategic aims?
3. Timeline?
4. Resources needed? (inc, people, costs, skills)

Specific venue and agenda details to follow soon. In the meanwhile, please check http://bit.ly/1lQ0Yd3 to see the discussions and outcomes of the last agenda.

See you soon,

RTP Gatherings Team

info@nodashforgas.org.uk

 

Earth First! Winter Moot 7-9 March 2014: programme up

A weekend gathering for people involved or want to know more about ecological direct action around the UK including fighting opencast coal, fracking, GM, nuclear power, new road building and quarries with discussions and campaign planning – emphasis on the tactics and strategies, community solidarity and sustainable activism.

A weekend gathering for people involved or want to know more about ecological direct action around the UK including fighting opencast coal, fracking, GM, nuclear power, new road building and quarries with discussions and campaign planning – emphasis on the tactics and strategies, community solidarity and sustainable activism.

Evening Friday 7th – afternoon Sunday 9th March 2014, Nottingham

Cost scale £20 to £30. This includes full vegan meals and accommodation.

It will be an indoor floor sleeping space so bring a warm sleeping bag and mat. Train to Nottingham then tram to Beaconsfield street– walk to the end turn right on to Gladstone St — 245 Gladstone St, Nottingham NG7 6HX — www.earthfirst.org.uk

Full map/travel details

For offers of help or questions email themiddle@earthfirst.org.uk

 

Programme

Friday

16.30-17.30 Security Workshop
17.30-18.30 Film

18.30 Dinner

20.00 Benefit Gig

Saturday

8.30-9.30 Breakfast
9.30-10.45 Intro go round of campaigns

10.45-11.00 Break

11.00-12.00 Future of Earth First Part 1
12.00-13.00 Security Workshop

13.00-14.00 Lunch

14.00-14.30 Lush/fundraising workshop
14.30-18.15 Campaign Workshops (timings to be finalised to include Fracking, Nuclear, Roads and Coal)
18.15-18.30 Summer Gathering handover

18.30 Dinner
20.00 DJ??

Sunday

9.00-10.00 Breakfast fry up
10.00-10.30 Tidy up of venue
10.30-11.30 Feedback go round
11.30-12.30 Future of Earth First Part 2
12.30-14.00 Summer Gathering Planning (and time of other workshops to run in parallel)

14.00-15.00 Lunch
15.00 End

Bath – arson at car showroom

8th of January – incendiary device on delay left at Kia car showroom, Lower Bristol Road, Bath. Damage to the building facade. A brand new 4-x-4 and three cars also consumed by the flames. A direct attack on exploitative manufacturing industries who profit from choking our world, who also make status symbols for our class enemies.

8th of January – incendiary device on delay left at Kia car showroom, Lower Bristol Road, Bath. Damage to the building facade. A brand new 4-x-4 and three cars also consumed by the flames. A direct attack on exploitative manufacturing industries who profit from choking our world, who also make status symbols for our class enemies. This section of the Earth Liberation Front and Informal Anarchist Federation has them in our sights.

With the cops cleared of the execution of Mark Duggan that started the riots of 2011, as good a time as ever to re-ignite the streets.

Unfortunately for the enemy, the 32 year old man arrested for the action has no relation to our group.

Active solidarity with:
– the stirrings of new struggle against road building programs in the UK (traces of which we saw in Combe Haven), specifically with the ones who won't take the path of liberals and pacifists next time
– Swiss anarchist Marco Camenish (who is on hunger strike and refusing work since the 30th of December) and also informal anarchist prisoners Alfredo Cospito and Nicola Gai in Italy
– Henry Zegarrundo (who we recognise as a kindred spirit through his letters) targeted by the Bolivian prosecutors, those on the run, and the anarchist and indigenous peoples still fighting the highway development

Perennial Resistance ELF-FAI

Bristol – Toluca – Jakarta – Moscow – Buenos Aires – Melbourne – keep the fires burning

CHP Removes Willits Bypass Protester from Tower

3 July 2013 An environmental protester who had been perched 50 feet up a piece of construction equipment outside Willits for more than a week has been removed a

3 July 2013 An environmental protester who had been perched 50 feet up a piece of construction equipment outside Willits for more than a week has been removed and arrested by the CHP.

Will Parrish, 31, of Ukiah was arrested Monday after being cut loose from a locking device he had connected to one of two 100-foot wick-drain installers being used on the Highway 101 bypass project outside Willits.

The $210 million bypass is being built to skirt the city of Willits, where traffic regularly slows to a crawl as Highway 101 narrows to two lanes through downtown. Proponents say it’s necessary to reduce traffic congestion and restore the city’s small-town feel. Opponents say it is a costly and ugly mistake that will hurt streams and fisheries and increase flooding.

Parrish’s protest had prevented the wick-drain installers from operating since June 20. Work resumed on Tuesday, Caltrans said.

More than 30 arrests have been made among protesters since April.

On Monday, CHP officers, acting on a request from Caltrans, which owns the property, used cherry-picker-type lifts to reach Parrish.

“We had a team go up and first made sure he was OK and didn’t need medical attention,” said CHP Capt. Jim Epperson. “After we were sure he was OK, we hydrated him — gave him some Gatorade.”

Officers then cut his locking device and brought Parrish down.

He and another protester, Amanda “Warbler” Senseman, were arrested on trespassing charges, Epperson said. Senseman sat in a tree for two months earlier this year as a protest against the bypass.

Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie said Parrish was “putting himself and others at risk and delaying construction by trespassing.”

“And with the ongoing hot weather forecasted, we are also concerned about his health and safety,” he said.

Protest leader Freddie Long said one tree-sitter remains in an ash grove north of where Parrish was perched. So far, that person hasn’t been confronted, Long said.

The 5.9-mile bypass is expected to be completed in the fall of 2016.