Wilderness Defence – Page 112

Workshop and Building Weekend, this weekend at Bilston Glen

You are invited to the Bilston Glen Workshop and Building Weekend!

This Weekend – Friday 30th to Sunday 2nd
Come down for the whole weekend or for however much you can manage.
Learn new skills and help us with some of our on-going projects in Bilston Glen

You are invited to the Bilston Glen Workshop and Building Weekend!

This Weekend – Friday 30th to Sunday 2nd
Come down for the whole weekend or for however much you can manage.
Learn new skills and help us with some of our on-going projects in Bilston Glen

What’s on:
# Learn how to climb
# Habitat enhancement for birds (relevant info – www.rspb.org.uk)
# Gardening
# Treeplanting
# Building new sleeping spaces
# Dig, dig, dig
# Urban Foraging (tour of the finest bilston skips!)
# Small party on the Saturday night

Come to the woods, bilston always needs you!

Also in a couple of week’s we’ll be having a bilston evening at the Forest Cafe. More info to come.

Links
http://bilstonglen-abs.org.uk
http://www.myspace.com

Bilston Glen Sunday Free Cafe and Outdoor Cinema

You are invited to the Sunday Free Cafe, Last Sunday of EVERY month

Next café – Sunday 25th November
Our usual free food, acousitc music, and specially this sunday…
Bilston Glen OUTDOOR cinema!

You are invited to the Sunday Free Cafe, Last Sunday of EVERY month

Next café – Sunday 25th November
Our usual free food, acousitc music, and specially this sunday…
Bilston Glen OUTDOOR cinema!
We’ll be showing some films about the Spanish Civil War and the Uranium mining in lapland. Maybe more films too… if you want to watch something then please bring it along!
See you in the woods!

see our Author earthfirstPosted on November 20, 2007Categories Capitalism / Globalisation, Climate Chaos, Scotland (Central & Southern), Squatting / Free Spaces / Protest Sites, Unnecessary Developments, Wilderness Defence

Climate Change crew shut down Simcoa plant near Bunbury

November 20, 2007 – A group of activists concerned about Climate Change occupied the Simcoa silicon plant at Kemerton, 160kms south of Perth, for seven hours on Monday…

SIMCOA ACTION – Two people locked themselves onto a conveyor belt of the plant, with two others on the gate – forcing the closure of operations.

Details are sketchy at this stage, but it seems two of the group were charged with Trespass and will appear in the Bunbury Courthouse this Friday at 9.30. They say they will both plead guilty and ask that supporters gather at the Courthouse for potential further non-violent direct actions against Simcoa.

A spokesperson for the activists said the group forced the silicon plant to shut down for seven hours forcing 160 workers to stop work. The group say Simcoa’s forest destruction equals climate chaos.

The Japanese-owned company Simcoa has an annual allocation of 150,000 tonnes of “3rd grade” jarrah logs for making into charcoal which is used in the process of making silicon. The Labor government intends to continue supplying Simcoa with jarrah. At present the government lets Simcoa have this jarrah at around $4/tonne.

Substitutes that Simcoa could use, like plantation timber cannot compete with this price and as a result jarrah is still being plundered from our forests at alarming rates. Simcoa also consumes 8% of W.A.’s electricity, at very reduced rates!

The jarrah logs, which could be used by saw mills to value-added the timber, are turned into woodchips. Then the whole lot is turned into charcoal to make silicon.

“RILA IS DEAR!” JOIN EFFORTS TO PROTECT NATIONAL PARK

In September 2007 construction of what is hailed as “a new mega-ski area” began inside and around the boundaries of Rila National Park in Bulgaria. The park is one of the largest in Europe, a haven for natural forests, endangered species, and clean waters. A good indicator that these areas are in grave danger is the exclusion of the Rila Buffer Zone, an area around the National Park, from the NATURA 2000 network of biodiversity commissioned by the European Commission. Despite ample scientific evidence, the Ministry of the Environment prioritized political and economic concerns, violating the criteria set by both national and European law.

At this moment the Park’s chalets and lodges are being transformed into hotels and condominiums. Paths marked as trails on the National Park map are now roads. Trucks speed down from the mountaintops, hauling away timber illegally cut to create ski slopes. No management plan exists for the chairlift being constructed into National Park territory and the environmental assessment provided by developers is no longer valid. Unfortunately little is being done to stop this project. Although the local municipality was recently fined 5,000 euros for illegal road construction, the sanction seems to be a slap on the wrist considering the tens of millions supposedly invested in the project.

Sites on the Internet already promote properties near the Rila Mountains as the latest location to buy vacation homes in Bulgaria. Locations, like the Rila Lake holiday apartments (http://www.mirela.bg/en/project.php?id=44949), are in zones just excluded from protected status by the Bulgarian government. Unfortunately, prospective foreign buyers are largely unaware of the controversies surrounding these areas. Not only could they become silent accomplices in the destruction of Europe’s wilderness, they may also lose their investments purchasing illegal properties.

LET NATURE REMAIN IN BULGARIA, a coalition of 17 environmental and social NGOs are leading the movement against the illegal activities in Rila National Park. Unfortunately, their struggle is by no means easy. When activists tried to hand out information near the Rila Park Information Center, they were confronted by a group of men armed with guns and knives. They threatened the lives of the participants as well as the journalists covering the action. Although police arrived before any violence, it was the environmentalists that they warned, rather than the attackers. They were told, “Next time, we may show up too late.”

Despite the threat, the coalition remains firm in its conviction construction in the park must be halted until a full investigation can be made of the project’s environmental impact and the area’s status within the NATURA 2000 network is resolved. To prevent further destruction you can sign the petition for Rila and complete an online letter to the European Union at http://forthenature.org/petitions. To find out more about the destruction of natural areas in Bulgaria, see their website http://forthenature.org or find about WWF’s campaign for Bulgaria’s protected sites. You can also contact, Cveta Hristova, Forest and Protected Areas Program, Za Zemiata, cveta.hristova@gmail.com, cveta@zazemiata.org.

Protect Tasmania’s Old growth Forests

*Summer Campaign Update and Events 2008*

Tasmania angel on tripod *Summer Campaign Update and Events 2008*
*Southern Tasmania *

Hi all –

Its going to be a great summer to come to Tasmania and be involved in the campaign to protect Tasmania’s old growth forests!

It has been a huge year for the forests of Tasmania, particularly with the national emphasis on the proposed Bell Bay pulp mill. Despite huge community opposition to this proposal, it has been approved by both Federal and State Governments and building of the facility is scheduled to start in January 2008. However the community campaign against this environmentally polluting mill which will have a huge appetite for native forests continues.

So too does the unprecedented level of destruction of our southern Tasmanian old growth and high conservation level forests. The campaigns to protect the southern forests of the Weld Valley, the Styx Valley, and the Florentine Valley continue on and 2007 has seen more community based campaigning and direct action than ever.

Since the destruction of Camp Weld – the Pirate Ship Blockade – in November 2006, the whole of the valley has been declared an exclusion zone, shutting out the general public, however activists have not been deterred and have continued to keep the spotlight on the destruction. This year saw clear-felling on the World Heritage border in the Weld Valley, and forestry plan to build a road and bridge over the Weld River to open up 2000 hectares of untouched ancient forest for logging. This is the largest piece of rainforest in Southern Tasmania. This is planned to start in the next few months.

A road is also planned to be pushed 3km into the Picton opening up 2000 hectares to logging which used to be national park. Old growth logging is also continuing on in the Arve, Esperence and Little Denison Regions. The moratorium on the Florentine Valley ends at the time of the Federal election in November, meaning once again this majestic forest will be under attack. With the recent global focus on climate change, now more than ever we must protect our ancient forests as they play an integral role in climate change mitigation through their role of storing carbon.

We are all working incredibly hard in Tasmania to protect these ancient forests, however we need your help. Please consider coming to Tasmania this summer and supporting our campaign. Walk in the bush, witness the majesty of these forests before they are gone. Learn new skills, get informed about the issues and how you can help. Below is a list of summer events that you can take part in.

Can’t come to tassie but still want to help?? Then consider holding a film night or fundraiser. Distribute information and raise awareness in your own area. Become a member of the Huon Valley Environment Centre and be updated regularly. Make a donation. Check out the websites. Be part of what is an incredible community campaign! Email: centre@huon.org or campflorentine@gmail.com for more information.

*Southern Forests Convergence
January 18th – 20th
Forest Skillshare.*
Learn about the southern forest campaigns, forests and climate change and how you can help.
Speakers, workshops, films, music.
Camping. No Dogs.

*Gunn’s n Dozers
Lose Your Exclusion Tour
January 21st – 28th
Community Action Week*
Addressing Tasmania’s Southern Forests Exclusion Zones.
Including an RTS and Music Event.

*TAZ
D.I.Y Gathering
February 8th – 10th*
Electronic music, live performances, cabaret, films, workshops and more.
Kids welcome. Camping. No dogs.

*For more information:*
www.huon.org
www.myspace.com/stillwildstillthreatened
email:centre@huon.org or campflorentine@gmail.com
phone: 03 62641286

Huon Valley Environment Centre
www.huon.org

The Huon Valley Environment Centre is a grassroots, not for profit, volunteer run charity based in the Huon Valley, Southern Tasmania. The centre opened 6 years ago as a result of huge community concern over the devastation of local forests, which form a huge part of the majesty and magic of Tasmania’s unique landscape. Since then it has been at the forefront of the campaign to protect these ancient forests in Southern Tasmania.

The Environment Centre facilitates a community working space, an eco-shop and library, a community awareness raising campaign, film nights, musical events, fundraising events, festivals, direct action, lobbying, information
stalls, and the Black Sassy Art collective.

The Huon Valley Environment Centre is one of the Gunns 20 defendants, and is currently being sued by the woodchipping giant Gunns Ltd. for over half a million dollars for standing up for Tasmania’s ancient forests.

Privatisation planning barbed wire destroyed (Athens, 11/11/2007)

After an open assembly of the district residents, with an attendance of more than 300 persons, that focused on the matters of the privatisation of the Filopappou hills, the tresspassing, the fences and the commercialisation of the area (check out the sources for more information), it was decided that the fences and wires should be brought down by the residents theirselves, as it was realised despite the police presence.

Sources (Greek only) – photos: http://militant-entertainment.blogspot.com
http://filopappou.wordpress.com
http://www.indy.gr/newswire/oi-katoikoi-kslosan-perifraksi-stoy-filopappoy

Road builders raided, Digger diving done at Tara, Ireland

November 9th

Diggers Ahoy!

Road builders offices raided by cultural conservationists.

TARA CAMPAIGN LATEST!

THE TARA cultural conservationists halted work on a controversial section of the proposed new M3 on Thursday.

November 9th

Diggers Ahoy!

Road builders offices raided by cultural conservationists.

TARA CAMPAIGN LATEST!

THE TARA cultural conservationists halted work on a controversial section of the proposed new M3 on Thursday.
Twenty-one campaigners stormed the administrative complex (Dunshaughlin)of the site contractors (SIAC, Ferrovial and Eurolink.)near Tara Hill, occupying offices and filming surprised staff.

Then they went to a nearby construction site and climbed on to bulldozers, stopping roadmaking for an hour-and-a-half.

It was a significant escalation of the long protest, timed to coincide the old Celtic New Year’s Day.

One of the reasons for the action was the EU’s recent court ruling on contractors to stop, in view of the continuing damage to Ireland’s World Heritage Site.

A spokesman for the conservationists said: “This direct action has been taken by concerned citizens of the EU because the Irish government is ignoring European law.”
“Continued attempts have been made to persuade the government to stop the work on this section of the M3 while a decision is reached by the European commission.
“It was a very successful action and many messages of concern were conveyed to the senior management at the administrative site.
Connor McDermot, technical manager, when asked why the graves of our ancestors had been desecrated gave us no comment.
“Information was gathered on illegal road building activities.
“It has come to light that further destruction of this historic valley will be caused by 129 kilometres of slip roads as well as 79 km of motorway and the further development that will inevitably happen if this destruction is allowed.

Campaigners call on all Irish networks to activate and support the Save Tara Valley campaign,help urgently needed.

More reports on frontline action soon.
Video link soon Tech support needed.

http://www.tarapixie.net

Ogoni 9 Day – Rossport Endures to Prevail; Today Smelt Like Victory (photos)

November 9th 2007
Not in our name !

November 9th 2007
Not in our name !

Today, to commemorate Shell’s judicial murder of the Ogoni 9 and a look back in anger at the Garda baton-fest a year ago, some 400 activists journeyed from all reaches of Ireland to voice our outrage outside and inside Shell’s Bellanaboy site, I was with the section of protestors that first manned the front line at Bellanaboy bridge at 6AM at the request of S2S when it was rightly surmised that Shell and the Guards would attempt to steal a march by bringing the workers in early – for a while, before Garda weight of numbers prevailed, we were effective in blockading and preventing them from earning their 30 pieces of Mammon silver inside.

After being prevented from joining the main group by a two deep line of Guards, we successfully scaled the gates of the refinery to be greeted inside with wanton violence and rough handling by Shell’s thugs dressed in security uniforms.

What stimulated the title was an encounter with a German from Riegen and a couple from the UK Midlands who had spent the previous 48 hours travelling overland from mainland Europe and England just to attend today’s protest, what commitment?, even so, the people of Erris match it and, further afield, activists, who with a granite sense of conscience turn up again and again in Bellanaboy to bear witness against a rogue corporation and their shoe shine boys in government who pave and grease their way?

Updates received via Text Message from Protestors

6.47: Gate 2 blocked since 6am

7.10: Situation tense for a group from Cork hemmed in near Gate 2 (gate nearest the bridge). On the road but the guards have half of it.

7.35: The refinery site has been occupied. One group of 30 people have entered and are now occupying the site compound. Meanwhile on the road between the bridge and Gate 2, a group of 90 protesters prevented a truck from from entering the site for about 20 minutes. The truck drove over one person’s foot and an ambulance is on its way. One of the blockaders was arrested around the same time.

8:08: The same truck that drove over the protester’s foot is still being blockaded from entering the quarry (around 40 minutes at this stage).

8:35: There are currently two different groups on the building site and another two groups of blockaders at Gate 1 and Gate 2.

The protester whose foot was driven over has been taken to hospital. Guards were reported as being very rough while removing people from the road at Gate 2 – standing on people’s arms and chests and pulling them off the road by their necks. Local, John Monaghan had his camera pulled off him and thrown into the ditch by gardai.

8:57: The truck has since got past the blockade of Gate 2 (leaving it blocked for just over an hour). 30/40 local people were actively involved in the blockade. Guards reported as violently dragging people away – punching people in back and stomach. Many guards reported as not wearing their identification numbers.

The blockaders have now joined the group at the main gate to the site and there is a line of gardai (now including the public order unit) between them and the compound gate. Two other arrests have been confirmed aside from the protester blockading Gate 2. Further details on these two arrests to be confirmed.

9:05: One group of about 20 protesters on the site attempted to get past the inner gate (with spikes on top) to the site but suffered minor injuries (cut hands) as well as ripped and torn clothing as the site security prevented them from getting across by pushing them back against the spikes at the top of the gate. Two of the people who succeeded in getting to the inner site were ejected from the site by site security needed first aid but are now on their way up to join the group on the road by the main gate.

10:26: Six people have been escorted out of the compound after breaching it via a back entrance. The group managed to breach the inner perimeter and stop work temporarily. There were minor scuffles but security were ‘generally nice’.

14:56: 16 people are currently on site. There are security present but no gardai as of yet. The group is a mix of locals and supporters.

15:01: “Security guards assaulting protesters, grabbing cameras, work continuing”

25,000 blockade world’s longest dam in India

Solidarity would be hugely appreciated as India’s Supreme Court looks like it is going to rule in favour of mining corporation Vedanta to be able to mine the Niyamigiri Hills in Orissa, which will mean the death of thousands of people and will set a precedent for the mining of all of India’s forests.

25,000 farmers are to form a human chain around one of the worlds largest dams in protest against development by British mining corporation Vedanta Resources PLC. Central to the conflict are issues over water allocation to the aluminium industry and a bauxite mining project whose effects India’s Supreme Court have been warned by its own investigatory committee would lead to “cultural genocide.” [1]

Farmers in India’s poorest state, Orissa, have gradually been losing the right to water from the Hirakud dam since it began to irrigate and produce energy for the region in 1947. Whilst they claim that today only 25% of their fields receive any irrigation, allocation of water to heavy industry has increased by over 27 times within the past ten years. [2] The major benefactor of this is the aluminium industry, Hindalco and Vedanta, present in Orissa due to its rich bauxite deposits [aluminium ore] and the huge amount of water available from the Hirakud dam. [3]

Vedanta is currently on the crux of winning a legal battle granting it the right to mine three million tonnes of bauxite from the most biodiverse forest region in Orissa, the Niyamgiri hills. The mining threatens many rare species of animals and plants which inhabit the region, as well as the existence of an entire tribal population, the Dongaria Kondhs.

Today is the latest confrontation between different interest groups in a ‘water war’ which reflects growing global conflicts over water shortages in a drying planet. Police have fired on and killed demonstrators in previous mass protests in Orissa and it is likely that following the recent contentious pro-Vedanta decisions of India’s Supreme Court, conflicts may well become more heated.

Feel like ringing up Vedanta to tell them to screw themselves? Good!

investorrelations@vedantaresources.com

Sumanth Cidambi
Associate Director Investor Relations
Telephone: +91 22 6646 1444

Vedanta Resources plc
16 Berkeley Street
London W1J 8DZ

Robin Walker & Faeth Birch

Finsbury Communications
52-58 Tabernacle Street
London
EC2A 4NJ

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7251 3801

taken from http://www.vedantaresources.com/contactus.htm

Tara – Transport minister has transport problems

November 2nd 2007

Diggers dived and Dempsey done

“transport problems for dept of transports noel dempsey”

Conservationists angry at what they call,’The desecration of Ireland’s cultural heritage’ laid siege to a Trim hotel (Friday 2nd nov) where transport minister Noel Dempsey celebrated another government decentralisation project.

November 2nd 2007

Diggers dived and Dempsey done

“transport problems for dept of transports noel dempsey”

Following a morning of succesful digger diving by 2 crews at Collierstown and soldiers hill,where 1 activist was arrested for not giving his name,then released an hour later.

Some of the 40 Tara M3 protestors dodged security to enter the rear of the Knightsbrook Hotel and golf resort where the reception was taking place,

At one point catering staff – some Polish – were sent to confront them.

Earlier, 10 conservationists harangued the veteran politician as he left the construction site for the new Office of Public Works, where he had turned the first sod.

His day was further spoiled when it was discovered that two tyres of his ministerial Merecedes had been let down.

A spokesman for Tara Solidarity Vigil said: “The graves of the ancient Fianna have been bulldozed, the bones dug up and the remains are still awaiting re-interment to their original resting place.

“It is blatant grave robbery and Irish people should be disgusted,

“Imagine if Glasnevin (Dublin) had a proposed motorway going right through it in 2000 years time.

“The aim was not to scare Mr Dempsey but to have a chance to communicate our concern at his lack of interest in an alternative, cheaper M3 route avoiding the Tara Skyrne Valley where there is potential for a rail line and for valuable tourism for generations to come.

“This proposed UNESCO World Heritage Park will thus be an asset to the people of Ireland.”

Resistance is growing from Rossport to Tara, and our actions are increasing in their effectiveness,as is evident from the government censoring www.tarapixie.net on public access internet terminals. This means we are winning somewhere and have raised major concerns within the halls of power. As song,poetry and music were once again heard in the halls of Tara over Samhain. We hope all Irish and international networks will rally to the support of the Tara Valley.Activists urgently needed now numbers are low after the Samhain celebration.As activists dig in for the winter support,food,warm gear and people needed.Hear the call.

http://www.tarapixie.net