Wilderness Defence – Page 120

documentary: Reclaim Power – voices from the camp for climate action 2006

In the summer of 2006, 600 people convinced that there is no time to waste set up a Camp for Climate Action in the shadow of one of the biggest C02 emitters in Europe: Drax coal-fired power station in Yorkshire / UK. Cine Rebelde produced a documentary film about the camp.

Climate change is now a reality. Leading scientists across the world agree that in a ’business as usual scenario’ we have no longer than 10 years to prevent 2-3 degrees of additional global arming that will lead to irreversible climatic changes with dramatic consequences for our planet.

However, in a world driven by profit and committed to unlimited economic growth, humanity seems very unwilling to change the course of the fossil fuel economy.

In the summer of 2006, the 5th hottest year ever recorded in recent history, 600 people convinced that there is no time to waste set up a Camp for Climate Action in the shadow of one of the biggest C02 emitters in Europe: Drax coal-fired power station in Yorkshire / UK.

With over one hundred workshops on a wide range of topics, the 10 day camp was a space of collective learning, sustainable living and taking direct action on the root causes of climate change. The gathering that showed practical low energy solutions in action, culminated in a day of protest and mass direct action in an attempt to shut down Drax.

DVD 62min + extras
English with subtitles in English, French, German and Spanish
reports on indymedia UK: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/actions/2006/climatecamp/

Trailer download: 2:58 min
http://www.cinerebelde.org/site.php3?id_article=356〈=en

a cine rebelde production in cooperation with http://risingtide.org.uk and http://climatecamp.org.uk

indymedia reports of the Camp 2006:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/actions/2006/climatecamp/

Pictures, information and film orders:
orders@cinerebelde.org
http://www.cinerebelde.org

DVDs will also soon be available from rising tide, climate camp groups and at the meeting in Bristol.

* * * * * *
Preparations for the Camp for Climate Action 2007 are in full swing. The upcoming meeting will be in Bristol on March 17th /18th.

Rising Tide North America is currently doing a Road Show. Check out:
http://risingtidenorthamerica.org

Rospuda camp of road protesters temporarily suspended

Due to agreement with road builders and the law not allowing to disturb the birds in lying eggs the Rospuda camp at the Rospuda River in Poland is temporarily suspended. Ecologists are located in nearby villages or await in other cities ready for immediate action. If You need to contact them and await with them ready for action, then here are the data of Polish Greenpeace:

Save Rospuda Valley Demonstration, London, 9 March 2007

A ‘Save the Rospuda Valley’ demonstration will take place on Friday, 9th March 2007 at 16.30, outside the Polish Embassy, 47 Portland Place, London.

Residents in 16 Polish towns are protesting in opposition to the building of the ‘Via Baltic Expressway’ through the Rospuda River Valley – the last such natural treasure of its kind in Europe.

The protest camp set up on 13 February aims to delay the work. Protestors are sleeping in and amongst the trees, in temperatures as low as -20 degrees Centigrade (use the links below to view recent footage of the conditions at the camp):

The camp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaZiKfyRLdM&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ_fWfQ2mjo&NR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44IySFbtmGc&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW41XY4eofQ&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZS41nBvZcM&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSVlnNVb6jM&mode=related&search=

Olecko town feeds the protesters – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mQJeoAdtJo&mode=related&search=

Further information concerning the situation, along with updates from the camp are also available at (these sites feature articles in English language):

www.viabalticainfo.org
www.dolina-rospudy.pl
http://www.zieloni.org.pl/

Donations can be made to:
Description: “Rospuda”
Account Number (IBAN): 44 16801206 0000 3000 1447 1454
Fundacja Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich
ul. Wieckowiskiego 33/127 90-734 Lódz
Nazwa banku / oddział: Invest Bank
Swiftcode (BIC): * *IVSEPL PP

SAVE PRIOY PARK : Mass Rally (photos)

26.02.2007

As promised by local campaigners, and expected by the wider public, hundreds of local people converged upon Southend Civic Centre last Thursday for the ‘Parkrally’, to oppose controversial plans to widen the A127/A1159 Priory Crescent, or ‘scheme F5’ as it has come to be known.

The event follows the recent ‘storming’ of the British Archaeological Awards celebration at Prittlewell Priory in January, when dozens of local residents disrupted an invite only ‘wine and cheese’ event held for local dignitaries, in celebration of the discovery of the East Saxon king’s burial, which would be destroyed, should the £25m road scheme get the go ahead.

Feelings continue to run high, with majority public opposition to the scheme repeatedly being shown by local groups, and press, six years into the campaign to stop the road.

Speaking from the steps of the Civic Centre, where a meeting of the full Council was taking place inside, campaigner and local resident Shaun Qureshi said, ‘Southend Borough Council are either somehow still ignorant of the fact that so many people continue to demonstrate, or they are arrogant enough to feel that they can simply push us aside.

‘They have only time and silence on their side, and the commonly held misconception that the scheme has already been canned by the Department for Transport, who would be required to provide the funding. The feeling that the scheme will not now go ahead is due to the delay in anyone in authority either taking any responsibility, or coming to a decision on the issue.

‘However, recent events have proven that despite this, significant numbers of the local public can still be mobilised to take action, that we do have majority support, and should the go-ahead be given, that there will be outrage across the town if attempts are made to evict Camp Bling, concrete over the burial or to destroy yet another green space.’

A decision to fund the road widening has been awaited from the DfT since a local Public Inquiry took place in March 2004. Information from the East of England Regional Partnership Group shows that costs have now risen to an estimated £25m for the 870 metre length of carriageway , making it potentially, ‘The most expensive stretch of road in the world.’

http://www.savepriorypark.org

Dozens of Swampys desperately needed to save Rospuda Valley, Poland

People who will defend the valley are needed. Do not leave Polish eco-warriors alone. Polish ultracatholic government is building a road through primeval forest. An inquiry into the preparation of this investment shows that the decison process was undemocratic, a variant called Chodorki variant of the proposed bypass that was avoiding the valley altogether was excluded from the appraisal procedure, as well as the Eastern variant, which was the cheapest.

Swampys in all qualities and quantities are needed in Poland to stop, or slow down the inwestment, and to create the much needed media coverage of this problem. As by now, no one of the national media reporting on the problem have not arrived to the core of the problem, that is the manipulations of the authorities with the choice of the variants and manipulated transport investment appraisal process. The government-owned TVP (kind of Polish BBC, alas ultracatholic and neonationalistic) is so biased when reporting on the issue, that it despereatedly tries to show ecologists as mentally ill people that possess even no capability to speak in their own name.

Here are the directions to Rospuda Valley.

The Valley is here:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ie=UTF8&z=12&ll=53.896045,22.934303&spn=0.146468,0.3162&om=1

The camp is over the river. Easy to find if arrived to Augustów no later than in the mid-day as it might be 4 hours walk from the town.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rospuda

From Kaunas to Augustów you might take a bus or a train. There is one train connection daily from Kaunas to Augustów, the train departs at 13:01 with change in Sestokai and arrives at 15:56. The schedules (also connections from other European cities to Augustów) are here:

http://rozklad.pkp.pl/bin/query.exe/en?

Nights are cold. Please check the weather forecast before departing. Get ready for more than minus 10 degree in the night.

plea for international support and publicity, let everyone you know, know. people needed to support camp with people power. if you plan to go to rospuda from u.k in mid march, contact piotr-dziedzice@gmail.com.

Rospuda Protest Camp – Films for viewing

Use the links below to watch the most recent films from the Rospuda Protest Camp. This will give you an idea of the conditions and temperatures being endured by the activists. Dialogue is in Polish language, but the images speak for themselves:

Olecko town feeds the protesters:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mQJeoAdtJo&mode=related&search=

Demo in Edinburgh in the defence of Rospuda

20 Feb 2007
On Friday at 2 pm, in front of Polish consulate there will be a dome in support of Polish protest site
against the destruction of the largest in Europe wild wetlands in Rospuda Valley (google the area to find more about the case)

Take a look at the fuckin’ pictures:
www.greenpeace.org/poland/multimedia/slajdy/dolina-rospudy-z-lotu-ptaka-2

—-
pl.indymedia.org/pl/2007/02/26397.shtml
www.szkocja.net/forum/messageview.aspx

On the Ground Ireland: Day four, the Monday picket, video and report

Fears on early Monday morning. Rats. Big ones. Perhaps Bertie Ahern and his corporate buddies had stormed the camp, attempted to make a profit nest under the communal bender and, as usual, couldn’t agree on anything and began squabbling, squawking and squeaking, clawing out each others eyeballs.

Video 190207_Corrib_picket – video/x-ms-wmv 5.6M

The early morning picket saw people gathering again outside the main gates of the construction site again, this time at 7.30am.

The Garda were out in early, two vans, several patrol cars and an unmarked blue car full of grinning senior officers, who drove up and down the road all morning.

30 to 40 protestors picketed the trucks, cars and buses bringing in the workers. But the Shell contracted workforce was now minus five, according to local people. Five more workers quit after the Friday morning protest.

The picket lasted several hours, including a tea-break at the Shell-to-Sea information hut. Then the “musicians” decided to give the workers a little scare, and send the message the protest to this pipeline and gas terminal was not going away. They ran to the front gate and fence and used sticks to hammer out as much noise as they could muster until the only remaining police van drove up out front. The musical protestors retreated back to the information centre and then took up perch opposite the main entrance again and hammered out beats on drums and barrels.

For now, there seems no real retaliation from the Garda. There was a little pointless shoving of several of the known local members, but it amounted to nothing.

The destruction of primeval Rospuda Valley is approaching! React!

The last moment to step in and stop the destruction of primeval swamps and forest in Central Europe: the Rospuda Valley Bypass. A letter by Adam

Dear Ladies and Sirs,

I do not know if You are aware that Poland is building a road through a part of Europe’s last primeval forest- the Rospuda Valley Bypass.

The last moment to step in and stop the destruction of primeval swamps and forest in Central Europe: the Rospuda Valley Bypass. A letter by Adam

Dear Ladies and Sirs,

I do not know if You are aware that Poland is building a road through a part of Europe’s last primeval forest- the Rospuda Valley Bypass.

The primeval swamps in pictures:
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=rospuda%20valley&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

The investment is contradictory to EU regulations on preparation of transport investments, however, the Commision has not informed yet about the results of the inquiry, nor threatened the Polish government with penalties high enough to deter it from running the most controversial transport investment in Europe without having the decision process inspected by the EU.

Concerning thae whole decision process that took place, never in my life have I seen less democratic procedure. There was not a correct transport investment appraisal procedure, nor any democratic dispute or public inquiry. It was all done as in a totalitarian state.

There were two variants that were saving the valley: one- the Chodorki variant, and second one- the Augustów Eastern Bypass variant. Both were left out of transport appraisal procedure due to no clear reason except for wish to manipulate with the results to support one particular variant that was destroying the nature but was saving the paperwork needed to buy out the plots of land from local peasants.There is no other argument in choice of this particular corridor than the savings in paperwork!

Herewith I accuse Polish government of willfull manipulation with the data in order to protect incompetence of the people who prepared this investment. In my opinion the formal documents were prepared after the decision has been taken, and their goal was not to find the best bypass variant, but to justify exactly this option by strategic manipulating with the choice of variants analysed.

The variants included by government:
http://www.transpolska.most.org.pl/rozpuda/warianty2.jpg

The variants excluded from formal appraisal:
http://www.transpolska.most.org.pl/rozpuda/warianty2.jpg
http://www.transpolska.most.org.pl/rozpuda/warianty4.jpg

I would like to inform You that now it is expected that within no more than a week the trees will be chopped off. I think that You should act promptly enough, if You want to save the valley.

Adam, Transpolska

Earlier documents on the issue:
1. UK Indymedia – EMERGENCY ACTION: WE NEED 100 HARDCORE DIRECT …

“The bulldozers will start destroying the Rospuda Valley wetlands – unless they meet … The Rospuda Valley is a natural treasure, protected by Nature 2000. …”

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/02/362519.html

2. UK Indymedia – Polish ultracatholic government is building a road …

“In the first step of the Via Baltica corridor the by-pass of Augustów through the Rospuda Valley will be built. Currently it is the the most controversial …”

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/355034.html?c=on

Transpolska
http://www.transpolska.most.org.pl/

Radley Lake: The destruction begins – updates

15.02.2007

The Oxford Mail reported last night that a protester has been arrested at the Radley Lakes site after workers started preparing the area for the controversial dumping of power station ash.

15.02.2007

The Oxford Mail reported last night that a protester has been arrested at the Radley Lakes site after workers started preparing the area for the controversial dumping of power station ash.

“The Ant” as the man is know, had set up camp outside the Thrupp Lake. He went into the area owned by RWE npower after workmen began clearing trees today and was arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass.

http://www.saveradleylakes.org.uk

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Radley Latest

17.02.2007
Work has begun in earnest now, with most of the trees on the islands cut down.
NPower’s lawers have also issued an injunction, served on 6 named individuals, plus anyone else they can manage to serve one on down there, pretty much curtailing most of your civil liberties in that area.
This includes taking photgraphs of “protected individuals” (guys with chainsaws and security guards), setting up any camp within a half mile radius of the lake, carrying equipment that could be used to set up tripods, or spike trees, protesting within 5 yards of a “protected individual”…
Apparently, the security guards were feeling harrased.
So- careful not to breath too heavily either- you might end up getting nicked for that too.
So far 3 people have been arrested in the latest wave of the protest- 1 in breach of the injunction (for daring to take photos on a public highway!).
Camps will be demolished after 6 hours, and Camp Kylie, previously home to “The Ant” was demolished in the wee small hours of the morning (no arrests, as there were no longer any occupants, as they’d all been nicked!)

Suggested action- go down there, bear witness, and I leave it up to you as to whether or not you take any notice of this injunction.
I didn’t!

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background & update

RWE NPower have gone to great expense to try and gag the local press, TV and
even Radio, to prevent the news getting out there that they are trashing
Thrupp Lake and cutting down hundreds of trees, causing distress to the
nesting birds and causing pain to the local residents who have made an
application to have the place classed as a Town Green.

It all started when NPower evicted a group of people who decided to occupy
the house called Sandles which had remained unoccupied for 18 months. They
went in on the 6th Feb with a team of thuggish individuals with faces hid by
balaclavas and sledgehammered their way through a plate glass window to gain
access to the house. Two girls sleeping next to the window were traumatised
and lucky not to have been injured by the flying shards of glass.

After they had evicted the occupants, the security guards, still with their
balaclavas decided to film anyone and everyone who came near the lakes.
Filming vehicle registration numbers and eavesdropping on conversations,
they were carrying out their patrols with gusto, disturbing the wildlife all
through the night during their regular passes and being intimidating to
people who were visiting the area.

A young man called Ant decided on eviction to do a vigil outside the house.
First of all for two days he sat on a chair. Then someone gave him a tent
and brought him some provisions. It seemed an act of kindness for someone
who felt that a protest had to be made. However, the continued stream of
people who supported Ant seemed to aggravate the NPOWER GOONS and soon
NPower obtained some sort of Court Order to stop anyone camping near their
property, carrying a rope or spike within a mile of the site, photographing
their workmen and security guards, and demanding that the people against who
the injunction was served should send a copy of the injunction which they
had received to everyone who supported the Campaign to Save the Lakes.

One of the people named on the injunction is a retired scientist who is
extremely law abiding and is at a loss to understand why his name should
appear on this paperwork. He did have an altercation with a Security Guard
who refused to let him pass down Thrupp Lane BOAT (Byway open to all
Traffic) saying it was a ByWay and he couldn’t drive his vehicle down it.

Anyone who visits the lakes is likely to be followed round by a pair of
burly security guards who are looking for the opportunity to have a
confrontation. Someone visited this morning and reported his path barred by
three security men from NPower, threatening that if he tried to go past
them, he was in breach of the “injunction” and they would have him arrested
because no one is allowed within 5 feet of a Security Guard or NPower’s
property.

Mass trespass halts work on Shell refinery in Ireland

16.02.2007

The Shell to Sea Campaign organised a day of support on the 16th February at Bellanaboy to give people from around the country the opportunity to show their support and solidarity with the community of Erris in their struggle against Shell. After the official protest had ended around 100 people crossed the bog to gain access to the refinery and suceeded in halting work there.

16.02.2007

Minute by minute account at http://www.anarkismo.net/newswire.php?story_id=4918

Video – 16/02/07_SheltoSea_Corrib – video/x-ms-wmv 16M