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12th August 2013
PEEL SLAUGHTERS SILVER BIRCH TREES AS SALFORD PEOPLE POWER RESISTS
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12th August 2013
PEEL SLAUGHTERS SILVER BIRCH TREES AS SALFORD PEOPLE POWER RESISTS
`As the trees went down, our den went down and all our childhood memories were gone' Olivia Cummings
Horrified residents launched a spontaneous demo last Friday as Peel Holdings trashed huge silver birch trees on the field behind their homes in Boothstown, with no warning and no health and safety measures in place.
The police were called, and Salford Council hurriedly slapped preservation orders on the trees but by that time most were already felled… "Birchfield was named after these birches and they've just butchered them" says resident Michelle Baglin
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"It's nothing less than we've come to expect from Peel" Councillor Garrido
"I was wearing my Salford City Reds top and it has Peel on there as a sponsor" recalls Olivia Cummings "I was walking about with my hand over it as much as I could; I was so embarrassed and so ashamed for wearing it…"
Olivier is just one of loads of local young people who have grown up playing around the huge silver birches in the field at the back of houses on Birchfield Drive in Boothstown. For them, both the field and the dens built near the trees are magical places that have spanned generations. Then, last Friday, it all came crashing down as Peel Holdings sensed a quick buck to be made.
"We used to play in the dens behind the trees, and, as the trees went down, our den went down and all our childhood memories were gone" adds Olivier "We can't go in there any more."
Her friend, Oliver Ward, also witnessed Peel Holdings' eco policies at first hand…
"I was stood right in front of it and there were loads of silver birches, some sixty feet high, coming down, I was shocked" he says "Our childhood just crashed. They didn't even put fences up, only when they knew we were going to tell. They lied to the police as well – it's disgusting. I video-d it on my brother's phone."
Peel Holdings might have got away with it completely, but for the pesky kids and residents who organised a spontaneous protest on the field, complete with banners.
"There was tree felling with no notification to residents or notices on the entrances to protect children, so we all headed on to the field and asked them to stop but they refused point blank" says resident Angela Hilton "We started trying to block them, the police were called and then they did stop and promised not to fell any more trees. But ten minutes later, after the police had gone, they carried on. We filmed about half a dozen trees being felled and we went out again, then more police came…"
During the events, local councillor, Robin Garrido, was trying to get an emergency tree preservation order from Salford Council but by the time it arrived, most of the damage had been done. Councillor Garrido says he was `appalled'…
"On Friday I got a phone call from one of the residents saying they were up in arms that Peel Holdings had got contractors felling trees on the site" he says "I got in touch with the Council which checked out the situation and advised that there were no preservation orders on the trees and that, because the site wasn't in a conservation area, there was nothing they could do, which was quite right.
"I came down to the site, saw what was happening, spoke to the Council again and they agreed that we could get an emergency tree preservation order" he adds "That was at 4:45pm,and at about 5:45pm an officer of the Council came down to the site with the preservation orders, which means that they can't remove any more trees without planning permission.
"We're a bit concerned because we did agree with the contractors and Peel prior to that being served that no further trees would be felled that day" he explains "Immediately after I left and the residents went back to their houses they felled a further six trees which is absolutely disgusting. I think it's appalling that a company should behave in that sort of way but to be honest it's nothing less than we've come to expect from Peel."
Residents believe that the motive for the tree slaughter is the preparation of the green site for building houses. In 2004 there was a planning application submitted for housing which was rejected on the grounds of wildlife habitat destruction amongst other things. Now the wildlife is being driven out.
Residents told the Salford Star that, in 2004, Peel Holdings owned half the field, while Salford Council owned the other half – yet when the Council was checking into the tree preservation order last week, apparently the site is wholly owned now by Peel.
"We want to know when the Council sold it" says Angela "If they sold it after 2004 when they knew Peel wanted to build on it then, obviously, that's naughty. There are a lot of houses around here and the only places children can go to play is either over the East Lancs Road, which is a hazard, or the main road which is a danger. There's always kids on here. This is the only green space they have."
Last night, around forty local residents attended a meeting at Boothstown Library and vowed to carry on the fight against Peel.
"We don't trust Peel Holdings, and we've got someone on lookout so they don't cut any more trees down when they're `tidying up'" says resident Michelle Baglin "We're all working class on here, and we look forward to taking the kids on the field. They do have a good life but Peel don't care. If we came down to their houses and ripped the trees out of their gardens I'm sure they would be kicking off like we are.
"Birchfield was named after these birches and they've just butchered them" she adds "Well, the public is not going to stay quiet any longer. The mums are going to speak up and carry on fighting for our children."
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14th August 2013: The Bureau of Land Management wants to close to the public more than 2,000 acres of forestland east of Myrtle Creek to keep out environmental activists trying to stop logging.
Cascadia Forest Defenders tree-sitters have perched themselves to block the White Castle timber sale, one of three pilot projects planned by the BLM to log and simultaneously create wildlife habitat.
The group’s spokesman, Jason Gonzales, said anywhere from five to 30 protesters at any one time are occupying what the group calls a “tree village.”
“There is nowhere they could log right now. There are tree-sits covering an entire section to be logged,” he said.
To prevent protesters from interfering with loggers or from being harmed by falling trees, the BLM has indicated it intends to block off 2,167 acres, including 15 miles of road, for up to two years while the trees are cut. The agency will take public comments until Aug. 30.
The move would prevent people who recreate in the Myrtle Creek watershed from entering the area.
A Roseburg BLM field manager, Steven Lydick, said the BLM’s biggest concern is safety.
“We would be working with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office to remove people from the area,” Lydick said. “But it is our hope they would leave voluntarily.”
The tree-sitters took up their positions more than a month ago. So far, there have been no arrests or forcible removals, although Cascadia Forest Defenders states protesters have been visited by law enforcement.
The Scott Timber Co., a subsidiary of Roseburg Forest Products, already has the contract to log 6.4 million board feet, but has put the harvest on hold.
“We are unable to operate on it because of the tree-sitters and serious fire risks,” said Scott Folk, the vice president of resources with Roseburg Forest Products. “We would be logging right now, assuming conditions were better.”
The agency is using the 187-acre harvest to test principles developed by forestry professors Jerry Franklin of the University of Washington and Norm Johnson of Oregon State University. The Obama administration has backed the experiment as a way to increase timber harvests while heeding conservation values.
Proponents of the experimental timber harvests say they will mimic natural forest fires and create clearings for flowers and shrubs to grow unshaded by trees. Native plants thriving in the sunlight will feed butterflies, birds and small mammals.
Conservation groups, however, have criticized the sales as a ruse to clear-cut forests and have filed administrative challenges.
“People are concerned the trees in the White Castle timber sale will start to fall,” said Francis Eatherington, conservation director for Cascadia Wildlands, a different group than the one occupying trees.
“These are young people putting their lives in danger to save these forests. They are very brave,” she said.
Gonzales accused the BLM of obscuring plans to clear-cut with the term “regeneration harvest.”
“We think it’s very sneaky of (BLM) to use the term ‘regeneration harvest’ without people knowing what it is,” he said.
Lydick said it’s wrong to equate the harvests with clear-cutting.
“The pilot project is really intended to make a habitat mosaic. Some areas will be cut and others will remain completely intact,” he said.
The Umpqua Lands Trail Riders Association has proposed an off-road vehicle trail through the area. The association’s trail manager, Wayne Brady, said he would not be particularly concerned if the closure were only temporary.
He noted that his group and conservation groups have not been allies. “They were dead-set against our proposal too,” he said.
“If they are out there interfering, then the closure is not too long,” Brady said. “If the closure becomes permanent, then that’s a slap in our face.”
A two-year closure would eventually affect hunting in the area, said Cindy Rooney, president of the Oregon Hunters Association’s Umpqua Valley Chapter.
“It’s my personal feeling that people should have access to public lands,” she said.
Day 18
Day 18 (Sun 11th) Of Community Fracking Blockade In Balcombe Sussex
See The Great Gas Gala Website for upcoming events and how to get involved.
Day 18
Day 18 (Sun 11th) Of Community Fracking Blockade In Balcombe Sussex
See The Great Gas Gala Website for upcoming events and how to get involved.
Update (2pm): Day 18 of the community fracking blockade in Balcombe. Huge numbers of people coming down to the site to support the blockade and sing together.
Day 19
Update (4pm): 2 arrests today. Highlight of day was homemade pizza brought down to feed people at lunch time!
Update (11am): 2nd truck of day took 40mins to get onto site. Come down and help protect Sussex.
Update (9:10am): One woman arrested while protecting Sussex from fracking.
Update (9am): Day 19 of the community fracking blockade in Balcombe. Renewed efforts by Cuadrilla to force fracking trucks through the blockade. Come lend your support!
Day 20
Update (11am): Police have forced 3 fracking trucks through the blockade today
Update (10am): Today the blockade in Balcombe goes Dutch. A contingent of people from the Netherlands is on their way to support the fight against fracking. They are expected to arrive around 3pm. Arch-frackers, Cuadrilla Resources, are also active in the Netherlands.
Update (9am): Day 20 of the community fracking blockade in Balcombe. Renewed efforts by Cuadrilla to force fracking trucks through the blockade. Come lend your support!
Since the first of Juli we (an action group from the Dutch Earth First!) have occupied a forest in Wilrijk, s
Since the first of Juli we (an action group from the Dutch Earth First!) have occupied a forest in Wilrijk, south of Antwerp in Belgium. So far there’s been no talk about eviction but this is about to change. The legal procedures keeping the owner from being allowed to cut are almost finished.
September 15th till Ocotber 15th are the only weeks they are allowed to cut the forest (this is to ‘protect’ the bats and birds in the forest), so we really need people to come and help us prepare for eviction! Lots of work to be done, both on the ground and in the trees.
We expect the chance of eviction will be the greatest from September 12th till September 20th. So the more people in the forest the better!
adress: fotografielaan 7, wilrijk
train to antwerp central
from rooseveltplaats bus 500 to boom
get off close to the pizzahut (ask busdriver)
walk to the pizzahut, go right, at the end of the road (cows) go right, first left, you’ll see the banners
you can contact us at: steungroep.groenoord@gmail.com
for more info: www.groenoord.be / www.facebook.com/steungroep.groenoord
0032485507274
The area has been mapped as a forest since 1771 and is an ecologically very valuable oak forest which is a habitat for lots of birds and endangered bat species. The forest is a so called wrongly zoned forest, it’s been zoned as an industrial area since 2005. Flanders (the dutch speaking part of Belgium) is the second poorest region in Europe when it comes to forests, only 8 % of the land if forest. About a third of those forests are wrongly zoned which means they are often threatened. Most of these forests are cut without anyone ever knowing. So we are not just fighting for this specific forest, we are fighting for a more just forest policy in Flanders.
The owner wants to cut the forest to build an office and storage space, but it is not clear if they have someone to rent it yet. Their old partner ended the contract because the plans were delayed.
There’s heaps of empty office buildings in Flanders. Within a minute’s walk from the forest there’s 4 empty buildings that could be renovated or broken down to make space for a new building. Yet they still want to cut the forest.
Because they have never done proper geological studies there’s big problems with the water in the area. The water can’t go anywhere so part of the forest is often under water, which has killed a lot of the trees. Measures need to be taken to ensure the survival of the forest.
Whenever cutting forests in Flanders, they talk about compensation. Which is bullshit. You can’t just cut a forest here and plant a new one somewhere else.
NO COMPROMISE IN DEFENSE OF MOTHER EARTH
Help us defend the trees!
August 10, 2013 – Russia
anonymous report, from From Russia With Love:
August 10, 2013 – Russia
anonymous report, from From Russia With Love:
"At the end of july 2013 near Maikop (resp. Adygeya) we carried out an ecotage action at the highway construction site. We chose a moonless night to reach the site of this horrendous rape of nature and chose our targets: personal belongings of slave-workers as well as corporate property. Having picked up a stone in the ditch nearby, we cracked open a window and poured some gasoline inside the mobile housing unit (we made sure no workers were inside before the attack). The rest of gasoline was poured on the wheels. In the next moment a flash of match send this shit to hell where it properly belongs. We wish the construction company to follow the vehicle there. Our withdrawal was lighted with flames (as usual). No guard turned up to stop us (as usual).
Do not wait for the optimal moment to present itself before you go on offensive. Only the state of permanent conflict will make your personality strong. If you follow the track of biding your time, hoarding money, buying some sophisticated stuff for the action – you’re subconsciously withdrawing from the struggle. No camouflage or fancy boots will carry out the action for you (though they do help). All things are mere tools. Go outside and fight now! Do not listen to those who murmur: 'now is not the time'! To hell with famous ideologists! To hell with 'inappropriate anarchy'! Anarchy is here and now! To hell with union struggle! Working class is dead just like the present day society. It’s rotten. It’s in decay. Yet we are supposed to communicate with it just like Russians are supposed to communicate with Lenin. Do what you want the way you want it to be done. Fight for your own freedom. Fight for yourselves. Fight for your brothers and sisters. Fight for the future of your children. Nobody will grant you freedom unless you take it by force for yourselves. If now is not the time for you to step over 'the law', to look beyond the templates of accepted 'resistance', then we bet you won’t find any courage inside when the civil war starts. We wish you luck.
CCF-Russia, 2013"
7.8.13
UPDATE:
10:40 AM
Police had intended to tie life-line off to two backhoes. After some uncertainty, both pieces of equipment drove off without attempting it.
7.8.13
UPDATE:
10:40 AM
Police had intended to tie life-line off to two backhoes. After some uncertainty, both pieces of equipment drove off without attempting it.
UPDATE:
10:04 AM
Police have threatened to taze Felix and use dogs to attack folks on the ground supporting them. Please call the Cass County Sherieffs Department and let them know people are watching. (269) 445-8644
UPDATE:
9:28 AM
Police officer throws large log up at Felix.
UPDATE:
9:20 AM
After turning back workers and their equipment for the last several hours, police have arrived on scene and threatened to cut Felix’s life-line.
from MI-CATS
This morning, Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands (MI-CATS) is taking direct action in the Crane Pond State Game Area to halt expansion of Canadian corporation Enbridge Energy’s tar sands pipeline 6B. Enbridge’s claim that they have restored the Kalamazoo River after the 2010 spill holds no merit, nor does it justify expanding the pipeline. Tar sands cannot be cleaned up; this material is thick and heavy, it sinks in water, and clings to surfaces. Expanding the pipeline increases the risk of another disaster for all of life and future generations.
Felix of the unconfined Kalamazoo River basin climbed into the trees early this morning to halt the expansion of Enbridge’s tar sands pipeline 6B. A rope traverse, spanning a portion of where construction is taking place, is the sole line that holds the platform they are sitting on up in the air. If it were cut and/or tampered with by police or workers they could fall from the tree, resulting in serious injury, possibly even death.
Our friend, Felix, sitting high up in the canopy to halt the construction of Enbridge Line 6B
“Tar sands pipeline 6B is pumping a dangerous concoction which fuels global capitalism. This pipeline is Canada’s promise that industrialized capitalism will continue to exploit and oppress the people of the world and the environment. Capitalism guarantees the continued destruction of the natural world. It enables the ruling class to exploit the world’s resources and force the rest of the population to labor for the ruling classes profits. Additionally, we are way beyond the verge of climate crisis. It is of utmost importance that carbon emissions stop immediately. Tar sands infrastructure is one example of industries at the root of the oil addiction. By taking action at the root of the problem, we endeavor to stop the symptoms of the problem. If we halt all carbon emissions into the atmosphere and remember how to live in harmony with the earth, there might be hope for life as we humans have known it for a few hundred thousand years.”
MI CATS asserts that direct action tactics, including civil disobedience, are now necessary as Enbridge’s dominant presence in our bio-region has allowed no room for any constructive alternatives. After three long years of blatant lies and omissions, Enbridge has the audacity to triple the capacity of the same pipeline that poured an ecologically abrasive sludge into the Kalamazoo River. This catastrophe was the largest inland oil spill this continent has ever experienced. While the Kalamazoo spill was the largest, it is one of many devastations brought on by Enbridge. Enbridge’s insidious business practices caused more than 800 pipeline spills between 1999 and 2010; that is more than one tar sands spill a week.
All pipelines leak. All markets peak. Capitalism can rot in hell. Enbridge places profit before our families, the ecosystem, our grandmothers, our dogs (yo what up Smokey*?), our grandchildren and the future of life on this planet. The continuation of tar sands transportation through pipelines like Line 6B risk more than just our own backyards; everything in the industry’s wake is left defiled and in squalor. Our actions against Enbridge won’t stop until Enbridge stops participating in the resource extraction industry. We stand in solidarity with all first peoples’ whose lands were forcibly taken from them, Idle No More, Fearless Summer, those working to end corporate personhood, all the species going extinct, those sick and dying thanks to the extraction industry, and all folks fighting oppression in order to live full and happy lives.
*Smokey was a dog who died as a result of the 2010 spill.
This is the third action MI-CATS has taken to stop construction of Enbridge’s Pipeline 6B this summer. On July 22nd they locked down to construction equipment, and on June 24 an activist climbed deep inside a section of pipe, halting work for the day.
Day 11 (Sun 4th) Of Community Fracking Blockade In Balcombe Sussex
Update (12pm): Good weather and people arriving for Tea Party this afternoon. Come on down!
Update (7am): Large number of people stayed overnight after the great day yesterday.
Day 11 (Sun 4th) Of Community Fracking Blockade In Balcombe Sussex
Update (12pm): Good weather and people arriving for Tea Party this afternoon. Come on down!
Update (7am): Large number of people stayed overnight after the great day yesterday.
Day 10 (Sat 3rd) Of Community Fracking Blockade In Balcombe Sussex
Update (12:00pm): Villagers announce result of their own survey of village: 85 percent against, 9 percent undecided, 6 percent for fracking.
Update (11:30am): Around 250 more villagers stroll down to the blockade. Big crowd here.
Update (7am): Somerset Saturday today! Rig Race from London and Brighton.
Around 400 People At The Community Blockade In Balcombe
Day 9 (Fri 2nd) Of Community Fracking Blockade In Balcombe Sussex
Update (2:00pm): 2 arrests reported. Come down and support Balcombe.
Update (11:00am): Confused media rumour that drilling may start soon but drill isn’t moving.
Update (9:15am): Fylde Friday at the community blockade in Balcombe. Community groups from Lancashire are visiting to show their support. Police continuing to try to push trucks through the blockade. Weather a bit damp but spirits high.
Apparently Random Attack On Man At Community Blockade By Sussex Police
Another Fracking Truck Tries To Force Its Way Through In Balcombe
Community Groups From “Desolate” Lancashire Are Support Balcombe At The Blockade
There Is Always Another Fracking Truck To Block In Balcombe
Blocking Fracking Truck In Balcombe At The Community Blockade
Police Trying To Escort A Fracking Truck Through The Community Blockade
1st August 2013
We’ve all heard about the revolution kicking off in Balcombe, but before today few would have known that the HQ of Britain’s premier fracking corporation Cuadrilla are located in the Midlands. Their offices in Lichfield were stormed today by a group acting in solidarity with the bockade in West Sussex.
1st August 2013
We’ve all heard about the revolution kicking off in Balcombe, but before today few would have known that the HQ of Britain’s premier fracking corporation Cuadrilla are located in the Midlands. Their offices in Lichfield were stormed today by a group acting in solidarity with the bockade in West Sussex.
 A man in a suit, calling himself Mr Fracktastic, was accompanied by another man in a high vis carrying a fracking rig, which appeared to be made of cardboard. The unsightly duo were chased down the streets of a picturesque city, known by the locals as LichVegas, by an articulate and well-dressed mob armed with well-researched facts and catchy chants.
Mr Fracktastic shouted incoherently through a megaphone: ‘It’s going to be fracking fantastic, we’ll produce billions of litres of chemically enriched delicious water for you all to drink.’
The group responded by chanting: ‘No Dash For Gas! Reclaim the Power!’ and handed out informative leaflets to bemused onlookers. The protesters explained how fracking has become the frontline of the Government’s Dash for Gas, their lans to build up to 40 new gas-fired power stations as our existing power stations come to the end of their life. They’ll be pumped full of fracked gas fresh from our devastated countryside, leaving a trail of broken communities behind. As we spin into climate chaos from further fossil fuel fanaticism, the price of gas is set to rocket, pushing even more people into fuel poverty.
 The rag tag bunch finally arrived at Cuadrilla HQ only to find that the doors of the office were locked and de-logo’d, guarded by police and surounded by a (modest) media frenzy.
‘Ha!’ Mr Fracktastic exclaimed. ‘The police are doing their job; protecting corporate profit and not the people.’ The coporate big wig proceeded to launch into a tirade, declaring the protesters a ‘bunch of smelly hippy vermin who simply do not understand the medically proven benefits of water enhanced with fracking fluid.’
Within a minute the posh executive was ovecome by the crowd, first cowering under the cardboard drilling rig. Finally, he lay on his back, arms and legs raised in the air and whimpered ‘I submit’ in a distinctive Etonian accent.
It was a small victory for the forces of sanity, in a battle that is set to continue in the coming weeks, with an ongoing blockade at Balcombe and the Reclaim the Power camp
Video & local newspaper coverage
30 July 2013 Right now there is a battle against mining in Sapmi, north of Sweden, going on. We have barricaded the road leading to the site where Beowulf Mining Plc. want to make test mines. This is the Sami peoples lands stolen by the Swedish state and colonized since way back. We stand in solidarity with indigenous culture and fight against the mega-machine of mining. The Swedish police are now on the site removing obstacles to help the mining corporation proceed. At least 6 people have been arrested already but protests are still going on. For five days the police have this special mission to help the evil corporation, that’s why we need people now!
This is a strategic battle, if the resistance to the mine is strong enough Beowulf will not be able to sell the mining site to another corporation (which is their plan). There is a security radius of 150m from the test pits, if people are inside those the corporation are not able to detonate explosives. How far is this corporation ready to go? Are they ready to blow people up to get their ore? We don’t know but we are ready to die to stop them. Solidarity protests, new warriors, prayers, actions and whatever you can imagine to help is/are welcome!
For everything wild and free!
 29 July 2013 In a direct action following the Canyon Country Action Camp, hundreds of activists have swarmed two mining sites in Utah tar sands.
 29 July 2013 In a direct action following the Canyon Country Action Camp, hundreds of activists have swarmed two mining sites in Utah tar sands. Activists are currently locked down to machines, stopping work.
Canyon Country Rising Tide have joined with the Lakota, Dine, and Idle No More in condemning the tar sands in Utah as a defiling of the precious Green River ecosystem, and an assault on fresh air and clean water in the US. The tar sands and oil shale mining proposed in Utah and neighboring states would traverse more than one thousand square miles.
The first blockade went up two hours ago, and is still holding. Contracted Cardwell, Inc. contractors attempted to hit peaceful protestors with their trucks, but the activists were able to lock down, and unfurl a banner that reads, “If you build it they will come.”
Private security personnel and three police cars have shown up on the scene, but no arrests have been made yet.
The second blockade went up approximately one hour later, and is still holding.
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