Wilderness Defence – Page 95

Tree Sit Ends But Resistance Continues in Santa Cruz, U$A

December 13th, 2008
Santa Cruz, CA — Over four hundred days ago, a handful of activists climbed up into the trees on Science Hill as a symbol of resistance to the university’s plan to destroy 120 acres of campus forest. For the past 13 months, the tree sit has drawn attention to UCSC’s reckless plan to develop upper campus without regard for the welfare of one of Santa Cruz’s last wild ecosystems.

At approximately 8 AM this morning, the tree sit drew to a close as police seized control of Science Hill, arresting one Tree Sitter. Later, a tree cutting service hired by the university cut down a grove of 100 year old redwood trees to make way for construction of a new Bioscience building.

The three clusters of redwoods which have now been clearcut were inhabited since November 7, 2007, when over 500 students, alumni, and community members rallied in opposition to the University’s “Long Range Development Plan”. The Tree Sit and the University entered mediation to find a solution to this conflict, but the University was unwilling to modify any of their plans, despite the devastating effect that upper campus development will have on the Santa Cruz ecosystem. Precious watershed regions, unique manzanita groves and hundred-year old redwood forests will be destroyed by the University’s development of the wild lands just north of campus. The homes of such rare native animals as the burrowing owl and the endangered red-legged frog will be irreparably damaged.

The Tree Sit tactic was employed due to the University’s failure to meaningfully address the concerns of Santa Cruz city and county officials, community members, environmentalists and UCSC faculty and students. Instead of acting upon the concerns of the thousands of people who have voiced opposition to increased University construction, UCSC has spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to hire riot police to intimidate community members who oppose their plans.

The end of the Tree Sit is not the end of resistance to the Long Range Development Plan. The determination and integrity that sustained the 13 month occupation will continue to incite action against the Long Range Development Plan. The diverse communities that united to oppose the destruction of upper campus are renewed in their commitment to resistance.

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One Year Anniversary Celebration at the UCSC Tree-Sit

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Police Officers Pepper Spray People on Science Hill
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Struggle on Science Hill.

Nov 7 Noontime – a group of students protesting the UCSC’s Long Range Development Plan (LRPD) struggled with police while bringing food and water to a group of about five old-style activists who, using mountain climbing gear, had placed themselves and several wooden platforms inside the upper reaches of several redwood trees.

The march, and chaos.

The police had arrived on the scene early that day and had cordoned off the area on science hill just outside the Science and Engineering Library with tape, plastic fencing, and portable metal barriers.

However, the protest turned ugly when the march circled the enclosure. One protestor speaking with a police officer took a step too close, was told to step back, and was pushed forward by the crowd.

One of the protestors, Jane Olivera, retold what happened next. She had been walking around the enclosure at the front of the march when she saw her friend Robin Speaking with someone who wasn’t part of the protest.

“I came around just to hang out with him and then he moved in a little bit and the cop said ‘ no, no you can‘t do that,’ and then there was a crown of people that followed him as he moved in a little bit, and then he moved in a lot more, and then before I knew it there was a cop on him. They had jumped on him, and tackled him to the floor, and I don‘t like it when my friends get arrested, and so I jumped in because he was using force. He was holding his hands and he was hitting him so I ran in and said ‘no, you can‘t do that‘ and before I knew it one cop threw me to the floor. I flew,” she said. “I had just moved in a little bit. After I had moved in they just got on top of me and started hitting me.”

Olivera sustained multiple bruises and a scratch on her left arm, was arrested, ticketed, and then released on the scene along with the rest of the protestors. No one was hospitalized.

Along with the arrests an indeterminate number of students received blows from batons around the arms and head and were hit with pepper spray. Students pulled down fences and climbed across, the police stepped back while spraying, clubbing, and pushing.

Almost an equal number of students ran towards the fences and away from them. One girl stood rooted to the ground while the metal grate was being lifted by police and pulled away by students.

Later reinforcements arrived in about six to eight squad cars with what appeared to be tear gas and armor. When the officers who were armed were asked about their weapons they did not respond. These officers formed a line across the middle of the grove where they remained for several hours.

Students then read the entirety of ‘The Lorax’ using a megaphone, shouted at the police, and helped bring supplies to the trees where the sitters hoisted up water, food, and blankets.

Olivera and other protesters were released by police officers only a little after the reading of the Lorax. She was scratched and shaken.

“A lot of my friends are organizers and I just don‘t think that development is really a good idea because we can‘t support the number of students we have now and the development is going to stress the water table, the town – there are a lot of reasons outside the trees that makes this not a good idea,” Olivera said. “I don‘t want to go to school inside a cement block.”

The development plan.

The LRDP was approved unanimously by the UC regents in on September 28 ‘06 who had originally drafted the plan three years earlier in 2003. The plan makes way for the development of 120 acres of upper campus, the possible destruction or relocation of the UC trailer park, the addition of 4,500 new students, and the construction of a biomedical sciences facility on what is now a grove of second growth redwood trees.

The district supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt, and the members of the Coalition for Limiting Campus Expansion (CLUE) have been fighting the LRDP. To do this Wormhoudt drafted measures I and J, which made the University responsible for complying with the Local Agency Formation Commission’s (LAFco) guidelines before the City extends water and sewer service to the university, which would, in effect inhibit University growth by preventing the toilets from flushing in whatever buildings the University makes if the guidelines aren’t met. Currently CLUE is engaged in a legal battle over the proposed construction as well.

Jennifer Charles is a UCSC alumna, and the media contact for the protest. She said that campus expansion would decrease the quality of the education that students receive.

“This comes at a time when UCSC is increasing enrollment but really decreasing the quality of education. They’re putting a lot of money towards expansion,” she said. “but not a lot of money for the programs that students need.”

Charles said that the nonexistent ethnic studies program and the now nonexistent journalism minor were two good examples.

“Those are programs that students really want to see. Instead the University is expanding things like the facility planned to be on this site. It‘s an 80 million dollar facility for research that includes live animal testing. It includes no classroom space. The entire building will be used by graduate students and researchers which will probably be funded by outside corporations. And as we‘ve seen at other universities when private corporations are funding research at public insititutions they want control over research.”

Charles said that the LRDP would change the university from a small liberal arts college into a massive science college which would annihilate the feel of UCSC.

“We don‘t want to be UCLI or UCLA or even UC Berkely,” said Charles. “We want to be UC Santa Cruz. We certainly don‘t want to be the UC of the Silicon Valley.”

Tree people.

After the violence, after the chanting, and after the reading of the Lorax the police left. Supplies were hoisted up into the trees. The sitters have climbed the trees and are now living in the branches around science hill.

One of the tree sitters wearing a sweatshirt with a hood and a camouflaged mask came down and refused to give his name or reveal his face. He referred to himself only as Malachi.

Malachi said that the sitters’ voices had not been heard. He said that he and the other tree sitters were going to remain suspended above the ground for as long as it took to change the LRDP “to accommodate all of upper campus and not just corporate interests.”

“We just need support,” said Malachi. “If people want to come up and sit for a few days then they can do that. If they want to come and bring food – day or night – just tell them you‘ve got some food and they‘ll lower a line.”

According to the organizers the tree sitters need blankets, buckets (the ten gallon kind with lids,) portable stoves, and food.

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Original occupation of the site:

Standoff with Police as Activists occupy redwoods to oppose UCSC Expansion

Early Wednesday morning, activists opposed to UCSC’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) launched a tree-sit in redwoods near Science Hill. UCSC plans to develop the occupied site into a new Biomedical Sciences Facility.

Contact: Jennifer Charles
(831) 430-6791
LRDPaction.media [at] gmail.com

Press Release

Standoff with Police as Activists occupy redwoods to oppose UCSC Expansion

UCSC Students launch tree-sit at site of controversial Biomedical Sciences building.

Nov. 7, 2007 Santa Cruz, CA Early Wednesday morning, activists opposed to UCSC’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) launched a tree-sit in redwoods near Science Hill. UCSC plans to develop the occupied site into a new Biomedical Sciences Facility.

One person was arrested by UC police early in the morning. Police surrounded the site, where at least 4 activists were 50 feet up redwood trees. A scheduled rally and march that began at 11am drew hundreds of supporters to the site. A tense standoff with police commenced, as supporters attempted to get close enough to the trees to send up supplies. Police pepper sprayed the crowd and at least four people were arrested.

The Biomedical Sciences facility would be the first project under the University’s plan to develop 120 acres of forest in order to accommodate 4,500 new students. The Biomedical Sciences building will have no allotted classroom space, despite student complaints about overcrowded class sizes. But it will have room for live animal experimentation, which includes such practices as food/air deprivation, infection, and non-anesthetized surgery, according to campus guidelines (http://carc.ucsc.edu).

This building, which will house biotechnology and nanotechnology research, is exemplary of how the new LRDP marks a clear shift from UCSC’s commitment to undergraduate, liberal arts education to the more lucrative programs funded by large corporations. Following the trend of privatizing public universities, students are paying more for education and receiving less. Students are calling for more funding for humanities and arts, including the creation of an Ethnic Studies department. Meanwhile, the UC is cutting faculty, increasing enrollment and ignoring the concerns of students.

Critics say the planned addition of 4,500 full-time students is irresponsible given the existing shortage of resources. They cite overcrowded classrooms, overworked teaching assistants and dissatisfied faculty as signs that the UCSC has already exceeded its capacity. In addition, the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) accompanying the LRDP does not bind the UC to mitigate the impacts of growth. The LRDP calls for the development of 120 acres of forest. Environmentalists say that the current development plans will significantly damage unique ecosystems, including Moore Creek, the Jordan Gulch wildlife corridor and the Campus Natural Reserve seep zone. Again, UCSC refuses any binding language requiring them mitigate the effects of development on impacted habitats.

Students, faculty, city council, community members, and environmentalists all expressed concerns about the impact of expansion during the planning process and were disregarded by the University. The group of individuals who are occupying the trees believe that action is needed to oppose UCSC’s destructive plans before construction begins on any of the LRDP buildings.

http://lrdpresistance.org

Direct Action in Iceland

Since early this winter, Iceland has been facing economic crisis. The three major business banks have been nationalized, putting their dept on the people’s shoulders. People have been losing their livelong savings, loans have increased and are getting sky high (and for sure they already were high enough).

Activists vs. the police

People are getting angry, some of them wanting back the “good old” prosperity, while others and hopefully the majority, are realizing the real cost of capitalism. More and more people are standing up against corruption and demanding new form of society – society of justice. But every day the current government proves that it’s main aim is to save their own and their friend’s ass. A loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been granted, most likely leading to the common aftermaths of an IMF loan: the privatization of social systems as the health care and the education system, and more destruction of the Icelandic wilderness.

Weekly demonstrations

For more than 2 months people have gathered weekly in a park in front of the parliament. The first protests demanded that the government would “break it’s silence” about the current situation. People were tired of not even being told about what was happening and what the government was doing about it.

One of the weekly domonstrations

But soon people realized that it was not enough to ask the government to speak, so the protests took up another and more radical demand: the resign of the government and new elections as soon as possible. The government has completely ignored this demand and people are getting more and more angry.

Anarchists and other radical leftists have come to most of the protests, but not to protest against the economic situation, not to ask the government for solutions, not to ask for new elections, not to ask any member of the government or parliament or any other official institution to do anything to “solve” the crisis we are facing. But to spread anarchistic and anti-capitalistic information among people, analyse the problems of authority and capitalism and to encourage Icelandic people to take direct action against the forces of corruption.

Burning flag and money

Burning of bank flags and “hanging” of a capitalist

During a protest in front of the prime minister’s office in late October, the flags of two Icelandic banks were burned. A group of anarchists, probably the biggest in Icelandic history at that time, shouted anarchistic slogans, pointing out capitalism as the real problem. Until then, capitalism seemed to be a ban-word among the protesters. The flag burning caught the interest of foreign media, e.g. CNN which showed the burning in their news show later the same evening. An event like this had not happened in Iceland for a long time.

Burning the flag of Landsbanki bank

A week later, a big demonstration parade went through the center of Reykjavík, demanding the resign of the government. Anarchists, which grew bigger and stronger every week, joined the march with banners, black flags, leaflets about direct actions, and anarchistic slogans. While other protesters chanted “Away with the government”, anarchists shouted “Never again government!”

When the parade came down the the park were weekly speeches took place, a group of people climbed a big fence and hung a doll of a capitalist. Again foreign media captured the performance on tape and screened it around the world.

Couple of meters away from the park were the protests take place, a Food Not Bombs groups has been giving away food every Saturday for the last 8 or 9 months. Food Not Bombs has for sure had it’s effect of the walking-by Icelanders, who are getting more curious and interested in alternative solutions to the problems of capitalism.

During a protest, Saturday November 8th, an anarchist climbed on top of the parliament were he hung the flag of Bónus, Iceland’s cheapest supermarket. The message was clear since the flag is yellow with a pink pig on it: “The government is a cheap and dirty pig!” Unlike to the usual Icelandic protesters, people celebrated this act and sang along “The government is a cheap and dirty pig!”

Soon hundred protesters surrouneded the parliment to help the anarchist to get away from the police, which had already arrested a mate of him. After a bit of a struggle with the police, people managed to help the flag-man (like he later became known as) to get down of the roof and de-arrested him more than once. One could feel some change in the air.

Illegal arrest

Less than a week later, on a Friday night, the police arrested the flag-man. He was in the middle of a research trip to the parliament, organized by his university, when some parliament staff recognized him and called the pigs.

The man had been arrested two years before, for an action with the environmental direct action campaign Saving Iceland, protesting against the building of a big dam, Kárahnjúkavirkjun, in the eastern higlands. For this action he had got sentenced and fined, but refused to pay the fine and instead insisted on sitting in jail for 18 days. But after only four days of his jail-sentence he was “thrown out” because of lack of space in the prison.

Now, the police stated that the man would have to sit the other 14 days of the sentence. The fact is though that the it is not allowed to split the sentence like this, and the man was supposed to get an announcement about finishing his sentence with at leas 3 weeks notice. This had not been done in his case.

People claimed this was especially done by the police, fundementaly to “take out” an activist who was likely to take more actions during the upcoming weekly demonstration. So the next day, during the protest which 10.000 people had joined, another protest was announced, this time in front of the police station, a little bit later that day.

Riots by the police station

500 people came to the police station and demanded that the man would be set free. After a while, no sign of the police was seen and nothing looked like the man would be set free. The protest got heated and soon people had started to break windows of the station and in the end the door of the station was broken. A group of people went in were the police welcomed them with a splash of pepper spray, without even announcing it.

The protest got even hotter, red paint and eggs were thrown at the station and on the riot squad which now had formed a chain in front of the station. A lot of people were peppersprayed, including the flag-man’s mother and young kids down to 16 years old. In the end, the flag-man was payed out of the prison by an unknown person. The flag-man came out were he was celebrated like a hero. He thanked people for the support but encouraged people to use their energy for something else: a revolution!

The Invasion of the Central Bank

A week after the riots by the police station, the weekely protest was a little more chilled. Instead people hoped for something big taking place the upcoming Monday, December 1st, the day of Iceland’s sovereignty.

1st of December used to be a free day in Iceland but couple of years ago the proletariat movement disclaimed it´s right. This 1st of May people were encouraged not to pay their bills, not show up in work and come to a big outdoor meeting on a big hill close to the government offices and the Central Bank. Few speeches took place, most of the including some nationalistic piffle which the radicals answered with a slogan: “No nationalism – International solidarity!”

After the meeting was formally over the word on the street was that more radical action was going to take place. Suddenly a big group of people marched to the Central Bank and entered the first entrance.

The entrance was completely full of people shouting and demanding that Davíð Oddsson, the chairman of the Central Bank board and a former prime minister, would resign. Few policemen had closed the second entrance but people shouted at them, asked in “what team” they were in, telling them to join the public, leave the entrance and let the people in. Suddenly the police left the entrance, the people cheered and opened the door to the second entrance.

Pepper spray again?

The second entrance became completely full as well as the first one, but behind big glass doors the riot squad had formed a chain of c.a. 30 pigs, armed with shields, clubs and pepper spray. Again, instead of speaking to the people, the pigs started shaking their spray cans, forcing to use it against the people it they would not leave.

The riot squad, ready to strike inside the Central Bank

People started banging on the door, shouting slogans against the Central Bank and the police. After a while, when a police officer had several times threatened to use the pepper spray, people decided to sit down peacefully and not stand up until Davíð Oddsson would resign. The action stood over several hours and had it’s peaks when people stood up, lifted up their hands to show they were unarmed and challenged the police to leave, open the doors and let the people bring Oddsson out.

When it became clear that Oddsson had already left the building the protesters gave the police an offer: the riot squad would leave and than the protesters would leave the building. About 30 seconds later, the pigs walked back and the people cheered some kind of a victory of the people.

Into the parliament

A week later, last Monday December 8th, thirty people went in to the Icelandic parliament, heading to the inside balcony were the public is legally allowed to sit, watch and listen to what takes place there. The group announced that the parliament no longer served it’s purpose and the government should therefor resign right now, the other MP’s should use their time for something more constructive.

Protester thrown out by police after telling the MP’s and ministers to leave the parliament

Only two persons got to the balcony and shouted at the MP’s and ministers to leave the building. Quickly they were brutally removed by a police officer, while the rest of the group was stuck in a staircase inside the building. The parliamentary session was delayed and all the MP’s left the room.

Meanwhile the protesters were brutally handled by security guards and police, which ended up arresting 7 people, most of them for housebreaking. But like said before, the public is allowed to enter the parliament balcony.

Police carries a man out after handcuffing him and rope his legs – “Fascist, fascists!” the man shouted while being carried out

The next morning, 30 people had gathered in front of the prime minister’s office were a government meeting was supposed to take place. The people had formed a human chain blockading the two entrances of the house. When ministers started to show up, the police had already arrived and started to try to remove the chain. The people resisted heavily and read out a statement sent out by the group.

The statement said that the aim of the action was to “prevent the ministers from entering the house and therefore stop further misuse of power. Money has controlled people on the cost of their rights and the authorities and their cliques have manipulated finance for their own benefits. That manipulation has not entailed in a just society, just world. Time of action has dawn, because a just society is not only possible, but it is our duty to fight for it.”

With the help of the police, all the ministers got in, but heard the statement and were under big pressure from the media. They were not prepared for questions and came out badly when asked. The government meeting was delayed because of the actions.

Two were arrested, one for entering a police line and the other one for sitting in front of the police car which was about to drive the other arrested one to the police station. More people sat on the street and it took the police quite a long time to get out of the street. Only when a police officer gave the driver an order to “just drive hard”, the driver did so and nearly drove over two persons.

One of the biggest newspapers in Iceland, DV, reported the brutal behavoiur of the police. The paper’s journalist and photographer were both attacked by the police, as well as noticing when a police punced a protester in the face, while he lay on the street. Most other media did not dare to report the brutal behaviour.

A left wing website, Smugan, told about a police officer who was asked by the protesters if he would have protected Hitler. His answer was simple: “Yes, if it would have been my duty.”

More actions have been announced and it will be interesting to see what comes next.

http://aftaka.org/

URGENT Tree Protest Weymouth -Aroooga – updated

Update, Monday 15th:
another person has climbed up into the same tree; council want to finish work before Christmas; local residents sending hot water bottles up tree. Get down there to help – contact numbers below.

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Sunday, 14.12.2008:

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Sunday, 14.12.2008:
One protestor still in trees, with the others coming down on Friday and Saturday – chopping down of trees clearance work continuing all weekend. “They’re already over half way through cutting them and they’re working today and have been working over the weekend.”
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11.12.2008
Action in the trees now get there.

Urgent many trees being cut down some over 400 years old. For another unneeded road. There was a camp at the site 12 years ago with some of the Fairmile posse there. Which won and camp dismantled ..now roadbuilders , the council and homegrown Timber company are at it again.
The site is …Two Mile Coppice next to the railway line Weymouth..
3 activists currently in trees with security around…. any old tree protesters dust off your harnesses and get there. Or any new recruits next generation welcome.
On site mobiles ( batteries getting low) 07792717821 / 07807952822
Just get in da van and get there now.

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Ancient tree sit-in against road

12th December 2008
Two protesters are sitting in trees in ancient Dorset woodland to try to stop clearance work taking place ahead of the building of a new £84m relief road.

Work to clear part of Two Mile Coppice restarted on Thursday after a legal bid by the Woodland Trust temporarily suspended work on Tuesday.

The Weymouth relief road aims to ease traffic around Weymouth and Portland, which are hosting the Olympic sailing.

Dorset County Council said work would continue despite the protesters.

A spokesman said trees would be cut down around the demonstrators and that the council hoped to complete the work by Christmas.

“The council is now discussing how the protesters can be safely and legally removed,” he added.

One protester, 35-year-old Nicky Baines, came down from the trees on Friday.

He told the BBC the two remaining men, Nick Pepper, 41, and a man known as Noddy, had both lived in Weymouth in the past.

He said they did not represent any particular group but the idea was to “stick it out as long as possible”.

“We’ve been having a bit of trouble with the amount of equipment – food, water and staying warm.

“But at least one person has got a lot of stuff they can keep going with.”

Work restarted

Trees and other vegetation were being removed from 1.5 acres of woodland on the western edge of Two Mile Coppice, when Tuesday’s legal challenge halted work.

The Woodland Trust, which owns the land, said the county council had failed to provide a Notice to Enter document.

The coppice is among land in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) that Dorset County Council was given permission to buy, using compulsory purchase orders, in September.

But until the orders are processed, the land still belongs to the trust. The correct documentation was later provided and work was allowed to restart.

Steve Marsh, of the Woodland Trust, said the legal challenge was started to make sure the council was following the correct procedures.

“We didn’t think we’d ever be able to stop the work in the long term,” he said, adding that the trust was against the road.

“This is the last remaining ancient woodland in the Weymouth and Portland area. It’s a very much-used wood and a much-loved wood.

“Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever, it can’t be recreated because the climate was different 400 years ago.

“Ancient woodland is the richest habitat we’ve got in Britain – it’s our equivalent of the rainforest.

“We feel the road is a near act of vandalism on the environment, all to help cut people’s journey times by five minutes.”

Environmental groups, including the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), lost a High Court legal bid to stop the road in 2007.

A public inquiry followed, which ended in March 2008, but many residents and businesses said they supported the plan for the road.

Work is due to start in spring 2009, if the Department for Transport (DfT) gives the funding.

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Work”>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/7772693.stm”>Work restarts background

Just to let those wishing to help know that there is a local campaign group – Bypass the Bypass and they have a website: http://www.bypassthebypass.org/

Also, the Woodland Trust have been fighting this road for years (they own Two Mile Coppice) and have held it up for years through various means. You can view info on the Weymouth Road on their website here

Previous protest camp background

Shell to Sea / Rossport Solidarity Camp Update from Erris Co. Mayo. November 2009.

While Glengad and Shell issues have largely gone from the public eye, and indeed things have quietened down some what, that’s not to say that stuff hasn’t been going on, it just doesn’t always make the media.

The last few months have seen a few developments since the Solitaire left our shores.

* Shell have completely vacated the Glengad compound in the last few week or so. Unfortunately they haven’t done a wonderful job of cleaning up after themselves. Plenty of rubble was left behind on the beach from the causeway that they extended out to sea and then removed.

The “cliff” has been banked up with soft materials which don’t look too stable to me and will likely continue to be washed out by the rainwater. In the old compound itself large heaps of materials have been piled and netted over to prevent birds nesting? Strangely they have not attempted to net the re-banked cliff area, as they had before. Some of the old netting can be seen on the cliff top, intermeshed with the grass on top.

Their channel buoy markers have been washing ashore recently also, as they left these behind to. At the road entrance to the Glengad compound all the fencing and gates have gone (as it has around the whole site), to be replaced with regular cattle fencing and gates, having pulled out at this time of year the whole place is a bit of a mud bath.

* The road, left unfinished by Mayo County Council now Shell have pulled out, is already showing signs of deterioration, with potholes forming in the tarmac beside where the entrance gates to this compound stood. The Co.Co. have left the road as it stands from what I can see, without finishing the works, just loads of signs and bollards left around everywhere.

* Nov 10th last saw a procession along the Bellanaboy Road up to the main refinery gates, attended by about 50 local people carrying crosses with the names of the Ogoni 9, to mark the execution of Ken Sara Wiwa and 8 of his colleagues in 1995, the Nigerian activists who were executed by the Nigerian Military Dictatorship at the time, at Shell’s behest.

* The Garda presence is likewise down, but still tangible.

* After a meeting some time ago with a few ministers, the silence has been loud from the powers that be, despite their recent announcement of setting up some forum or dialogue with people involved in the Corrib Gas issue. However no one here has actually heard anything or been contacted about as of yet. Minister Eamon Ryan has admitted in the media that ‘mistakes were made’ but has refused to discuss the moving of the refinery or the appropriacy of a pipeline landfall at Glengad. “There will be no re-visiting of the consents / permissions already given to Shell”, he said. As usual the terms of reference are pre-set by the ‘authorities’ in order to avoid a fair and proper addressing of the issues.

* The AFRI hedge school a few weeks ago was really fantastic with some great people coming to have an input/speak including Dennis Halliday and other people who have been dealing with Shell in other countries.

The fight goes on.

Chester Forest Rescue Camp Steps Up (Australia)

2008-11-23
Local and other community members campaigning to save over 800 hectares of rare, pristine forest in WA’s southwest have set up a tree platform and sustainable community camp in the Chester forest block after camping on nearby private property for the last few months. The move comes as the Forest Products Commission (FPC) starts to mark out Dieback infected areas and logging roads into the coupe. A callout has been made to all to get down and support the campaign.

After several months on private property near Margaret River, the Chester Forest Rescue Camp has moved into the forest as the logging date draws closer and the FPC begins to mark out logging areas and roads within the coup. A tree platform has been erected and a community camp set up on the edge of the coupe for what is expected to be an ongoing campaign to save over 800 hectares of a world recoginsed biodiversity hotspot.

Chester Forest Block is situated South of the Blackwood River in WA’s southwest, approximately 40km’s south-east from the town of Margaret River. It is comprised predominately of Jarrah and Marri(Redgum) woodland with seasonally wet lowland and a patch of Karri towards the middle of the coupe. There is a high number of threatened and priority endemic plant species (species that only occur within the local plant community) with Chester Forest having a very high degree of species richness. A large patch of forest within the coupe and surrounding Nature Reserve remains uninfected from Phytopthera dieback ( see http://www.dwg.org.au/index.cfm?objectid=2C607FE0-C09F-1F3C-C87C8B2114B042F3) which threatens to destroy and degrade much of the Forest. The FPC plans to log right in the middle of the uninfected, healthy forest. Logging the forest and all the disturbance that comes with it (Machinery, altered water flow, roads etc.) will only accelerate the spread of Dieback within Chester and surrounding pristine forest and woodland. Logging is expected to commence in early January.

With the effects of logging on Climate Change, increase salinity, and ecosystem collapse now well documented, and 85 percent of WA’s native forests already gone, it is unacceptable that native forests continue to be logged for tiny (sometime negative) profits for industry and government departments. It is now well known that our forests provide much more than just wood. They provide us with clean air, water, healthy soil and stable ecosystems to support life as we know it.

Come and join the campaign to save Chester Forest and build the community voice that is needed to stop the logging of our precious natural resources.

Get in touch with the Margaret River Environment Centre (Ph/fax. 9758 8078)
Or call 0422535328 for more info and directions to camp.
(a map will be posted soon for directions to camp)

Western Australian Forest Alliance
Global Warming Forest Group

Indigenous Resistance To Silly Dam Project In Brazil

18/11/2008
People Power Fucks Up Construction

One hundred and twenty members of the Enawene Nawe tribe trashed a construction site of a hydro electric dam on the Juruena river in western Brazil on 11th of last month. Trucks, offices, housing for workers were all destroyed and or torched in a $1 million survival spree.

“They came armed with axes and pieces of wood, banished the employees and later set fire to everything” said Frederico Muller, a coordinator working at the site. At least 12 trucks were destroyed, along with a number of offices and housing units.

Survival because the tribes all over the Amazon basin rely on the rivers for fishing, one of the easiest, most reliable ways to get food. There are 77 such dams planned for the area but the destruction is very widely spread: one Brazilian super dam project – the Belo Monte – will displace 16,000 people.

Some background to this crisis: Brazil’s spiralling energy needs are the result of the dentally inimitable pro industry fuckwit Lula de Silva’s (or should that be the IMF etc’s) policies of growth at any cost. Demand has outstripped supply in recent years and a long drought in 2001 brought matters to a head. With no water even the best dams can produce no power so rationing was commenced – down to one fifth of normal supply. The decision was made at this time to increase Brazil’s hydro capacity by 75% and thus we have the current situation of mass forced displacement of indigenous peoples.

But the dams are not even a sure thing either economically or practically (excepting the construction companies, financiers, bribees etc.). Predictions of low water for 3 – 5 months of the year make the projects look ridiculous. However if you include genocide as a welcome part of your business model then the figures are anything but. As one fucked up white elephant dam is completed it requires more upstream storage capacity to be built and hence more displacement. This is the reality of ‘economic development’ in Brazil.

Mass Tribal Uprising in West Bengal

November 18, 2008

What we are witnessing in the tribal belt of West Bengal is [an] historical moment. A long oppressed people have risen up and are daring to confront their oppressors and question the logic of “development” that destroys their lives and livelihoods.”

November 18, 2008

In what started out as a protest against police brutality, on November 7 more than ten thousand Santhal men and women converged in the Indian state of West Bengal to demand the end to state oppression and the constant dispossession of their lands.

It is an historic moment for the tribal peoples in the region — and one so unprecedented that authorities are not even sure what to do about it.

“Even the political parties and civil society are at a loss trying to come to terms with what is happening,” says Partho Sarathi Ray, in Sanhati.com. “Nothing like this has been witnessed in West Bengal in living memory.”

The uprising reportedly began following a land mine explosion on November 2, which targeted the state’s chief minister as well as the union steel and mines minister.

The two men were returning from the inauguration of the Jindal Steel Works (JSW) special economic zone (SEZ) in West Midnapore district. Approximately 5000 acres of land had been acquired for JSW, the vast majority of which was supposed to be distributed amongst the landless Adivasis (indigenous people) in the region. The government handed it over to the company instead.

The explosion was promptly blamed on the Maoist guerrillas — however, in what has become a common practice in West Bengal, the police turned all of their attention to the local indigenous population for being “complicit” in the attack.

Over the next few days, the police set out on a campaign to assault, harass and randomly arrest any tribal person they wanted.

But it just wasn’t enough for the police, who hadn’t the slightest clue who was behind the explosion. So, on November 6 the police “… led by the officer in charge of Lalgarh police station… unleashed a reign of terror in 35 villages encompassing the entire tribal belt of Lalgarh,” explains Ray. “In raids throughout the night of November 6th, women were brutally kicked and beaten up with lathis and butts of guns. Among the injured, Chitamani Murmu, one of whose eyes was hit by a gun butt, and Panamani Hansda, who was kicked on her chest and suffered multiple fractures, had to [be] hospitalized. Chitamani’s lost her eye because of the injury. Eight other women were badly wounded. These police brutalities soon reached a point where the adivasis had no other option but to rise up in revolt,” Ray continues.

The next day, “what began as rumblings of protest took the shape of a spontaneous mass uprising [of] ten thousand Santhal men and women, armed with traditional weapons, [who] came out and obstructed the roads leading to Lalgarh, disconnecting it from Midnapur and Bankura. Roads were dug up and tree trunks were placed on the road to obstruct the entry of police vehicles, in the same way as it had been done in Nandigram.”

During the night, “people also disconnected telephone and electricity lines, virtually converting a vast area into a liberated zone. The apex social organization of the Santhals, the Bharat Jakat Majhi Madwa Juan Gaonta took up the leadership of the struggle, although the leader of the organization, the “Disham Majhi” Nityananda Hembram has himself admitted that the organization has no control over the movement; rather the movement is controlling the organization.”

As for the government, which has “not dared to respond with overt violence yet”, is helpless in the face of this upsurge. They’ve been trying to negotiate, but the effort has so far been fruitless due to the democratic and decentralized nature of the uprising. They simply can’t exert any influence over the indigenous people.

They way things look right now, the government may have no choice but to concede.

Reports on Sanhati

Nov 13: Background of the movement – Partha Sarathi Ray
Nov 14: Movement spreads to Midnapur, Jhargram cut off – Partha Sarathi Ray
Nov 15: Some reports from mainstream media
Nov 15: Spins of the corporate media, and the true story of Chotopeliya village – Partha Sarathi Ray
Nov 16: Peoples Committee Against Police Oppression formed, uprising spreads near Garbeta – Partha Sarathi Ray

Mainstream Reports

Nov 17: Under Maoist threat, cop retreats from Salboni
Nov 18: Lalgarh stir spreads, cops helpless
Nov 18: JSW Steel’s Stock-for-Land Deal Turns Sour for India’s Farmers
Nov 18: Tribals to continue agitation in West Bengal

Vedanta chased away by threatened Villagers in Orissa

14th November 2008

Last week, a group of more than 500 villagers set up roadblocks in Orissa’s Puri district to protest the construction of “Dev Sanskrati Vishwavidyalaya” (Divine Culture University) a project funded by the rather-unenlightened company we know as Vedanta Resources.

14th November 2008

The villagers are angry that the institution, which will apparently”>http://intercontinentalcry.org/vedanta-chased-away-by-threatened-villagers/’);”>apparently establish “a Cultural Renaissance” in India, is situated on agricultural land that the Orissa government ‘acquired’ without the peoples consent. The government then donated the land to Vedanta for free (Wikipedia).

The company defends the governments actions by claiming the land isn’t fertile and of no real use to the villagers. It’s a thoroughly absurd claim, seeing as how the villagers are active in growing rice, mango, cashew, papaya, betel, pumpkin, and coconut, etc. throughout the region.

Similarly, Vedanta claims that the land is only sparsely populated and that only a hundred or so people will be displaced for the project. Activists say it’s more like 1,000 — on top of another 20,000 to 50,000 who will be indirectly effected.

Whatever the actual number is, no villager has given their consent to be displaced. That was made clear during last week’s protest, which took place at the ground-breaking ceremony for the institution. The protesters rushed it, some of them carrying lathis, and forced the officials to withdraw by police escort. There were no injuries reported.

Following the protest a company official stated that, “in view of the violent situation… we have stopped the work of the university and intend to resume the construction work soon.”

It would seem the official also tried to demean the villagers’ struggle, by claiming it’s little more than a few people “creating disturbances.”

An insult to say the least, the official’s statement is also a far stretch from what the protesters were told. According to Umaballav Rath, leader of the Vedanta Vishwavidyalaya Virodhi Samiti, the organization heading the movement against the project, “officials of the Vedanta Group have assured us in the presence of the district administration that they are not going to start work on the project without our consent.”

In light of recent history — namely, the struggle of the Dongria Kondh, who are facing similar displacement (as well as the destruction of their culture) at the hands of Vedanta — the former statement is probably the most accurate.

The company doesn’t seem to care one way another how must destruction it causes. Just as long as it maintains the good face of enlightenment for its shareholders.

Fortunately, the villagers—and of course the Dongria Kondh—are not so willing to play make believe.

photo: http://nazaronline.net

Bath Bomb #16 out now

The Bath Bomb
@nti-copyright: copy and distribute!
Issue #16
free/donation
Nov 08

Because now it’s okay to love America

We Won’t Pay For Their Crisis

The Bath Bomb
@nti-copyright: copy and distribute!
Issue #16
free/donation
Nov 08

Because now it’s okay to love America

We Won’t Pay For Their Crisis

Saturday the 22nd of November sees a new campaign taking to the streets of Bath. Going under the slogans ‘Can’t pay, Won’t pay’ and ‘We won’t pay for their crisis!’, the campaign will be taking the fight to the greedy politicians, bankers and bosses who are behind this financial crisis. The campaign will also focus on protecting the rights of average people and will centre around five key demands – 1) decent council subsidies on gas and electric bills, 2) affordable food and housing, 3) bailiffs and repossession men out of our communities, 4) protection of jobs and benefits, and 5) full control over the banks that our money has bailed out. These demands, and the campaign itself, are timely. Already, in the early stages of the crisis, unemployment is up 20%, gas and electric bill prices are up over 40% and home repossessions are up 70% on last year’s figures. Now more than ever, we need to group together to protect ourselves against the callous greed of the wealthy. We need to be ready to fight against bailiffs who for too many years have strode unopposed into our homes. We need to be ready to fight against the energy companies who increase our bills, leaving thousands to freeze while continuing to rake in profits. We need to be ready to fight against the government who cut our benefits and use our money to bail out their big business buddies and we need to be ready to fight against the bosses, who think nothing of making dedicated workers redundant to keep their own wallets fat. We have not caused this crisis, neither have we asked for it. It has been caused by greedy politicians, bankers and bosses, chasing after the big bucks, not worrying about who they crush to get there. Yet who is expected to pay when their shit hits the fan? Us. We are expected to pay with our taxes, with our jobs and with soaring food, rent and gas and electricity costs. Well no more! This campaign is not just about waving placards or ‘making a point’, it is about winning. It is about taking back what is ours from the greedy and wealthy who work so hard to take it from us, and it is a campaign that we can win together. If we are united in a belief that ‘enough is enough’, and a determination not to let them get rich from our labour while we struggle to make ends meet, we can and will win this campaign. So, to get involved, and wrench control of our lives back from the greedy bastards at the top, meet at 12.30pm in the Abbey courtyard on Saturday the 22nd of November.

Nude Girls Do It Together…

…Unionizing to improve their working conditions, that is. Screening on Sunday November the 30th as part of the monthly Bubbling Under radical cinema, from 1 til 4pm, get an eyeful of ‘Live Nude Girls Unite’, a documentary about the formation of the first union of strippers in the US. This raucous film is to be presented by Bristol Indymedia, who are sure to come back with future offerings. Entry is free, and the Porter veggie lunch is highly recommended. Get your placards out for the lads!

Minibar – 0 MegaBAN – 1

In the latest of a long line of foie gras victories, Minibar have pulled the delicacy from their menu after just two demos. At the end of the second 14 strong-protest, members of Bath Animal Action and Bath Activist Network reached an amicable agreement with the owner that foie gras would be removed from the restaurant with immediate effect. After this demo, activists paid a short and sharp visit to an eminently less sensible foie gras purveyor, Christophe LeCroix, owner of The Pinch in St Margaret’s buildings. Starting at 9pm, the demo lasted only 10 minutes, during which time the letterbox was flooded with leaflets, diners’ conversations were drowned out with a barrage of noise, leaflets littered the outside of the building and Christophe, seen cowering at the back of the restaurant, bravely sent a waitress to lock the doors and draw the blinds. Christophe has twice removed and replaced foie gras from his menu, and is now selling again, and despite his macho image, and a history of punching and sexually assaulting both male and female activists, has twice been seen begging protesters to leave him alone. Well, not anymore. BAA and BAN are back outside The Pinch until foie gras comes off the menu for good. The protests could come at any time, but for now, we will leave Christophe to ponder the fact that Hallowe’en is not the only time of year when things go ‘smash’ in the night! All foie gras-related complaints to:

Christophe LeCroix

The Pinch
11 St Margaret’s Buildings
Bath, BA1 2LP
01225 421251
info@thepinch.biz

Tofu Saladfest Ahoy!

Saturday the 22nd November is promising to be a busy day for Bathonians, as we also have the Bath Vegan Fayre! Running at the Percy Community Centre on New King Street from 12 til 3.30pm, all are welcome to come along and sample the delicious food, and find out how those pale and sickly lentil-eaters can still scrape up protein enough to draw breath without a nice slab of steak or cheddar. As well as information on veggie health, nutrition, environmental benefits, compassionate living, and vegan-catering eateries in the city, GeneWatch will also be there to talk about genetic modification of animals in scientific research, just like the franken-doctors do up at Bath University – such as potentially high-risk tampering with the genes of insects to control food supplies. Controversial? Contact eatoutveganbath@yahoo.co.uk for more information.

www.vegansociety.com/
www.genewatch.org/

EVENTS

Bath Hunt Saboteurs meetings, 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, 8pm, The Bell, Walcot Street

London Road Food Co-op, Wednesdays, 4-7pm, Riverside Community Centre, London Road

Bath Stop The War Coalition vigil, Saturdays, 11.30am-12.30, Bath Abbey Courtyard

‘Baked Alaska’ film screening, Monday 17th November, 7.30pm, upstairs at the Rummer, Grand Parade

‘We Won’t Pay For Their Crisis’ march, Saturday 22nd November, meeting 12.30, Bath Abbey Courtyard

Bath Vegan Fayre, Saturday 22nd November, 12-3.30pm, Percy Community Centre, New King Street

Green Light lecture: the Severn Barrage, Tuesday 25th November, 7.30pm, BRLSI, Queen Square

Anti-foie gras demo, Friday 28th November, meeting 7pm, the Circus

‘Opening the doors to autonomy’: a day of workshops, activities and artwork on urban survival – credit crunching strategies for getting through hard times; from the legalities and practicalities of squatting and resisting repossession/eviction & gentrification to urban foraging, a bike workshop, tai chi & self-defence, screenprinting and DIY wireless internet – this will be a day of sharing skills and building the networks to not only survive the economic crisis but to begin to collectively shape what may replace it; Saturday 29th November, 11-6pm, the Red Factory, Cave Street, St Pauls, Bristol

Bubbling Under, Sunday 30th November, 1-4pm, Porter Cellar bar, George Street

Bath Animal Action meeting, Wednesday 3rd December, 7.30-8.30pm, back room of The Bell

Bath Activist Network meeting, Thursday 4th December, 7.30-9pm, downstairs Hobgoblin

Bath Greenpeace meeting, Monday 8th December, 7.30-9pm, Stillpoint, Broad Street Place

Transition Bath Forum, Tuesday 9th December, 7pm, Widcombe Social Club

Bath Green Drinks, Wednesday 10th December, 8.30pm, the Rummer, Grand Parade

Bath FreeShop, Saturday 13th December, 12-3pm, outside Pump Rooms, Stall Street

Tally Ho-peless

Well, it’s November again, so that means hunting season’s back on, and another 3 or 4 months of pompous red-coated throwbacks and legal grey areas. Although hunting was officially banned in February 2005, it turned out to be the one law police chose not to enforce, and a law fraught with so many loopholes that most hunts could carry on just like as they like – pretending to follow a trail set by a scented rag rather than a fox, when they’re being watched. And so the fine tradition of hunt sabotage can’t hang up its mud-crusted wellies, just yet. On Saturday the 1st November, a small group from Bath, Bristol, Pewsey and Newport kept an eye on the Monmouthshire Hunt, following leaked info about their meeting point. Using citronella spray to mask fox scent, cameras to monitor activity, and a combination of hunting horns, voice calls and whips (cracking the air, not physically striking) to call off or confuse the hounds, a crisp autumn day out in the Welsh countryside was enjoyed by all, especially the two pursued foxes that we helped escape. If you want to help save innocent lives and reclaim rural space from arrogant thugs, then become an Anti: ring Bath Hunt Saboteurs on 07854 062336.

http://hsa.enviroweb.org/hsa.shtml

Green Space: Going, Going, Gone?

Residents and greens held a protest in Bath on Saturday the 8th November outside the Guildhall, hoping to save Bathampton Meadows from unnecessary development. Potentially a victim of yet another B&NES Council jobsworth’s twisted logic, the idea is we can save nature by killing it; in this case, the ancient meadow will make way for a 1,400 space Park and Ride concrete job to abate traffic congestion and pollution in the city centre. The problem here is that the main cause of congestion in Bath is the flow of east to west and west to east through traffic, rather than that of drivers coming into the city, so the Park & Ride will be barely used and whatever slack is saved will just be taken up by suppressed demand. The consultation ends after the 14th November and the consultation form can be downloaded from the Save Bathampton Meadows’ site: http://www.savebathamptonmeadows.org.uk. Why not sign up today? It can’t hurt.

Alder-Nasty Antics

One activist from BAN joined 300 others from around the UK to blockade the Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment on Monday the 27th October, part of the ongoing campaign to kick weapons of mass destruction out of the UK. AWE Aldermaston is the site where experiments for the next generation of unpopular ‘Trident’ nuclear submarine armaments will be designed. A major part in this costly scheme is expected to be the ‘Orion’ laser facility, currently being built. The MoD has also recently applied for planning permission to carry out uranium enrichment there, too. Protesters from as far afield as Scotland, London, Norfolk, Plymouth and Yeovil took part, meeting to plan actions the day before. At 5.30am, activists locked on to barrels of concrete and blocked the first gate, causing police to promptly close the road. Another group of Greenham women (Greenham Common being a famous and long-lived peace camp, running 1981-2000) took a second, while several other groups locked and superglued themselves to Tadley gate, the main entrance for factor workers. The main gate itself was also held for a short time. Both the Rinky Dink pedal-powered sound system and band Seize The Day also showed up. Work at the factory was shut down most of the morning, and 33 were charged with Obstruction of the Highway. As usual, the state refuses to heed public opposition to Trident: the campaign to shut them down continues!

www.tridentploughshares.org

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When You Threaten One, You Threaten All!

So read the banner fluttering from the window of the 89 Ashley Road squat in Bristol as bailiffs last week clamoured at the door to evict the 20 residents who call the long disused building ‘home’. This came as a surprise to residents who had not been served the mandatory 7-day notice of eviction a landlord is required to provide. What happened next, and what of the sentimental message adorning the front of the building? Before we find out, a little look into the history, and intended future of the building, those inside, and those who hope to get rich off it. Owned by property developers ‘Places for People’, the building has been earmarked for ‘regeneration’ (read – gentrification) along with the surrounding area. Despite the group’s claims that they are primarily converting homes into assisted accommodation for the homeless and elderly, Ashley Road is earmarked to be turned into lucrative private flats, while the ‘charitable’ group is happy to allow otherwise homeless people to be turfed out into the street at the beginning of winter. After residents saw the bailiffs, a call for support was put out, and within an hour, around 50 activists, some from Bath, had descended on Ashley Road, making the illegal eviction a logistical impossibility. After a tense standoff, the bailiffs and their police mates left, dejected. A victory for solidarity, and a reprieve for the inhabitants of Ashley Road. While the bailiffs will certainly return soon, and may in the future be successful in their eviction attempts, the response of people to the fate of the squat demonstrates the power of solidarity and collective action over the often overwhelming seeming forces of authority and power.

Uncle Bulgaria Weeps

Regrettably, the Bath Bomb has just learnt about the demise of yet another of Bath’s greatest institutions: Envolve. Who? Under the motto ‘Partnerships in Sustainability’, the former environmental charity started out 14 years ago as the Bath Environment Centre on Milsom Street, and did exactly what it said on the recycled and biodegradable tin. Originally a resource for green activists and curious passersby, the centre got too big for its boots, and moved to larger premises in the subterranean tunnel complex beneath Green Park Station – now dependent not just on its benefactors but also on state funding. But such payouts rarely come without strings, and that proved the centre’s downfall. Becoming more and more corporate, Envolve began a campaign of ostracism towards its more pragmatic supporters, who recognise that ‘green capitalism’ is a contradiction in terms – they let go of staff and volunteers deemed too radical; arbitrarily chose between which local campaigns have a right to be advertised or not; and then, one-by-one, kicked out useful but unprofitable initiatives, like the green library, farmers’ market offices, meeting spaces for local greens, alternative transport offices, car-free schemes and food co-ops – after all, it doesn’t pay to be green. All that remained in the end was business consultants, education officers and a string of community schemes they didn’t quite have the heart to grind out: a textbook example of state co-option. Having commandeered and neutered yet another group of potential world-changers, they then cut the funding altogether – and that was that. The irony is that Envolve was held up entirely by compassionate people hamstrung by the restrictive conditions of their funding, dancing to the master’s tune… but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. We here at the Bath Bomb hate to say I told you so, but… Let’s hope their successors, the Ethical Property Company, don’t go the same way.

Bath Activist Network are a local umbrella group campaigning on issues as diverse as development, environmentalism, anti-war, animal rights, workers’ rights and more. Helping to produce The Bath Bomb, we are open to anyone, and our members range from trade unionists to anarchists, liberals to greens, and people who just want to change Bath for the better. For details on meetings, demos, or just to get in touch, ring us on 07949 611912, email bathactivistnet@yahoo.co.uk, or see our website: www.myspace.com/bathactivistnetwork

Dancing On The Grave Of Capitalism

It is not just in Bath that people are getting angry about having to pay for a crisis caused by politicians and big business. Cardiff, Bristol, Edinburgh and London have also already seen mass action against the financial crisis. In London, the financial district has twice been invaded by hundreds of angry people demanding that the government stops using our money to bail out failing big business. The first London demo saw the police taken by surprise as hundreds showed their anger in the financial district, attempting, and only narrowly failing, to occupy the Bank of England. The second demo, called on Hallowe’en and billed as a chance to ‘dance on the grave of capitalism’ saw a larger turnout of both police and protesters and ended in clashes as people tried to make their way to the offices of recently bankrupted firm Lehman Brothers. Up and down the country, people are showing their disgust about a system that has failed us, and leaves us poorer and poorer while the rich continue to get richer. At both London demos, stockbrokers promised to violently confront protesters who dared to speak out about the system that keeps them rich and us poor, but, on both occasions, failed to materialise. We can only imagine they are flicking the last of the white powder from their nostrils, wiping a tear from their eyes, pushing the ‘top floor’ button on the lift and wondering how their little game has gone so badly wrong.

And now, to the disclaimer: As anyone is free to contribute, the opinions expressed in each article are not necessarily reflective of each contributor. Naturally, any right-wing or corporate bullshit will be binned and spat on. Needless to say, the opinions of the author of this disclaimer does not necessarily represent the views of any other contributor…

For further info on any of our stories see www.myspace.com/bathbomb

Activists in Dublin renamed the street where the Shell office is after Ken Saro Wiwa

Surprisingly, many streets in Dublin, capital of the Republic of Ireland, are still named after heroes of monarchy and colonialism.

Adelaide Road, which is home to the main entrance of Shell’s Irish head office as well as the government department which hands out licences for the exploitation of Irish gas and oil reserves, is named after Queen Adelaide, the unfortunate German princess who married the English King William IV (he already had a mistress and ten children).

At the weekend, opponents of Shell’s activities in Ireland and around the world took the decision to rename the street after Ken Saro-Wiwa. He was the leader, until his death, of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People and a fierce critic of Shell’s destruction of the Niger Delta and its people.

Ken Saro Wiwa and eight others were executed by hanging in Port Harcourt prison on November 10th 1995. The Nigerian government claimed he was guilty of conspiracy to murder, but executives from Shell privately admitted that they were behind the prosecution, trial and execution of Saro-Wiwa and the others.

You can see a short video of the changing of the signs here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBHp–u4QVk

and a few more pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24935400@N06/sets/72157608792269359/

rememberkensarowiwa@gmail.com
http://www.remembersarowiwa.com