London – Page 17 – Earth First!

Plane Stupid issues 48hr subvertising challenge

It’s that time of year when every airline starts aggressively advertising for your business. Well, we’ve had enough. Plane Stupid is inviting all of you to take part in its very own subvertising competition. From Thursday 22nd April – Friday 23rd April, we’ll be launching 48 hours of sticker-whacking, subvertising, adbusting pandemonium.

The aviation industry spends millions every year telling us that we’re no good to anyone unless we keep flying with them. So it’s time to hit back! Like tobacco adverts, aviation advertising needs to become a thing of the past. But until then, let’s subvertise. Any poster, advert or billboard is fair game.

Whether you’re a first time activist looking for an easy way-in, or an old timer looking for some light relief………it’s time to take to the streets and reclaim some public space. Taking part is easy:

1. You can download a choice of designs from our Flickr site, or use your design skills to make your own.
2. Print them out on standard, non divided, A4 sticker paper (available from most printers and stationers).
3. Then find your nearest aviation advertisement.
4. Stick ’em up punk!
5. Take photographs, set up a new temporary email address in an internet cafe (under a pseudonym) and email your images to info@planestupid.com.

The group who stickers the most adverts in the 48 hour period wins. Wins what? Prizes! We got the bumper crop of 5 spray cans, Culture Jam by Kalle Lasn, Do It Yourself, A handbook for changing our world, by the Trapese Collective and Scribbleboy by Philip Ridley to give away.

Of course don’t feel limited to individual stickers, think big! You can write your own message on large stretches of blank wall paper to cover whole bill boards. Make up some wall paper paste, get a paint roller, a stick it up. If necessary – attach the roller to a broom handle for those hard to reach places. Helpfully, there’s some great how-to guides on t’internet.

One last point. Please be respectful about where you sticker. Corporate nasties are fine…..but the local old people’s homes may not appreciate your art on their walls!

Use your head, and remember to dress well for the occasion – caps and scarves are the in thing this subvertising season. Some officers of the law may be convinced that subvertising is borderline illegal, so take a friend as lookout, keep an eye open for CCTV and don’t get caught.

BP FORTNIGHT OF SHAME – LONDON MASS ACTION

Save the date!
Saturday, 10th April. 1PM. London.

Join us at a secret London location for an afternoon of sun, sound systems and subversion. Make sure BP knows that they won’t go into the tar sands without a fight. Meeting point and more details to be announced nearer the time, and keep an eye on:

Save the date!
Saturday, 10th April. 1PM. London.

More info about the BP Fortnight of Shame, April 1 – 15 2010

The BP Fortnight of Shame is a call to action from the UK Tar Sands Network, Rising Tide and the Camp for Climate Action to force BP to
reverse their crazy plans to move into Canada’s tar sands – the single most destructive project on earth. It runs between the annual Fossil Fools day on April 1st, which in recent years has seen a flurry of action against the fossil fuels industry, and BP’s Annual General Meeting on April 15th. Grassroots groups across the UK and around the world, will be taking action in solidarity with First Nations communities in Canada to stop BP’s deadly plans in their tracks.

www.tarsandsinfocus.wordpress.com
www.risingtide.org.uk
www.climatecamp.org.uk
www.ienearth.org/cits

Rampart – Three Colts Lane Eviction

At 10.30 this morning (16 march 2010) high court bailiffs arrived at the newly opened Rampart building, warrant in hand, and only days after they lost the court case. The residents inside repeatedly asked to be shown the warrant but to no avail. Legal observers outside were threatened with violence, abuse and crowbars, and were told that it was none of their business. The angle grinder came out and the residents were given 10 seconds to open up, which of course they didn’t, so the cutting started and the door was soon forced open. The people inside grabbed what they could and were manhandled out of the building.

The library was saved thanks to some members of the collective and assorted helpers who dragged themselves out of bed early Friday morning to rescue it. It has found a home at 195 Mare Street. Thanks to everyone who helped. We’ll be announcing a new building very soon. Meanwhile, Monday meetings continue at Mare Street unless otherwise announced. Come down and get involved. London needs social centres!

Same shit, different day. RampART will continue. Thanks to everyone who turned up. I love that someone had come to paint the front of the building and remove the graffiti only to find bailiffs at the door.

http://therampart.wordpress.com/

Eviction bailiffs:

these bastards seem to specialised in traveller, gypsy and squatter types. more info here……….

http://www.constantand.co.uk/index.htm

Constant & Company
66 Harpur Street,
Bedford,
MK40 2RA

(t) 01234 340091
(f) 01234 301299

DX 5641 BEDFORD

bedford@constantandcompany.co.uk

Constant & Company
163 Queensway,
Bletchley
MK2 2DZ

(t) 01908 374374
(f) 01908 370073

DX 100029 BLETCHLEY
miltonkeynes@constantandcompany.co.uk

Free the climate prisoners! Solidarity demo

Demo at the Danish Embassy on Sloane Street, Monday 15th March 2010, in solidarity with the COP15 climate prisoners.

This morning 15 climate activists protested outside the Danish Embassy, Sloane Street, West London, in solidarity with Tash and Noah, the first two protesters from the COP15 summit to go on trial. See video of the protest.

Demo at the Danish Embassy on Sloane Street, Monday 15th March 2010, in solidarity with the COP15 climate prisoners.

During the Copenhagen summit, over 2000 people were detained without cause. 7 will be going on trial, and the first trials are on Tuuesday 16th and Thursday 18th. All those detained durng the summit were forced to sit in the ‘herring-bone’ lines, hands tied behind their backs, and denied toilet breaks, food and water.

The protest this morning lasted about an hour, and the police kept turning up, increasing from a couple of bobbies to as many as there were protesters by the end. They asked for a liason, but the protesters just chanted ‘Drop the charges’ in their faces. The protesters began by holding a banner reading ‘Drop the Charges’ in front of the Embassy entrance, and then sat down in the street in a ‘herring-bone’ line.

While Tash and Noah are facing serious charges, something like conspiracy to cause civil unrest, they are not the first activists to be on trial for Cop15. There have already been more than seven trials, luckily most of them ending in acquittal or minor convictions with only one three month prison sentence.

All the charged deserve our solidarity!

For updates from the anti-repression group check out: http://cop15antirep.blogsport.eu/

Social Centres in a Time of Crisis

A weekend of workshops, discussions and socialising for everyone with an interest in radical autonomous social centres.

• How can a new generation of social centres learn from the successes and failures of established ones? What are the ways in which we can best face up to the challenges?

A weekend of workshops, discussions and socialising for everyone with an interest in radical autonomous social centres.

• How can a new generation of social centres learn from the successes and failures of established ones? What are the ways in which we can best face up to the challenges?

• How can we sustain energy and dynamism? Can we stop the daily grind of actually running a social centre from eclipsing the politics and passion behind it

• Is there a way in which we can capitalise on the current widespread disaffection with mainstream politics? What is the role of social centres in a time of crisis?

• What is the current situation with your social centre? What’s going right, what’s going wrong, and what support do you need?

At the Common Place, Leeds 17-18th April 2010
http://www.thecommonplace.org.uk/

Saturday: 10am – 6pm, followed by dinner and entertainment
Sunday: 10am for brunch, 11am – 4pm

Lunch available on both days.

socialcentres2010@googlemail.com

BP Fortnight of Shame

The BP Fortnight of Shame is a call to action from the UK Tar Sands Network, Rising Tide and the Camp for Climate Action to force BP to reverse their crazy plans to move into Canada’s tar sands.

The BP Fortnight of Shame is a call to action from the UK Tar Sands Network, Rising Tide and the Camp for Climate Action to force BP to reverse their crazy plans to move into Canada’s tar sands. It runs between the annual Fossil Fools Day on April 1st, which in recent years has seen a flurry of action against the fossil fuels industry, and BP’s Annual General Meeting on April 15th. Grassroots groups across the UK, in solidarity with First Nations indigenous peoples, will be taking action to stop BP’s deadly plans in their tracks. This will include a global day of action on Saturday 10th April. All are encouraged to get involved.

Why Tar Sands?

Attempts to avert the planet from sliding into climate crisis are being threatened by a single massive project in the Canadian wilderness. Already, millions of barrels of tar sands oil are being extracted every day, producing three to five times as many greenhouse gas emissions as conventional oil. The extraction process is immensely resource-intensive, currently using enough natural gas every day to heat 3.2 million Canadian homes. Add to this the mass deforestation the projects are causing, ridding us of desperately needed carbon sinks, then it becomes clear this project cannot be allowed to continue if we are serious about preventing runaway climate change.

The effects tar sands are having on local First Nations indigenous communities are devastating. The tar sands development in Alberta covers an area the size of England, with toxic tailing ponds so huge they are visible from space, leaking poisons into the local water supply. Not only are indigenous livelihoods and futures being destroyed, but communities on land where tar sands extraction has been imposed are experiencing disturbingly high rates of rare forms of cancer and auto-immune diseases.

Why BP?

BP are the only major oil company with no tar sands extraction projects currently in operation. This is about to change. Since 2007, BP have quietly ditched the ‘Beyond Petroleum’ sham, because investing in renewables simply wasn’t making them enough profit. They have decided to go Back to Petroleum, with a vengeance, under the leadership of new Chief Executive Tony Hayward.

Moving into tar sands was one of the first steps Tony Hayward took, acquiring a half share in the Sunrise Project with Husky Energy. The Sunrise Project will be huge, producing 200,000 barrels of filthy oil a day, and using Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), an extraction process even more energy and water intensive than the more visible surface-mining operations.

The recession has given us a window of opportunity. BP have been forced to postpone their final decision on whether to go ahead until the second half of 2010. This means it is not too late for us to stop this outrageous project. BP are desperate for Sunrise to go ahead, and will certainly not go down without a fight, but with effective and sustained action we can win this one.
What can I do?

Local groups across the UK, from Brighton to Scotland, are already engaged in plotting and planning for the Fortnight of Shame. If your local group isn’t already planning something, then get suggesting ideas. If you haven’t already got a local group, then check out the local groups that form the Camp for Climate Action network. All are open to everyone to join.

Coal Action Scotland InfoTour dates

The Mainshill Solidarity Camp is going on tour! Check our list of dates below to see if we’re coming anywhere near you. If you’d like us to to a talk where you are and its not on the list, email us at mainshill [at] riseup.net and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

10th March
Brighton
7pm at the Cowley Club
London Road

12th March
Leeds
7pm at the Bandstand Community Allotments
Woodhouse Ridge, Meanwood Road
15th March
Bradford
7pm at the 1 in 12 Club
21-23 Albion Street

16th March
Lancaster
7pm at the Lancaster Action Resource Centre
78a Penny Street

Livesey Occupiers Re-Open Community Museum

1.3.2010
Families flock to the Livesey Museum for the re-opening of the former children’s museum to mark two years since Southwark Council shut the building down

It was a wet Sunday morning in South London as community activists scurried round the beautiful Livesey museum on the Old Kent Rd, putting the final touches to the space for a free family funday.

Police had called the occupiers the day before stating their intent to arrest people opening the building, for burglary. After being being told that such arrests would be illegal, they rang back to say they would shut the building down on grounds of health and safety, and also take details of anyone going into the building . If details were refused, the individual would be arrested. Again illegal police work.

The fire service arrived at 11, and gave the thumbs up for the building to be used.

And then suddenly the family rush began!

———-

Two years ago Southwark council shut the Livesey down as part of a budget cut. The cost of running the building was less than money spent on council lunches. The council then tried to sell the building only to find that in the deeds George Livesey left the Livesey for the people of Peckham and Camberwell. As a trustee they had no right to sell it.

After a community campaign to save the children’s museum by the Friends of Livesey, the council accepted a proposal from Theatre Peckham to use the space for rehearsals. Two years later nothing had happened in the building.

And so it was occupied six weeks ago by a group who want to see the building used by the community.

A public meeting was held with 40 people and there was consensus to hold a re-opening for local families.

After two weeks of organizing families flocked from all around to attend the day of activities: vegetable growing workshops, a treasure hunt, storytelling, arts and crafts, a theatre workshop and bicycle maintenance.

Around 80 people attended, and the kids had a ball especially on the treasure island. The museum came back to life, and was placed back into use for its original community purpose.

Around 2.30pm the fire service returned to see what we would do if there was a fire. They walked around to see everything was fine and then let everyone play on the fire engine. Hoses and sirens went off, and there was a new activity for the event.

One police, and a community policeman turned up and hang around at the gate for a while, after being refused entry after asking to see inside for potential crime. So the phone calls the day before seemed to be an attempt at intimidation.

So the Livsey Museum was shut to the community two years ago, and yesterday the community re-opened it, to have a brilliant day with the fire service being co-opted into the fun.

With a court date imminent, we will see what happens next at the Livesey but for now it is re-open and in the hands of the community.

Fossil Fools Day 2010

Climate change is no laughing matter – but that doesn’t mean we can’t confront the Fossil Fuel Empire with subversive humour.

WHAT: Direct actions, practical jokes and throwing a spanner in the works to stop the fossil fools.
WHERE: Your street, town or city.
WHEN: April 1st, 2010.

Climate change is no laughing matter – but that doesn’t mean we can’t confront the Fossil Fuel Empire with subversive humour.

WHAT: Direct actions, practical jokes and throwing a spanner in the works to stop the fossil fools.
WHERE: Your street, town or city.
WHEN: April 1st, 2010.

Last December in Copenhagen, the politicians sold us out to the fossil fools, corporate lobbyists and big banks. Now we’re left with “green capitalism,” a deeply unjust carbon market and continued assaults on our communities and ecosystems. If we’re going to stop climate chaos, the only real solution is to keep fossil fuels in the ground.

The stakes couldn’t be higher: destabilisation of the global climate, local communities destroyed by dirty energy extraction and combustion, devastating freak storms, droughts, floods, the list goes on …

This April 1st, join Rising Tide in some creative direct action … use the simply subversive to the downright disruptive: office occupations, banner drops, clownish parades, road blockades, spoof websites, subvertising, street theatre, leaflets, lock-ons or laugh-ins. Whatever works for you and your group.

Join us this Fossil Fools Day and hatch some harebrained schemes that will strike a blow to climate criminals everywhere!

WANT MORE? Fossil Fools Day also marks the launch of the BP Tar Sands Fortnight of Shame: a two-week campaign culminating in actions surrounding BP’s AGM on April 15th. The goal? To stop BP from going into the Canadian Tar Sands – the biggest, dirtiest fossil fuel project on earth. Find out more: Tar Sands in Focus.. And a word to BP: be afraid… be very afraid.

NEED A HAND? If you would like ideas for actions, graphics for leaflets or websites, advice on dealing with the press, etc., send us an email and we’ll do our best to help out: info@risingtide.org.uk

For more information see: Fossil Fools Day.

In the words of that master of pranks: “That’s All Folks”.

New eco village starting soon in London

20.02.2010
Following the eviction threat to Kew eco village, there will be a new eco village set up in London. A new site has already been located. People are needed to help set it up. A couple of other sites have also been located in case the chosen site gets blocked off before we can occupy it. No details of the location can be given at this stage.

Full details of the site will be posted on here within a couple of weeks when the eco village is set up. But first people are needed to help out with it.

Contact diggers360@yahoo.co.uk for more details and to get involved.