London – Page 35 – Earth First!

World Naked Bike Ride UK

A peaceful, imaginative and fun protest against oil dependency and car culture. A celebration of the bicycle and also a celebration of the power and individuality of the human body. A symbol of the vulnerability of the cyclist in traffic. The world’s biggest naked protest: 50+ cities and thousands of riders participate worldwide, including more than 1500 in the UK in 2007.

http://worldnakedbikeride.org/uk/

To check any details of rides below, see http://nakedwiki.org/wiki/UK

# Southampton: Fri 6 June, 6pm
# Brighton & Hove: Sat 7 June, 11am
# York: Sat 7 June, 4pm
# Sheffield: Sun 8 June, 2pm
# Manchester: Fri 13 June, 6pm
# Cardiff: Sat 14 June, (time is still being finalised)
# London: Sat 14 June, 3pm
# Edinburgh: 28 or 29 June – TBC

# There is discussion about possible rides in Cambridge, Belfast, Glasgow, Oxford, or even a Bristol to Bath ride.

3rd June Food & Climate Change Day of Action – more actions, in Nottingham, London x3, Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool & Amsterdam

Actions co-inciding with the UN Conference on World Food Security and Climate Change got off to an early start, with Sunday seeing the first of an outbreak of vegan food give-aways, in Manchester, with a spot of guerrilla gardening; the rash spread on Monday with GM labs occupied. The Ready Steady Skip website tried to soothe, but on the day, the action contagion spread…

Passer-bys were enticed to our stall by the offers of free chips, vegan pasties and tomato plants. We handed out leaflets about climate change & food and had lots of chats with people about the world food crisis & our solutions of eating a local, organic & vegan diet. An amazing number of people already grew there own food & lots more were encouraged to give it a go. We had a really positive response from the public and people seemed genuinely interested in the information leaflets we handed out.

More photos.

The next free vegan food giveaway in Nottingham is going to be on the 4th July.

A handful of us then visited Fresh & Ecoworks community garden based at St Ann’s allotments. We had a tour of the amazing gardens & saw a brilliant example of local, organic food being produced in the city. See
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2006/08/348168.html
and
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2007/10/382929.html

We toddled off home in the rain, chilli plants in hand, inspired to grow our own.

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Food & Climate Change Action – London

For the Food & Climate Change day of action, Whitechapel Food Not Bombs and Brixton Reclaim Your Food teamed up to serve free vegan food in front of a Mac Donald’s in Camberwell.

The groups had a stall right in front of a Mac Donald in Camberwell for two hours, serving out freshly skipped, lovingly cooked free vegan food to passers by, and engaging people in conversation about the link between the food they eat and climate change. For good measure, the group was accompanied by a bicycle sound system, to liven up the atmosphere.

All in all, over a hundred servings were given out, countless more people saw the stall and were given leaflets highlighting some of the links between food and climate change on the following topics : waste ; veganism ; organic food ; locally produced food.

The menu included a spicy mash, a curry, a pumpkin soup, a salad, some guacamole, some stuffed aubergines, some veggies burgers, an apple cake, a fruit salad and more.

Unsurprisingly, the Mac Donald’s managers weren’t too happy about people giving out free food in front of their window shop – but the police seemed to decide otherwise. The groups were asked to remove a banner from the Mac Donald window shop, but were otherwise permitted to stay there as long as there wasn’t too much obstruction.

londonfnb@lists.riseup.net
http://www.londonfnb.org

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25 protesters organised by Biofuelwatch and Food Not Fuel, London came together for a protest outside Newham town hall in East Ham on Saturday to raise public awareness of the planning application for the UK’s first biofuel-fired power plant to be built, in Beckton. Banners and placards quoted many statistics such as the number of people going hungry because of agrofuels and the number of people who could be fed with one tank of biofuel. Over 500 signatures objecting to the plant were collected…it appears that Beckton, one of the most polluted London boroughs, is prepared to fight back.

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In London, vegan campaigners we took to the streets of Chancery Lane to
treat the city workers to some vegan food samples. The response was good,
with a range of interested people coming to taste the food. We gave away
hundreds of recipe booklets, and leaflets for this year’s London Vegan
Festival.

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Bristol Protest Over Tesco’s Biofuels Claim

Biofuels far from the panacea to petrol prices and climate change, have added to the global food price hike by taking land previously occupied by food crops. A study by the University of Minnesota found that growing biofuel on converted rainforests, peat lands, savannas or grasslands created up to 420 times more carbon dioxide than it saved.

Wheat Prices have doubled in the UK over the past year, and consumers and retailers have so far managed to absorb this. But elsewhere in the world, people are going without wheat (and other staples) and bakers are going out of business.

To illustrate this issue, a dozens bakers (rather than a bakers dozen!) will be following up Bristol Rising Tides demo in April of this year to illustrate the true cost of Agro-fuels. They will be at Tesco, Eastville between 4.30pm and 7pm

Ms Bread of Bristol Rising Tide said:

“The question is do we want do feed our cars or feed ourselves?”

Tesco has made false claims about the source of the fuel sold at its service stations, according to an investigation that found that the chain sold the most environmentally damaging types of biodiesel -Palm Oil – whilst claiming that it ‘s biofuel was sourced from relatively sustainable UK-planted rape seed oil.[2]

Mr A.Baker of Bristol Rising Tide said:

“Its now clear that we leave big business to deal with climate change, this is the kind of thing that will happen – a bloody disaster”

At this years Climate Camp (3rd – 10th August) there will be a national day of action against Agrofuels.

[1] Bristol Rising Tide is part of the International Rising Tide for Climate Justice network
www.risingtide.org.uk
[2] The Times,April 14, 2008 “Tesco green fuel ‘adds to climate change”

Leaflet

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Waiting for (social) Change!

4/06/2008
Today in the Charing Cross area of Glasgow a group of waiters invited passers-by to ‘Taste the waste’ and sample their free food. The menu was made up entirely out of skipped goods from supermarket bins and included such delights as: homemade vegan frequent flyer banana cake, skipped chip, rescued roast veg. and binned beans. This was part of the call to action on Food and Climate Change by the Network for Climate Action (http://networkforclimateaction.org.uk).

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Liverpool hosted a free vegan food fair at its social centre ‘Next to
Nowhere’. Around 50 people attended and loads of food and information was given out. The event allowed for a lot of informal discussion, with a social area created for this purpose. People were delighted to hear that they can come back for vegan food every Saturday afternoon 1-5pm.

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Pigs say: If you care about climate change, eat less meat, milk and eggs

On Tuesday June 3rd, a group of pigs made a small action for a more vegan Amsterdam. They handed out vegan snacks to encourage people not to buy that ham for dinner. It may look like the pigs acted out of self-interest, but today their message was that meat production is a major cause of climate change. While the UN is conferring in Rome on World Food Security and Climate change, the pigs put a focus on that average Europeans have a diet of disaster. Raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined.

Quite some people in front of the Albert Heijn on Jodenbreestraat were happy to taste the organic, vegan falafel and chocolate cake and many said they are vegetarians already. People were surprised to hear that producing one kilo of cheese cause as much greenhouse gas emissions as driving a car for 60 km. A Brazilian woman had witnessed the expanding soy fields used for feeding animal industry.

“Consumers can make a huge improvement by avoiding animal products and imports, and by supporting local, organic farmers instead. But humans need to organise themselves fast against the dominant culture if they want to save themselves from climate chaos” the piggies stated after all the food had been handed out.

Tonight, Wednesday June 4 from 19 there will be a film night in Plantage Doklaan 12, with organic vegan food and ideas on how to combat climate change. (See programme on the website)

Website: http://www.howtocookaplanet.net

Ready Steady Skip: Trailer and website launched!

Ready Steady Skip – the game show where needlessly wasted food is recovered from the bin and turned into delicious dishes before your very eyes!

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: http://www.readysteadyskip.org.uk/

Ready Steady Skip is a bit like “Scrapheap Challenge” meets “Ready Steady Cook” – skipping for food and whipping up some tasty dishes, with plenty of hilarity (and people diving into skips).

Every year over 17 million tons of food are put straight into landfill sites, yet over 4 million tons of this is perfectly edible and still well within it’s sell-by date. A whopping 5 million tons of food are wasted annually by consumers alone: that is, more than a quarter of all food we buy goes into the bin. It’s high time this insanity stopped!

Skipping (aka. “Freeganism” or “Dumpster Diving”) is all about reclaiming perfectly edible food “waste” from the jaws of an insane system founded on greed, and making good use of it.

We’ve launched the Ready Steady Skip trailer and website to coincide with the Days Of Climate Action food day (3rd June 2008), which is highlighting the fact that the food we eat contributes up to a third of the emissions that are poisoning the planet. When you consider the amount of food that is just thrown away, it brings home how needless this lunacy is. Nobody ever need go hungry – yet people still starve every day.

The programme was shot here in Nottingham at the beginning of March, and the full episode will be released online in July 2008. We’re also trying to organise a screening (and possibly even another contest) at the Climate Camp.

Keep an eye on our website for updates!

Previous Notts Indymedia piece: Ready, Steady, Skip!! – The Pictures 1

info@readysteadyskip.org.uk
http://www.readysteadyskip.org.uk/

Fight the Height in Walthamstow, London, Sunday 1 June

On the blue fence surrounding the still undeveloped Arcade site at the top of Walthamstow High Street, developers St Modwen proudly claim to be “The UK’s Leading Regeneration Specialist” but local residents in Walthamstow clearly have a different opinion, and have come together as ‘Fight the Height’ to oppose their plans. When demolition took place … Continue reading “Fight the Height in Walthamstow, London, Sunday 1 June”

When demolition took place in 1999, the council announced their intention to put the site to cultural use and benefit the community – a new leisure centre, library and arts centre together with social housing. Instead the proposals by St Modwen appear to be dominated by commercial interest and to have little regard for local needs.

The site is as the east end of Walthamstow’s famous street market, the longest in Europe (more like 1.2km than the mile usually claimed), which began in 1885 and attracts shoppers from across London and tourists from around the world as well as being a vital local resource. St Modwen’s plans include a large Primark supermarket, which would severely threaten the future of the market and many of the shops along the high street.

Another ingredient is an 18 storey tower block, quite out of scale with the surrounding area, with its terraces of two storey housing and small scale developments. But you can fall out of bed and into Walthamstow Central station, making the flats very marketable to workers in the City (4 trains an hour to Liverpool Street in 17 minutes) or the West End, thanks to the frequent Victoria Line service. Ten more tall blocks are also in council plans for the next station on the line, Blackhorse Road.

Close to the site on Hoe St is the former Walthamstow Granada, opened in 1930 as a “super-cinema” in high Art-Deco style. As well as films, it hosted live performances (by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and many more) and is now a Grade II listed building. Carefully converted into a three-screen venue in the 1970s, it became part of the Odeon chain and in 2000 was sold to EMD, finally closing in 2003. A campaign was set up to restore it as a cinema, but the proposed building of a Vue multiplex on the Arcade site would end any chance of this happening.

You can keep in touch with the campaign and find out more about St Modwen and the plans on the ‘Fight the Height’ and ‘Antiscrap’ web sites.

Fight the Height supporters were leafletting when I arrived on Sunday morning for the demonstration which began at noon, with characters representing the tower block, Vue cinema and Primark, along with various placards and banners, attracting considerable interest, although Sunday is the one day of the week that the market closes, so the High Street was fairly empty except for the Farmers Market.

Around 12.30 the crowd of about a hundred people walked from Town Square (a regenerated area that already seems to need some regeneration) across to the Arcade site and the fun began. Market traders had donated several boxes of very ripe tomatoes and kids and adults enjoyed the forceful gesture of throwing these at ‘Tower Block’, ‘Vue’ and ‘Primark’ to robustly demonstrate their opinion of the St Modwen proposals. It was a short but rather messy protest – and one that made the TV London news in the evening.

St Modwen are also the developers for the contested Queens Market scheme at Upton Park, which, if it goes ahead, will mean an end of the thriving and ethnically diverse market there, again by building a supermarket and a tower block. It looks very much like a “one-size fits up all” approach to profit rather than regeneration.

Fight the Height: http://www.fighttheheight.co.uk/
Granada/EMD Cinema campaign: http://www.mcguffin.info/
Antiscrap: http://www.antiscrap.co.uk/
Friends of Queens Market: http://www.friendsofqueensmarket.org.uk/

More pictures of the event on My London Diary: http://mylondondiary.co.uk/2008/06/june.htm#height

London Critical Mass ride 30-5-08

Quick report on the ride.

Video Short mp4 clip. – video/mp4 1.4M

Video Short wmv clip. – video/x-ms-wmv 1.2M

Quick report on the ride.

Video Short mp4 clip. – video/mp4 1.4M

Video Short wmv clip. – video/x-ms-wmv 1.2M

Several hundred riders, good weather, a very enjoyable ride, apart from police slowing things down as usual by blocking the front of the ride at intersections. Later they seemed to stop doing this and made a good job of corking instead. This time a confrontation with police over sound systems in the SOCPA zone was avoided, by not going into the SOCPA zone. Instead a stop was made outside Buck House, complete with full-on sounds.

CANCELLED – Survival Picket in Solidarity with the Dongria Kondh Tribe – Stop Vendanta Mining Orissa, India.

The Dongria Kondh tribe of India and the land they live in is threatened with destruction by the UK company Vedanta. Vedanta wants to create a giant open-cast mine on the Dongria Kondh’s sacred mountain, destroying the lush forests that grow there and polluting the rivers.

The Survival demonstration outside Coutts Bank previously advertised on this website planned for the 10th June has been cancelled. In reaction to the planned picket Coutts has just informed Survival that they no longer hold shares in Vedanta, the British-based company whose planned bauxite mine will devastate the lands of India’s Dongria Kondh tribe. More info to follow.

—-

WHERE? Outside Coutts Bank, 440 Strand, London
WHEN? Tuesday 10th June 2008, 18.45 – 20.00

WHAT IS THE EVENT?

Coutts Bank hold shares in Vedanta. When Vedanta makes money, Coutts make money, so they are profiting from the abuse of the Dongria Kondh.

On 10th June Coutts are hosting the opening party of London Jewellery Week, which they are sponsoring. Survival will be there, urging Coutts to withdraw its shares in Vedanta, and to recognise the rights of the Dongria Kondh to live independently on their own land.

For directions, please see the following link:
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=530188&y=180575&z

Background info:

There are 8,000 Dongria Kondh living in the Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa, India.

The Niyamgiri Hills are an area of outstanding natural beauty, rich in wildlife and dense forests. The Dongria Kondh farm the hill slopes, growing crops in among the forest and gathering wild fruit, flowers and leaves for sale. Their lifestyle and religion have protected the forests of Niyamgiri for centuries.

The top of the mountain, which is worshiped by the Dongria Kondh as the seat of their god, has rich deposits of the aluminium ore bauxite.

The mining project would lead to displacement of thousands of tribal people and destroy biodiversity and water sources. Niyamgiri hills are the source of Vamshadhara River and major tributaries of Nagaveli rivers – sacred to the Khonds. A large number of wildlife species including tiger, leopards, elephant and mouse deer also abode in Niyamgiri hills. Many of these species are endangered. In the past, efforts have been made by various governmental and non-governmental bodies to declare Niyamgiri hills as sanctuary or reserve area to protect its pristine natural habitat.

The local resistance against the project started with the land acquisition process but because of the poor economic and political clout of Dongria Kondhs, their voices and concerns are ignored by local and state authorities. This is hardly surprising given the Orissa government’s thrust on ‘accelerating economic development’ by handing over rich natural resources to big private companies, both domestic and foreign, for a pittance. Pressure on the financial backers of the scheme in Europe has already resulted in significant disinvestment is Norway and similar action in the UK could really stregthen the tribes hand.

More Details can be found on the website of ‘Survival – The Movement For Tribal People’:

http://www.survival-international.org/tribes/dongria

03/06/08……TAKE ACTION ON FOOD AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Within the past year, global food prices have risen by 75%. Prices of wheat, soya, oilseeds, maize and rice are now at record levels. The World Bank has warned that 100 million more people are facing hunger and malnutrition because of rising food prices.

The greenhouse gas emissions caused by livestock and industrial fishing account for 18 per cent of global warming; more than the emissions from the world’s entire transport system, at 13.5 per cent. Techno fixes such as GM crops and Biofuels are not the answer to climate chaos, we need to change our patterns of consumption and switch to a low impact, cruelty free lifestyle!

With one week to go before the food and climate change day of action; get creative and get involved!

“Livestock’s contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency.”
– United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation 2006

“The grain required to fill a 25-gallon SUV gas tank with ethanol will feed one person for a year.” (Lester Brown, Director of the Earth Policy Institute).

The UN Conference on World Food Security and Climate Change runs from 3rd to 5th June 2008. The Network for Climate Action is inviting you to take action on and around the 3rd of June 2008. There’s stuff happening all over the country, and internationally, on the day itself, and before and after it.

Climate action starts on your dinner plate, at the supermarket, on your allotment and in your back yard, at the food processing and distribution centres, down on the farm, in your high street, at the airport and at the lorry park. Use this day as a way to highlight the complexity of food related issues, and also to promote specific campaigns..

It’s time to detox the planet and take action on food and climate change! Groups all over the country are planning actions, demonstrations, film nights, workshops and free food events. For more ideas, and resources, visit the website: http://daysofclimateaction.org.uk; and let us know if you need anything else, or if you have resources that could be shared!

Remember, the list below is only a list of public events, actions to follow when announced! If you want information about whats going on in your area, please get in touch!

MANCHESTER 01/06 Vegan picnic, demo and surprise activity!
Free vegan food
12-4, Piccadilly Gardens email: manchester@climatecamp.org.uk

BRISTOL 31/05-01/06 Bristol Vegan Fayre
http://www.bristolveganfayre.co.uk/

SHEFFIELD 31/05 Free vegan food stall
email:sheffieldanimalfriends@googlemail.com

LIVERPOOL 31/05 Free vegan food event 12-4 Next to Nowhere, (this event kick starts the vegan drop in which will happen 1-5 every Saturday, Next to Nowhere). http://www.liverpoolsocialcentre.org/

LONDON
31/05 Protest against the proposed Combined Cycle Biofuel Electricity Generation Plant. Stall on Myrtle Road, East Ham from 10:30 to 6:30.
Banner drop from 3:00 to 5:00pm outside Newham Town Hall, East Ham. 04/06
Protest outside the final consultation meeting at Newham Town Hall 6:30 to 7:10pm , Barking Road, East Ham.
http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/files/thames_gateway_biodiesel_project.pdf
As part of the national day of action on food and climate change called by the Network for Climate Action, Food Not Bombs and Reclaim Your Food will be serving *free vegan food* at a *secret location* in South London!
* All the food will be skipped, reclaimed from the waste of an affluent capitalist society.
* All the food will be vegan, minimizing the climate-impact of the food. Meet on Tuesday the 3rd of June at Camberwell Green (in the Green itself), 2PM sharp to move on to a *secret location*
Camberwell Green – http://tinyurl.com/5h25yq
London Food Not Bombs – http://www.londonfnb.org

NOTTINGHAM 24/05-15/06 ‘Greenweeks’: allotment open days, organic growing courses and more!
http://www.greenweeks.org/

AMSTERDAM: Veganism and Climate Change film night
http://www.aseed.net/

The food we eat contributes up to a third of the emissions that are poisoning the planet. It’s time for a detox … Changing our diet is one of the most effective steps we can take!

Whether you’re working on local organic food, growing your own, veganism, permaculture, food security, humanitarian issues, transport campaigning, agrofuels, anti – GM food … make the links on climate change … take action on the 3rd of June toward a low-carbon diet!

Whatever your tastes, there’s something for everyone on this action menu! There are many proposed solutions – we think it’s time to start the debate. Get creative and get involved!

Please let us know what you are planning (if its appropriate!) or if not, tell us as soon as you’ve done it! Don’t forget to send us your photos too!

The media phone no for the day will be 07961917535; or you can email food@daysofclimateaction.org.uk.

This Day of Action on Climate Change is called by the Network for Climate Action in co-operation with the Rising Tide Network and the Camp for Climate Action.

Diddly squats reports – Cambridge, London & Brighton [updated – eviction threat]

Cambridge: former Wilco building squatted – to be turned into social centre

Cambridge: former Wilco building squatted – to be turned into social centre

On Monday night, 19 May, the former Wilco building on Mill Road (the very site where Tesco want to open a new supermarket) was squatted. On Tuesday afternoon, acting on a ‘tip off’ from a neighbour, armed police entered the premised on the pretext of looking for illegal drugs. There were a total of three police cars, a police van, and at least eight officers. The premises were searched, but no illegal substances (bar a supermarket trolley that was already on site) were found. The building is now being turned into a social centre. Tonight (Tuesday) there will be a big clear up, before the space is spruced up with some furniture. There are plans for a cinema corner, an activity corner, and a space to hang out and drink coffee and tea.

Please come and help with the clear up or donate some furniture, rugs, etc.

The squat or the social centre are not connected to the No Tesco on Mill Road campaign, but will create a more useful, positive role for the building.

http://millroadsocialcentre.wordpress.com/
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WominSpace Eviction, the story of a squatted social center in East London

The short-lived but infamous WominSpace Social Center by Mare Street was, after a successful resistance, and some weeks of tension, eventually evicted on the 9th of May.

For the past three months the WominSpace social center has hosted amongst other things, welding, stencil-making, herbal skill-share, feminist singing workshops, photoshop and piracy, and a women’s direct action group. There has been a DIY Womin’s Health weekend, regular café and kids space. The space has been open to all self-identified women and trans people and aimed to be respectful to each individual’s autonomy and experience.

Although we managed to resist the first eviction with wider support from friends and the North East London Squatters Network, we have now lost our house by the canal in East London.

Out of experiences with the WominSpace it was decided to form an anarcha-feminist collective, open to all self-identified women and trans people. If you want to be part of the early stages of forming this collective, get in touch: womenorganise@yahoo.co.uk

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New Name, New Website, Old Threat

London’s latest social centre has finally given itself a name, set up its own website and received a visit from the owners saying “get out!”

Squatted over the long Ester weekend in March the new social centre opened its doors on the 11th April for the International Days of Action For Squats and Autonomous Spaces.

Among the activities over that weekend was a Squatters Estate Agency which attracted the attention of the mainstream media.

Operating with an open collective in the style of the rampART social centre that proceeded it, the new social centre took some time to reach consensus on a name. Among those in the running were Two Point Two (indicating only its lineage and legacy in relation to the rampART), Front Line (indicating it’s strategic position between Shoreditch and the expanding developments of the city), The Liberty of Norton Folgate (a reference to a historic ‘freespace’) and Sod The Rich (a handy anagram of Shoreditch). However in the end the name Bowl Court was agreed, which simply and unorriginally refers to the little cobbled street the building is located in.

Finaly given a name a new website was set up (see http://bowlcourt.co.nr) but no sooner than the site created, the owners of the building put a downer of things by dropping round to say ‘get the fuck off my land’.

Needless to say, this is far from the end of the story, perhaps just the beginning, and now is the time to get involved.

The location is amazing and offers an unrepeatable opportunity to work with the local community against the massive wave of development threatening to sweep away much of Shoreditch.

The collective meets every monday at 7pm. You will find Bowl Court off Plough Yard which is next to the Drunken Monkey at the junction of Shoreditch Hight St and Great Eastern Street. (See the map here http://tinyurl.com/4xeq2q)

If you need to contact us, email bowlcourt@riseup.net or phone 0208 8192596

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Free Skool event this thursday

thursday 22nd from 7pm onwards people will be coming together at bowl court social centre to discuss the concept of a free skool and how this could be put into practice within the space.

so, this is a call for people who want to share knowledge and skills to come and get involved. through the institutionalisation of education, knowledge is taken out of the hands of the masses. a free skool aims to reclaim that education for all through sharing theoretical and practical knowledge. this can involve anything from a one off workshop on building a bicycle powered washing machine to individuals with shared interests meeting on a regular basis. come along to bowl court social centre (6 bowl court, off plough yard, next to the great eastern street/shoreditch high street junction) at 7pm on thursday if you are interested. if you cant make it but would like to get involved email us at bowlcourt@riseup.net

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Bowl Court social centre under threat

21.05.2008
the new social centre in shoreditch was served papers today for a court hearing on the 4th june. the owners hammerson have no immediate interest in the building which they have yet to secure planning consent to demolish for their huge redevelopement plans for the area. the developments are the biggest in london since the creation of dockland and canary warf.

the social centre which was opened last month for the days of action for squats and autonomous spaces is planning to fight this threat loudly through the mainstream media and to contribute as much as possible to the campaigns against the bishops place developement during the time left in the building.

hammerson is a massive property company concentrating mostly on retail and office parks. they are partcularly active in the uk, france and germany.

more info soon….

if you can help the social centre go on the offensive on this, please get in touch

bowlcourt at riseup dot net
http://bowlcourt.co.nr

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East London Against Gentrification: Two Events this week

Both Wednesday the 21st and Saturday the 24th will see two events held in East london hosting international activists from the Vancouver Anti Poverty Committee, (Canada) and the Movement for Justice in El Barrio (Harlem, NYC) both fighting gentrifcation and displacement. See details below.

Vancover Anti Poverty Committee Fight the Olympics: Public Talk on Wednesday the 21st of May 8pm

Action Eastend and London Coalition Against Poverty (LCP) are organising a joint public meeting for a Canadian comrade involved in the Anti Poverty Committee in Canada and anti-olympic solidarity there, she is going to be in London on the Wednesday 21st May
and is going to introduce the ‘Five Ring Circus’ film about the travesty of the 2010 Winter Olympics and is willing to discuss and answer any questions people have.
Please feel welcome to attend and please distribute as widely as possible.

Venue is at
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=bowl%20court%2C%20shoreditch&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&um=1&sa=N&tab=wl

Film Trailer
http://www.thefiveringcircus.com/

Anti Poverty Committee
http://apc.resist.ca/

Movement for Justice in El Barrio: Gentrification from Harlem to Dalston
Public Talk Saturday the 24th of May

Juan Haro, a speaker from Movement for Justice in El Barrio will talk in Dalston, about their struggle against displacement by gentrification in Harlem, New York city. On Saturday the 24th of May @ Passing Clouds, on Richmond Rd, just off Kingsland road in Dalston, 10 mins from Dalston Kingsland Station. Buses: 149, 242, 243, 67.Free or donation entry to talk from 7.00pm.

Followed by Latin bands and DJs hosted by Movimientos at around 9pm “From folkloric to electronic Movimientos is the sound of London’s Latin alternative”. (£5 entry)

Dalston, like many other parts of London is undergoing development that will mean rent rises for tenants already struggling to pay extortionate London rents. When an area becomes appealing for investors and “regeneration” it’s those people with money who end up enjoying the new housing, expensive cafes and shops, and the people with less money who end up having to move further away from the centre of the city or who, if they stay, lose the shops, cafes and resources they rely on. Movement for Justice, the organization of tenants in Harlem, New York that have been struggling against the landlords that want to price them out of their area say;

“This displacement is created by the greed, ambition and violence of a global empire of money that seeks to take total control of all the land, labor and life on earth. Here in El Barrio (East Harlem, New York City), landlords, multi-national corporations and local, state and federal politicians and institutions want to force upon us their culture of money, they want to displace poor families and rent their apartments to rich people, white people with money. They want to change the look of our neighborhood, with the excuse of “developing the community.”

The talk will explore issues around resisting gentrification and the model of organization that Movement for Justice have used to work with each other – an inspiring and educational example from across the Atlantic that we could learn from in London.

“Together, we make our dignity resistance and we fight back against the actions of capitalist landlords and multinational corporations who are displacing poor families from our neighborhood. We fight back locally and across borders. We fight back against local politicians that refuse to govern by obeying the will of the people. We fight back against the government institutions that enforce a global economic, social and political system that seeks to destroy humanity.”

Talk organized by Hackney Solidarity Network, Hackney Independent, Haringey Solidarity Group and London Coalition Against Poverty.

Contact: hackneysolidarity@hotmail.co.uk

—

Also for news on what’s happening at the Spike squatted centre in South London, see http://earthfirst.org.uk/actionreports/node/20636
——

Free Kaff in Brighton

Residents and supporters of 88 London Road, Brighton – the former Methodist church where a recent eviction attempt was successfully resisted – have been holding frequent free food stalls like this one on Sunday.

For a report on the attempted eviction, see: http://earthfirst.org.uk/actionreports/node/20653

LOCAL SUPPORT

Since the events of a week ago, when a large number of Brighton residents witnessed the day-long attempted eviction of the squatters and the story was featured on the front page of the local evening paper, support for the squatters has been growing, with a lot of positive feedback, offers of help and donations of food from local residents and shops.

METHODISTS – A DODGY CORPORATION

Few people seem to be convinced by the Methodist Church’s position that it ‘needs’ the building back again, especially as it has been left empty for several years already. The Methodist Church is now so rich and profitable that it has been forced to register as a corporation rather than a charity and the job of the trustees is to make as much profit for the corporation as they can, which they do by making the usual dodgy investments with a few lame excuses for failing to drop these. Of its investments in Nestle, for instance, it says: “[Nestle’s] operations are not unethical in a way to preclude investment.” Since it also invests in Rio Tinto and BP, one wonders just what a company might have to do to be considered unsuitable for Methodist investment. A quick look at the make-up of the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church sheds some light on the situation – the board includes former managing director of BAE Systems Pensions fund, John Gibbon, along with accountants, tax experts and other financial high-flyers from a range of private companies.

NEW LONDON ROAD – BRIGHT OR BLIGHT?

It seems likely that the Methodist Church hopes to cash in on investment proposals for ‘revitalising’ the healthy mix of local shops along London Road by demolishing them and creating a so-called ‘Bright New London Road’, http://www.brightnewlondonroad.co.uk. The only non-negotiable part of this plan appears to be a Tesco superstore and car park. See http://www.transitionbrightonandhove.org.uk/2008/05/friday-9th-may-at-7pm-community-base.html for more information on these proposals. Many of the local people and shopkeepers who have given their support to the London Road squatters have also expressed serious concerns about these development plans.

COMMUNITY BUSINESS AS USUAL

While the residents of 88 London Road remain in the church, they plan to continue to use it as a community space and to run their ‘free kaff’ with surplus food which would otherwise have ended up as methane-producing landfill.

PRE-EVICTION CALL-OUT

If you’re in the Brighton area, please keep an eye on http://www.indymedia.org.uk for news of further eviction attempts. If you can get yourselves down to the church to assist and resist when it’s needed, this would be much appreciated.

Cheers!

http://www.myspace.com/88londonroadsquat
our e-mail is 88londonroad@live.co.uk. please get in touch if you wanna get involved in any way, shape, or form!

Collection of Latest Radical Newsletters & Magazines available to download

All of the following are available from here:

http://www.natterjackpress.co.uk/menu/downloads.php

All of the following are available from here:

http://www.natterjackpress.co.uk/menu/downloads.php

Get down to your local radical social centre or bookshop for these newsletters – if they aren’t there then print them out / photocopy and take down there. If your nearest social centre isn’t that local, then you now know where you can get all the latest publications without having to trawl the net for them.

We are always looking for newsletters/ zines/ pamphlets/ magazines/ articles to host on our download page (preferably as ‘imposed’ ready to be printed PDF) email us if you are involved in a publication.

* SchNews Weekly – from their web site

* Rough Music – Issue 18 – May/June 2008 – Local Brighton ‘trouble making, dirt digging’ newsletter

* Workers Solidarity – Issue 103 – May/June 2008 – Irish Anarchist News

* No Pasaran – Issue 1 – May 2008 – New Antifa UK Anti Fascist newsletter

* Infoshop News – Issue 1 – May 2008 – New 40 page roundup of news from the Infoshop anarchist news site

* Earth First! Action Update – May 2008 – another great new issue – a quarterly roundup of ecological and other direct action from Britain and beyond

* Mesho – April 2008 – spoof newspaper made for the international days of action for squats and autonomous spaces

* Corporate Watch – Issue 40 – April/May 2008 – Iraq Inc., European Investment Bank, Arab-British chamber of Commerce, West Papua, Review of Klein’s ‘Shock Doctrine’, Diary + More

* Gagged – Issue 23 – April/May 2008 – South Wales Anarchist Newsletter

* Resistance – Issue 102 – April/May 2008 – monthly newsletter of the Anarchist Federation UK

* No Borders – Issue 3 – February / March 2008 – No Borders UK network newsletter

* Rupture – February 2008 – a great zine for and about free parties, squats and social centres

* 325 – Issue 5 – February 2008 – an insurgent magazine of social war and anarchy

* Class War – Issue 93 – Winter 2007 – “Save the Planet – Get Rid of the Rich” getting straight to the point as always

* Organise! – Issue 69 – Wnter 2007 – magazine of the Anarchist Federation

* Fire to the Prisons – Issue 2 – December 2007 – Excellent new newsletter/magazine 30 pages of insurrectionary anti-prison/domination news and analysis and prisoner support information

* Crossing Borders – Issue 4 – November 2007 – a newsletter on movements and struggles of migration (this issue focusing on the No Borders camp in the Ukraine)

* Frontline – Issue 6 – June/August 2007 – Colombia Solidarity Campaign quarterly magazine

* Direct Action – Issue 39 – Summer 2007 – mag of UK anarcho-syndacalist Solidarity Federation

* Warrior Wind – Issue 3 – May 2007 – a newsletter in support of political prisoners

* Incendio – Issue 1 – Spring 2006 – a bilingual (english/spanish) magazine on Latin American struggles and solidarity

* Rolling Thunder – Issue 1 – Summer 2005 – ‘an anarchist journal of dangerous living’

mail@natterjackpress.co.uk
http://www.natterjackpress.co.uk

Spirit of Freedom (May 2008)

Produced by EARTH LIBERATION PRISONERS SUPPORT NETWORK

“The whole experience has been tough, but all the kind and strengthening words and wise thoughts from strangers made it much easier!” (Former Swedish Animal Rights Prisoner)

Produced by EARTH LIBERATION PRISONERS SUPPORT NETWORK

“The whole experience has been tough, but all the kind and strengthening words and wise thoughts from strangers made it much easier!” (Former Swedish Animal Rights Prisoner)

Welcome to the May 2008 edition of Spirit of Freedom. As we go to print we await the sentencing of American vegan eco-activist, Eric McDavid, who has been convicted of thought crimes (he has been convicted of conspiring to carry out ELF actions, although at the time of his arrest no crimes had actually been committed). Eric’s sentencing has been put back on numerous occasions, so we wouldn’t like to say when the sentencing might actually take place. But as soon as Eric has been sentenced we will be circulating his details and encouraging everyone to support him. [for update on his sentence, see very bottom of post]

ELP is also watching, with concern, the developments in the case of American vegan eco-activist Marie Mason. Her co-defendant, Frank Ambrose, is a police informant and it is believed that Ambrose has given the FBI the names of fifteen other people who Ambrose claims have been involved with both ALF and ELF activity over a number of years. ELP will of course bring you all the news as we receive it. In the mean time we ask that everyone support Marie and the other targets to Ambrose’s lies.

But as well as these high profile activists, we ask you not to forget all the other prisoners, some of whom are less well known. Regardless of how long a prisoner serves, or how well known they are, its important we support all the eco-prisoners equally. So please, no matter where you are in the world, support the eco-prisoners and no compromise in defence of Mother Earth!

ECO-DEFENCE PRISONERS

Tre Arrow, SWIS #640393, Multnomah County Detention Center, 1120 S.W. 3rd Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97206, USA. On remand accused of involvement with an arson on logging trucks and an arson on vehicles owned by a sand & gravel company. (Tre is a raw energy vegan – He has asked that his letters of support are written on scrap paper or tree-free paper).

Grant Barnes #137563, San Carlos Correctional Facility, PO Box 3, Pueblo, CO 81002, USA. Serving 12 years for setting fire to a number of SUV vehicles. The letters ELF were spray painted onto all of the vehicles. (Grant is a vegan).

Nathan Block, #36359-086, FCI Lompoc, Federal Correctional Institution, 3600 Guard Road, Lompoc, CA 93436, USA. Serving 7 years & 8 months for an ELF arson against a Poplar Tree Farm and an ELF arson against an SUV dealership. Also admitted his role in an ELF/ALF conspiracy. (Diet unknown).

Marco Camenisch, Postfach 3143, CH-8105 Regensdorf, Switzerland. Serving 18 years. 1) Ten years for using explosives to destroy electricity pylons leading from nuclear power stations. 2) Eight years for the murder of a Swiss Boarder Guard whilst on the run. In ’02 Marco completed a 12-year sentence in Italy for destroying electricity pylons in Italy. (Marco is a meat eater who encourages organic living).

Daniele Casalini, Casa Circondariale, Via Burla 59, 43100 Parma, Italy. Il Silvestre activist awaiting trial accused of using explosives to damage an electricity pylon in protest at nuclear energy. (Daniele is a vegan).

Rod Coronado – See details in Animal Liberation Prisoners List.

Francesco Gioia, C.C. Sollicciano, Via Girolamo Minervini 2/R, 50142 Firenze Sollicciano (FI), Italy. Il Silvestre activist awaiting trial accused of using explosives to damage an electricity pylon in protest at nuclear energy. (Francesco is a vegetarian and Straight Edge).

Jeffrey Luers, # 13797671, CRCI, 9111 NE Sunderland Ave, Portland, OR 97211-1708, USA. Serving 10 years for arson on a SUV dealership & the attempted arson of an oil truck. The original sentence was 22 years & 8 months, but was reduced on appeal. (Diet unknown).

Eric McDavid X-2972521 7E128, Sacramento County Main Jail, 651 “I” Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, USA. Awaiting sentencing having been found guilty of planning to destroy the property of the U.S. Forestry Service, mobile phone masts and power plants. (Eric is a vegan).

Daniel McGowan #63794-053, Unit I, FCI Sandstone, Federal Correctional Institution, PO Box 1000, Sandstone, MN 55072, USA. Serving 7 years for an ELF arson against a Poplar Tree Farm and an ELF arson against an old growth logging corporation. Also admitted his role in an ELF/ALF conspiracy. (Daniel is a vegetarian).

Jonathan Paul – See details in Animal Liberation Prisoners List.

Briana Waters, 36432-086, FDC – Seatac, Federal Detention Center, P.O. Box 13900, Seattle, WA 98198, USA. Awaiting sentencing having been found guilty of involvement in an ELF arson on a University. (Diet unknown).

Joyanna Zacher, #36360-086, FCI Dublin, 5700 8th St.- Camp Parks- Unit F, Dublin, CA 94568, USA. Serving 7 years & 8 months for an ELF arson against a Poplar Tree Farm and an ELF arson against an SUV dealership. Also admitted her role in an ELF/ALF conspiracy. (Diet unknown).

ANIMAL LIBERATION PRISONERS
(All Animal Liberation Prisoners follow a minimum vegetarian diet and most are vegan).

Jon Ablewhite TB4885, HMP Lowdham Grange, Lowdham, Nottingham, NG14 7DA, England. Serving 12 years for attempting to blackmail a farmer who supplied guinea pigs for vivisection. (Jon is a vegan).

Gregg Avery TA7450, HMP Winchester, Romsey Road, Winchester, SO22 5DF, England. On remand accused of conspiracy to blackmail, in relation to his involvement with the SHAC campaign. (Gregg is a vegan).

Natasha Avery NR8987, HMP Bronzefield, Woodthorpe Road, Ashford, Middx. TW15 3JZ, England. Jailed for breaching her parole conditions imposed on her for telling a fox hunting murdering scum what she thought of them. Also awaiting trial accused of conspiracy to blackmail, in relation to her involvement with the SHAC campaign. (Nat is a vegan).

Mel Broughton TN9138, HMP Woodhill, Tattenhoe Street, Milton Keynes, Bucks MK4 4DA, England. On remand accused of involvement with an arson and blackmail campaign against an Oxford University vivisection establishment. (Mel is a vegan).

Jacob Conroy #93501-011, FCI Victorville Medium I Federal Correctional Institution, P.O. Box 5300, Adelanto, CA 92301, USA. Serving 48 months imprisonment for helping organise the SHAC-USA campaign. (Jake is a vegan).

Rod Coronado, Voice of the Earth, PO Box 732, Tucson, AZ 85702, USA. Due to be sentenced to one-year imprisonment after Rod informed people how to make an incendiary device during a speech at an animal rights gathering. (Rod is a vegetarian).

Donald Currie A3660AA, HMP Parkhurst, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 5NX, England. Serving an Indeterminate Sentence, of not less than six actual years, for carrying out arsons against targets associated the vivisection industry including HLS. (Don is a vegan).

Lauren Gazzola #93497-011, FCI Danbury, Federal Correctional Institution, Route #37Danbury, CT 06811, USA. Serving 54 months imprisonment for helping organise the SHAC-USA campaign. (Lauren is a vegan).

Sarah Gisborne, LT5393, HMP Downview, Sutton Lane, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5PD, England. Serving 5½ years for conspiracy to cause criminal damage following the damaging of 8 vehicles owned by people linked to Huntingdon Life Science. (Sarah is a vegan).

Joshua Harper #29429-086, FCI Sheridan Federal Correctional Institution, P.O. Box 5000, Sheridan, OR 97378 USA. Serving 36 months imprisonment for helping organise the SHAC-USA campaign. (Josh is a vegan).

Kevin Kjonaas #93502-011, FCI Sandstone, PO Box 1000, Sandstone, MN 55072 USA. Serving 72 months imprisonment for helping organise the SHAC-USA campaign. (Kevin is a vegan).

Daniel McGowan – See details in Eco Defence Prisoners List.

Heather Nicholson VM4859, HMP Bronzefield, Woodthorpe Road, Ashford, Middx. TW15 3JZ, England. On remand accused of conspiracy to blackmail, in relation to her involvement with the SHAC campaign. (Heather is a vegan).

Jonathan Paul, #07167-085, FCI Phoenix, Federal Correctional Institution, 37910 N 45th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85086, USA. Sentenced to 51 months for an ALF arson on a horse meat plant. Also admitted his role in an ELF/ALF conspiracy. (Jonathan is a vegan).

Andrew Stepanian #26399-050, FCI Butner Medium II Federal Correctional Institution, PO Box 1500, Butner, NC 27509 USA. Serving 36 months for helping organise the SHAC-USA campaign. (Andrew is a vegan).

Kerry Whitburn TB4886, HMP Lowdham Grange, Lowdham, Nottingham, NG14 7DA, England. Serving 12 years for attempting to blackmail a farmer who supplied guinea pigs for vivisection. (Kerry is a vegan).

PLOUGHSHARES PRISONERS

Helen Woodson, 03231-045, FMC Carswell – Admin. Max. Unit, POB 27137, Ft. Worth, TX 76127, USA. Serving 8 years 10 months for actions that focused on the interrelationship of war & the destruction of the natural world. The actions included pouring red paint over the security desk of a federal court and making threatening communications. Previously Helen had served 20½ years for: 1) Using a hammer to disarm a nuclear missile silo. 2) Burning $25,000 on the floor of a bank whilst denouncing war, environmental destruction & economic injustice. 3) Mailing warning letters with bullets attached to Government & corporate officials. (Diet unknown).

THE LECCE FIVE
The Lecce Five have been charged with “subversive association” accused of damaging Esso petrol pumps to oppose the War on Iraq; sabotaging the cash machines of a bank which funds an immigration centre; and targeting the multinational company Benetton in support of Mapuche land rights activists in Chile. All of the defendants are currently either under house arrest or released on bail.

ANTIFA PRISONERS

Vahtang Devitlidze, ul. Libbedova 42, UO 68/2, otryad 14, brigada 142, g.
Hagyshensk, Krasnodarskiy Kray, 352680 Russia. Serving 2½ years for stabbing a neo-nazi in the leg whilst defending himself from attack. (Diet unknown).

Augustin Kraus, Vazebni veznice, PP-1, Litomerice, 41 201, Czech Republic.
Serving 14 months for his participation in attacks against local neo-nazis. His charge was “bodily harm”. He speaks Czech, Slovak and Polish. You can also write him short postcards in English. (Diet unknown).

Fabio Milan, C.C. via Pianezza 300, 10151 Torino, Italy. On remand accused of fighting with the police after an anti-fascist protest. (Diet unknown).

Andrea Neff, Bnr: 746/07/2, Justizvollzugsanstalt fur Frauen in Berlin, Arkonastrasse 56, 13189 Berlin, Germany. Serving 14 months for anti-fascist activity. (Diet unknown).

Christian Sümmermann, Bnr: 441/08/5, JVA Plötzensee, Lehrterstr. 61, 10557 Berlin, Germany. Serving 40 months for breaching the peace whilst serving a
suspended sentence issued for anti-fascist activities. (Diet unknown).

Tomasz Wiloszewski, Zaklad Karny, Orzechowa 5, 98-200 Sieradz, Poland.
Serving 15 years for accidentally killing a neo-nazi whilst defending himself. (Diet unknown).

OTHER PRISONERS

Olga Aleksandrovna Nevskaya, UU163/5, 7 Otryad, pos. Dzerzhinskiy, Mozhaysk 140090 Moskovskaya oblast, Russia. Eco-activist serving 6 years for arson, criminal damage and causing explosions in protest at the war in Chechnya. Due for release in 2009. (Diet unknown).

Vaggelis Botzatzis, Komotini Juridical Prison (“Dikastikes Fylakes Komotinis”), T.K. 69100, Greece. On remand accused of setting fire to two company cars owned by a energy/power company. It is believed that the person or persons unknown who carried out the arson did so in protest at the destruction of the natural environment and in support of two workers who died at the power plant. Vaggelis is also accused of setting fire to a bank and starting a fire inside a car yard. (Meat Eater).

Michael W. Sykes, 100 East 2nd St, Monroe, Michigan 48161, USA. Youth held on remand accused of anti-sprawl arsons, criminal damage, spray-painting an anarchist sign and burning the American flag. (Diet unknown)

Fran Thompson, #1090915 HU 1C, WERDCC, PO Box 300, Vandalia, MO 63382, USA.
Serving Life for killing, in self-defence, a stalker who had broken into her home. Before her imprisonment Fran was an eco, animal & anti-nuke campaigner. (Fran is a vegan).

MOVE
MOVE is an eco-revolutionary group who carried out protests in defence of all life. All move prisoners describe themselves as vegetarians. There are currently eight MOVE activists in prison each serving 100 years after been framed for the murder of a cop in 1979. 9th defendant, Merle Africa, died in prison in 1998.

Debbie Simms Africa (006307), Janet Holloway Africa (006308) and Janine Philips Africa (006309) all at: SCI Cambridge Springs, 451 Fullerton Ave, Cambridge Springs, PA 16403-1238, USA.

Michael Davis Africa (AM4973) and Charles Simms Africa (AM4975) both at SCI Graterford, PO Box 244, Graterford, PA 19426-0244, USA.

Edward Goodman Africa (AM4974), SCI Mahanoy, 301 Morea Rd, Frackville, PA 17932, USA.

William Philips Africa (AM4984) and Delbert Orr Africa (AM4985) both at SCI Dallas Drawer K, Dallas, PA 18612, USA.

Mumia Abu Jamal, (AM8335), SCI Greene, 175 Progress Drive, Waynesburg PA 15370, USA. In 1981 Mumia, former Black Panther and vocal supporter of MOVE, was framed for the murder of a cop. He was originally sentenced to death but is currently awaiting re-sentencing following a court hearing in 2001.

STATEMENT ON VIOLENCE
Some people listed in this newsletter have carried out violent actions. ‘Spirit of Freedom’ does not condone violence. But we are also against censorship & believe people can decide for themselves who they wish to support.

ABOUT E.L.P. SUPPORT NETWORK
ELP is an international eco-prisoner support network founded, in Britain, in 1993 to support jailed eco-activists. We support the prisoners by producing various regular prisoner lists:

Spirit of Freedom is ELP’s international monthly prisoner listing which is circulated by e-mail.

Urgent ELP! Bulletin is an e-mail service that distributes the names of any new eco-prisoner as soon as ELP gets their details. For more info e-mail ELP4321@hotmail.com

On-Line Newsletters – ELP has a number of websites that provide news, prisoner lists and additional info about ELP & the prisoners.

English language ELP Website
www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk

Greek language ELP Website
http://greekelp.blogspot.com

North American ELP Website
www.ecoprisoners.org

Turkish language ELP Website
www.geocities.com/yesilanarsi/elp.htm

ELP Extra is an e-mail group that circulates the details of political prisoners, ELP learns about, who do not fall within the remit for support by ELP. To subscribe to the list e-mail ELP4321@Hotmail.com

Australian ELP.SN is our Australian contact. For more info e-mail elp4321@hotmail.com

Belgium ELP.SN is our Belgium contact. For more info e-mail elp_bel@hotmail.com

German ELP.SN is a prisoner led initiative run by eco-prisoner Marco Camenisch. For more info contact Marco Camenisch, Postfach 3143, CH-8105 Regensdorf, Switzerland.

Greek ELP.SN is our Greek contact. For more info e-mail greekelp@yahoo.gr

North American ELP is our North American contact. For more information e-mail naelpsn@mutualaid.org

——-

Urgent ELP! Bulletin (9th of May 2008)

Dear friends

Today the American vegan eco-defence activist, Eric McDavid, was sentenced to an outrageous 19 years and 7 months imprisonment having been found guilty of conspiring to destroy the property of the forestry service, mobile phone masts and power plants. At the point of his arrest he hadn’t actually damaged anything and was merely, allegedly, thinking about carrying out these actions.

Sentencing a man to just under 20 years imprisonment for a thought crime is a total outrage and we encourage everyone to support Eric by sending him urgent letters of support.

McDavid, Eric x-2972521 7E128
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 “I” St.
Sacramento, CA 95814
USA

For more information on Eric check out his website http://www.supporteric.org/

Turkey ELP.SN is our Turkish contact. For more info e-mail
yesilanarsi@yahoo.com