Action to re-occupy the ZAD

A reoccupation action is being planned in case of an eviction at the ZAD, near Notre-Dame-des-Landes in France: To re-plant and rebuild against the construction of the airport: Vinci get out! Not here, not Khimki, not anywhere! Meet on the 4th Saturday after the first eviction with your pitchforks, tools, beams and camping gear. Although we don't know when the troops will be sent in, we are launching this call-out now to be able to create a massive rapid reaction.

A reoccupation action is being planned in case of an eviction at Notre-Dame-des-Landes in France: To re-plant and rebuild against the construction of the airport: Vinci get out! Not here, not Khimki*, not anywhere!

This is a joint call out from occupants of the ZAD and the network Reclaim the Fields to meet on the 4th Saturday after the first eviction, near Notre-Dame-des-Landes.

To give an idea of some of the things that have happened:

On 7 May 2011, we were a thousand people on an action, pitchforks in hand, to clear and put to use an abandoned plot of agricultural land. This was to create a space to grow food to feed the struggle against the airport – and it's been thriving since the action! We'll be back to strive to protect this farm and other occupied places on the ZAD (Zone d'Amenagement Differé), or in other words, Zone About to be Destroyed).

On 24 June, Vinci started eviction procedures against eight squats, including Les Planchettes, our collective space of organising and hospitality.

On 10 July, during a gathering a few thousand people made a human banner saying "Vinci d égage!" (Vinci get out!)

On 23 August, the president of the region Pays de la Loire, Jacques Auxiette, asked the local authorities to clean out the radical occupiers of the ZAD. It was an unambiguous brutal call for repression, but this will not prevent us from resisting, re-occupying and re-growing.

To follow up on May 7, occupiers from the ZAD and Reclaim the Fields, a network of young activist peasants, are inviting you to be a part of a huge demonstration to re-occupy in case of an eviction, and urge all groups and collectives to support this action. If the police force does arrive to clean us out, we want to be back by the thousands to give shape to the cry "Vinci get out!" and to continue to occupy the zone and to stop construction works in their tracks.

For forty years, decision makers and construction managers have been pushing a new airport next to Nantes, at Notre-Dame-des-Landes, to make their dreams of massive economic expansion and a metropolis. The ZAD: it's 2000 hectares of cultivated and inhabited land that they want to annihilate under concrete. The resistance against this project is at the crossroads of many challenges on which to unite, to address issues of common strategies and thinking.

Through this struggle we are fighting industrial society and agriculture, its economic development policies, its climate change and its control of the land, the megalopolis and the normalisation of ways of life, the privatisation of the commons, the myth of endless growth and the illusion of democratic participation …

The decision-makers are constantly trying to sell their project and to give the impression that going backwards is unthinkable at this stage. So after forty years struggling, the preliminary construction work of the airport and its highway have started: drilling for soil analysis, environmental assessments, archaeological excavations and clearing works… all prerequisites for pouring concrete all over the area.

But its opponents are far from giving up and the actions intensify: blocking drillings, disturbing the environmental assessment work of Biotope*, distributing newspapers, occupying offices, construction sites, opening up Vinci's tollways, and much more..

In addition, for more than two and a half years, instead of the ZAD gradually emptying to the rhythm of blackmail and destruction, life and activity has been flourishing.

Many of the houses left abandoned were refurbished and occupied, new houses were constructed on the ground and in the trees, collectives occupied land to make vegetable gardens. Meeting spaces, guest accomodation, a bakery and a library were opened for one and all. There are more than a hundred people permanently occupying the ZAD, supported by many others, local and elsewhere, who meet and organise. The occupations are part of a movement that has many different forms. Among other things, they have a allowed rapid reactions to the first steps taken by Vinci towards construction work.

In June 2011, Vinci began eviction procedures in order to have the legal means to remove the occupiers of the ZAD who have "no right or title". Now they want to stop the growth of the movement and make a clean sweep to start the work: as well as evicting the occupiers, they are thinking about the tenants, owners and farmers. At the same time, those names who are pro-airport do everything they can: running a campaign to isolate the occupiers, attempting to divide the movement and break up solidarity, reinforce the daily police presence and repression of collective action.

Despite this context, we're keeping the memory of past victories in France against megalomanic projects, from nuclear to military, like at Carnet, Plogoff or Larzac, and we know that this airport can still be stopped. We look to the other side of the Alps, where opposition to the construction of the Lyon-Turin high-speed train line across a valley, where tens of thousands of people prevent work. We are preparing the same here: any attempt to concrete the place will cost them dearly.

This call for action signifies that evictions do not mean in any way the end of the struggle; it allows us to launch collective attacks after the potential evictions as well. It affirms that they cannot militarise or sterilise this place at all times and that whatever their efforts they won't stop us reoccupying it. It shows the common will to keep the occupations going to prevent the airport project. This event will allow, as necessary, the reconstruction of collective spaces for organising, housing, or again for growing food.

Although we don't know when the troops will be sent in, we are launching this call-out now to be able to create a massive rapid reaction. We propose to meet again on the fourth Saturday after the first eviction – bring your pitchforks, tools and beams – to reclaim the land and rebuild together.

In addition to this call for reoccupation, other initiatives are clearly welcome: solidarity actions wherever you are, presence at eviction time to hinder the police … And until then, efforts continue to prevent the airport, and life on the ZAD as well!

Practical Info:

– Check regularly http://zad.nadir.org, especially in case of an eviction. The date and exact meeting location will be specified at the time.

– It will be possible to arrive on the eve of the event, for the final preparations and bringing everyone up to speed. Come prepared to camp.

– We invite you to stay here after the action to protect the re-occupied spaces and continue the construction.

*Extra explanation:
Vinci is the biggest construction company in the world and is responsible for building the airport at Notre-Dame-des-Landes. It is also engaged in building prisons, highways, nuclear power stations, detention centers for illegal immigrants, exploiting the uranium mines in Niger and destroying the forest of Khimki near Moscow.
Biotope: An entity responsible for ensuring, through environmental expert on the flora and fauna, the ecological sustainability of the airport … the new frontiers of green capitalism!

A call-out from occupiers on the ZAD and Reclaim the Fields

reclaimthezad@riseup.net

zad@riseup.net
zad.nadir.org

Monsanto takes double hit in January – who’s next?

Monsanto Admits Defeat in France, Biotech Corn Contaminates

26/1/12

Monsanto Admits Defeat in France, Biotech Corn Contaminates

26/1/12

France has held firm in its opposition to Monsanto’s genetically modified MON 810 maize – and the agri-chemical multinational has admitted defeat.

Monsanto had been putting legal pressure on the French government to lift its 2008 cultivation ban on MON 810, firstly with a successful appeal to the European Court of Justice, then with a follow-up case heard in France’s own highest court, the Council of State.

But despite both these institutions ruling that the ban was “insufficiently justified in law”, the French Government, backed by President Sarkozy, has insisted that it will still not allow cultivation of the biotech maize.

Now Monsanto has announced that it would not be selling seeds for MON810 in France this year.

France’s stand – and Monsanto’s capitulation – has been warmly welcomed by anti-GM lobbyists GM Freeze, whose campaign director Pete Riley said: “The decision by Monsanto not to market MON810 seeds in France in 2012 is yet another sign that Monsanto has failed to convince the public or policy makers that there is any benefit to growing to growing GM crops.

“This needs to be acknowledged by industry and politicians and there should be a big shift to agricultural research and development which addresses the future sustainability of farming in Europe. EU policy needs to forget about the bottom line of biotech corporations and focus on developing agro-ecological farming which provides for the needs of farmers, consumers, the environment and future generations.”

Five other EU countries – Germany, Greece, Austria, Luxembourg and Hungary – have current bans on MON810 cultivation in place, and the issue has recently been complicated by another European Court of Justice ruling requiring honey contaminated with GM pollen to be fully authorised as a novel product and labelled as such before it can be sold.

— And from earlier in the month: Monsanto attacked by Anonymous hackers! In a thread of hack events from the Anonymous group, the most recent target has been Monsanto.com. Anonymous, which briefly knocked the FBI and Justice Department websites offline as well as Music Industry websites in retaliation for the US shutdown of file-sharing site Megaupload, is a shadowy group of amazing international hackers. Anonymous Message To Monsanto: We fight for farmers! – Video Transcript (Cross-Posted from Organic Common Sense): “To the free-thinking citizens of the world: Anonymous stands with the farmers and food organizations denouncing the practices of Monsanto We applaud the bravery of the organizations and citizens who are standing up to Monsanto, and we stand united with you against this oppressive corporate abuse. Monsanto is contaminating the world with chemicals and genetically modified food crops for profit while claiming to feed the hungry and protect the environment. Anonymous is everyone, Anyone who can not stand for injustice and decides to do something about it, We are all over the Earth and here to stay. To Monsanto, we demand you STOP the following: * Contaminating the global food chain with GMO’s. * Intimidating small farmers with bullying and lawsuits. * Propagating the use of destructive pesticides and herbicides across the globe. * Using “Terminator Technology”, which renders plants sterile. * Attempting to hijack UN climate change negotiations for your own fiscal benefit. * Reducing farmland to desert through monoculture and the use of synthetic fertilizers. * Inspiring suicides of hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers. * Causing birth defects by continuing to produce the pesticide “Round-up” * Attempting to bribe foriegn officials * Infiltrating anti-GMO groups Monsanto, these crimes will not go unpunished. Anonymous will not spare you nor anyone in support of your oppressive illegal business practices. AGRA, a great example: In 2006, AGRA, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, was established with funding from Bill Gates and The Rockefeller Foundation. Among the other founding members of, AGRA, we find: Monsanto, Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Procter and Gamble, Merck, Mosaic, Pfizer, Sumitomo Chemical and Yara. The fact that these corporations are either chemical or pharmaceutical manufacturers is no coincidence. The people of the world see you, Monsanto. Anonymous sees you. Seeds of Opportunism, Climate change offers these businesses a perfect excuse to prey on the poorest countries by swooping in to “rescue” the farmers and people with their GMO crops and chemical pesticides. These corporations eradicate the traditional ways of the country’s agriculture for the sake of enormous profits. The introduction of GMOs drastically affects a local farmers income, as the price of chemicals required for GMOs and seeds from Monsanto cripples the farmer’s meager profit margins. There are even many cases of Monsanto suing small farmers after pollen from their GMO crops accidentally cross with the farmer’s crops. Because Monsanto has a patent on theri brand of seed, they claim the farmer is in violation of patent laws. These disgusting and inhumane practices will not be tolerated. Anonymous urges all concerned citizens to stand up for these farmers, stand up for the future of your own food. Protest, organize, spread info to your friends! SAY NO TO POISONOUS CHEMICALS IN YOUR FOOD! SAY NO TO GMO! SAY NO TO MONSANTO! We are Anonymous We are legion We do not forgive We do not forget Expect us” Global Justice Ecology Project, an anti-biotech group founded by Earth First! activists, also noted in a post on the attack that Monsanto was also one of the original founders of the GE tree company ArborGen. The President and CEO of ArborGen, Barbara Wells, led Monsanto’s RoundUp Ready soy division in Brazil. GMO soy in Brazil and other parts of Latin America has taken over vast swaths of Amazon and other forest land, and has displaced or poisoned many communities there. Find out more about their campaign against ArborGen here. We fight for farmers video – http://youtu.be/Q1A-DYK4M4Q DOS attack on Monsanto – http://youtu.be/3XutsnEe4VY

Protesters mount diggers in bid to save trees in Stuttgart

22nd January 2012

Demonstrators against the controversial "Stuttgart 21" rail project tried to block workers from felling more than 30 trees early on Sunday. Police removed protesters from trees and demolition equipment to allow teams to finish the work.

On Saturday, rally organisers said some 4,000 people gathered to protest the station's construction, while police estimated the number of demonstrators at 1,200.

About 40 protesters tried to block teams from clearing the trees, but a police spokesman said officers were able to disperse the crowd. The work was completed by 6 a.m. on Sunday but had to be stopped twice when two demonstrators climbed on top of demolition equipment.

A spokesperson for Parkschützer, an initiative that aims to preserve the park, criticised the action, saying the trees should not have been taken down due to wind and poor visibility.

Matthias von Herrmann of Parkschützer took aim at the state government in Baden-Württemberg.

"It is a travesty when (state) premier Kretschmann continues to preach about how the government has to adhere to the law, but then police are out at a construction site without a building permit," he said.

The multi-billion-euro project aims to transform the Baden-Württemberg capital into a major European transport hub. The station has sparked a wave of protests.

Deutsche Bahn wants to replace Stuttgart's existing train station with an underground one that it says would greatly improve links between Paris, Vienna and ultimately Budapest.

http://www.thelocal.de/tag/Stuttgart_21

More nails in the GM coffin – bye bye BASF / amaranth fights back against GM menace / Take the Flour Back

18 January 2012

BASF, the last firm still developing genetically modified crops in Germany is stopping its work, admitting defeat in the face of widespread European opposition to to the idea.

18 January 2012

BASF, the last firm still developing genetically modified crops in Germany is stopping its work, admitting defeat in the face of widespread European opposition to to the idea.

This follows decisions by Bayer and Syngenta to stop their genetically modified (GM) crop work in Germany over the last few years.

German chemical giant BASF has announced that it will halt the development or commercialisation of genetically modified (GM) crops in Europe, and move its biotech R&D operations to the US. The firm cited consumer and political resistance to transgenic plants in Europe for its decision.

BASF will now concentrate its plant biotechnology activities in North and South America, and the headquarters of BASF Plant Science will be moved from Limburgerhof, Germany, to Raleigh, North Carolina, US. BASF expects that this will result in the loss of 140 jobs in Europe.

'We are convinced that plant biotechnology is a key technology for the 21st century,' said Stefan Marcinowski, a member of BASF's executive board. 'However, there is still a lack of acceptance for this technology in many parts of Europe – from the majority of consumers, farmers and politicians. Therefore, it does not make business sense to continue investing in products exclusively for cultivation in this market.'

BASF's decision was met with warnings from industry representatives and lobbyists, but celebration by others, including environmental advocates and at least one former industry insider.

Presently, only two GM crops are authorised for cultivation in the EU: MON810 maize, made by US-based Monsanto, and BASF's Amflora potato. MON810 is only approved for sale as an animal feed and starch from Amflora is used in industrial processes.

Maurice Moloney, the chief executive of Rothamsted Research in the UK, which has been engaged in GM work, said that moving the focus of crop science even further away from Europe is 'deeply regrettable'. Such a move will 'make innovative new technologies, including but not limited to GM, less available to European producers and consumers and carries the risk of denying them access to crops and foods with health and environmental benefits,' he added.

BASF's decision is likely to adversely affect Europe's economic growth and food supply, Moloney warned. 'It is ironic that much of the science that created modern biotechnology came from Europe and yet Europeans have been deprived of the environmental benefits such as the reduction of the use of pesticides and improved soil quality as well as the more obvious economic benefits of cheaper food and agricultural products,' he said.

In addition, Alan Dewar, an independent entomologist who directs Dewar Crop Protection and used to be head of entomology at a division of Rothamsted Research, called BASF's decision to quit Europe 'indicative of the ever increasing isolation that European scientists find themselves in'. Dewar highlighted 'inadequate sentences' handed down by judges in several European countries to protestors who have been 'caught red-handed' destroying GM field trials, saying it is not surprising that biotech crop research has stalled in Europe.

But Ignacio Chapela, a microbial ecology professor at the University of California, Berkeley and senior researcher with the Centre for Biosafety in Norway, says that genetically modified organisms have been overhyped and that the industry needs to be significantly trimmed down.

'The size of the GMO market should be much smaller, but it is being promoted very strongly with the full force of the US government,' Chapela says, who formerly worked for Swiss firm Sandoz, Sygenta's predecessor, developing new agrichemicals. He says much publicised claims that GM crops would cut levels of herbicides and insecticides in the food chain have failed to materialise and, in fact, many of these products have led to more of both.

The environmental group Friends of the Earth (FoE) Europe also celebrated BASF's announcement. 'This is another nail in the coffin for genetically modified foods in Europe,' said Adrian Bebb, agrofuels campaign coordinator for FoE Europe. 'This is a good day for consumers and farmers and opens the door for the European Union to shift Europe to greener and more publicly acceptable farming.'

However, is this a real victory or a sleight of hand? Read more

——

Amaranth, the Inca sacred plant, attacks GM soya crop

5,000 hectares trashed, 50,000 threatened!

It first happened in 2004, when a farmer in Atlanta in the US found amaranth that had spread to his fields was resistant to Roundup – the herbicide much GM was bred to resist. But since then, the 'weed' has spread widely, and according to the UK's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology there has been gene transfer.

[note: this is an old article, excerpt taken from here. There have been a rash recently of articles about GM reposted from the last years, that purport to be from 2012; this article about amaranth was not previously covered on this site, hence it's brief reposting]

——

Past action against BASF's UK HQ

Future action this May against GM wheat trial

ANOTHER EXCAVATOR MADE HARMLESS

January 12, 2012 – Sweden
reported to Örebro's ALF/DBF Press Office (after photo from svt.se):

"We just ended a death machine, a so called excavator, in the wood side of Örebro.. You should do so to if you care at all about the earthlings around you, and all of our home, planet earth.

-Against the true ECO FASCISM: the fascism committed against all wild life, and against all other oppression.
FUCK ALL NATIONAL STATES, FUCK PATRIOTISM! Love this planets life instead!
GO OUT!!!

EARTH LIBERATION FRONT
JORDENS BEFRIELSEFRONT"

Video

Scaling tree cutters and trees to halt Corrib pipeline works

Shell today, 9th January 2012, began to cut down a Coillte plantation in the village of Leenamore, Co. Mayo. This surprise move marks the beginning of their attempts to prepare the 4km stretch of land between the Aughoose tunnelling compound and the Bellanaboy refinery. Despite a large Garda and private security presence, campaigners entered the tree felling area and halted work.

Shell starting this section of the pipeline was completely unanticipated both by local campaigners and those of us living at Rossport Solidarity Camp. Rumour had it that the clearing of the plantation might not happen until later in the year. As it happened many of us had planned to take the day off actions today to tend the camp gardens, carve new wind turbine blades, bake bread and work on other projects. The day turned out quite different to how we planned…

When we arrived at Leenamore at 11am we saw that they were cutting down trees at two different sections of the road and setting up a machinery storage compound. There was a heavy Garda presence including members of the public order unit with no number tags. There were twenty Gardaí and at least fifty of Shell’s private security IRMS attempting to guard the tree line. There was seven of us, basically meaning we were outnumbered by about 10 to 1.

A few of us tried to get over the fence or into the trees to prevent the tree cutting from happening. Five of us succeeded in breaching lines of security to impede work at different times. Some of us were carried back over the barbed wire fence by security guards. The security guards had real difficulty in removing us from the area as the ground was extremely uneven and boggy. They kept stumbling as they carried us out and it was really dangerous for the security themselves. The Gardai were standing out on the road and wouldn’t let us stand on the road.

After trying to get in over the fence along the road a few times, several campaigners broke away to try to enter from further away and disappeared in the woods.

To everyone’s delight, one campaigner reappeared about an hour later, on top of a tree-cutting digger. Another campaigner, also reappeared a hour later, without his trousers! His explanation was that the ski-suit he had been wearing had been causing rustling as he approached security lines so eventually he had to resort to removing them and run in his thermals to make it to climb a tree that was in the path of Shell’s destruction. As a newcomer to the camp, this is his experience of trying to stop Shell in his own words;

“I arrived at the camp a few days ago. It’s my first visit. I spent the first day helping to block lorries and got a good chance ot be active against Shell’s destruction. This morning everyone was surprised that Shell were starting work on the forest. A few of us went away to come at the machinery from another angle. We crawled through the woods towards the area they were cutting slowly. As were crawling towards the digger I darted off left. All the security were shouting ‘hold the line’. I kept running until a group of security broke away from a group at the road and started running after me. I ran back into the woods with them running behind me shouting, so I went to ground and hid for 20 minutes. Then crawled down a bit and looked up to see where they were and they were all around me. I had to run accorss a big gap where they could all see me and into another patch of woods. With them all running behind me I got into the trees again. I reached the first suitable tree to climb just to the right of the tree-cutting-digger. By the time I was up the security guards had run past me but couldn’t see me. Fifteen or twenty of them were below filming and wandering around. They shouting at me, things like ‘are you going to come down?’ and ‘Chop him down!’. I climbed right to the top to see where the digger was. I swung to another tree and then to another to get a bit closer to the digger as it moved. I stayed up for about 45 minutes as the digger broke up the trees beside me. The security guards started to get more and more angry with me. They started shaking the tree and getting sticks. I said, ‘I’m really going to want to come down with you doing that!’. I negotiated with them to let me come down safely and agreed that one of them would escourt me out of the woods. I met up with the other campers and camp back to get a cup of tea and some food. A few local people called in to catch up with us. I feel good to be here to so far. I’ve met some good people. I found it good to be doing actions with energetic people who have been fighting this campaign for a long time.”

The other camper up on the tree-cutter stayed up to stop work until 6.30pm before coming down. This camper reported that one of the IRMS security supervisors that had been running after him in the woods, as he got to the tree-cutter, had injured his ankle and had eventually been stretchered off the site. The campaigners were not arrested as the cutting was happening on private land.

New camp members are always welcome and even if you don’t feel like crawling around in the woods in your first few days there is plenty of other things to do…

Rossport Solidarity Camp is calling for support in advance of this coming Friday the 13th of January. Friday is the first Day of Solidarity of the new year, when people from around Ireland are invited to join the protests for a day to show their support for the ongoing resistance to the Corrib Gas Project.

Shell's tree cutting disrupted for second day running

Disruption to the felling of the Coillte woodland for Shell's planned onshore pipeline (along with the stopping of haulage trucks to the Aughoose compound), continued today as protestors intercepted a specialist 8-track tree felling machine between the Aughoose tunnelling compound and Leenamore forest.

A Barrett's truck transporting the machine was halted as it made the 1km journey at 7am this morning by a small band of merry protestors, one of whom quickly ascended the arm and settled into position as a lone Garda looked on. Several more Gardaí soon came to join her supported by a large number of IRMS staff who have been positioned along the road by the forest since yesterday.

As a wintery dawn broke over the beseiged bog the Gardaí “removal” team arrived along with their “transporter”, driven by Sgt Aidan Gill, who then proceeded to initiate Garda attacks on the gathering supporters, in the name of health and safety.

Following some hasty positioning of 'crash-mattresses' and blankets (!!) on and around the machine an attempt was made to remove the protestors, only for the Gardaí to discover that the protestor had D-locked her neck to the machine.

In an extraordinarily reckless move, the Gardaí then decided to use an angle grinder just millimeters away from the protestors' head, all to enable the continuation of Shell's work for the day.

However the delay of 3 & 1/2 hours to the tree felling had also thwarted all deliveries of stone and removals of peat at the Aughoose compound as the driver of the truck carrying the machine had been swerving so much, as to end up preventing the passage of any other trucks on the road.
After being taken down the protestor was arrested and charged and is due to appear in Belmullet court along with 4 other campaigners.

Later on in the evening another protest was called for outside Bellanaboy, however it seems the latest activity has resulted in a further increase in the amount of Gardaí loitering in the area. About 15 Gardaí were immediately on hand and so not too many trucks were stopped in the evening.

Three days of action against Shell

December 13, 2011

Protesters give Shell an early Christmas present

December 13, 2011

Protesters give Shell an early Christmas present

The Shell to Sea campaign is still running strong 11 years after the inception of the Corrib gas project. Everyday people are becoming aware of the people's struggle against Shell, but still more are needed to come and see for themselves and save our country from the global corporate takeover.

On Friday 9th of December, Rossport Solidarity Campaign [http://www.rossportsolidaritycamp.org/] continued with the locals' protest slowing down Shell's work, spirits were high and people were pleased with the action despite the Chief’s legal judgement [http://www.indymedia.ie/article/101060] people still braced the cold conditions to continue the protest.

On Saturday the 10th a Day Of Action commenced with groups of people from all over the country coming out to support the Shell to Sea campaign. People from the Occupy camps [http://www.indymedia.ie/article/100863] in Galway, Dublin and Cork came to protest Shell's occupation of Erris. Protesters stood outside the compound at Aghoos for 2 hours preventing any work from starting. The action was a success and no Garda presence was noticed.

On Monday 12th a spontaneous action happened at the refinery site at Ballinaboy with 15 protesters from various parts of the country managing to stop up to 12 trucks simultaneously for an hour, no arrests were made, the small Garda presence were no match for the swiftness and bravery of the protesters. The only casualty was a bike unlawfully confiscated by the Garda.

On Tuesday 13th the regular protest took place at the Ballinaboy compound. Around 15 protesters were met with an equal number of Gardai who prevented people walking on the road. The right to peaceful protest was met with the threat of arrest. People still managed to stop 7 trucks for 40 minutes. Strong cold winds and hail, combined with the protesters, stopped Shell doing any work on the Tuesday.

Through the internet and Occupy groups in various Irish cities there is an outlet for information of upcoming actions and events. January 13th is the next Day Of Action; all are welcome to come and change our nation's history.

No TAV Resistance in the Susa Valley goes on, Italy

10.12.11

As I wrote a few days ago, the NO TAV movement was planning a huge day of mobilisation on December 8, for the anniversary of what has become known as “The Battle of Venaus” in 2005, where activists managed to defeat police and security forces and take back parts of the valley that had been evicted and cleared up in the previous days.

How the local authorities perceived this call out is clear from their reaction: on December 7 a temporary decree was issued, prohibiting the access and transit of people and vehicles around the fenced areas of the valley for the following two days. New check points were established or reinforced during the day. As on previous occasions, the only response was to try to completely block protests around the fenced areas by increasing military presence locally and banning all activities in the surroundings.

Sinister characters already known to the NO TAV movement were invited to take part in the “order maintenance”, such as one of the chief inspectors who authorised the violent evictions in Venaus in 2005, and other inspectors and Digos chiefs who organised and managed the repression of the protests last summer.

The NO TAV had two main actions planned for the day: a “siege” of the fenced areas of the valley on one side, and a huge block of a local motorway on the other (which went on for more than 14 hours).

Once again, the police reacted with extraordinary violence, in particular around the fenced areas. Dozens of people were injured, including a 16 year old young man who was hit in the head by a tear gas cylinder while he was trying to put down a fire caused by the same tear gas cartridges, and a 50 year old man, also hit in the face, who might loose his sight completely. Many others were injured by rocks and stones thrown by the police;unlike last sumer, this time some RAI3 cameramen managed to film these events and broadcast them.

After evicting the lookout post (which was successfully taken back the following day!), police forces entered the building, damaged anything that was in it, and finally confiscated all the remaining equipment. During the day at least 6 people were given banning orders that prohibit them to visit the area for the next 3 years. Some of the “dangerous” equipment found in their vehicles included waterproof jackets. The following day, a worker of a local gardening co-operative was also stopped and searched, and his gardening tools confiscated while he was on his way to open up a local eco-centre.

As usual, the media and the political clowns united in a joint criticism of the violent protesters. Fassino, current Mayor of Turin, stated “There were only extremists in the Susa Valley “. Other comments were made about the necessity of defending the valley from the NO TAV activists!, and about the uselessness of these protests in view of the fact that the high speed line project is going to go ahead anyway.

The “left-wing” newspaper La Rebubblica even tried to diminish the gravity of the incident involving the 16 year old boy, saying that he is Danish and was there by chance…he is actually Danish but grew up in the Susa Valley, but his nationality doesn’t change the fact that he’s in a hospital with traumatic brain injury…

The NO TAV held a press conference the day after, and their main points were:

1) The NO TAV movement is one and united. There are no bad nor good protesters, nor were children in the demo used as human shields (one of the accusations made by some politicians). The NO TAV struggle belongs to everyone.

2) The protesters didn’t attack the police forces, but only tried, as they’ve done in the past, to cut down the fences, which in their eyes are illegal and illegittimate. The police immediately reacted with tear gas and water jets.

3) All the injured are among the protesters; there were no injured among the police forces (as was stated by the media).

4) The lookout post in La Maddalena was subjected to damage, looting and devastation perpetrated by the police forces. The tools confiscated by the police (e.g. axes) are not weapons, but necessary tools to cut down wood.

5) The movement will go back to the post and clean it up, and will visit the fenced area again. The police brutality and the accusations made by politicians will not stop the movement.

Faithful to their words, hundreds of NO TAV activist have gone back to the fenced area this morning. They had lunch together, with hundreds of police looking at them from the other side of the fences. Then they started walking along the fences and cutting them down. The police acted immediately and fired the water jet, but miraculously misaimed, hitting instead a group of Digos officers. Well done, for once! Watch the video here:

Thanks to notav.info for the original articles, pics and videos.

Translated by Italy Calling

Relentless Blockading of $hell’s Work

November 29, 2011

In Erris, Co. Mayo the Tuesday morning traditional gathering outside the $hell refinery continues despite increasing presence of Gardai and rain.

November 29, 2011

In Erris, Co. Mayo the Tuesday morning traditional gathering outside the $hell refinery continues despite increasing presence of Gardai and rain.

$hell use the refinery as a holding area for materials, and it is also set on the haulage route between local quarries, the peat deposition site, and the compound at Aughoose.

This morning local residents and supporters from Rossport Solidarity Camp were out in good numbers, blocking deliveries of stone and truckloads of extracted peat throughout the morning and giving the Gardai a run for their dirty money. Regardless of the odds one person rose to the challenge, occupying a truck from Barrett's quarry for two hours – all work at the compound then came to a halt.

The Gardai eventually brought in the 'transporter' to remove them, during which they also attempted to prevent people filming the arrest.

In the face of the enormity of $hell's plans for Erris, the struggle continues!
If you would like to join us for any amount of time see
www.rossportsolidaritycamp.org / www.shelltosea.com

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Gardai and IRMS rendered powerless as campaigners blockade Shell’s compound

December 2, 2011

Work was completely halted at Shell’s compound yesterday for over five hours in a great show of resiliance by local campaigners and their supporters. For the past two weeks now, Shell have been attempting to remove masses of peat from the compound in preparation for the tunnel boring machine which is expected to arrive early next year. Progress has been continuously disrupted as protesters brave the winter weather to stop trucks and a determined resistance is building momentum.

A local campaigner yesterday waited patiently outside the main gate of Shell’s compound in his car and requested to see someone in charge. For weeks now he has been trying to lodge complaints about public safety and traffic issues generated from the Aughoose compound. His concerns have been to date ignored. Having contacted the Shell offices in Belmullet and the refinery he was further directed by staff to go and try lodge his complaints at the compound in Aughoose where following a long wait his request remained unanswered. Once again the serious concerns of local people were ignored.

In the meantime, protesters arrived to slow work down and were met with six garda vehicles and a dozen or more Gardai along with just as many IRMS security. A tractor was prevented from entering the compound with equipment despite gardai pushing and shoving protesters around the road. Once the campaigners asked the Gardai to fullfil their duty and arrest them for blocking Shell vehicles the Gardai stepped back. It is obvious that the state’s police force here in Mayo prefer to employ violence against protesters where possible. Civil disobedience in numbers made them think again.

For the following 4 hours the gates remained shut, a long line of trucks and tractors turned off their engines and work ground to a halt as campaigners continued to peacefully demonstrate. One local person was assaulted by IRMS and after many requests the Gardai eventually took his complaint. No arrests were made in a highly spirited day. An Garda Siochana, who are supposedly the guardians of the peace, can blatantly be seen to be guardians of corporations and corruption up here in Erris.

The struggle continues. Be part of the resistance. All are welcome to stay at our winter camp or come join us during our day of solidarity on Saturday, 10th of December.

anti-nuke Castor transport protests in France and Germany

27 November 2011

German protesters block rail track

27 November 2011

German protesters block rail track

HUNDREDS of riot cops with helicopter support have cleared the way for the Castor nuclear waste train in Germany.

This video (& lots of links to other footage) from graswurzel.tv (grass roots tv) shows how activists approached the railway line through woods, before evading police to stage a massive occupation of the track numnering up to 5,000 people.

More than 1,000 people were arrested for refusing to leave and police also clashed with two groups of protesters that hurled stones and fireworks, say corporate media.

There were clashes in France last week (see below) when protesters managed to sabotage the line and torch a police vehicle.

The shipment paused overnight south of Hamburg and is expected to reach its destination with considerable delay on Monday.

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23 November 2011

Protesters battle French riot cops

ANTI-NUCLEAR protesters battled with riot police in France in a bid to stop a train of nuclear waste heading for Germany.

The authorities used tear gas and brute force, but the environmentalists managed to sabotage part of the railway and torch a police vehicle.

The French state is refusing to end its nuclear operations, even after the Fukushima disaster and the horrific after-effects.

The shipment from the French nuclear giant Areva's reprocessing plant at La Hague is the last planned to Germany.

Similar protests are expected along the whole route – the last convoy in 2010 was blocked for three hours in Caen and one night in Germany.

Video

http://vastminority.blogspot.com