South East England – Page 29

Earth First! Winter Moot – last update

Brighton, February 6-7-8th 2009

The Earth First! Winter moot is an opportunity for people who feel affiliation with the ideas behind Earth First! to network, discuss and reflect on the ecological direct action movement and to plan for the future. In contrast with the yearly EF! Summer Gathering, which is held outside for around five days, the winter moot is a shorter weekend meeting, inside, less aimed at skill sharing and more at looking where we are at as movement and where we want to be going.

Brighton, February 6-7-8th 2009

Earth First! is not an organisation, but a banner for non-hierarchical organising and the use of direct action to confront, stop and eventually reverse the forces that are responsible for the destruction of the Earth and its inhabitants.

Topics that have been raised include (Updated):
– the Copenhagen climate summit with a number of people from Denmark coming over to talk about logistics, tactics and mobilisation
– the G20 summit in London
– Leave it in the ground / coal
– GM
– Rossport
– Strengthening the EF network: communication and security, actionupdate and gatherings
– Implications of the crisis
– Climate and migration / eco-activism and Noborder networks
– Heathrow expansion
– UK Biofuels
– Nanotechnology
– Water-based actions

There will not be workshops on any of these topics – please inform yourself on topics of your interest before the moot. We will be focusing on discussing strategy and action planning.

There will be a Saving Iceland meeting on the Friday afternoon before the gathering.

Please contact the organizing collective (moot2009@earthfirst.org.uk) know if you want to add anything, want to help with facilitation or have any other queries. You are welcome to use our PGP key below.
Suggestion: read the activist security guide on http://www.activistsecurity.org/

There will be sleeping places arranged and food available at cost price from Friday evening. The program will start on Saturday at 10 AM. Please be on time.

Venue: Cowley Club, 12 London Road.
http://www.cowleyclub.org.uk/
(Please do not contact the Cowley Club phone nr. with information requests).
Click for directions

Please note:
– No dogs please
– The weekend is not open to journalists

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So, here’s the lowdown on what the Danish people coming over for the EF! Winter Moot will be talking about.

*Copenhagen Climate Summit*
Do we cheer them on, block them in, or close them down?

*When?*
*Where?*
*What?* Danish Klimax activists will kick off a discussion about the movement to stop climate change.
*Why?* The UN talks in Copenhagen this December are supposed to be the place where world leaders agree a new international deal to stop climate change.
But progress so far has been undermined by corporate lobbying and false, market-based solutions. When activists from across Europe hit the streets of Copenhagen, should we be calling on governments to do better, blockading them in until they come up with a good deal, or be saying they are so flawed we should try to close them down?

Most people now agree that we need to do something about climate change. But there isn’t agreement on what. For corporations and most governments its a form of green (or maybe greenwashed) capitalism and before we even get there it will probably be too late. In opposition to this corporate agenda, social movements in the South have proposed ‘climate justice’, a transition to a sustainable world which sees the rich minority who caused climate change pay to put it right, not try and push the costs onto the poor majority.

Within this more progressive agenda proposals range from a ‘green new deal’ of state-led investment for social and environmental goals, to those who argue that only a grassroots anti-capitalism can get us out of this mess. This is the political background to the mobilisation around the Copenhagen climate talks and the strategic and tactical decisions activists are trying to make about it.

This is a chance for activists who are less and more involved in climate campaigning to come together and discuss all these issues. We can also talk about how we mobilise for what may be one of the most important events since the ‘battle’ of Seattle exactly 10 years previously.

E.ON Targeted in Sweden in Solidarity with the Climate Camp

29.09.2008
An E.ON facility in the working class district of Mollevangen, Malmo was targated to highlight E.ON’s plans to build the UK’s first new coal fired power station for 30 years.

Despite E.ON working extensively on renewables and reducing carbon emissions in Sweden, the company continues to push coal in the UK.

The building of Kingsnorth coal fired power station on the Hoo peninsular in Kent will cause respiratory problems and hazardous wastes in the local area, raise the country’s emissions to unsustainable levels, swerve energy supply into non-renewable dirty fossil fuels rather than renewables, and feed a community-fracturing and polluting global coal market which along with the expansion of other fossil fuels threatens the ecosystems of the planet.

The campaign against kingsnorth, like the potential effects of the 8 new coal fired power stations the UK government could sanction this Autumn, is global.

Swedish solidarity steps up to support this campaign in the UK.

The grafitti is at a prominent intersection in the city and will be seen by thousands of people who will question E.ON’s green spin and contradiction between its’ work in Sweden and its new coal plans for the UK.

For more information about the stop kingsnorth campaign see www.climatecamp.org.uk

Camp Bling announces emergency relaunch/new website on third anniversary.

Press release:

Camp Bling ‘Save Priory Park!’ road campaign

Wednesday 17th September 2008

Contact Camp Bling directly on 07866 967601

Or e-mail camp.bling@yahoo.co.uk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

——————————————————————————————————–

Camp Bling announces emergency relaunch on third anniversary.

Press release:

Camp Bling ‘Save Priory Park!’ road campaign

Wednesday 17th September 2008

Contact Camp Bling directly on 07866 967601

Or e-mail camp.bling@yahoo.co.uk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

——————————————————————————————————–

Camp Bling announces emergency relaunch on third anniversary.

‘The global situation has changed dramatically since the protest site was first set up specifically to stop the road – both in terms of the overall environmental impacts and accelerating pace.’ (www.campbling.org)

Protesters and supporters at Camp Bling will mark a third full year of occupation to stop the controversial Priory Crescent road widening on Tuesday 23rd September 2008 with an emergency relaunch to address environmental catastrophe as it unfolds and accelerates around the world.

The camp are set to go live with new website: http://www.campbling.org on the anniversary date, to support their objective to stop the road widening, whilst at the same time taking a dramatic new turn to discuss critical issues such as consumer culture, peak oil production, mass extinction, and the appropriate response to these and other crises. (1)

Resident Gavin said, ‘we could not have predicted how quickly the world was going to change when we first set up Camp Bling three years ago. Now we feel compelled to address the fundamental need for lifestyle change during the coming crash, as western society overshoots the ecological limits of the earth.’

Latest member Paul added, ‘funding towards the £13.5m Priory Crescent scheme is unlikely to be granted to the Council before 2011. A further three years defending the site will provide ample opportunity for us to begin to push a far more radical agenda. We have always walked the walk – now is the time for us to start talking all about it.’ (2)

People are invited to visit both the virtual world of the new website, plus the real one of the road protest as the Blingers dig in for a fourth winter, with a comprehensive revamp and ongoing building work planned, and support therefore still very much required from the local community.

——————————————————————————————-

ENDS.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1) See ‘Tipping points’ page at http://www.campbling.org/ for latest background data and definition of peak oil theory.

2) Southend Borough Council latest Priory Crescent cost estimate of £11.5m presented to Department for Transport does not include £2m already spent to date.

1000+ partridges liberated from game breeder

“During a night in September, a group of liberationists set out to locate and destroy a large scale game breeder in East Sussex.

Water dispensers were sliced and combined with feed hoppers to soil the grain, barbed wire fences were cut, and a nearby fox trap was chopped to pieces. However tonight wasn’t about causing economic loss. It was about liberating innocent lives….. AND causing economic loss!

Workers living on the site in a portacabin and caravan with dogs barking through the night didn’t deter us. We located an intensive breeder shed, crammed solid with hundreds of young Partridges. Outside was a run where the birds could leave the dusty shed to walk through inches of their own excrement and see the outside world through metres of wire mesh and netting. Not any more! A few hours with us there and the runs were in pieces, having removed the roof netting and ripping side panels down. Thousands of birds were herded from the units and were last seen flying off into the skies, back into the wild where they should be.

These ‘people’ are fairly thick types so in case it wasn’t clear who had been we left a few messages around the place. ‘LOST SOMETHING?’ adorns the side of his now empty breeding unit, along with ‘FUCK SHOOTING’.

ANIMAL LIBERATION NOW – what are you waiting for?

Countryside Resistance”

Click here to view photos; anonymous communique from Bite Back.

11th October day of action against surveillance – Freedom not Fear + ANPR news for car drivers

Call to mass action Saturday 11th October against the surveillance state in solidarity with activists around the world http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/content/view/242/144/

A broad movement of campaigners and organizations is calling on everybody to join action against excessive surveillance by governments and businesses. On 11 October 2008, concerned people in many countries will take to the streets, the motto being “Freedom not fear 2008”. Peaceful and creative action, from protest marches to parties, will take place in many capital cities.

—————

Surveillance mania is spreading. Governments and businesses register, monitor and control our behaviour ever more thoroughly. No matter what we do, who we phone and talk to, where we go, whom we are friends with, what our interests are, which groups we participate in – “big brother” government and “little brothers” in business know it more and more thoroughly. The resulting lack of privacy and confidentiality is putting at risk the freedom of confession, the freedom of speech as well as the work of doctors, helplines, lawyers and journalists.

The manifold agenda of security sector reform encompasses the convergence of police, intelligence agencies and the military, threatening to melt down the division and balance of powers. Using methods of mass surveillance, the borderless cooperation of the military, intelligence services and police authorities is leading towards the construction of “Fortresses” in Europe and on other continents, directed against refugees and different-looking people but also affecting, for example, political activists, the poor and under-priviledged, and sports fans.

People who constantly feel watched and under surveillance cannot freely and courageously stand up for their rights and for a just society. Mass surveillance is thereby threatening the fabric of a democratic and open society. Mass surveillance is also endangering the work and commitment of civil society organizations.

Surveillance, distrust and fear are gradually transforming our society into one of uncritical consumers who have “nothing to hide” and – in a vain attempt to achieve total security – are prepared to give up their freedoms. We do not want to live in such a society!

We believe the respect for our privacy to be an important part of our human dignity. A free and open society cannot exist without unconditionally private spaces and communications.

The increasing electronic registration and surveillance of the entire population does not make us any safer from crime, costs millions of Euros and puts the privacy of innocent citizens at risk. Under the reign of fear and blind actionism, targeted and sustained security measures fall by the wayside, as well as tackling peoples’ actual daily problems such as unemployment and poverty.

In order to protest against security mania and excessive surveillance we will take to the streets in capital cities in many countries on 11 October 2008. We call on everybody to join our peaceful protest. Politicians are to see that we are willing to take to the streets for the protection of our liberties!

There are plans for a demo with music and noise at New Scotland Yard. Are others elsewhere up for doing demos elsewhere in the UK at other police stations?

Wiki for info and discussion re London / UK actions
at http://wiki.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/Freedom_Not_Fear_2008/London
and http://wiki.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/Diskussion:Freedom_Not_Fear_2008/London

It would be good to have a conversation about this as we need to get something good started. October 11th Vid-Flyer http://www.ecln.org

———–

Vehicle spy-cam data to be held for five years

Authorities will store details of car journeys surveilled by the new national Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system for five years, the Home Office has revealed.

Senior police officer had said the data on millions of vehicles would only be kept for two years, the Guardian reports. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is examining a complaint by Privacy International over the extended retention period. The privacy advocacy group described it as “unnecessary and disproportionate”.

The ICO said: “Prolonged retention would need to be clearly justified based on continuing value not on the mere chance it may come in useful.”

The ANPR system, headquartered in Hendon, north London, will be fully operational in the new year. Half of English and Welsh police are already supplying it with data from their upgraded CCTV networks.

Forces are being encouraged to “fully and strategically exploit” its potential for tracking suspects and vehicles by the Association of Chief Police Officers. It’s envisaged that ANPR will be used as part of “mainstream policing”, ranging from clamping down on uninsured drivers to counter-terror operations.

Campaigners have called for the government to more clearly define which other agencies will be allowed to interrogate the database and for what reasons.

Rossport Update on 11th September 2008 & solidarity action in Brighton & upcoming action in London

An update on the situation as of this morning in occupied Erris

After a truly momentous day in Erris yesterday,things are much calmer this morning.
The Solitaire has been confirmed to be stationery in Killybegs Co Donegal.

An update on the situation as of this morning in occupied Erris

After a truly momentous day in Erris yesterday,things are much calmer this morning.
The Solitaire has been confirmed to be stationery in Killybegs Co Donegal.

Police presence in the area is still very heavy this morning although the general atmosphere (aside from at the compound gates) is slightly less tense. Maura Harrington continues her courageous hunger strike at the compound gates with round the clock solidarity from both locals and the camp.

It is still not clear how exactly the Solitaire sustained the damage to its “stinger”
The stinger is DEFINITELY slightly damaged in one section however this reporter can confirm that it was not so damaged on Tuesday night when it arrived in Broadhaven Bay and that conditions all throughout Tuesday night were absolutely calm both at land and on sea (remembering that the Solitaire can operate in extremely heavy seas unhindered due to its size).

The cause of the damage is a heavily speculated upon matter and I will not add to other than the fact that AllSeas Ltd may be contractually relieved from its obligations under a damge clause in the contract.

More from yesterday

Lock-on protest

The 5 people who locked on in atrocious conditions for 6 and a half hours from 5.30am to midday and blocked the road were all released without charge from Belmullet Garda Station. 4 were held for 6 and a half hours and 1 was released after 4 hours. They report that they were treated well in Garda custody and that their needs were attended to correctly.

Up to 15 people were in attendance in solidarity at one point or another during the day, Gardai refused to allow any to stay inside the walls of the (public) station,including a solicitor who is part of the protests. The lock-on participants are all in good form today and proud of their actions and a good day for the campaign.

Pat O’Donnell and son
Pat O’Donnell and son as has been previously reported were again arrested yesterday morning to prevent them exercising their legal entitlement to fish the waters of Broadhaven Bay. The pair were again arrested under the “blank cheque” that is Section 8 of the Public Order Act 1994.

This was the second time the pair were arrested in 24 hours and released without charge,a spurious use and flagrant abuse of the law A possible route to stem this behaviour would be to seek an injunction in the High Court to prevent the Gardai from using the law in this way,this however is a very rare achievement and is unlikely to be heard.

Maura Harrington’s hungerstrike
Maura continued courageously with her refusal to eat until the Solitaire leaves Irish territorial waters. She has been giving interviews to media at intervals and has been chatting with supporters when the police are at a safe distance. Gardai were,at 4am on Wednesday morning ,revving their engines extremely loudly right in front of Maura’s car in order to disturb her sleep as much as possible. Supporters have maintained a constant presence since the beginning of the action at 5pm Tuesday.
The hunger strike continues

SOLITAIRE
We do not know whether or not the Solitaire will return. We remain on high alert.

All solidarity in whatever form and wherever is needed and appreciated.

—

10th September:

Five Rossport Solidarity campers have locked on to a bridge about 100m from the gates of the Shell compound in Glengad. The campers have been locked on since 4:30am – 5am. Gardaí have refused to call the fire brigade, but have put a makeshift wee tent over the protestors, and have cut a drain in the side of the road to allow lodging rain on the road to drain off.

Two fishing boat skippers (plus crews) have been arrested after Gardaí boarded the vessels as they approached the Solitaire at anchor in Broadhaven Bay. Local on-the-scene reports say that Pat ‘the Chief’ O’Donnell and his son Jonathan are among those arrested. Gardaí are alleging public order offences (I expect to hear they’ll all be released without charges soon). Gardaí are preventing access now to the compound gates, where Maura Harrington remains in her car and on hunger strike. Gardaí are using the lock-on action as a pretext for stopping public movement along that stretch of road.There is only one protestor keeping watch on Maura with a camera, but supporters can get close to both of them through the fields nearby. Internet connection has returned to the Camp office, since about an hour before this posting.

Welcome to Ireland 2008 – Shell’s little police state!

Get up to Mayo now and confront their violent thieving plans!

Pat O’Donnell and his son Jonathan were AGAIN arrested this morning as they were attempting to to exercise their legal right to be a sea.

The lock-on continues to block the road from the Belmullet side and the police have set up a road-block form the other side of the compund (Pollathomais side)

The 2-3 mile area in between is a pen where the police are preventing people from walking (although people are accessing the road,and Maura,through the fields.

The Police are attempting to begin the cutting of the pipes that are being used in the lock-on,this could take quite some time as they are extremely thick.

The lock-on participants are lying in puddles of water at this stage as the rain continues to lash down in Erris.

A constant vigil was kept at Mauras side all ngith with at least 5 people there at all times to ensure the cops didnt try anything.

The Solitaire is stationery at its anchor location and there is no activity on the compound at Glengad.

It must be underlined that the arrests of Pat O’Donnell and his comrades are TOTALLY spurious ,a bullshit application of Section 8 of the Public Order Act 1994 to keep the Chief and his fishermen colleagues off the waters.

An injunction is being sought to prevent further spurious arrests.

——-

Two activists are currently occupying the roof of the Shell petrol garage on Preston Road, Brighton in solidarity with the communities resisting the Corrib gas pipeline development in Rossport, Ireland. This action is in response to an urgent call out made by the Rossport solidarity camp due to the presence of the pipe laying vessel, the Solitaire, in Broadhaven bay and the imminent commencement of the building of the pipeline.

The ship that is to build the pipeline is booked for the next two weeks. If Shell is able to follow its timetable to bring the pipeline into land, this will create massive problems for any resistance to the project in the future. Shell will be creating ‘facts on the ground’ which will essentially make it easier to push through a decision on the land route, which local residents and campaigners have been fighting against. If work is prevented at this time, it is unlikely that the ship will be able to return for at least two years as it has already been booked up.

Since 2005 there has been massive resistance, including a strong campaign of civil disobedience, from the local community, around Ireland and beyond.

Update – 4:30pm

The two protesters came down sometime after 3-30 and were immediately arrested following an accusation by the manager (a really nasty piece of work) of criminal damage to the roof. Quite how she knew this without looking can be for the courts to decide (can’t wait). They are now in Hollingbury Custody suite.

—–

Rossport Solidarity Action
12 noon Monday 15th Sep
Allseas UK offices,7 Albemarle St, Westminster London WIS 4HQ

Allseas owns the Solitaire which tried to lay the gas pipe in Broadhaven Bay, Mayo last Tuesday. It has been damaged and may return to Holland. A local Woman is on hunger strike until it leaves Irish waters and we in the UK have been asked to demonstrate at the Allseas offices in support of Maura. The offices previously advertised on this website cannot be confirmed as the Allseas offices so we are going to their registered address in Westminster. Please show solidarity to the people of Erris if you can.

Aldermaston Big Blockade October 27 & Oct. 4th: “No Missile Defence at Menwith Hill & Derby Trident 22nd September

Help disrupt illegal work on WMD at Britain’s nuclear bomb factory

In 2006/7, Faslane 365 saw well over 1000 arrests during a year-long blockade of the Trident submarine base in Scotland . Last Easter, AWE Aldermaston saw its biggest demonstration in two decades as 5000 people surrounded the base to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Aldermaston march. Trident Ploughshares now invite you to a major blockade of the Berkshire nuke factory, where billions of pounds are currently being spent developing new warhead facilities that will scupper nuclear disarmament for another 50 years. Help us uphold international law by blockading this factory of death in what promises to be a colourful celebration of life and people power. There is a role for everyone. This event is supported by CND.

For further details, see:
http://blockawe.blogspot.com
and
http://www.tridentploughshares.org

Trident Ploughshares is a campaign to disarm the UK Trident nuclear weapons system in a non-violent, open, peaceful and fully accountable manner.

“Non-violence is stronger than any weapon. If humanity does not end the atom bomb I do not think the human species can last.” – Gandhi, speaking on the day of his assassination

—

There will be a weekend workshop of Trident Ploughshares nonviolence training, focussing on preparation for the October 27 Aldermaston Big Blockade at Walthamstow Friend’s Meeting House, 1a Jewel Road, off Hoe Street, Walthamstow, London E17 4QU on Saturday and Sunday 20th and 21st September.

The full weekend is primarily for people thinking of becoming members of Trident Ploughshares and making an ongoing commitment. People just wishing to prepare for the blockade are welcome to attend for the full weekend, but may also choose to attend on the SATURDAY ONLY.
There is no charge for the workshop, but participants are asked to contribute towards expenses if they are able to.

Contact Alison to register and for more details:
E-mail: alison.crane [at] ntlworld.com
Tel: 01785 611 768 or 0845 4588 362 or 07886 972 319

——-

Show your strength of feeling against American Missile Defense by coming to Menwith Hill near Harrogate. This US system, which Brown quietly said yes to in 2007, is making huge waves in Eastern Europe: Poland has agreed to missiles and the Czech Republic, despite a majority of its people against, has agreed to the US radar component for MD. Russia is already comparing these plans to the Cuban Missile Crisis…

CAAB holds an annual July 4th protest: Independence FROM America, and an autumn protest: Keep Space for Peace week. We also have weekly protests on Tuesday nights and have clocked up hundreds of arrests over the years!

START = This time we start in Kettlesing Layby HG3 2LP (opposite the Black Bull on the A59). TIME = 12 noon til 5-ish.

*** SO WHOSE COMING TO THIS IMPORTANT DEMONSTRATION ? (APART FROM LOTS OF PEOPLE !!!)

Musicians = * Lion Sound * Local group * Karl Dallas * Ylem www.myspace.com/ylemfolk * Monkey Wrenchers * Peace Artistes www.peaceartistes.org.uk

Speakers = Colin Challen (Labour MP Morley and Rothwell)

Rebecca Johnson (Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy)

Food = Lunch O’Lils

…….and much more

Have fun! Bring your friends!

http://www.caab.org.uk/

———

trident nuclear protest rolls royce raynesway derby 10.am 22/9/08

hope you’ll join us bring musical instruments or circus acts welcome a611 derby ring road nuclear plant demo

monthly anti nuclear .demo 10.am monday 22/9/18 hope you’ll all come rolls royce make parts for trident nuclear weapons 4 mass destruction used in wars this is illegal ..any person wishing to come to this worthwhile cause are more than welcome .we need musicians circus acts .anti nuclear banners, rolls royce keep uranium titaniun and many more substances connected with the manufacture of weapons off mass destruction .we believe also the swans on the river at rear are carrying radio active traces from cooling process from reactors i live a mile away .my fishponds loose oxygen through acid rain either from celanese chemical plant or rolls royce .the area surrounding these to plants have the highest leukemia deaths in the uk .why ..its not uncommon for me to find wildlife dying in this ares why i myself feed all wildlife .i boast the most birds in my garden in area .then next minute they die ..defra claim it is legal for these industries to poison animals / to stop them getting in to what they produce .celanese make cigarette tips .which help kill man any way .so why kill wildlife ..when the things they go in destroy life anyway .money money money and wealth .any person travelling .can get off the train at spondon station .1 mile away and get picked up /or even derby station . i’ve a 7 seater .or if travelling by car .park in my private lane out of police view ill run you down postcode de21 7bs .email tigger1946@fsmail.net .or 07727226032

‘Leave it in the ground’ national meeting on 11 and 12 October in Manchester

Announcement – ‘Leave it in the ground’ national meeting

Climate change is the biggest threat facing us, and burning coal is the biggest historical cause of climate change. Every day more coal is burned, yet industry and government seem intent on burning even more.

Announcement – ‘Leave it in the ground’ national meeting

‘Leave it in the ground’ is the slogan of a new network for groups taking action opposing new coal developments in the UK, including the 30+ planned opencast sites and seven new coal-fired power stations. Added to those already operating, and the coal import and transport facilities, these projects represent a massive threat to our ability to cut greenhouse gas emissions to safe levels, and would be a disaster for the climate as well as for local areas.

The first ‘Leave it in the ground’ meeting will be held at the Yard Theatre, 41 Old Birley
Street, Hulme, Manchester M15 5RF, on 11 and 12 October.

The network plans to be a way for groups to share skills and experience in different areas and to encourage collaboration on common goals. It is a loose network of equals, and is not affiliated to any political party or NGO.

The proposed agenda for this meeting includes:

Saturday 11th

§ Introduction to the UK coal industry
§ Updates on opposition to coal developments in the UK, including the campaigns against the Ffos-y-Fran (near Merthyr Tydfil) and Lodge House (Derbyshire) opencast sites, the 2008 Climate Camp and the proposed Kingsnorth coal-fired power station blockade.
§ Discussing climate change solutions, including the importance of a socially just transition to a low-carbon economy.
§ Thinking about how our network will function, its decision-making structure, name and communications
§ Planning initial events and strategy for the network
§ Regional networking between groups

Sunday 12th

§ Media training
§ Introduction to direct action planning
§ Further discussions on climate change, climate justice and international networking

If you can only make one day of the meeting, please try to come on Saturday. We will aim to start at 10:00 and to finish by 18:00 to allow for travel. The meeting will free, lunch and evening meal on Saturday and lunch on Sunday will be available for donations.

If you would like to attend, please register by emailing info@leaveitintheground.org.uk, with ‘meeting’ in the subject line, stating how many of your group wish to attend, any special dietary or access requirements and whether you want accommodation for Saturday night. Free accommodation will probably be ‘crashpad’ only, but we can provide details of nearby hotels etc.

For those travelling from far off, we will operate a ‘pool fare’ system to even out the costs of travel. The venue is about ten minutes walk from Manchester Oxford Road station, and is served by number 54 and 86 buses, with many others serving the nearby Stretford road. More details on the GMPTE website.

Common Ground Community Garden Celebrates Success with Party on 6 September!

After a year and half of green-fingered, community-spirited direct-action, we – the organisers of Common Ground Community Garden – are celebrating success … and we invite all our friends,

After a year and half of green-fingered, community-spirited direct-action, we – the organisers of Common Ground Community Garden – are celebrating success … and we invite all our friends, neighbours and supporters to join in the fun!

Since opening the garden in May 2007, we have resisted being criminalised while fighting for green, community-managed space in our neighbourhood. Since turning a council owned derelict plot into a beautiful community garden, we and our neighbours have ignored injunctions, protested eviction attempts and even faced arrest. But finally, we have not only definitely won new sites for at least one community garden, but Common Ground itself has been granted a legal license! Success*!

Reading Grassroots Action (RGA)** who run the garden, have been working with Katesgrove Residents Association (KRA) and have managed to agree the license for Common Ground with Reading Borough Council (RBC), which sees the garden being insured by KRA and re-opened to the public until the council demolish the existing buildings***. We have also visited three sites in Katesgrove which could be used for one or more long-term gardens. We have chosen our preferred sites and hope to agree terms as soon as possible****.

To celebrate this success, we will be holding one more community event at Common Ground Community Garden on Saturday 6th September – and this time we have the full consent of the council! The event, running from 2-9pm, will feature fun for all the family such as games including a raffle, face-painting, fresh food and drink and a live graffiti exhibition produced by local artists. In addition, we will have diverse acoustic music from acts including Londons ‘Babar Luck’ and ‘The King Blues’ as well as other local acts. And of course, visitors will be able to find out more about what else we are up to and get involved in the new community garden in Katesgrove.

We would really love to welcome everybody to the garden one last time and thank everyone who has supported the project, so we hope to see you there!

But thats not all… Supporters of Common Ground are organising an all-night after party at a nearby venue! There will be a room for band (punk, ska etc) and a room for DJ’s (hiphop, drum n bass, dubstep, techno etc) and confirmed acts include Broken Note and the Bath Dub Soundsystem. See you there!

Thanks,
‘Common Ground’, part of ’Reading Grassroots Action’.

NOTES FOR THE EDITOR:

* Whilst we are celebrating, we want to thank everyone who has supported us for making this project a serious of successes from day one. Common Ground has always been about bringing people together, mobilising people into taking action to improve our community without waiting for those in power to do it for us (we reckon you might wait for ever otherwise!). It has been about a small piece of land taken back under community control and used to benefit the neighbourhood, in contrast to the usual situation where resources are used solely to make profits and benefit bosses and shareholders. In this way, Common Ground was a success every time people joined us to ignore injunctions, each time we saw off eviction days, each time people took the initiative to work in their garden. It has been a success as it was respected by young people, as it was enjoyed by local workers and families and as diverse peoples – from squatters and anarchists to residents of all backgrounds – had conversations we wouldn’t otherwise have had. So, thank you!

** Reading Grassroots Action (RGA) aims to help increase the collective power of ordinary people like ourselves, improving our living and working conditions and creating new democratic institutions which act as examples of the world we want to see. We are guided by our hope of one day living in a society of genuine freedom and equality, with all resources commonly owned and democratically organised by everyone for everyone. Several people involved in Common Ground were already RGA members and in April 2008 the groups became one and the same, with RGA looking forwards to helping create a long-term community garden in Katesgrove and moving on to tackle other campaigns in Reading. If interested in joining or supporting RGA, people are encouraged to email us at rgacollective(AT)hotmail.co.uk.

*** The buildings from Crown Street round to the beginning of Silver Street have unfortunately been left by RBC to fall into a state of disrepair over the last few years. We would prefer them to be renovated, as we believe they could be brought back to life as good-looking and useful buildings. However, RBC wish to demolish them as soon as possible, as they hope to sell yet more publicly owned land to a private property developer.

**** RBC have offered three potential sites which could be used for green, community space in Katesgrove. Of these, the site on the corner of Southampton Street and the one on the corner of Elgar Road are our favourites. Over the next few months, RGA and KRA will work to agree terms with RBC in order to gain access one or both of these sites. We appeal to the local community, and to anybody who supports this project to get in touch, and any help with work or donations would be very welcome!

rgacollective@hotmail.co.uk
http://www.rgacollective.org.uk

CLIMATE ACTION NEWS SHEET 82, AUGUST 2008

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UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIONS:
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1) CLIMATE ACTION CAMP & NO BORDER CAMP, HAMBURG, GERMANY, 15-24.8.08
2) SHELL TO SEA WEEK OF ACTION, 17-23.08.08
3) EARTH FIRST! SUMMER GATHERING, NORFOLK, 27.8-1.9.08
4) BRISTOL ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR, BRISTOL, 13.09.08
5) TOWARDS CLIMATE ACTION IN COPENHANGEN 2009, DENMARK, 13-14.09.08
6) CLIMATE CAMP WHAT NEXT MEETING, MANCHESTER, 26-28.09.08
7) NATIONAL MEETING TO RESIST NEW COAL, MANCHESTER, 11-12.10.08
8) FOSSIL FOOLS DAY 2009, 01.04.09

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RECENT HAPPENINGS:
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1) CAMP FOR CLIMATE ACTION, KINGSNORTH, KENT, 3-11.08.08
2) DERBYSHIRE COAL MINE EVICTED, 14.08.08
3) US CLIMATE CAMPS, JULY/AUGUST
4) SAVING ICELAND CAMP, JULY/AUGUST
5) AIRPORT OCCUPATION, GERMANY, ONGOING
6) STICKING IT TO THE PM, LONDON, 22.07.08
7) 32 4x4s DISARMED, OXFORD, 18.07.08
8) NEW RISING TIDE LEAFLET
9) NEW REPORT: CASHING IN ON COAL

————————-
UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIONS:
————————-
1) CLIMATE ACTION CAMP & NO BORDER CAMP, HAMBURG, GERMANY, 15-24.8.08
‘These camps are going to take place in or near Hamburg. It’s two different camps, but probably on the same camp site and doing together at least two mass actions like blockades: on 22nd August at the deportation airport of Hamburg and on 23rd at the harbour or at the new coal power plant. http://klimacamp08.org

2) SHELL TO SEA WEEK OF ACTION, 17-23.08.08
The Solitaire (the biggest pipe laying ship in the world) is set to begin illegally constructing the offshore section of the pipeline. It is believed that the Solitaire is on a pretty tight schedule & booked up for the next 2 years, so ANY disruption provides us with a real opportunity to delay the project significantly. Members of the ‘Great Rebel Raft Regatta’ recently deployed at the E.ON coal fired power station at Kingsnorth in
Kent, England, have made their way from Climate Camp UK to Erris, in order to assist Shell to Sea campaigners in their opposition to this pipeline construction at Glengad.

3) EARTH FIRST! SUMMER GATHERING, NORFOLK, 27.8-1.9.08
5 days of workshops, networking and planning actions in a beautiful field in Norfolk. The gathering is also a practical example of low-impact eco-living and non-hierarchical organising. www.earthfirstgathering.org.uk

4) BRISTOL ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR, BRISTOL, 13.09.08
St Werburghs Centre, 10am to 5pm, free entry. With a workshop by Bristol Rising Tide: Why direct action? Social change not climate change? www.bristolanarchistbookfair.org

5) TOWARDS CLIMATE ACTION IN COPENHANGEN 2009, DENMARK 13-14.09.08
Join the first international planning meeting in Copenhagen from the 13-14th of September 2008. The meeting aims at preparing a large mobilisation for direct action against the root causes of climate change in Copenhagen and throughout the world during the UN Climate Conference (30 Nov-11 Dec 2009). More info:
http://klimax2009.org/?p=33&langswitch_lang=en Tell them you’re coming:
sept08@klimax2009.org

6) CLIMATE CAMP WHAT NEXT MEETING, MANCHESTER 26-28.09.08
All are invited to the first Post-Climate Camp National Gathering. The gathering will offer a chance to reflect on where we are at, decide where we go from here, and provide info as to how to get involved in the ongoing direct action campaign to stop Kingsnorth.
Questions? Email process@climatecamp.org.uk

7) NATIONAL MEETING TO RESIST NEW COAL, MANCHESTER, 11-12.10.08
A meeting to bring together groups and communities resisting coal in the UK – from open cast and deep coal mines, to power stations and coal imports. Share information, plan for action, and build a strong network of resistance. www.leaveitintheground.org.uk

8) FOSSIL FOOLS DAY 2009, 01.04.2009
Four continents, 150 actions, and an April Fool’s Day with a fantastically subversive (and radically necessary) twist – we’re definitely doing that again! So Fossil Fools Day 2009 is a go – start picking your fossil fuel target now! Info and resources will be posted on the website soon, and look out for leaflets to distribute in December.

—————-
RECENT HAPPENINGS:
—————-

1) CAMP FOR CLIMATE ACTION, KINGSNORTH, KENT, 3-11.08.08
From the Heathrow Conference to the Caravan, from the workshops to beautiful camp life, from the GRRR pirates to the fence breachers to the bail breakers, and the flurry of affinity group actions before, during and after the camp, the 2008 Camp for Climate Action was a roaring success. We outsmarted 26 police forces to run the biggest climate camp ever. We covered the river in boats, filled the streets with people, covered the power station gates with banners and hit at least eight other targets with autonomous actions. We flooded the national, local and independent media with our stories and messages. E.ON and the Government threw everything they could at us, and they still couldn’t hold us back. Actions, in no particular order, included: an office invasion of mining company BHP Bilton, taking over an incinerator site in Newhaven, a blockade of Cargill over its rainforest destruction and land-grabbing, a pro-vegan roof occupation and banner drop at Smithfield Meat Market, a protest at US air base Mildenhall to highlight military CO2 emissions, a banner drop from an electricity pylon, a naked protest at DBERR, the world’s smallest protesters climbing E.ON’s smokestack (at Legoland), actions at Royal Bank of Scotland (not once but twice – students do a die-in and Rising Tiders bust out the superglue), a demo at Longannet power station in Fife, a multi-pronged attack on Gatwick by Plane Stupid, the shutting down of the South’s biggest biofuel storage facility, and in
a single day of mayhem in the City, the Climate Caravan targeted RBS and the PR firms for Shell, BAA & E.ON.
www.climatecamp.org.uk
Photo slide show: http://blip.tv/file/1167973
Video: http://www.undercurrents.org/visionon/

2) DERBYSHIRE COAL MINE EVICTED, 14.08.08
The squat in Derbyshire, a protest on the site of a proposed new open-cast coal mine, came to end with the eviction of the remaining two protesters, who had resolutely resisted attempts to clear the site by furiously digging for victory. Come to the national Leave it in the Ground meeting in October to help with the next steps. www.leaveitintheground.org.uk

3) US CLIMATE CAMPS, JULY/AUGUST
All three US Climate Camps have now wound down, with action highlights including the Southeast Climate Convergence occupying a nuclear facility in Virginia, the Billionaires for Coal striking Bank of America 4 times in 3 days and a protest at NW Natural Gas following the West Coast Convergence. And check out http://www.uncampement.net/?q=en/node/775 for
the ongoing (8-24 August) camp in Quebec, Canada.

4) SAVING ICELAND CAMP, JULY/AUGUST
Saving Iceland’s fourth action camp is now over but the fight goes on. The three-week camp was at Hellisheiði, where Reykjavík Energy is expanding their geothermal power plant, first of all to supply energy to aluminium smelters. Actions included: work on the Century Aluminum’s existing smelter as well as a steel factory were blockaded, holding up a shift
change for several hours. A Reykjavik Energy geothermal drill site at Hellisheidi, being built for Century, was completely shut down for a day as activists locked to machines, climbed the drill and occupied the power control room. The national power company Landsvirkjun had it’s office invaded, and it’s CEO Fridrik Sophusson had his home visited. Saving Iceland nailed an eviction notice to his door. www.savingiceland.org

5) AIRPORT OCCUPATION, GERMANY, ONGOING
In Germany climate activists have been squatting a woodland since the beginning of June to stop the construction of yet another new runway for the already massive Frankfurt airport. The camp continues to grow with over 30 people living on site and has the support of the community. Demos and actions are being organised together with local residents’ groups
against airport expansion. Amazing treehouses, walkways and funky ground shelters have been constructed to make life pleasant in the woods and to resist eviction as long as possible. People are welcome to join in. www.waldbesetzung.blogsport.de

6) STICKING IT TO THE PM, LONDON, 22.07.08
On 22nd July a Plane Stupid campaigner superglued himself to Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 10 Downing Street. He’d been invited to receive an award for protesting, so promptly decided to carry on in that vain! Whilst asking Gordon about refusing to meet West London
residents opposed to the construction of a third runway at Heathrow, the intrepid protester put his superglue covered hand onto Brown’s polyester suit. When Brown went to turn away he found he was stuck and for once had no option but to listen. www.planestupid.com

7) 32 4x4s DISARMED, OXFORD, 18.07.08
32 SUV owners woke up in Oxford on 18th July to discover that their environmentally destructive vehicles had been disabled using the ‘mung bean trick’ to let down their tires.

8) NEW RISING TIDE LEAFLET
At long last, Rising Tide has a new leaflet – who we are, what we do and why we do it, wrapped up in an inspiring photo collage package. Sneak a peak at , or email info@risingtide.org.uk to get a bunch posted to you for distribution in your local area.

9) NEW REPORT: CASHING IN ON COAL
High street banks are making millions by providing the financial fuel that drives the expansion of coal extraction and combustion. This report examines the role in the last two years of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), HSBC and Barclays in providing and arranging the financial means to the coal industry to extract and burn vast quantities of coal. The report reveals that RBS has helped lend more money to the coal industry, in more deals, than any other major UK bank. www.carbonweb.org

—————–
Rising Tide UK,
c/o 62 Fieldgate Street,
London E1 1ES
www.risingtide.org.uk
www.artnotoil.org.uk
www.fossilfoolsday.org
Tel: 07708 794665

See also the Camp for Climate Action (www.climatecamp.org.uk), Network for Climate Action (www.networkforclimateaction.org.uk) and Climate Indymedia (www.climateimc.org)

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Please send anything you’d like included in this news sheet to:
newssheet@risingtide.org.uk

To view previous editions of the Rising Tide News Sheet, visit the News Sheet Archive at http://risingtide.org.uk/newssheet

This News Sheet was brought to you by Rising Tide, a grassroots network of groups and individuals committed to taking action and building a movement against climate change.

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Phone: +44 (0)845 458 8923 / +44 (0)7708 794665
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