South West England – Page 13

Call out for workshops for EF! Summer Gathering 2011

This year’s Earth First Summer Gathering takes place in East Anglia this year, starting on the 10th of August and running for five days. With six workshops tents we have space for over 100 discussions, presentations and workshops. The spaces are filling up fast, but there is still time to book a spot. So if you’ve got an idea you wish to highlight, whether it’s related to ecological defence or social resistance here is your chance. The gathering is attended by hundreds of individuals interested and participating in struggles around the UK and Europe.

To get in touch just email efsummergathering2011announce@riseup.net with a blurb of for you workshop or discussion and we’ll do our best to fit you in.

For monthly email updates for the gathering subscribe to efsummergathering@lists.riseup.net

The Spuds don’t work. Norwich, noon, 23rd July 2011.

British trials of genetically modified blight resistant spuds have been failing for the last ten years. But a conventionally bred variety of blight resistant potatoes has been available for 3 years. So why are we still paying for their dangerous experiment?

Come ride with us on the back of a trailer load of safe effective spuds as we go to deliver them to the Sainsbury Laboratory outside Norwich. It’s one of only two possible open air trials for GM crops in Britain this year. Yet despite being publicly funded, it’s so secretive no one will even say if it’s been planted. Join us for tunes, chips and good cheer as we go and show them that we have already got the answers they say they’re looking for.

****************************************

*A tale of two spuds…*
For the last 10 years, researchers at the Sainsbury laboratory at the John Innes Centre in Norwich have spent 1.7 million pounds of public money failing to develop a genetically modified potato resistant to the fungal disease blight. This project is so secretive and unaccountable that the laboratory has refused to even confirm if a trial has been planted this season, or if they’ve been forced to abandon any hopes of making the technology work. Public rejection of the risks associated with eating genetically modified food means that even if the engineering involved was successful, there would be no market for the crop. Meanwhile, 3 years ago a small Welsh research charity dedicated to conventional breeding techniques developed a spud that is spectacularly resistant to blight. Not only does the crop pose no threat to health, the environment, or neighbouring farmers; it works. Over 6 different varieties are now available, and being grown on a commercial scale.

*Delivering the answer to GM crops- *

We think the Sainsbury’s laboratory and the government should be told that we’ve found the potatoes they’re looking for. So we’re going to deliver them to the doors of their research centre. We’ll be forming a carnival procession of families and farmers led by the next generation on pedal tractors, each towing a mini trailer of safe spuds. There’ll be pedal powered tunes, and a full sized tractor to jump on. There will almost certainly be chips.

*The rationale*
The campaign against GM crops ten years ago was so successful that GM almost completely vanished from our fields and supermarkets, and many people have forgotten the issues associated with the technology. But in many other parts of the world peasant farmers have been desperately fighting its spread, and laws are changing in Europe that would make it much easier for GM to be grown in Britain. Despite pre-election promises to the contrary the coalition claims it intends to be ‘the most pro GM this country has ever seen’.

Let’s call time on an outmoded technology that continues to waste money in failing projects, while simultaneously threatening the very science that’s actually producing working alternatives quickly and cheaply. For too long the biotech companies have gone unchallenged in their claims that GM can create genuinely useful crops when in fact all the significant advancements in the last decade have come through conventional breeding. With the renewed threat of GM on the horizon campaigners need to get together again to show the rest of the country (and each other) that we’re still here, and we’ve got an even better case than ever. This is a chance to take the initiative with the media, to tell a story which explains clearly and practically why the pro GM lobby is wrong. That it’s us, and not the corporations that have the answers to the food crisis. And we know how to turn them into an irresistible photo shoot.

*Our Key media messages*
Genetic Modification is unaccountable, expensive, and it doesn’t work. We need to stop wasting public money on something that no one wants and start celebrating the real advances in agriculture.

*What we need*

You, and the people you know, and anyone you think might be interested.

This project is being worked on by Stop GM in conjunction with the Genetic Engineering Network. It’s a grassroots initiative that evolved after one national gathering, several months of pondering and an over excited long weekend in Wales. Several experienced grassroots campaigners will be working on the project from now until the event, but we need help getting the word out. If you think you could help by distributing email information about the event, dropping it about in any social media you may be involved in, letting your local growing projects or social justice groups know, distributing our soon to be produced ‘Little Red Tractor and the Quest of the GM-free Spuds’ leaflet or even organizing a coach to attend from your area, we’d love to hear from you.

For more information please check briefing to help you object to proposed field trial of GM potatoes (http://www.gmfreeze.org/uploads/63A_spud_briefing_jic_final.pdf), and how to get hold of the solution www.sarvari-trust.org.

Please put it in your diary, forward this message on to anyone who might be interested, and hopefully we’ll see you there.

All the best,

The Stop GM Crew.

http://stopgm.org.uk/

Do You Remember Fairmile?

Join the Silent Victories Bike Ride.

Silent Victories is a free 10 day long bike ride around the South West of England from the 1st -10th July that will visit places saved by direct action and analyse wider political questions around what makes social change.

Join the Silent Victories Bike Ride.

The ride is passing the site of the Fairmile Road protest against the completion of the A30. Were you there? We are particularly looking for people with memories of the A30 protests to join the ride and share memories, reflections and learning.

On the ride we will:
– visit beautiful places in fine company,
– learn from communities that have successfully protected their area from destruction
– support ongoing campaigns
– investigate alternatives spaces
– discuss issues and learn from each other
– go swimming and eat lots of vegan food

All welcome, to learn, teach, share and take action.

To sign up to participate please contact: silent.victories@gmail.com

Stop the next generation of nuclear power stations with a blockade at Hinkley Point

Join us at Hinkley on 3 October 2011

Hinkley Point is the first of eight proposed sites for nuclear new build to go ahead. We stopped them here before, and we can do it again. If they fail at Hinkley, it is unlikely the “nuclear renaissance” will have the momentum to continue.

Join us at Hinkley on 3 October 2011

The catastrophe is still unfolding at Fukushima, but the British government is continuing with its plans for building new nuclear power stations – nuclear new-build. While other countries at least put a moratorium on new nuclear, or even make plans to phase out nuclear energy completely, in Britain it’s as if Fukushima didn’t happen. Like a mantra, government and the nuclear industry keep repeating that Fukushima could not happen in Britain because there are no earthquakes of that magnitude. We heard similar excuses after Chernobyl (1986) and Three Mile Island (1979). But nuclear accidents can and do happen – even in Britain; the disaster at Windscale in 1957 released massive levels of radiation into the atmosphere. If we continue to use and expand nuclear power, there will certainly be more catastrophic accidents, not to mention all the other enormous problems associated with nuclear power production, even when it is working ‘normally’.

Nuclear power is not necessary, not safe, not sustainable

More background at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/

We can stop new nuclear

The government and the nuclear industry want us to believe that nuclear new-build in Britain is a done deal. They want to discourage us from protesting – the message they want us to swallow is clear: opposition is futile, and we will be going ahead anyway!

However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, the government has introduced a framework which effectively will subsidise new nuclear at our expense – as electricity consumers and taxpayers. Yes, the government has effectively deprived local communities from having a say in the planning process for new nuclear and other major infrastructure projects thus dumping a crucial cornerstone of local democracy.

But nuclear new-build in Britain is already behind schedule and has faced legal and other setbacks. Public concern is mounting following the Fukushima disaster. If we can stop the building at Hinkley, we can stop the whole process. Now is the time to mobilise and take action.

New-nuclear in Britain is far from being a done deal, and we can still stop it!

NEW NUCLEAR — STOP IT AT HINKLEY!

The action:
A non-violent blockade of Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset

On 3 October 2011 we will – with hundreds of people – non-violently blockade the access to Hinkley Point nuclear power station for one day.

While the blockade will be the key focus, there will be plenty of roles and activities for people who do not wish to risk arrest. So everyone who is anti-nuclear can come and join us on the day to express their opposition in many different ways. We will prepare ourselves for this blockade with non-violence training, and we will not be deterred by police trying to prevent our non-violent action.
The blockade will be inclusive, allowing people from all walks of life and with a wide range of experience in non-violent action – or no experience at all – to participate. We will organise a safe environment for everyone, built on trust for each other, but also on our determination to stop nuclear new-build.

In the days before the blockade, there will be local actions in Bridgwater. There will be a camp and local accommodation for people over the weekend and non-violence training will be provided.

* Callout for action – http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/node/10

* Sign one of the pledges at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/pledges.

This is important, as it shows the strength of the campaign, and helps us to organise the blockade.
Web: http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-New-Nuclear/228971750452013
Phone: 0845-2872381

Stop New Nuclear is a campaign to stop new nuclear power stations and is an alliance of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Stop Nuclear Power Network UK, Kick Nuclear, Stop Hinkley, Sizewell Blockaders, Shutdown Sizewell, South West Against Nuclear, and Trident Ploughshares

Donate: We need your support. Please donate at
http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/donate

Land is Ours autumn gathering 2011

The Land Is Ours
Autumn Gathering 2011

TLIO are hosting a weekend gathering from Sat 8th to Sun 9th October this year at Monkton Wyld Court, near Axminster, Dorset. Come and enjoy a feast of inspirational talks, open discussions, workshops and evening entertainment in the pleasantly eccentric setting of Monkton Wyld.

Talks and workshops will include the following themes:

The Land Is Ours
Autumn Gathering 2011

Talks and workshops will include the following themes:

• The need for land redistribution – post Peak-Oil

• Agricultural subsidies – who for & for what?/Campaigning against Megafarms.

• The Localism Bill and other Planning Reforms — Threats and Opportunities.

• Defending public forests.

• Setting up land trusts, for housing and land projects.

• Reclaim the Fields and Via Campesina.

• What future for direct action land campaigns?

Other proposals for workshops etc are welcome.

Places are limited so please book early. There is no fee for attendance, but lunch and supper are provided at £6 per meal, and bed and breakfast costs per night are £25 for a bed, £15 for a yoga mat in the main hall, or £10 camping (there will be a limited no of places half-price for the main hall and camping), available Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening. Please book in advance, by contacting

info@tlio.org.uk or 01297 561359
http://www.tlio.org.uk/TLIO-autumngathering2011

Please Note: There may be a TLIO Summer Gathering happening in the West Country area this summer as well. Keep checking the website for further announcements

squatting stories wanted

Calling All Squatters!

Got any positive, funny or random stories from your squatting experiences?

We’re putting together an exhibition and zine with positive squatting stories to contradict and show the other side to squatting, to the one regurgitated again and again by the mainstream media.

Calling All Squatters!

Got any positive, funny or random stories from your squatting experiences?

We’re putting together an exhibition and zine with positive squatting stories to contradict and show the other side to squatting, to the one regurgitated again and again by the mainstream media.

Wherever you squatted, be it Brixton or Kurdistan, or whether you squat now or you did in the 70s, any positive stories are welcomed – the more varied in time & place the better. Some of the stories we have so far include from after the second world war when families took refuge by squatting abandoned army barracks, as so many homes had be bombed in the blitz, as well as some stories of how newly arrived Asian families to Britain gave up the council housing they had received to squat together in empty estates to avoid the racial abuse they were suffering.

Your stories don’t have to be this extreme though, anything that is positive, funny or in some way a success of managing to stick it up to the landlords or a successful use of squatting for a protest or campaign, is very much welcomed. The stories don’t have to be your own experiences but can be ones of friends, or ones you’ve heard, just so long as they are true.

Any good pictures you might have that can accompany the stories would be brilliant too. Also, if you have pictures of transformations you’ve made turning a destroyed building into a beautiful home, they would also be really appreciated. Of course you can be completely anonymous from anything you contribute.

Email stories & stuff to homemade@lorax.org.uk

Many thanks!

Common Ground For Climate Action, 4-5 June 2011

Common Ground for Climate Action (the meeting after CC Space for Change)

A meeting facilitated by the Rhizome Collective

DATE: 10:30am 4th June – 5:30pm 5th June
VENUE: Grow Heathrow, Sipson, West London

Who is this meeting for?

People who:
– have previously been involved in organising CFCA or other radical grassroots climate action
AND

Common Ground for Climate Action (the meeting after CC Space for Change)

A meeting facilitated by the Rhizome Collective

DATE: 10:30am 4th June – 5:30pm 5th June
VENUE: Grow Heathrow, Sipson, West London

Who is this meeting for?

People who:
– have previously been involved in organising CFCA or other radical grassroots climate action
AND
– have energy to positively explore options and strategies for
co-ordinating nationally into the future.

This meeting is NOT:
– A place to revisit the decision to pause national climate camp
activities in 2011 (though we will talk about the various reactions to that decision)
– A place to talk about what to do with Climate Camp resources (this will need to be later on)

We will be:
– Learning about and exploring our common ground in three key areas:
* What is happening in the wider world?
* Where do we fit?
* What future impact could we have?
– Exploring ways to manage disagreement, live with difference, and build trust

ARE YOU COMING?
If you’re interested in coming please email
spaceforchange@climatecamp.org.uk (by 26 May if possible for planning).
Follow this link for lots more information about the background to the meeting, as well as venue details and the agenda so far:
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/events/2011/06/04/common-ground-for-climate-action

KITCHEN CO-ORDINATORS NEEDED
We are in urgent need of kitchen co-ordinators, if you think you can do this then please contact spaceforchange@climatecamp.org.uk ASAP

SATURDAY NIGHT SOCIAL
If you would be interested in organising some live music or a social for this event, then please email spaceforchange@climatecamp.org.uk

WHO ELSE IS COMING?
Please forward this message to anyone you think would be interested in coming

The first Green and Black Cross Network Gathering

London June 18th 11-6 Followed by a social. Venue TBC

Support is attack!

London June 18th 11-6 Followed by a social. Venue TBC

Support is attack!

Green and Black Cross were set up after the Millbank demonstration of November last year through identifying a need for the type of support that had been developed in the Climate Movement. Since then we have supported hundreds of people from many backgrounds in their rebellions and protests.
From a legal support hotline to tireless legal observers on the streets, brave action medics to a kitchen team smuggling flapjacks behind police lines. Our emphasis on support is to allow the potential for further rebellion, for people to rise up and in doing so take control of the direction of their lives and spread a relationship of solidarity and mutual aid.

It’s time to get involved!

At London we’ve developed working groups around forms of support including Legal, Kitchens, Medics, Toilets and Radical Child Care. We want not only to strengthen these groups in the region but also to expand a support network. If you’re from Manchester and you’ve been legal observing on demonstrations, if your from Leeds and you’re thinking about providing food at picket lines, if you live in Bristol and you want to be there when protestors get injured, where ever you live and you are thinking about getting involved – come! Share skills, swap stories and find out more. The day will be split between introductions to the project, questions and debate on the Green and Black Cross network structure, working group time to share and develop our practices and ending the day with a social event.

Why London? Unfortunately GBC is presently London based. We aim to bring about a horizontal network that contains regional autonomy. To do this though we want to share where we’re at so far and to make this possible to organise we’ve called the gathering in the big smoke.

Want to get involved sooner but need some skills and or information? GBC has set up a project to offer info/skill shares for groups who want to be trained up in a particular support role. We can offer skill shares in your rea. Get in touch with GBC@riseup.net.

We’re transforming relationships, we’re fighting destruction. Get involved with GBC and make way for the movement! For more info and possibilities of crash space email GBC@Riseup.net

Full details – follow the link in the Action Dates & Gatherings link, to the left

The Climate Renegades are GO GO GO!

At a time when cuts and austerity are grabbing the headlines, the need for action on climate change has never been greater. Floods, heatwaves, energy shortages, rising food prices – these are just the start if we don’t take action now.

This summer the Climate Renegades will tour the country to support grass-root and community struggles, both embryonic and established, based upon local needs and wishes. Are you part of a local campaign against cuts and/or climate change that wants to do something big this summer? Or perhaps you are someone who has skills to offer? If so, read on…

We are a roaming collective of experienced environmental activists with skills to share. We are looking to hold events that raise awareness of the need for action on climate justice, enable independence from a constricting economic system, and empower communities under threat. These events will create a space for collective creativity and free expression, will promote and utilise non-violent direct action as a viable tactic for inspiring radical change, and will act as space for a free exchange of skills, knowledge and ideas.

Climate Renegades is one of a few projects that came out of the Camp for Climate Action’s Space for Change gathering.

We wish to promote progressive change from people coming together within and across communities in the face of dominant powers, to confront problems and take their fate into their own hands. Through a diversity of tactics we wish to support this change.

We find repression and abuse of social struggles by concentrated power – be that state, big business or ‘revolutionary’ Political parties. For this reason, we share a tradition and commitment to active anti-hierarchy and collective decision making.

Climate Renegades is not envisaged to form a movement or a model for future years. Our role is one of facilitating and developing the strength of campaigns, enabling the visioning of common solutions and highlighting the importance of environmental struggles in this time of forced austerity.

For more info, e-mail us or check out our Facebook group!

climaterenegades@riseup.net
http://www.facebook.com/help/?mail_sent#!group.php?gid=116697736256

After Space for Change

The ‘discussion space’ on crabgrass is the place to share comments, concerns and ideas about the decision(s) made at Space for Change. Here’s how:

1) Go to https://we.riseup.net/discussion_space.
2) Click ‘log in’ at the top right corner
3) Once logged in, select ‘join group’
4) And you’re in!

The ‘discussion space’ on crabgrass is the place to share comments, concerns and ideas about the decision(s) made at Space for Change. Here’s how:

1) Go to https://we.riseup.net/discussion_space.
2) Click ‘log in’ at the top right corner
3) Once logged in, select ‘join group’
4) And you’re in!

If you don’t already have a crabgrass username and password you can quickly get one by going to https://we.riseup.net and selecting ‘new account’.

3) INTERIM WORKING GROUPS – get involved!

The following interim working groups were set up at Space for Change:

– Tat and Dosh: to maximise the usefulness of our material resources
– Communications: to address ongoing communications and media issues. To learn from and document our experiences
– New structures: to investigate new organisational forms, structures and tactics for possible next experiments.
– Next meeting: to organise a meeting in the next 2-3 months to share ideas about these next experiments

They each have Crabgrass pages that can be found by putting the following after https://we.riseup.net/
tat_dosh
communications
new_structures
next_meeting

Then click ‘request to join group’.

All of these groups are part of the interim Crabgrass Network ‘After Space for Change’ which you can join here:
https://we.riseup.net/after_space_for_change. Having groups be part of a network is useful to be able to see what other groups are doing.

You can either join the whole network or just one of the working groups.

If Crabgrass is a bit strange to you, check out the help pages here:
https://we.riseup.net/crabgrass

4) METAMORPHOSIS STATEMENT

In case you missed the statement coming out of Space for Change at Monkton Wyld, it can be read on the Climate Camp website here:
www.climatecamp.org.uk/2011-statement