SchNEWS - this week 10 years ago
BACK ISSUES
SchNEWS 598, 27th July, 2007Airbusted Heathrow Airport slaps an injunction on climate change protesters in the lead-up to the Camp For Climate Action in two weeks at a site near Heathrow. Also Wiradjuri Aboriginal take action against toxic gold mine on their sacred sites, Gordon Brown announces new attacks on civil liberties in the UK, anti-arms-trade protest at Nottingham weapons factory, Nagasaki survivor arrested at Faslane and more....
SchNEWS 597, 20th July, 2007Eire We Go Again Seven protesters against the motorway planned at the Hill Of Tara in Ireland were arrested on Weds 18th trying to stop diggers from illegally destroying the important archaeological site at the proposed Blundlestown interchange in the Tara/Skryne Valley. Also more on the resistance to Shell's proposed gas refinery and pipeline development in County Mayo, activists again managed to disrupt business at Agrexco Carmel in Middlesex and more....
SchNEWS 596, 13th July, 2007Smother Earth So that's it - after years of denial (crucial years when a difference could perhaps have been made) global elites are ready to admit that climate change is a reality. Also a report from a British roads campaign veteran at the Hill Of Tara protest in Ireland, protecting one of the most important archaeological sites in the world from a motorway, over here, Herefordshire council are planning to tarmac over their own recently discovered henge and more....
SchNEWS 595, 6th July, 2007Shells Angels Major construction is scheduled to begin on the controversial Shell onshore gas refinery in County Mayo, Ireland within the next month. Also at The Hill Of Tara a huge ancient monument near Baronstown was razed to the ground by machinery this week, tax on using vegetable or plant oil as motor fuel has been slashed and more....
SchNEWS
594, 29nd June, 2007
Dancing on the CeilingTwo anti-war activists who scaled the well-trodden roof of Brighton arms dealers EDO MBM for a rooftop occupation were acquitted on a charge of Aggravated Trespass this Wednesday at Brighton magistrates. Also US-Australian war games were halted this week by a big hump back whale, the UK's first Tent State at Sussex Unversity, the Schnews 'Blair Charge Sheet' and more.....
SchNEWS
593, 22nd June, 2007
Put the Kettle On Now the cheap red wine hangovers have faded it's time for some critical reflections on the G8 Summit party and protest - and some endless rambling war stories. Also The Hill of Tara in Co. Meath, Ireland, one of the most important archaeological complexes in the world, is under threat due to a motorway being built nearby, Numbers of Bees are declining rapidly, the solstice at Avebury and more...
SchNEWS
592, 15th June, 2007
GHETTO BLASTED Forty years on from Israel's seizure of the West Bank and Gaza during the '67 Six Day War and it still never seems to be good news in Palestine.
Also why in some US states it's illegal to give food to homeless persons, G8 Actions,
Michael Moore's new film and more...
SchNEWS
591, 8th June, 2007
Who's the Baghdaddy Iraq's 'government' has issued arrest warrants for the leaders of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions - on strike since 4th June. The oil unions are protesting against the new oil law and for improvements to wages, health and other working and living conditions. Also G8 update, Turkish special forces have invaded Northern Iraq/Iraqi Kurdistan and more.
SchNEWS
590, 1st June, 2007
PIG IGNORANCE Fourteen campaigners against the Oxford Animal lab, charged with
various public order offences, walked free on May 30th after revelations
of a police stitch-up, heard because a police tape recorder was
left on. Also more on the build up for the G8, a UK resistance round-up,
Pine Gap 4 and more...
SchNEWS 589, 25th May, 2007 - Prepare for the Wurst Despite the jackboot problems of the last month, preparations on the ground have continued across Germany for the G8 and the mass convergence has already begun, with people, clowns and bicycle caravans all pitching up in readiness for the main events. Also a little on what the politicians will be talking about at the G8, the latest on the B52 two and the met being mean to nice people on bikes....
SchNEWS 588, 18th May, 2007 - Brothers in Arms Last Tuesday saw an international get-together for hi-tech arms-dealers - The Shephard Group's Electronic Warfare 2007 at the Olympia Conference Centre. The conference punters arrived expecting to find out the latest on assassination by email but were met by a crowd of vocal protesters. Two managed to scale the roof and unfurl a banner saying 'Smart bombs - stupid wars'. Also Al Gore planning big concerts, Shell has AGM and Argentinean commuters get fed up with privatised railways....
SchNEWS 587, 11th May, 2007 - Never mind the Bolivars - At the same time that Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez was announcing the re-nationalisation of the last parts of the country's oil industry still in private hands, several other countries joined in with May Day calls to leave the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Also the build up to this years G8 has begun with state forces across europe using violence and intimidation to try and spoil the party, France has elected a Right Wing leader and the police in Philadelphia go on a fortune teller round up....
SchNEWS 586, 4th May, 2007 - SHAC TAKES THE FLAC In yet another hammerblow aimed at the animal rights movement, police made 32 arrests across the UK in the early hours of Tuesday morning in 'Operation Achilles'. The whole operation was designed with maximum publicity in mind - the press were tipped off in advance and dutifully reported on the latest crackdown on animal rights 'extremism'. Also more monumental events near the Hills of Tara this week, two reports from Africa and more...
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WAKE UP!! IT'S YER CHOCKS AWAY.... SchNEWSPDF Version - Download, Print, Copy and Distribute! Story Links: Ground Control | Crap Arrest Of The Week | Jet-Set And Match | Nothing Toulouse | Inside Schnews | Party & Protest | and finally... GROUND CONTROLAS FLY-BY-NIGHT CLIMATE PROTESTERS OCCUPY HEATHROW SITE...Climate activists caught the Met's finest flat-footed on Saturday night as they pre-emptively seized land for the climate camp. At 10pm around 150 activists poured onto the site on Sipson Lane near Harlington - just 800m away from BAA's headquarters (see map and directions). Within minutes an intricate tripod structure of scaffold tubes was erected and occupied to prevent a swift eviction. In the event police didn't arrive in numbers until over an hour later, giving the squatters time to get vital equipment on-site to begin camping. A perimeter was secured with fencing stakes and rope, and primed with Section 6 notices. Soon after, scores of police arrived and blocked Sipson Lane - preventing vehicle access and conducting random stop and searches under Section 44 of the terrorism act. At about one in the morning, as the camp's police liaison team were attempting to negotiate, one of them was arrested (see crap arrest of the week). A tense stand-off continued until dawn. GATECRASH-LANDING On Sunday the situation settled down into a stalemate. Despite repeated requests, the campers refused a permanent police presence on site. Top cop Chief Super Ian Thomas, 'silver commander' on the ground, claimed that as the climate camp was "like a village - it should be patrolled like any other village". The fact that at the time nearly 200 officers were surrounding the site while a helicopter circled overhead should be welcome news to any out-of-town Daily Mail readers concerned about rural crime prevention. As the planned third runway would obliterate the surrounding area and separate Sipson village from its neighbour Harlington, it's no surprise that locals were supportive of the camp's presence with one man setting up his own 'Sipson RIP' tent at the camp's entrance. Posters supporting the local No Third runway action group (www.notrag.org) are prominent on many local houses (over 700 of which will be destroyed to make way for the facility). By co-incidence the camp is located next to a Sikh temple - due to be demolished for the new runway - that was also hosting a major gathering. A donation of onion bhajis was gratefully devoured by a suspiciously religion-friendly gate crew. Police maintained a road-block at both ends of Sipson lane, using it as a bargaining chip in an attempt to gain access to the site. Rather than give in to this blatant blackmail, activists formed human chains to bring tonnes of equipment over the half kilometre on to site. By Sunday afternoon there were hundreds of tents and over a dozen marquees up and equipped. At 8am on Monday morning, police suddenly invaded the site. About 30 officers accompanied Supt. Thomas and the F.I.T team on to the camp ground. As the entire site is clearly visible from the road this was nothing more than a power-play by the Met. From the outset the demand was for a permanent police presence on site. Taking advantage of their temporary superiority of numbers, the police made no concessions, with Thomas insisting that the road block would be maintained and that even medical supplies would have to be brought in by hand. In accordance with police plans, four officers are now permanently on site. One camper told SchNEWS, "The plan seems to be to force us to divert energy into moving stuff rather developing strategies to combat climate chaos. They've abandoned all pretence of being piggy-in-the-middle - this is obvious political policing. We're here and the camp will go on regardless... Come and join in and take action against climate chaos now!" * For programme of workshops/talks at the camp see http://climatecamp.org.uk/wshops.pdf
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" It's not that surprising that Plane Stupid received an injunction, we're a direct action group. But BAA wanted to injunct 5 million people under the PHA (Protection from Harassment Act) turning them into criminals. It's been a disaster for them, in fact solicitor Timothy Lawson Cruttenden (TLC - injunction specialist - see SchNEWS 581) is the best thing that's happened to anti-aviation climate campaigning - if he wanted to come down to the climate camp I'm sure he'd be given a tent and a hero's welcome!" - Plane Stupid spokesman
Part II of the climate camp injunction saga (see SchNEWS 598), and BAA are retreating from the court room choking on their own emissions. Led up the garden path by TLC and the Metropolitan Police, the owners of Heathrow tried to secure the "mother of all injunctions" against anyone and everyone even thinking about heading up to the climate camp. The only problem with this legal juggernaut was the total lack of evidence.
In the end BAA ended up with an injunction under civil law, which only backs up existing bye-laws. Basically the injunction (which the judge refused to issue under the PHA act) forbids trespass on property actually belonging to Heathrow airport.
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Legal INFO IMPORTANT: The climate camp itself is NOT affected by the injunction - the police have no extra powers at the site. Filming: Police video teams and stills photographers are in attendance. Legally they are allowed to film you but there are no rules about turning away or hurrying past! Under certain circumstances, following a direction from a senior officer, police have powers to remove face coverings. Feel free to film them back. Stop & Search: There are many pretexts for stop and searches but ultimately it is an offence to refuse. However they can only remove your outer clothing and you never have to give your name and address. (Unless you are driving a vehicle). Any problems? - Contact the legal team on site. 07510 458006 or Bindmans solicitors on 0207 8334433 Don't bring: Dogs, drugs, weapons, pennywhistles etc |
Nothing Toulouse
Undeterred by being the only group affected by the injunction the Plane Stupid crew have taken their objections to the aviation industry to the Airbus 'superjumbo' factory in Broughton, North Wales instead.
Activists boarded and occupied a barge carrying a wing of an A380 airbus - the world's largest passenger jet. It was heading out of the factory (presumably using canals and not opportunistically heading across flood plains) bound for the port of Mostyn and, ultimately, the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France where the beasts are assembled. While they hoped to remain on the barge "until ministers came up with a 'safe' aviation policy" it's doubtful that was going to happen before the barge in question became an ark, and it wasn't long before the six protesters were removed by security and moved on by police.
Just before taking flight, their spokesperson said: "This is the end of today's protest, but you might find action being taken in other parts of the country this week..."
It may yet turn out that Police will wish they'd just been allowed to attend the Heathrow camp after all - it would have been so much easier to keep their eyes on them... www.planestupid.com
Inside SchNEWS
A protester has been given a 28-day sentence for refusing to pay a £750 fine, after arrest at Prestwick Airport, Scotland, where Israeli war planes were re-arming and transferring US weaponry during the bombing of Lebanon last summer (see SchNEWS 555). Marcus Armstrong was part of a group of eight Trident Ploughshares activists arrested and charged with trespass at the airbase on August 6th 2006 during a night-time weapons inspection at the base, looking for US weapons of mass you-know-what. After seven protesters were acquitted last week at Ayr Sheriff Court, Marcus was found guilty. His argument was that the Israelis were breaking international law, and that the bombing was war crimes targeting civilians - but Sheriff Montgomery claimed Marcus didn't have firm evidence that the UK Govt knew war crimes were going on at the base, and therefore there was no excuse for the action. When he refused to pay the fine, a four-week sentence was handed down.
* See www.tridentploughshares.org and write to Marcus Armstrong, HMP Kilmarnock Bowhouse, Kilmarnock, KA1 5AA. (tel 01563 548800)
* Last week in Scotland, at Glasgow Airport, an
aircraft regularly used for rendition flights stopped off on unknown
business, before going back to the US. This plane was once owned
by Braxton Management - a CIA shelf company - and is
now owned by another front company. This plane is also a regular
at Shannon Airport, Ireland. See www.sacc.org.uk
PARTY
& PROTEST
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
...and finally...
Good news and bad news for those fighting road developments in Poland. Work in Rospuda valley to put tarmac though a primeval forest and heritage site (see SchNEWS 578) has been stopped for a European tribunal to consider the case, and the camp is taking a well earned break (just in case you were planning to go there on holiday).
And what is everybody's nightmare scenario upon returning home after a such a breakaway...? Been burgled? Squatted? Flooded? Kids had a wild party and scratched an antique table and then failed to find a furniture polisher in the Yellow Pages? No, none of the above for Alicja Ziemowit, one resident of Lodz, Poland, who arrived back home to discover that the local council had built a new road complete with traffic island in her back garden.
When she complained she was told that a change in the law meant that local council officials could now use private land for road building without consent or compensation. A council spokesman said, "I don't know why she is complaining, it is not a busy road, and she can still get to the back of her garden quite easily." She will surely enjoy relaxing on the hard shoulder and could now perhaps open a roadside stall to sell cappuccinos to workers at the new computer factory down the road.
Lodz council added, humourlessly, "She still owns the land, it just has a road on it now."
It seems that politicians and the people are, as ever, Poles apart.
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