UK Newswire Archive
Celebrations of the anniversary of the founding of the Zapatistas
18-11-2012 16:13
In San Cristóbal they commemorate the birth of the EZLN: November 17, 1983On this day the latest phase of the Campaign Worldwide Echo in support of the Zapatistas culminates.
Red Trousered Guy Elected Mayor with 8.6% of the City Saying 'Yes'
18-11-2012 14:55
this is a bristol indymedia story
Get the EDL out of London - Nov 24th
18-11-2012 13:53
PCC Candidates join forces as Shadow Police & Crime Commissioners
18-11-2012 10:19
Straight Talk on Gaza
18-11-2012 09:25
Palestine's democratically elected government is targeted. West Bank coup d'etat authority has no legitimacy. Abbas' term as president expired in January 2009. Israel rigged his 2005 election. What's ongoing is illegal aggressive war. Israeli provocations caused it. Israel's entire history reflects belligerence. It lives by the sword. It's a modern-day Sparta. Operation Pillar of Cloud was planned months ago. All military campaigns take many weeks or months of planning. Attacking Gaza coincides with Israel's January elections.Solidarity action for Gaza outside Wrexham's Barclays Bank
17-11-2012 22:12
Full article | 1 addition | 9 comments
Gaza Bombing Demo 16th November 2012
17-11-2012 20:14
Callout for support and SodaStream communications action 19/11/12
17-11-2012 18:04
DAY OF ACTION:Monday the 19th of November all day: Call EcoStream on 01273567924 and/or
tweet @EcoStreamstore and @SodaStreamUK with questions and comments about their business. We advice that you keep your correspondence polite and
factual
Live English TV news from central Gaza City, by Harry Fear.. Breaking News.
17-11-2012 16:08
Operation Pillar of Cloud @ USTREAM: Live English TV news from central Gaza City, by Harry Fear.. Breaking News.Ecostream Brighton blockaded
17-11-2012 10:48
This morning, on November 17th 2012, a member of the Brighton Palestine Solidarity Campaign chained himself to the Ecostream shop on Western Road. This action was taken to demonstrate that Ecostream is unwelcome in Brighton due to the location of its main factory in the illegal Israeli settlement of Mishor Adumim.Gaza: The Litmus Test - Again!
17-11-2012 06:58
The failure to condemn the onslaught on Gaza once again shows the compromised humanity of the World's economic and political elites. Political and business interests of these powerful elites overide any feelings they may otherwise have for the suffering of the Palestinians. Selling arms to Israel is good for business and votes; criticism and action against Zionism the opposite. So silence and inaction are once again the order of the day.Smash EDO: Fundraiser and Gaza demo
16-11-2012 22:04
A quick Smash EDO update about things going on this weekend in Brighton.Recent attacks by anarcho-insurrectionary cells (global)
16-11-2012 21:35
communiques from 'International Conspiracy for Revenge / FAI-IRF' for arson of school and bombing of bourgeois bar, Manado (Indonesia) // communique from Hamburg (Germany) about various attacks in solidarity with the struggling people in Greece // claim by 'Anti-Surveillance Cores' for arson of security van in Bristol (UK) // 'Wild Hogs / ALF-FAI' claim responsibility for hunt sab actions, Tver (Russia) // 'IRF-CCF / Revolutionary Groups for the Dispersion of Terror' claim arson of supermarket and postbank in Athens (Greece) // - 'Wolfpack, ELF/ALF-Russia, Informal Anarchist Federation (FAI)' communique for animal liberation actions // 'Fires on the Horizon / FAI' claim for arson of security company, Athens (Greece) // sources of counter info & translation: 325.nostate.net, actforfree.nostate.net and directaction.infoRural Rebels and Useless Airports: La ZAD - Europe’s largest Postcapitalist lan
16-11-2012 21:26
Since the 16th of October the French state have attempted to evict Europe's largest postcapitalist land occupation - La ZAD - to build a new "green" airport. Farmers and activists have joined together to resist the project and the evictions have lit a fuse across France. KK immerses herself in this rural rebellion against economic growth and the climate catastrophe and discovers a utopia in resistance.(for version of text with image see -
http://labofii.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/rural-rebels-and-useless-airports-la-zad-europes-largest-postcapitalist-land-occupation/) Shortwwod Farm Opencast: Do We Need the Coal
16-11-2012 20:55
A press release from the Loose Anti Opencast Network outlines the content of an objection to the proposed Shortwood Farm opencast mine.
THE LOOSE ANTI OPEN-CAST NETWORK
LAON PR 2012-13 16/11/12
SHORTWOOD FARM : WHY DESTROY WHAT’S THERE WHEN THE USE OF COAL FOR POWER GENERATION PURPOSES IS BECOMING HISTORY?
In an objection to the proposal to develop a quarry to take out 1.25m tonnes of coal from the Shortwood Farm site, the Loose Anti Opencast Network (LAON) make the following points:
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->By the end of 2016, six heavily polluting power stations which were using coal to produce electricity will be closed. This is equal to a third of the UK’s coal burning generating capacity. These power stations are Ferrybridge (Yorkshire), Ironbridge (Shropshire) Cockenzie (nr Edinburgh), Kingsnorth (Kent), Tilbury (Essex) and Didcot (Oxfordshire)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->It is now Government policy for the foreseeable future to phase out the use of coal for power generation purposes
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->It is also now Government policy to use a new subsidy system to encourage the remaining coal burning power stations to be switched to burning biomass. As a consequence, Tilbury Power Station has already been converted to burning biomass, Ironbridge is to be converted. In addition, half of the UK’s biggest power station, Drax (Yorkshire)is to be converted by 2017 and another large power station Eggborough (Goole on Humberside) is also to be converted.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->New Department of Energy and Climate change figures predict what the consequence of these changes will be for on the demand for coal for power generation purposes in the UK until 2030. In 2011 the UK used over 40.5m tonnes of coal. By 2017, the date by when coal extraction on the Shortwood site is most likely to finish if planning permission was granted anytime soon, demand is expected to have fallen to 26.6m tonnes, a drop of about 34%.
The use of coal for power generation purposes is becoming history and for the foreseeable future this trend will continue as Power Generating companies continue to reduce the country’s capacity to burn coal.
In addition, the objection points out how easy it is to import coal.
“ All the years of disturbance and nuisance local people will suffer could be avoided if 10 loads of 130,000 tonnes of coal could, instead, be unloaded in Immingham and transported by a far more environmentally friendly method of transport, rail, to the power stations where it is needed.
This would also mean that the current generation of residents would not have to wait for 25 years before the site began to look mature, assuming that this was in fact a 5 year ‘Green to Green’ proposal, with no submission of a future plan to extend the site.”
Steve Leary, who wrote the submission, is the Co-ordinator of the Loose Anti Opencast Network. Earlier this year he shared a platform with Anna Soubry MP at the two public meetings held to discuss UK Coal’s plans to develop the Shortwood Farm site as an opencast mine.
He commented
“ We in LAON have been working with members of the Shortwood Farm Opencast Opposition group in their campaign to moblise local people to oppose this application. The new evidence LAON has presented shows why coal for power generation purposes is becoming history. The simple question which Nottinghamshire County Councillors face is knowing that this is the case, is 10 shiploads of coal worth saving local people from 5 years of disturbance plus innumerable traffic movements by road, if account is also taken of journeys made by employees and suppliers servicing the site in addition to the known estimated heavy lorry movements. This is a stark choice that the Planning Authority has to take. The case being put here is that protecting local people from the loss of amenity caused by working this site, if permission is given, is worth 10 shiploads of coal, especially when the use of coal is becoming history.
LAON also has to alert local people to another threat which may impinge on the decision about Shortwood Farm. Currently, the Government is seeking further changes in the planning system that might make it easier for proposals such as Shortwood Farm to gain planning permission. In the Growth and Infrastructure Bill currently before Parliament, Clause 21 will give the Secretary Of State power to define certain developments as ‘Major Infrastructure Projects’ . If quarrying and surface mining are so defined, as some commentators think is possible, then the decision will be made by means of a Public Inquiry and not by the local planning authority, thus making it far more difficult for local people to object to such proposals. So far The Government has refused to define what it means by ‘Major Infrastructure Projects’. It would be deeply ironic if the surface mining of coal was so defined in view of the predicted decline in the use of coal.for power generation purposes”
The Shortwood Opencast Opposition group can be contacted via
About LAON
The Loose Anti-Opencast Network (LAON) has been in existence since 2009. It functions as a medium through which to oppose open cast mine applications. At present LAON links individuals and groups in N Ireland (Just Say No to Lignite), Scotland (Coal Action Scotland), Wales (Green Valleys Alliance, The Merthyr Tydfil Anti Opencast Campaign), England, (Coal Action Network), Northumberland, (Whittonstall Action Group, Halton Lea Gate Residents)) Co Durham (Pont Valley Network), Leeds, Sheffield (Cowley Residents Action Group), Kirklees, (Skelmansthorpe Action Group) Nottinghamshire (Shortwood Farm Opencast Opposition), Derbyshire (West Hallum Environment Group, Smalley Action Group and Hilltop Action Group) , Leicestershire (Minorca Opencast Protest Group) and Walsall (Alumwell Action Group).
Contacting LAON
Steve Leary LAON’Ss Co-ordinator, at infoatlaon@yahoo.com
You can now follow LAON on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/Seftonchase