The Great Climate Swoop - 10 days to go!

The wheels are in fast motion to make this the best 24 hours
ever. Though don't leave it up to us - come equipped with your own ideas,resources and plans! Our aim is clear: we are there to take back the power, expose corporate greenwash and show our vision for a better future!

This is a jam-packed newsletter but what d'you expect when we're taking over a power station in less than 2 weeks?!

1) THE PLAN
2) TRANSPORT
3) ACCOMODATION
4) HOW TO BE THE MEDIA
5) UPCOMING SWOOP EVENTS (If you don't have anyone to go with, head to an event in your area)
6) MESSAGE TO AFFINITY GROUPS
7) TO INSPIRE US TO GET OVER FENCES.

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1) THE PLAN
Each bloc has a separate mission, and slightly different plan, to ensure we have the whole power station covered for a successful take over! The first thing you need to do is choose your bloc and sign up for text alerts here:  http://climatecamp.org.uk/actions/climate-swoop-2009/text-updates

Below is more info about each blocs plans .

*TAKE BACK THE POWER & FALSE SOLUTIONS BLOCS*
Take Back the Power's mission: get to the control room and take back the power!
False Solution's mission: get to the coal pile and expose the false solutions!

1) Get into the zone marked on the map here:
 http://climatecamp.org.uk/actions/climate-swoop-2009/swoop-information for 10am
2) Get to the muster point for 11am. The muster point will be sent out on Saturday morning, before 10am
3) SWOOP on Ratcliffe for 1pm!

If you don't get any communication about a muster point - just swoop for 1!

The muster point will be a great place to get excited and energise for swooping, get legal info and get the assurance that you're not taking over Ratcliffe on Soar alone!

On the other hand, if gathering as a group isn't your thing, join the decentralised Capitalism is Crisis bloc and make sure you swoop at 1!

*CAPITALISM IS CRISIS*
The decentralised bloc's mission: get anywhere in or around the power station and choose your own adventure!

You maybe decentralised but still sign up to the sms service so you can stay updated with what's happening on the day

*FOOTSTEPS TO THE FUTURE*
This bloc's mission is to get to the main gate and create your vision of a better future!

Meet on Saturday 17th at 10am at Nottingham train station. If you're planning on coming on this bloc, it'd be great if you could email
 info@campaigncc.org to let us know.
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However you're swooping, sign up to receive text messages about your bloc here:
 http://climatecamp.org.uk/actions/climate-swoop-2009/text-updates

And if you haven't already got a map, it's really, really important that you print one out when signing up for the text. It can be printed from here shortly:
 http://climatecamp.org.uk/actions/climate-swoop-2009/swoop-information -
best printed on A3 but any map is better than none!

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2) TRANSPORT
New details added since the last update!

BRIGHTON
Leaving: Friday 16th at 6pm
Leaving from: Old Steine, Brighton
Returning: Sunday evening
Cost: £35 return (£25 concession)
- buy tickets at Brighton Peace and Environment Centre or online at  http://www.thebiglemon.com
Contact:  southcoast@climatecamp.org.uk

BRISTOL
Leaving: Friday 16th at 7pm
Leaving from: Temple Meads Station
Returning: Sunday 18th (flexible)
Cost: £20 onboard
Contact:  dbquiggin@gmail.com, 07793107684
Please contact ASAP!

CAMBRIDGE
Email  palmer-san@hotmail.co.uk or ring 07867990348 if you are interested in coming to the Swoop from Cambridge.

HEBDEN BRIDGE
Email  trees@riseup.net if you are interested in coming to the Swoop from Hebden Bridge

LONDON
Leaving: Friday night and Saturday morning
Leaving from: TBC
Returning: Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.
Cost: £15 max - deadline for booking - Saturday, 10th October
Contact:  London@climatecamp.org.uk or 07932 039031 letting us know if you want to:
a. arrive Friday night or Saturday morning
b. return Saturday night or Sunday night

MANCHESTER
Leaving: Saturday 17th at 9am
Leaving from: Cavendish Street at All Saints Park (on the Oxford Road).
Map:  http://tiny.cc/uLMWa
Returning: Late Saturday evening and Sunday
Cost: £9 return - tickets available to everyone from the University of Manchester Students Union ticket office.
Contact:  manchester@climatecamp.org.uk for more info.

SOUTHAMPTON
Contact:  natalieoman@hotmail.com

THAMES VALLEY
Email  oxford@climatecamp.org.uk or  gcs.outreach.oxford@gmail.com if you're
interest in coming to the Swoop from Thames Valley

WALES
Email  tomaslyn4@yahoo.co.uk or ring 07805826880 if you are interested in coming to the Swoop from Wales

YORKSHIRE
Leaving: Saturday morning (can stop in Sheffield if there is demand)
Leaving from: Leeds Uni and Leeds train station
Returning: Sunday afternoon/ evening
Cost: Free (although £15-25 donations to Yorkshire Climate Camp will be much appreciated)
Contact:  yorks.gcs.outreach@googlemail.com or 07775 864 700

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3) ACCOMMODATION

*Friday night*
This is an amazing autonomous action and we know that loads of people will get themselves into a position to be able to swoop for 1pm on Saturday. However, for people who live further away, OR for people looking for others to swoop with if they haven't managed to get to any neighbourhood
events (see below), limited accommodation is available. The accommodation hotline number is 07556 130 026 and it will be up and running from Wednesday 7th October.

There will be a Welcome and Info stall at Nottingham Train station on Friday night between 6 and 11pm to meet you and direct you to accommodation with fellow swoopers.

It would help us immensely to get a sense of numbers so if you're planning to get in on Friday night and need somewhere to stay, please email:  info@thegreatclimateswoop.org.uk

*Saturday night*
This is planned to be a 24-hour action so hopefully you can stay for the long haul! If you absolutely can't, various neighbourhoods are organising limited transport back to where they came from but it would be really amazing if people planned to stay for the whole shebang!

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4) HOW TO BE THE MEDIA

INDYMEDIA
Upload pictures, video or text straight from your mobile to
 http://mob.notts.indymedia.org.uk and create your own media!

TWITTER
*The basics*
While the official Climate Camp twitter will be working away, nothing should stop you from twittering yourself! Use the easily searchable hashtags below. (Hashtag = a specific word with a hash sign in front of it so that people can search it in the general twitter traffic stream). This
means that other people on the swoop can follow what is happening around them as well as people at home, and also means that we can aggregate these twitters onto our new website page. (Aggregated feed = that there will be
a constantly updated section on the website that can pick up commentary from anyone who uses a specific tag).

All you need is a web-enabled phone. A good application to use is called dabr. Just search for it online on your phone and download it, then enter your twitter details:  http://dabr.co.uk/

*Warning*
If tweeting from your own personal twitter account it will be very easy to track you (even if you use a cunning pseudonym). So unless you really don't care, don't tweet anything you wouldn't want to be confessing to!

*Hashtags*
Whenever you send a twitter whilst on the swoop make sure you include the hashtag #swoop. This is really important!

Depending on which bloc you go with please also include the hashtags below (if you have room) as this will enable people to quickly know where you are and what you are up to:

Take back the power #takepower
Footsteps to the future #footsteps
False solutions #falsesolution
Capitalism is crisis #capitalismcrisis

*Sending images via Twitter*
There are numerous twitter applications that allow you to take photos and immediately send them out via twitter. You probably have your favourite. Twitterific and Tweetdeck are both easy to use, but probably the easiest is Snap2Twitter, which allows you to take a pic and quickly send it on, with or without words, though of course you should remember to add the hashtags  http://www.snapmylife.com

DIY LIVE
We're pulling together all DIY media coming out of the Swoop into an exciting live user experience. So, as well as twittering and sending stuff to indymedia, it'd be great if you could send text updates about what's going on around you to 07556 130 017, always finishing your message with
the grid reference for the map square you're in (roughly) - for example:
H12.

Photos and videos can be sent to  swoop@climatecamp.org.uk from your mobile phone via email or MMS. Again, don't forget to add the grid reference.

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5) UPCOMING SWOOP EVENTS
It'll be nice to see familiar, friendly faces on the swoop so these events will be a great place to meet people to swoop with from your area.

There is loads going on so get stuck in! Many events are happening this weekend (Oct 10-11) but a few are happening during the week (in Notts, Leeds, Hebden Bridge and Glasgow) so don't miss 'em! Keep reading to find your area.

BRIGHTON
The Climate Swoop Info and Training day

When: Saturday 10th October, 2 - 7pm
Where: Westhill Hall, Compton Avenue, 7 Dials, Brighton
What: Come and learn about how you can stand up, make a difference and help prevent impending climate chaos! Come and find out why you should come and join us on the 'Great Climate Swoop' on the 17th and 18th of October in Nottingham.

Info Day
Learn more about the Great Climate Swoop! A national day of mass action against the catastrophic coal industry and climate criminals Eon, at the big 'n' dirty Ratcliffe on Soar power station in Nottingham. Come and meet other people who are going on the action, hear about what's being planned for the day and find out about transport.

Non Violent Direct Action training - 4 - 6pm
Learn some techniques and tools for taking direct action.

For more information email  southcoast@climatecamp.org.uk or phone: 07835 386396
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CAMBRIDGE
Legal Observer Training for the Great Climate Swoop

When: Sunday 11th Oct, 3-5 pm
Where: The Shop, 18 Jesus Lane, Cambridge, CB5 8BQ
What: A brilliant way to support those taking direct action on climate change is to train as a legal observer. Legal Observers help protect protesters' rights and help to keep people safe by observing, recording and making rights and legalities clear in situations where these might otherwise be compromised or abused. Legal observers are essential to
protect the rights of protesters, making it possible to take action on climate change. To find out more come along - no experience necessary - all welcome.

 http://www.cambridgeaction.net
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GLASGOW
The Great Climate Swoop info night

When: Thursday 8th October,
6.30pm-10pm
Where: Glasgow Social Centre, 66/68 Osborne Street
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HEBDEN BRIDGE
The Great Climate Swoop

When: Thursday 8th October
7pm
Where: The Trades Club, 
Holme St, 
Hebden Bridge, HX7 8EE

Contact 01422 845265 or  info@tradesclub.info for more info.
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LEEDS
The Great Climate Swoop - find out all about it!

When: Thursday 8th Oct, 5pm
Where: Leeds Uni Union ARC meeting room 2
What: Open to all. Find out why we are doing it, information about transport, what to do on the action and inspiration!

The Great Climate Swoop - find out all about it again!

When: Wednesday 14th Oct, 6pm
Where: The Common Place
What: A repeat of the event held in the uni the week before: Open to all.
Find out why we are doing it, information about
transport, what to do on the action and inspiration!

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LONDON
Non-Violent Direct Action Training

When: Sunday 11 October, 10am till 5pm
Where: Bash Studios, 65-71 Scutton Street, London EC2A 4P
What: A day's training for anyone who is interested in joining the Great Climate Swoop but wants a bit more experience.

Direct action can be anything from sitting down in a road with two hundred other people to climbing up a coal chimney and painting a message to Mr. Brown. It's been done for hundreds of years by people who don't have access to the levers of power that politicians and corporations have.
Doing direct action requires no particular attributes just a belief that the right thing to do doesn't start or end with a ballot box or a government bill.

This training will look at working in large groups, how to work in affinity groups and dealing with the police. It will look at past actions and see what lessons we can draw from those.

Cost: Recommended donation of £5 but basically whatever you can afford.

Book a place: Email  london@climatecamp.org.uk with your name and a sentence about your experience in direct action so far (no need to be specific!)

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MANCHESTER
Campaigns and Direct Action Training

When: Saturday 10th October,
12 noon - 6pm
Where: University of Manchester Students Union
Oxford Road
What: Get stuck into some general campaign training including media, legal and facilitation as well as some Swoop specific info towards the end of the day. All Welcome - students and non-students alike.
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NOTTINGHAM
Get Your Swoop On

When: Wednesday 7th October, 
7pm
Where: C11 Lecture Theatre, Portland Building, University of Nottingham
What: Open to Nottingham students and residents alike, we will meet to discuss what the Swoop is, why it's necessary and what it can achieve.
Come along to learn how to plan actions in affinity groups, how to stay safe and what you can do to make the Swoop successful and empowering!
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OXFORD
Get ready to Swoop!

When: Sunday 11 Oct, 12pm-4pm
Where: East Oxford Community Centre
What: Whether you definitely plan to Swoop or you're just curious about how and why we plan to take over Ratcliffe power station, join Thames Valley Climate Action for an afternoon of action-packed fun and training. There will be mass action games in Southparks all about forming affinity
groups and trying out tactics. There will be skillshares on action support roles like legal observing, talking to the media and action medics. Plus the all important legal briefing, transport info and yummy vegan tea & cake.

For more info on any Oxford events and transport to swoop, contact
 gcs.outreach.oxford@gmail.com or check out  http://tvca.ox4.org

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6) MESSAGE TO AFFINITY GROUPS
While we're making history at the Swoop, we'll also be making the news...
Our fabulous team of activist photographers and videographers will be out in force to document the Swoop. If you and your affinity group are planning something that deserves to be documented, get in touch with  media@climatecamp.org.uk and we can arrange something securely.

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7) TO INSPIRE US TO GET OVER FENCES.
Through all the late nights busily planning a kick-ass action, let's remember to stay inspired! In 11 days we'll be tearing down the fences!!!
Swoop Swoop!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHl6Be5a8Nw