Philippines: 21 Mining Firms Shut Down

by James Konstantin / The PhilStar

February 3, 2017: TWENTY-ONE mining firms, including four controversial miners operating in Zambales province, were ordered closed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for continued violations of environmental laws.

Environment Secretary Regina Paz “Gina” Lopez on Thursday said the firms were found to have been operating within functional watersheds, severely affecting host communities. She threatened to close seven other firms.

“We have decided to close any kind of mining operation in functional watersheds. The DENR has rightfully decided to take on social justice. I am not against mining but I am against suffering,” Lopez said in a news conference in Quezon City.

(more…)

Worldwide Call to Action Feb. 8: #NODAPL Last Stand

from Sacred Stone Camp

[Yesterday, Feb. 7, 2017]  the US Army Corps gave notice of intent to grant the final easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross the Mni Sose (Missouri River).  They are skipping the EIS ordered in December, and skipping the congressional notification period required by law.  This is a response to President Trump’s Presidential Memorandum directing the Corps to expedite approval of the project.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe will likely sue and ask for a temporary restraining order to halt construction while the legality of this decision is reviewed in court.  In the meantime, DAPL will likely start drilling immediately.  The media recently reported that DAPL says their “best case scenario” timeline is 83 days from easement to oil flow.

WORLDWIDE CALL TO ACTION FEB. 8
The Indigenous Coalition at Standing Rock is calling for February 8th to be an international day of emergency actions to disrupt business as usual and unleash a global intersectional resistance to fossil fuels and fascism.  Connect with other struggles.  Think long-term movement building.  We are in this for the long haul.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has consistently asked for people to go home, and we understand this.  Regardless, water protectors remain on the ground at the Sacred Stone Camp, determined to stop the black snake, and we support them.  If you go, expect police violence, mass arrests, felony charges for just about anything, abuse while in custody, targeted persecution and racial profiling while driving around the area, etc.

We are calling for emergency actions all over the world. PLEASE, THIS IS OUR LAST STAND. Please visit everydayofaction.org to find or register an action wherever you are. Check out our world action map to join the mass distributed actions [TODAY], February 8th.

(more…)

North Dakota House Approves DAPL Protest Bills

(more…)

Dakota Access Pipeline: Final Phase to Be Approved

from The Guardian

The US government is set to allow the final phase of construction of the Dakota Access pipeline to begin as early as Wednesday, dealing a major blow to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

The decision sets the stage for a tense showdown at the site of the drilling, where indigenous and environmental activists have been camped for nearly a year.

The army corps of engineers provided notice of its intention to grant a permit for the oil pipeline to cross the Missouri river in North Dakota in a letter to congressman Raúl Grijalva, the ranking member on the House committee on natural resources. The decision follows Donald Trump’s executive order in his first week in office to expedite the project.

The letter, revealed in court filings, states that the easement will be issued “no earlier than 24 hours” after the delivery of the letter, which is dated 7 February. The letter also states that the army corps intends to waive the usual 14-day waiting period after congressional notification, meaning drilling could begin as early as Wednesday. (more…)

Fox Saved From Curre and Llangibby Hunt

from Bristol Hunt Saboteurs

Yesterday, we paid an overdue visit to The Curre & Llangibby Hunt with our friends from South Wales Hunt Saboteurs & Bath Hunt Saboteurs.

We arrived late at the meet but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the hunt had left and thought their murderous activities would go unnoticed; sadly for them, we were soon close on their tails.

We worked relentlessly to keep the hunt in our sights. The first half of the day saw the huntsman on foot attempting to work his hounds through thick coverts with us making sure he didn’t get up to any mischief. Despite the fact they would maintain that they were simply trail hunting, trails cannot be effectively laid through thick covert. And whilst they were following ‘trails’ and we were following them, a helicopter was following us as the hunt felt they needed protecting and at the taxpayers expense no less (a pricey sum of more than £1000 an hour to be in the air).

Update: Journal House (Almost Definitely) Saved Thanks to Our Supporters!

Last month we published an urgent Newswire post asking for donations to help save our home and office, which had been sold under our noses to some random yuppies.

Well, thanks to your donations and the support of some caring investors, the house is now secure!

We won’t absolutely know for sure that we got the house for at least a few weeks—there is still some paperwork to go through, and this whole experience has been a roller coaster of uncertainty—but it is essentially certain, and many of us will be out of contact for the next week while we’re at the Earth First! Organizers Conference, so we wanted to make sure folks knew that your efforts were indeed appreciated, and effective. All of the money raised from the call for donations will either go towards the purchase of the property or to repairs on the house and office itself so that it can continue to be lived in. Once the process is complete, the EF! Journal will have a more secure base of operations that will allow us to expand the work we are doing without the fear of having to relocate a 36-year-old business at the drop of a hat. We are extremely excited about the possibilities for this space moving forward, and thank all of you who donated, spread the word, or sent us messages of support.

Thank you!

One more note: Securing this house does not mean that the Journal Collective has to stay in South Florida for the foreseeable future. We anticipate the day when a new crew of wild Earth First!ers decides to take this project on for themselves, to move the Earth First! Journal to their bioregion, and to keep the tradition alive of passing this important project on to new generations of eco-warriors!

For the Wild,
The EF!J Collective

To Save the Water, We Must Break the Cycle of Colonial Trauma

by Ladonna Bravebull Allard / Sacred Stone Camp image credits Red Hawk

The police came to Last Child Camp in broad daylight, with armored vehicles and guns drawn, to rip our people from our land.  Many water protectors were on prayer walks and in ceremony. We watched from the top of the hill at Oceti Oyate Camp as the troops moved in against them. We sent our prayers to those innocent and brave warriors who came to stand with the people of Standing Rock, and to protect the sacred waters of Unci Maka (Mother Earth).

Front Line at Standing Rock Call to Action

This is a video directly from the Water Protectors on the Front Line at Standing Rock. This is a Call To Action to all Strong Hearts to come to the front line. The lawlessness and militarization of the police has increased since Trump has taken office. The non-violent Protectors are being attacked and arrested. Their rights are being violated. (more…)

In Chile the Forest Industry is Behind the Fires

by Pablo Torres / Desinformémonos

translated by Earth First! Journal

During the worst forest crisis in [Chile’s] history, according to the government, south and central Chile have spent the last two weeks [as of January 30] living through immense devastation and tragedy in their homes. With over 100 active points spread across 7 of the 15 regions in the country, the uncontrollable fires have destroyed over 519,000 hectares [over 2,000 square miles]. Currently [as of January 29] there are 51 fires that have been controlled, 59 are being fought, and 8 have been extinguished. These fires razed through an area of [more than 1,529 square miles].

Chile’s Ministry of the Interior and Public Security (ONEMI) reported that the forest fires have left 1,343 people in shelters, 2,970 evacuees, 1,061 homes destroyed, and 11 people dead. The state of emergency remains in effect in Valparaíso, and in the provinces of Colchagua and Cardenal Caro, O’Higgins, Maule, Biobío, and the Araucanía. President Bachelet said “we are doing what is possible.”

THE FOREST INDUSTRY IS BEHIND THE WAVES OF FIRE

The wave of fires is affecting the south-central zone of the country and is rooted in the productive structures and social formations serving two large monopolies. They are not natural: the big forest business has transformed native humid forests into plantations that dry them out, like pine and eucalyptus.

(more…)

#NoDAPL Prisoner Support Updates

from Water Protector Anti-Repression Crew via It’s Going Down

Rattler is a Water Protector who is currently being held pre-trial on federal felony charges produced through a grand jury indictment. Rattler’s home is at Pine Ridge and he comes from a long legacy of struggle that he continued at Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline and it’s world. Please support Rattler as he fights these charges brought against him by the federal government. Rattler would love to receive your letters and cards of support.

Rattler loves fantasy fiction, Dungeons and Dragons and has a really great book list set up. He’d appreciate something to read while he is inside.

Michael Markus
Box 1416 
Bismarck, ND 58502-1416

Red Fawn Fallis is still being held pre-trial on federal charges as well. Red Fawn has shown her dedication to the water, the earth and all that is sacred. Her spirits remain high despite the ways in which the state hopes to squash her. Please send your support to Red Fawn through letters!

Legal Fund

Red Fawn Fallis
Stutsman County Correctional Center
205 6th st. SE, Ste 201
Jamestown, ND 58401 (more…)