Update About Joseph Buddenberg

from Support Nicole and Joseph

We’ve received updates from Joseph about the situation for him with vegan food and mail delays as he continues to be in the SHU at FCI Victorville:

Since being held at Victorville, my repeated requests for vegan meals have been ignored. On the prison compound, I can subsist on the few vegan options available on commissary, which is not available to SHU inmates. “Requests to Staff,” to Food Service, Religious Services, and Medical, as well as the Warden were all ignored. It took weeks of requests to acquire an administrative remedy form, which was never responded to, in violation of B.O.P. policy.

I can’t speak to other federal facilities, but Victorville does not offer vegan meals. Attempts were made to accommodate my diet at Lompoc, but here I’m only given a “no flesh” tray for lunch and dinner, often a soy dish with cheese, and non-vegan sides like coleslaw or mashed potatoes. Even the physician’s assistant commented on the fact that I’ve lost 20 pounds since my placement in the SHU.

(more…)

Judge Declares Mistrial in Pipeline Protester Case

from WCAX

CHELSEA, Vt. – A climate protester’s day in court ended in a mistrial Monday after another protest sidelined the proceedings.

The trial in Chelsea was about trespassing, but the protesters who showed up at court say it’s about something much more.

As Henry Harris ended his opening statement, defending himself against a trespassing charge, supporters in the audience silently began taking off their shirts to uncover inmate outfits worn underneath. They then stood and raised banners. The judge left the courtroom almost immediately, leaving the protesters, defendant and jury behind.

“I am already in jail, I am condemned to a complete destabilized climate,” Harris said. (more…)

Demonstration at Nestle’s Ice Mountain Bottling Plant in Stanwood, MI, Hometown of Marius Mason

from Earth First! Newswire

Lake Effect EF! demonstrated at Nestle’s Ice Mountain bottling plant on June 11 in Stanwood MI, the hometown of Marius Mason. Marius had organized with Sweetwater Alliance against Nestle’s bottling plant and waterwells in Mecosta County, as well as the water shut offs in Detroit in the early 2000’s.

Nestle is currently seeking a permit to increase their withdrawal at White Pine Springs Well #101 from 250 gallons per minute to 400 gallons per minute. Additionally water shutoffs continue in Detroit with 19,000
residents currently losing their access to water. Bottled water has been utilized as a false solution to the Flint Water Crisis. Rather than being solutions, privatization and water table depletion will only continue to create more ecological and social problems.

We stand in solidarity with Marius and all long term anarchist prisoners. UNTIL ALL ARE FREE!

-LEEF!

Check out this article for more information: Nestlé’s push to pump more water out of Michigan meets resistance

 

Animal Rights Advocates Protest Killing of Bear in Union Beach NJ

by David J Del Grande / NJ.com

About 36 animal rights advocates lined the north bound side of Route 36 at Poole Avenue in Hazlet Thursday evening to protest the death of a black bear on Memorial Day weekend.

Car horns blared in support of the group, while others jeered. A passerby yelled, “Go home.” One protester’s response: We’re in New Jersey, this is our home.

The bear was killed by Union Beach police on May 28, after a four-hour stakeout, and after police were denied assistance from the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife, police have said.

Lauretta Iavarone, a local business owner from Red Bank, said her conscience motivated her to attend the protest. She said the killing of the bear was a real shame.

“Even though I do understand the parameters, it’s very sad and it makes you sad,” Iavarone said.

Janine Motta, programs director at the Animal Protection League of New Jersey, said they organized a protest to raise awareness about bear populations being relocated and growing in new areas, and to tell people that the state isn’t providing tools to mitigate this situation.

(more…)

African Farmers Facing Heavy Prison Sentences if They Continue Their Traditional Seed Exchange

from Alternative Media Syndicate

In order to get developmental assistance, Tanzania amended its legislation, which should give commercial investors faster and better access to agricultural land as well as a very strong protection of intellectual property rights.

‘If you buy seeds from Syngenta or Monsanto under the new legislation, they will retain the intellectual property rights. If you save seeds from your first harvest, you can use them only on your own piece of land for non-commercial purposes. You’re not allowed to share them with your neighbors or with your sister-in-law in a different village, and you cannot sell them for sure. But that’s the entire foundation of the seed system in Africa’, says Michael Farrelly.

Under the new law, Tanzanian farmers risk a prison sentence of at least 12 years or a fine of over €205,300, or both, if they sell seeds that are not certified.

‘That’s an amount that a Tanzanian farmer cannot even start to imagine. The average wage is still less than 2 US dollars a day’, says Janet Maro, head of Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT).

(more…)

Canada: Kinder Morgan Plans Work Along Trans Mountain Line, Starting in September

from Warrior Publications

Kinder Morgan’s schedule for the $7.4-billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion shows construction work is to start as early as Sept. 1.

The detailed schedule was filed recently with the National Energy Board, one of 157 conditions that must be met in order for the Houston, Texas-based company to begin construction.

It shows the large scope of the project where land clearing on some portions of the 1,150-kilometre pipeline route will begin in September.

Pipeline construction will take start as early as October in Alberta, with boring of a tunnel through Burnaby Mountain scheduled to start in March 2018.

The first detailed look at how construction is to unfold brings into relief that while there continues to be legal and political fights to stop the project over concerns of an oil spill and increased oilsands emissions, the company is gearing up to start construction in less than three months.

Kinder Morgan declined an interview on Thursday on its construction plans and scheduling – and any delays they may potentially face.

(more…)

Haul No! Awareness and Action Tour Starting June 13

from Haul No!

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Contact: Klee Benally, indigenousaction@gmail.com
Sarana Riggs, stopcanyonmine@gmail.com

‘Haul No!’ Tour Scheduled to Oppose Grand Canyon Uranium Mining & Transport

Grand Canyon, AZ — As Energy Fuels Inc. (EFI) threatens to start uranium mining on sacred Indigenous Lands managed by the US Forest Service, just miles from the Grand Canyon, Haul No! has planned a 300 mile awareness and action tour along the Canyon Mine haul route.

Who: Haul No! is a volunteer Indigenous-led group collaborating with Indigenous communities and leaders, environmental organizations, and community-based advocates working to stop nuclear colonialism in the Southwest.

What: Haul No! Tour including presentations on public health, cultural and environmental impacts from uranium mining, and a direct action workshop. Starting near the White Mesa Uranium Mill, also operated by EFI, and stopping in impacted Indigenous communities and the city of Flagstaff, the tour will wrap up at sacred Red Butte near Canyon Mine. The tour will culminate at a Prayer Gathering organized by the Havasupai Nation.

When & Where: June 13–25, 2017 (see schedule below) (more…)

Guatemalans Score Win Versus Canada Mining Firm Tahoe Resources

from Tele Sur TV

A group of Guatemalan men who faced the brutal suppression of their peaceful protest won a small victory Thursday after the Canadian Supreme Court rejected an appeal by major mining firm Tahoe Resources Inc.

The win marks a rare victory for those faced with the brutality of Canadian multinational firms, which have frequently been accused of relentlessly plundering Latin American lands while repressing, attacking and attempting to liquidate social movements seen as obstacles to their interests.

The company faces claims of battery and negligence from seven locals attacked by Tahoe Resources private security personnel, who opened fire on the group on April 2014 as a means to terrorize the local community and prevent further opposition to the Escobal mine, an area of ongoing conflict since 2007. Video recordings of the incident show the group of men being fired at from close range.

Tahoe tried to have the case dismissed, but the British Columbia Court rejected the efforts earlier this year, allowing the case to proceed to trial.

“This is an important moment for holding Canadian mining companies accountable for the violence, human rights violations and environmental contamination that occurs abroad as a result of their projects and highlights the riskiness of Tahoe’s Guatemala project,” Caren Weisbart of the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network told teleSUR. Her group will be hosting youth land defender Luis Fernando Garcia Monroy — who lives in San Rafael las Flores, where the Escobal mine is located — this Saturday in Toronto.

(more…)

Interview with Daniel McGowan

from June 11

[LISTEN HERE]

In our latest interview for the June 11th International Day of Solidarity with Marius Mason & All Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners, we spoke with Daniel McGowan.

Daniel is a former eco-prisoner who did seven years in prison for actions he took part in with the Earth Liberation Front. Prior to and since his time in prison, Daniel has been active in prisoner solidarity projects, including the Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners calendar.

We talk about Daniel’s experiences with solidarity on both sides of the walls, the particular importance of long-term prisoner support, which forms of solidarity felt most important during his time in prison, post-release support, Communication Management Units, inter-movement prisoner support, mutual aid, supporting New York state prisoners and younger anarchist prisoners, and the origins of June 11th.

 

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JUNE 11TH: Can you start by telling us about yourself and your experiences with prison and prisoner support?

DANIEL MCGOWAN: Sure, my name is Daniel McGowan, and I’m a former political prisoner. I’ve done seven years in prison for actions I took with the Earth Liberation Front, or the ELF, in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. My experience with prisoner support, for most of my activist life I’ve been involved in prisoner support, and then I found myself being on the receiving end of tremendous amount of support and solidarity from friends and comrades on the outside.

(more…)

Three Arrested Attempting to Block Fast-Tracked FERC Commissioner Approvals in DC

from Beyond Extreme Energy

WASHINGTON, DC: The week following Trump’s announcement that he will pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord, three individuals representing a coalition of nearly 170 groups opposing Trump’s nominees to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) disrupted a committee vote to advance the candidates. Three individuals were arrested during the committee vote.  They stood up and spoke out about FERC’s abusive practices and disregard for the environment.

The coalition, made up of local and national groups focused on various issues, is demanding that senators vote no on Trump’s nominations until the Senate holds investigations into FERC’s the abuses of power and law. The campaign has been building for more than five months and has included call-in’s, letter-writing drives, Twitter storms, lobby days, and civil resistance focused on educating senators and pressuring them to oppose the nominations. The coalition has extensive documentation of FERC’s abuses of power and law to back up their demands. (more…)