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Category: Protest

  • Stop this egregious project: Fossil Free London ‘dies in’ over Rosebank

    Climate crisis activists from Fossil Free London ‘died in’ at the UK parliament over the upcoming legal challenge against the controversial and planet-wrecking Rosebank oil field project.

    As the Canary previously reported, a court in Scotland has given the green-light for legal challenges against the climate-wrecking Rosebank oilfield project in the North Sea.

    The decision potentially paves the way to ending the project for good. Now, campaign groups Uplift and Greenpeace UK are gearing up to take on the fossil fuel titans still trying to force the destructive project through the courts.

    Rosebank judicial reviews

    Campaigners have previously estimated that the enormous Rosebank project – situated off the coast of Shetland in the North Sea – will produce over 500m barrels of oil over its lifetime. This would equate to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of the 28 lowest-income countries combined.

    In September 2023, the UK’s oil and gas regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), granted the license for Equinor and Ithaca Energy to develop the notorious Rosebank oil and gas field.

    So, in December 2023, Greenpeace and campaign group Uplift launched judicial reviews against the government over Rosebank. Crucially, this sought to overturn the government’s decision to greenlight the Rosebank project.

    Now, the Court of Session in Edinburgh has given them the go-ahead.

    A die-in for the climate crisis’s victims

    So, at 8am on Friday 8 November, campaigners in red dresses staged a ‘die in’ outside the Houses of Parliament in advance of the court case, brought by Greenpeace and Uplift, to challenge the approval of the proposed Rosebank oil field, being heard at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, 12 – 15 November.

    Placards read “Dying for Labour to Stop Rosebank” and ”Stop new North Sea oil”:

    Rosebank die in

    Activists then died in:

    Campaigner with Fossil Free London , Joanna Warrington said:

    In the wake of hundreds of dead in Valencia and the devastation caused by Hurricane Milton, this UK government must stop this egregious, massive oil field or it has totally lost touch with reality.

    Allowing Equinor to exploit this field would not only ignite more fossil fuels, but set ablaze every person’s basic hope of a secure future. If this government allows Rosebank to be drilled, it would leave an oily black stain on the UK’s environmental legacy; one that could never be erased.

    Featured image and additional images via Fossil Free London

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Cops arrested a Jewish-Israeli professor opposed to Israel’s genocide – but people are not having it

    Haim Bresheeth is a 79-year-old Jewish peace activist. His parents survived the Holocaust. He grew up in Israel, and fighting in two wars for the country turned him into a pacifist. Because he now opposes Israel’s genocide in Gaza and decades-long oppression of Palestinian people, police arrested him last week under the Terrorism Act.

    You can see the speech here at SKWAWKBOX, which the outlet says included factual critiques of Israel’s “colonialism, racism and violence, including the mass murder of civilians”.

    Everyone who stands for peace must stand in solidarity with Bresheeth and other courageous activists – Jewish and non-Jewish – who are facing intimidation for opposing the genocide.

    Demonstrations take place weekly at Swiss Cottage (near the Israeli ambassador’s home in London), usually at 5.30pm, so you can attend or spread the word about these events. This event has been growing in size, and the police would hate it if it grew even more.

    Haim Bresheeth: the British state is “trying to intimidate, to criminalise, and to silence Jews” who oppose genocide

    Haim Bresheeth is an “advanced cancer patient with a serious heart condition”, and he had attended the weekly protest against Israel’s far-right ambassador Tzipi Hotovely, who has previously egged on the genocide in Gaza. Speaking to Al Jazeera, the university professor said:

    They’re trying to intimidate, to criminalise, and to silence Jews with a public profile who are supporting the end of genocide.

    He also argued that:

    There are probably now more Jews supporting Palestine and against the genocide than the other way… And we’re not allowed to speak, because we are criminalised when we speak.

    Sharing footage of his recent arrest, the Quincy Institute’s Trita Parsi insisted:

    Western states cannot sustain support for Israel’s carnage in Gaza unless they compromise democracy and the rights of their citizens.

    Haim Bresheeth previously told the Canary that:

    The Israel lobby is the strongest lobby in this country, and at the moment there’s a very systematic approach that’s trying to demonise those supporting opposition to what’s happening in Palestine.

    He has consistently made clear his support for peace and opposition to Zionism – the colonial nationalist movement behind the disastrous establishment of Israel in 1948.

    We must oppose the systematic police persecution of the anti-genocide movement

    SKWAWKBOX has been doing excellent coverage of the police intimidation of activists. As it reported on 5 November, another activist at the same event as Haim Bresheeth also suffered violent police repression. He explained:

    On Friday 1 November, at IJAN’s weekly picket in Swiss Cottage, I was arrested and charged with an alleged assault. The allegation came from a Zionist instigator that police watched on as he barged about amongst us, using foul language at people, filming and intimidating them.

    Yael Kahn, who is “a Jewish Israeli woman who has been campaigning for Palestine for 51 years”, was also there and complained about the police physically attacking her.

    She had previously gone viral online over another example of police intimidation:

    Age or religion seem to be no barrier for the British police when repressing dissent over the state’s participation in genocide. Below are a couple of other examples:

    The Crispin Flintoff Show has also been doing great work to highlight the repression of anti-genocide campaigners. Flintoff is planning to go to Swiss Cottage on Friday 8 November to interview people there and listen to the speeches. His show will be out on Sunday morning:

    Featured image via screengrab

    By Ed Sykes

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Meet Chris, a brain tumor survivor who just camped outside Downing Street for Palestine

    Chris Spencer-Smith, a dedicated activist with the Palestine Solidarity Movement based in Bournemouth, set up camp outside 10 Downing Street on Saturday 2 November to protest the UK government’s complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

    Chris Spencer-Smith: protesting in a tent outside Downing Street

    Chris Spencer-Smith is a brain tumour survivor. Despite facing health challenges, Chris remains resolute in his demand for the government to cease arms sales to Israel and implement sanctions against the Israeli regime.

    “I am here because silence is complicity,” said Chris. “The UK government must stop arming Israel and take a stand for the rights of Palestinians. We cannot sit idly by while innocent lives are lost. I urge the public to join me in calling for justice and accountability”:

    I want everyone to ask themselves this:

    What if it were your family and your community being relentlessly bombed?

    What if it were your children’s school being attacked?

    What if it were your local hospital being bombed?

    Chris’s protest comes in response to the escalating violence and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He is engaging with the public to raise awareness and pass a strong message: the UK must take immediate action to stop supporting the Israeli occupation and hold those responsible for human rights violations accountable.

    He said in a video that:

    I’ll be undertaking individual action in London for seven days and seven nights which I have branded as Stand Up for Palestine… There’ll be a lot of content, words, clumsily read poems, interviews with the public

    “For me this isn’t about politics or religion, it’s about humanity and justice” Chris noted.

    Mostly support – just not from the state

    However, his actions didn’t go unnoticed to the cops:

    While people were generally supportive, Chris Spencer-Smith did encounter some intimidation and threats from the public – oh, and the government, too:

    He continued his one-man sit in until Wednesday 6 November.

    We should all be a bit more Chris

    As Chris Spencer-Smith posted on X, police had begun harassing him and making threats of arrest. Given the nature of his health, and under threat of arrest, he decided to call it a day. But as he said:

    I achieved what I set out to achieve

    The Palestine Solidarity Movement (PSM) stands in solidarity with Chris and emphasises the importance of grassroots activism in amplifying voices for justice.

    “Chris’s bravery in the face of adversity inspires us all. His protest highlights the urgent need for the UK to reassess its policies towards Israel and Palestine. We call on the public to support Chris’s efforts and demand a change,” stated a representative from the Palestine Solidarity Movement.

    Featured image via Chris Spencer-Smith

    By Steve Topple

  • We are all Palestine Action: UK’s sharpest activists come together against Zionist lobby

    Palestine Action has been so effective in its recent campaigns that it’s attracted the attentions of the Zionist lobby. Now, some of the sharpest activist groups in the UK have come together to stand firmly behind the actionists.

    The groups write:

    As the genocide has intensified, Palestine Action has also escalated its actions and they have come under frequent attack from the Zionist lobby…

    Following a series of hung juries and acquittals for Palestine Action actionists, there is now evidence emerging of steps being taken to prevent juries acquitting on account of their conscience.

    To date, Palestine Action has 16 political prisoners in Britain, 11 of which have not yet faced trial. Actionists have been subjected to regular dawn raids, police harassment, stops at the airport and smear campaigns.

    What have Palestine Action done?

    Just last week, in a huge victory Barclays divested from Elbit thanks to a long campaign from Palestine Action. Here at the Canary, we reported:

    Initial research published in July 2022 by Campaign Against Arms Trade, War on Want, and Palestine Solidarity Campaign showed the bank held shareholdings worth over £1.5billion in companies complicit with Israeli apartheid. Palestine Action adopted the campaign in October 2023 due to the bank’s investments in Elbit Systems — the group’s primary target.

    Barclays has now sold all of its shareholding in Elbit Systems – Elbit are Israel’s largest weapons company. The kind of direct action Palestine Action have engaged in – consistent pickets, roadblocks, climbing onto buildings to halt operations – are clearly effective.

    In fact, they’re effective enough that, as the group describes above, the Palestine Action activists who carry out this work are now subject to intense pressure from the government, the legal system, and police.

    Who’s supporting the group?

    That’s exactly why this group of activists and organisers are standing together to show that they are in full solidarity with Palestine Action. Each of these groups, whilst from a range of backgrounds, clearly understand the importance of direct action that disrupts – rather than marches that can be ignored:

    • CAGE International are an advocacy organisation that challenge Islamophobic narratives of power, confront egregious state power, as well as research and campaign to dismantle the ongoing impacts of the ‘war on terror’.
    • Sisters uncut are a feminist group that take action for survivors of domestic violence with a storied history of taking action for sex workers, those who’ve experienced abuse, and those facing intersectional oppressions including anti-Blackness, and Zionism.
    • Palestinian Youth Movement are a British chapter of a broader movement, who have come together with other groups across the world to fight for a free Palestine.
    • Parents for Palestine are a UK-based collective of parents and caretakers coming together to call for an end to “the ongoing siege of Gaza”.
    • ELSC are the European Legal Support Center and provide legal support for supporters of Palestine, as well as strategic litigation when useful.
    • Axe Drax take direct action against Drax which is a power station in Yorkshire that burns wood – Drax is the UK’s single largest carbon emitter.
    • Defend Our Juries campaign for a fairer legal system whereby juries are not put under pressure to convict defendants, and to call attention to corporate connections and government dishonesty.
    • Free Political Prisoners is a campaign from Defend Our Juries which is a civil disobedience campaign that looks to defend disruptive actions made with political commentary.
    • Just Stop Oil take direct action to call attention to the climate crisis and to end the use of fossil fuels, with many of their members similarly harassed by police.

    Standing in solidarity

    These groups have come together to say of Palestine Action:

    Every action which disrupts the supply chain of weapons being used in the ongoing genocide is the moral thing to do and worthy of support. Direct action has never been more necessary…

    Palestine Action continues to put their liberty on the line for the liberation of Palestine.

    We stand in full solidarity with Palestine Action and call on all people of conscience to show their support for the group. We are all Palestine Action.

    Organised, state-sanctioned A-to-B marches and demonstrations are an important way for people to express their moral outrage. However, direct action carries much more severe consequences from the legal system.

    In order for movements to be effective, they must centre around goals, rather than any one single person. This latest generation of actionists are exactly what’s needed to hold immoral and unaccountable government’s feet to the fire.

    Everyone at the Canary stands in full solidarity with both the groups listed above, and Palestine Action.

    Featured image via Palestine Action

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • City centre SUV owners just got some home truths from the Tyre Extinguishers

    Outraged Edinburgh residents have taken action, highlighting SUV’s disproportionate role in climate crisis-causing catastrophic weather, like that which has killed over 200 in Valencia.

    Spain: catastrophic events due to the climate crisis

    Spain just experienced its deadliest floods in decades, primarily affecting the eastern region of Valencia. Triggered by a meteorological phenomenon known as DANA (Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos), the region received nearly a year’s worth of rainfall within hours, leading to catastrophic flash floods.

    The deluge resulted in the deaths of at least 217 individuals, with the majority of fatalities occurring in Valencia. Many victims were trapped in vehicles, homes, and underground car parks as floodwaters rose rapidly. Rescue operations were hampered by the swift onset of the floods, leaving emergency services struggling to reach those in need.

    The floods caused extensive damage to infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and rail lines, effectively isolating several communities. Thousands of residents were displaced, facing shortages of basic necessities such as clean water and electricity. In response, the Spanish government deployed over 10,000 soldiers and police officers to assist in rescue and relief efforts.

    Public frustration mounted over perceived delays in official warnings and the speed of the government’s response. During a visit to the affected areas, king Felipe VI and prime minister Pedro Sánchez were met with protests from residents expressing their anger and despair.

    SUVs play their part – as do their drivers

    The disaster has reignited discussions about the climate crisis and the need for improved infrastructure to mitigate the effects of extreme weather events. However, it has also sparked outrage over the continued use of highly polluting modes of transport – such as sports utility vehicles (SUVs).

    Protestors defaced SUVs throughout Edinburgh’s New Town, and left windscreens with images of victims like José Castillejo, 28, who died in the Valencia floods, and Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau, two UK children who were killed last year when an out-of-control Land Rover hit their London primary school:

    Activists from group The Tyre Extinguishers were sending a clear message to owners: if SUVs were a country they’d be the fifth biggest world polluter:

    They also, as the group’s name implies, let down people’s tyres:

    SUVs Valencia

    There were over 360m SUVs on world roads in 2023, producing 1bn tonnes of CO2, up 10% on 2022. As a result, global oil consumption rose by 600,000 barrels/day, more than a quarter of total oil demand growth.

    One of the main issues with SUVs is their fuel consumption. SUVs consume approximately 25% more energy than medium-sized cars, which leads to a substantial increase in CO₂ emissions per mile driven.

    Stop SUVs

    With more powerful engines and increased weight, SUVs demand more fuel, and their lower fuel economy translates directly into higher emissions. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the rise of SUVs was the second-largest contributor to the increase in global CO₂ emissions from 2010 to 2018, surpassing emissions from the aviation sector.

    Additionally, SUVs are often marketed as rugged, all-terrain vehicles, but in reality, most are driven primarily in urban settings where their off-road capabilities are unnecessary. This widespread use of large, powerful vehicles in cities contributes to air pollution and road congestion, exacerbating their environmental impact.

    Beyond CO₂ emissions, the manufacturing of SUVs also has a large carbon footprint due to the increased materials needed, particularly steel and aluminum. Heavier vehicles require more energy in production, which amplifies their overall environmental impact.

    Little wonder, then, that the Tyre Extinguishers felt compelled to take action – as people needlessly driving around city centres in off-road vehicles are directly contributing to the climate crisis – and therefore, the deaths the world saw in Valencia.

    Featured image and additional images via the Tyre Extinguishers 

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The first UK protest over Donald Trump’s election victory is TONIGHT

    The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has expressed its grave concern that Donald Trump has won the 2024 US presidential election, and warns that the world is now more dangerous with Trump’s finger on the nuclear button. So, it has quickly organised a UK protest.

    Unpredictable and antagonistic

    Trump’s unpredictable foreign policy, disregard for democracy, and antagonistic stance on nuclear weapons threatens to intensify the dangers posed by nuclear flashpoints in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

    His last administration oversaw the development of new nuclear weapons and the US withdrawal from critical arms control treaties, including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the groundbreaking nuclear agreement with Iran.

    CND says it is also alarmed by Trump’s ongoing push for NATO members to dramatically increase their military spending, and previously demanding that member states contribute 3% of their GDP to weapons and war. This will only exacerbate global militarisation and distract from the urgent need to reduce nuclear arsenals worldwide.

    In his congratulatory message to Trump, Keir Starmer said he knows the “UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper” under Trump’s presidency. This special relationship is underpinned by the Mutual Defence Agreement, the secretive nuclear treaty whose renewal was recently railroaded through parliament without any debate.

    Donald Trump UK protest: tonight

    CND is committed to amplifying the voices of those who reject Trump’s dangerous vision for the future. So, there will be a Donald Trump UK protest.

    The group is calling on “all those who stand for peace, disarmament, and diplomacy” to join it tonight, Wednesday 6 November, at 6pm for a protest outside the US Embassy in London (SW1A 1AE), as it “stands in solidarity against Trump’s dangerous return to power”.

    Details of another protest on Saturday 9 November will follow.

    CND general secretary Sophie Bolt said:

    The world will be far more dangerous with Trump’s thumb on the nuclear button. The risks of nuclear flashpoints are already high – over Ukraine, across the Middle East and in the Asia-Pacific. This will only intensify under his presidency. British people reject Trump’s dangerous escalation and so must our government.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The people of Bristol just grabbed the baton from Palestine Action – and BLOCKADED Elbit

    After a years-long campaign against Israel’s arms manufacturer Elbit Systems by Palestine Action, residents of Bristol have joined in – by blockading the genocide-enabling company’s factory in the city.

    Bristol: stop arming Israel

    A group of approximately 40 Bristol residents are currently blockading a weapons factory in North Bristol, UK. At approximately 7am on Wednesday 6 November, protestors arrived outside Elbit Systems with banners and Palestine flags:

    Protestors have chosen Elbit Systems, an Israeli-based military technology company, because Elbit currently supplies 85% of Israel’s drone fleet and land-based military equipment. The protestors have formed a line to encourage workers to join them and prevent vehicles from entering the site in response to their concerns about the current conflict in Gaza.

    This is not the first protest Elbit has seen, with various protests over previous months challenging Elbit’s role in supplying weapons to the Israeli government. Bristol residents have come out in their numbers to oppose this.

    Jan Taylor who lives near the site said:

    Elbit has persistently ignored Bristol residents’ cries to stop supporting genocide in Gaza! Imagine if it was our children being carpet bombed? Elbit needs to acknowledge their part in this.

    Protestors have been singing and calling for workers to join the group in order to prevent the factory from functioning as normal for the day.

    Daniel Clark from Bristol said:

    Not on my land. I was born and raised in Bristol and I can’t believe this is still going on. Elbit declares its weapons are ‘battle ready’ as they have tested their equipment on innocent Palestinians. Get out Elbit!

    Elbit: arming Israel’s genocide

    Since the latest conflict broke out in October 2023, the latest death toll in Gaza stands at 44,142 Palestinians, including 16,765 children.

    As the Canary has documented, Elbit Systems is Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, who produce weapons which are marketed as “battle-tested” on the Palestinian people. They provide 85% of Israel’s military drone fleet and land based equipment, as well as bullets, missiles, and digital warfare.

    Elbit’s Israel-based CEO, Bezhalel Machlis, who also sits on the board of Elbit Systems UK, explained how the company has “ramped up production” to meet the demand of the Israeli military’s genocidal campaign in Gaza and across the wider region.

    The International Court of Justice has ruled it’s plausible Israel is committing genocide — a genocide armed by Elbit Systems. So, people in Bristol are right to take action – as is Palestine Action.

    Featured image and additional images supplied

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Now Palestine Action has targeted shareholders AND insurers of Elbit

    Palestine Action has upped the ante over UK-based companies propping up Israel’s ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza. This time, the group targeted two different companies – Allianz and BNY Mellon – from two different industries. But the common denominator was their support for the Zionist entity.

    Palestine Action: going back to Allianz

    First, following on from Palestine Action’s concerted actions on Allianz UK offices in October, activists made a return visit to the company’s Glasgow offices, at 58 Waterloo Street, over the weekend. Activists broke glass and sprayed the building red:

    Allianz not only provide Employers Liability Insurance to Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest arms manufacturer, but they also hold substantial shares in the company. Elbit Systems manufacture more than 85% of the Israeli military’s drones, including the quadcopters being used to slaughter Palestinian civilians.

    Back on the morning of 8 October, Palestine Action targeted 10 Allianz branches, covering them in graffiti and blood-red paint, as well as occupying their Guildford offices. As the group said at the time:

    These nationwide actions serve as a reminder that, throughout the past twelve months, Western capital has continued to profit from the mass murder of Palestinians.

    Palestine Action has since written to Allianz, to ask that they end their relationship with Elbit, which is a direct contradiction of their human rights policy which supposedly commits the company to ‘supporting and respecting the protection of international human rights’ and ‘ensuring that Allianz is not complicit in human rights abuses’.

    Drop your agreement

    Part of the letter reads:

    Elbit Systems is Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, who produce weapons which are marketed as “battle-tested” on the Palestinian people. They provide 85% of Israel’s military drone fleet and land based equipment, as well as bullets, missiles and digital warfare. Elbit’s Israel-based CEO, Bezhalel Machlis, who also sits on the board of Elbit Systems UK, explained how the company has “ramped up production” to meet the demand of the Israeli military’s genocidal campaign in Gaza and across the wider region. The International Court of Justice has ruled it’s plausible Israel is committing genocide — a genocide armed by Elbit Systems, your client.

    The letter to Allianz concludes:

    We ask that you do not renew your insurance of Elbit Systems UK, and do not insure the company, or any of its subsidiaries in the future. We also request that you completely divest from Elbit Systems Ltd. If you can confirm that you will cease all dealings with Elbit Systems, we will happily end our campaign against you.

    So far Palestine Action has not received a response from the company. Their Employers’ Liability Insurance policy with Elbit is due for renewal on 7 November 2024.

    The group said in a statement that:

    We again urge Allianz to end all their links with the Genocidal arms manufacturer, and if they fail to do so, they can expect to hear from Palestine Action again.

    BNY Mellon also under fire

    Then, overnight on Monday 4 November, activists targeted the Bank of New York Mellon’s London office at 160 Queen Victoria St, London, EC4V 4LA:

    Windows and doors were shattered and red paint was sprayed across the building to symbolise BNY Mellon’s complicity in Palestinian bloodshed:

    The bank’s latest disclosures show the bank holds 43,519 shares in Elbit Systems, worth over $7.6 million.

    After 54 similar actions were taken against Barclays, the bank no longer holds any shareholdings in Elbit Systems — according to their most recent SEC filings. APCO, an international lobby firm, also cut ties with Elbit following a Palestine Action direct action campaign.

    A Palestine Action spokesperson said:

    Financial institutions reduce Palestinian lives to profits on their balance sheets. Therefore, we will make investing in Israel’s weapons trade more costly than any potential gain, through direct action. Actions will cease once the bank no longer holds any shares in Israel’s biggest weapons producer, Elbit Systems.

    Featured image and additional images via Palestine Action and Martin Pope

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Climate Activist Thunberg Joins Georgian Election Protest


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Even Gandhi thinks we simply need to ‘Just Stop Oil’

    Just Stop Oil has continued its use of statues as a method of protest – this time, targeting one of history’s most famous anti-colonialists, Gandhi.

    Gandhi says Just Stop Oil

    Just Stop Oil supporters covered Parliament Square’s Gandhi Statue in salt, and dressed the figure in a high-vis shawl. The group is demanding that the UK government work with others to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030:

    Mahatma Gandhi was the Indian anti-colonial nationalist, who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India’s independence from British rule. Activists dressed the statue in a high vis shawl and proceeded to cover it in salt, referencing the salt march Gandhi led, which was a pivotal moment in the Indian independence movement:

    One of those taking action is Casper Horton-Kitchlew, 32, from Hackney, who is the great-great nephew of Saifuddin Kitchlew, an Indian independence activist who spent time in prison with Ghandi.

    Casper said:

    Our government is pouring salt on Gandhi’s legacy. There are 40 political prisoners in the UK right now, including 24 jailed for Gandhian, nonviolent direct action in support of Just Stop Oil. The doublethink that allows the British state to both venerate past resistance and imprison those demanding change today is the same as their acknowledging the climate crisis, but continuing to burn oil and gas.

    My great great uncle, Saifuddin Kitchlew was imprisoned with Gandhi in 1919. The British massacred those protesting for his release at Amritsar. Lives are at risk again, as innocent people in south and eastern Spain become the latest victims of oil and gas. I have no doubt both Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew would approve of those organising and resisting the governments allowing the continued burning of fossil fuels.

    No more business as usual

    A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said:

    In 1947 the Indian Independence movement achieved an end to British Rule, something that was previously considered unthinkable. This was achieved through mass civil disobedience. In 2024, we must also achieve the unthinkable and bring an end to the oil and gas era, before it ends us.

    We have a government producing a ‘business as usual’ budget, prioritising the profits of corporations and billionaires, whilst betting on unicorn technologies like ‘carbon capture’ to avert catastrophe. Meanwhile, 158 bodies and counting have been dragged from the mud in flash floods in Spain. How bad does it have to get before the UK government gets on with the job of protecting the people they are supposed to serve?

    The action came after the group changed tactic – and started using famous statues to highlight the ongoing climate crisis and rich people’s profiteering that causes it.

    Just Stop Oil: who’s next?

    As the Canary previously reported, Just Stop Oil has so far taken action at:

    • The Beatles statue in Liverpool.
    • Emmeline Pankhurst in Manchester.
    • Greek goddess Demeter at the British Museum.

    Then, the statue of Nelson Mandela, the former South African President and anti-apartheid activist got the orange treatment with a speech bubble and high viz vest.

    Two supporters dressed the figure in a high viz vest and added speech bubbles reading “It always seems impossible until it’s done”:

    Just Stop Oil Nelson Mandela

    So, it begs the question: who will Just Stop Oil use to highlight the climate crisis next?

    Featured image and additional images supplied

    By The Canary

  • The performative uproar over Palestine Action is just more Zionist bullsh*t

    Over the weekend, Palestine Action marked 107 years since the Balfour Declaration, by taking two sculptures of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, from its display case at University of Manchester. The group also sprayed Cambridge University and targeted two leading Zionist organisations in London: Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) and the Jewish National Fund (JNF).

    However, it was the ‘theft’ of the Weizmann sculptures which caused Zionists and the pro-Israel lobby to lost its shit – in yet another display of faux-outrage.

    Palestine Action take action

    Palestine Action actionists took the Weizmann statue during the early hours of Saturday 2 November:

    The group also targeted BICOM in London:

    Palestine Action Zionists

    It also redecorated the JNF:

    Palestine Action

    Zionists losing their shit

    Consequently, pro-Israel lobbyists the Community Security Trust weighed in. It couldn’t say that Palestine Action’s ‘actions’ were antisemitic – because it knew they weren’t:

    Zionist extremist Tracy-Ann Oberman compared what Palestine Action did to living in Nazi Germany:

    Meanwhile – anyone for a scam?

    Even the usually-OKish Andy Burnham got in on the act. As Manchester Evening News reported:

    Andy Burnham described the theft as an ‘appalling act of vandalism’ as he called on Greater Manchester Police to carry out the ‘fullest possible investigation’ into last night’s theft.

    BICOM itself clearly is mates with John ‘Walney’ Woodcock – as Palestine Action are now ‘domestic terrorists’, apparently – FoR sPrAyInG sOmE pAiNt AnD sMaShInG wInDoWs:

    Hopefully, you don’t need the Canary to tell you all these Zionists whining about Palestine Action are essentially chatting shit. But if you do – here’s why.

    Weizmann helped start what we see in Gaza today

    Arthur James Balfour, a known antisemite, met leading Zionist Chaim Weizmann in Manchester, where they both then lived, in the first decade of the 20th century. Over several meetings, Weizmann who described Palestinians as “the rocks of Judea, obstacles that had to be cleared on a difficult path”, lobbied Balfour into assisting the Zionist colonisation of Palestine.

    In 1917, a year after Balfour was appointed UK foreign secretary, he penned the Balfour Declaration, promising a ‘Jewish homeland in Palestine’. The public pledge by Britain came in the form of a letter dated 2 November 1917 to Lord Rothschild, a close friend of Weizmann. On behalf of Britain, Balfour promised away the land of Palestine – which he never had the right to do.

    After the declaration until the Nakba in 1948, British soldiers killed, arrested, and raped Palestinians. During their colonial mandate, the British introduced home demolitions as collective punishment to repress Palestinian resistance and burnt down many indigenous villages. During this time, Weizmann was President of the World Zionist Organisation.

    The Nakba never ended

    The Nakba (great catastrophe) saw British trained and armed Zionist militia force over 750,000 Palestinians into exile, destroy over 500 villages and occupied those who remained. As a result, Chaim Weizmann became the first President of ‘Israel’.

    The ongoing Nakba has culminated in the genocide today. For over a year, Palestinians in Gaza have been subject to daily bombings, the slaughter of their families and destruction of their homes, hospitals, schools and civil infrastructure. Israel’s bombing campaign has extended to targeting densely populated areas of civilians in Lebanon.

    From the Balfour Declaration to today, Britain remains an active participant in the genocide, colonisation and occupation of Palestine. Cambridge University is an example of one complicit British institution — which educated Balfour.

    So, students sprayed the university’s Institute for Manufacturing red over the ongoing links with weapons companies arming Israel and trainings with the Israeli police:

    Meanwhile, the Zionist lobby also remains active in Britain.

    Don’t believe the Zionist lies over Palestine Action

    BICOM was described by the Guardian in 2009 as “Britain’s most active pro-Israeli lobbying organisation – which flies journalists to Israel on fact-finding trips and organises access to senior government figures”. The organisation has received millions of pounds in funding from billionaire Poju Zabludowicz, whose fortune was made through the manufacture of Israeli weapons.

    The JNF enjoys UK charity status in order to raises funds in order to build settlements on top of stolen Palestinian land – a recognised war crime. On their website, the JNF list ‘The Prime Minister of Israel’ and the ‘President of Israel’ amongst their honorary patrons.

    So, when Zionists tell you that Palestine Action is being antisemitic – ignore it.

    What the group is doing is targeting organisations that are either actively engaged in Israel’s ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinian people, or that prop it up. And stealing a couple of statues? If that was such a dreadful offence, then cops better get to the British Museum, quick.

    The Canary sends our solidarity to Palestine Action.

    Featured image and additional images via Palestine Action

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The ‘Politics Is Broken’ bloc at tomorrow’s Palestine march is set to be huge

    A coalition of groups including Just Stop Oil, Youth Demand and Assemble are joining the national Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s march in central London this Saturday 2 November. They will tell the Labour Party it must protect the people and stop arming Israel – in a bloc called ‘Politics Is Broken’.

    Politics Is Broken

    The Politics is Broken bloc has recruited thousands of people from the climate and nature, inequality and democracy movements to join forces and march under the Politics is Broken banner in support of its five demands, which are a set of sensible concrete steps to address the genocide in Gaza, the climate crisis and poverty and the failure of our political system to address these.

    The five demands which were developed through a process of deliberative democracy with communities around the country are: to stop arming Israel, to tax the rich to end inequality, to Just Stop Oil by 2030, to replace the House of Lords with a House of the People and to end political corruption and investigate the real criminals.

    The Politics is Broken bloc will meet at Victoria Tower Gardens at 11:30am before marching towards Parliament Square to join the Palestine Solidarity Campaign march to the US Embassy.

    Following the march the Politics is Broken bloc will convene at an after event for a rally and people’s assembly. Following Labour’s budget for billionaires, they have proven that they will never really listen to the people. So the assembly will be a chance for everyone to be heard, as we work together to create an alternative vision of ‘the budget’: ‘the people’s budget’.

    Israel’s rampage, the climate crisis

    Chiara Sarti, a Youth Demand spokesperson said:

    In northern Gaza we are seeing the ongoing Israeli rampage destroy everything necessary for civilised life. We are seeing children killed whilst fetching water, and Gazans imprisoned, gang-raped by Isreali prison guards and tortured to death.

    Meanwhile, the western media white-washes the reality of what’s happening, and the UK government continues to sell weapons to a state committing genocide. When the overwhelming majority of UK citizens want to see an end to the war crimes, whilst our government continues to support those crimes, then politics is truly broken, and we must come together to demand change.

    Mel Carrington from Just Stop Oil said:

    Valencia is a warning about what we will all face as the climate collapses – lives and homes lost to catastrophic flooding and emergency services stretched to breaking point – we are so unprepared and it’s only going to get worse.

    It’s clear that the politicians can’t or won’t save us. They are too busy supporting Israel’s genocidal spree in Gaza and Lebanon. That’s why we want to bring together the broadest coalition we can to demand an end to politics as usual, an end to fossil fuels and the killing in Palestine and a new way of making decisions- one which puts ordinary people in charge. We are encouraging everyone to step up and join us on Saturday to help build the movement.

    Bertie Coyle, an Assemble spokesperson said:

    Professional politics has failed. We can fix this crisis by letting local people make the decisions about their country and communities. Join the movement to modernise democracy- you can get funding, training, and support from Assemble to get organised locally.

    The only safe future is one with an upgraded democracy that cuts out the lobbyists and puts the people in charge.

    Join the Politics Is Broken bloc

    What is the point of a Labour government if they condemn us to another five years of austerity?

    If they won’t address poverty, tackle climate breakdown, or tax the rich. If they let kids starve and our NHS crumble, while genocide unfolds. Everyone knows that politics is broken. Labour doesn’t work for ordinary people, they work for corporations and billionaires.

    We need a cross-movement revolution in how we make decisions, empowering ordinary people to decide their own futures through citizen-led assemblies. It’s time to put this right.

    Sign up to join the Politics Is Broken bloc here.

    Featured image supplied

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Palestine Action just scored its SECOND victory over the Israel lobby THIS WEEK

    Palestine Action has just scored another major victory against the Israel lobby and the arms trade. This time, prominent PR firm APCO has dropped notorious Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit as a client, after activists repeatedly targeted the company.

    Palestine Action: second victory in a week

    After a campaign of disruptive direct action against their London premises by Palestine Action, lobby firm ‘APCO Worldwide’, have ceased their business relationship with Israel’s largest arms firm, Elbit Systems.

    On 3 September, the first action against APCO’s premises saw three activists locked-on in front of their 40 Strand, London offices, having first drenched the site in red paint, with a banner reading “Stop lobbying for Genocide. APCO Drop Elbit”. Videos of the action reached millions of people across the world on social media. According to reports, the action sparked internal chaos for APCO, with staff raising complaints of APCO’s dealings with Elbit, and strong protests raised within the company’s offices in the Middle East.

    Returning to their London offices again last week, to make clear that all partners of Elbit’s will face Palestine Action, two activists ​​​​​​​once again blockaded the site, once more drenching it in blood-red paint:

    APCO: dropping Elbit

    Following this action, APCO Worldwide disavowed Elbit Systems and described them as a “former client” in an email to Palestine Action. APCO have cut ties with the firm which they had previously represented in the inner halls of Westminster and Whitehall.

    As listed lobbyists for ‘Elbit Systems UK’ on the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists, APCO previously represented the Israeli weapons maker in the inner halls of Westminster and Whitehall. They would work to strength Elbit’s ties to government and civil servants to secure contracts for weapons which Elbit have “battle-tested” on Palestinians.

    The firm’s senior staff includes Lord Polak, who joined APCO when it acquired his pro-Israel lobbying firm ‘The Westminster Connection (TWC)’ in 2018. According to the Sunday Times, TWC was reported as having secured, through a “secret campaign”, a £500,000,000 MoD contract for Elbit in 2012 . The firm also boasted of being able to access anyone “from the prime minister down” for their clients.

    Palestine Action: and so we continue

    A Palestine Action spokesperson said of APCO’s announcement:

    The Israel lobby can be defeated. Longstanding paid lobbyists for Israel’s largest weapons firm were quick to drop their clients after adequate pressure was applied. Ultimately, corrupting our democracy in favour of genocidal entities enables companies like Elbit to continue their operations.

    We will cut off every link in Elbit’s network.

    As the Canary previously reported, this announcement comes just one day after news broke that Barclays PLC has sold all of its shareholdings in Elbit Systems Ltd (ELST), dropping 16,000 shares in the company after a one-year direct action campaign saw their branches smashed and sprayed red 54 times. The wider campaign also involved Bands Boycott Barclays and local community groups.

    Featured image and additional images via Martin Pope

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • At upcoming protests in Mozambique, authorities must respect and uphold the right to protest.


    This content originally appeared on Amnesty International and was authored by Amnesty International.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • SUCCESS: Barclays DIVESTS from Elbit thanks to Palestine Action campaign

    After a year-long campaign against its premises by Palestine Action, Barclays PLC has sold all of its shareholdings in Elbit Systems Ltd (ELST). Until recently, Barclays owned over 16,000 shares in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons company.

    Barclays: divestment from Elbit, finally

    Starting just over one year ago, Palestine Action’s campaign saw activists undertake 54 actions against Barclays premises nation-wide. Smashing branch windows, spraying them in blood-red paint, many of these actions put Barclays sites out of operation for weeks, actions which sought to raise the costs associated with dealing with Elbit:

    In the latest U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, Barclays owned 0 shares in Elbit Systems Ltd (ELST), down 16,345 since the previous filing, 15 May 2024, worth over $3,400,000.

    Until then, recent filings had showed Barclays’ Elbit shareholdings at record high quantities, having steadily increased from zero ten years ago. The most recent SEC filings and NASDAQ data record an immediate total sale of Barclays’ ELST shares, abruptly sold just when Palestine Action’s campaign hit them hardest.

    Initial research published in July 2022 by Campaign Against Arms Trade, War on Want, and Palestine Solidarity Campaign showed the bank held shareholdings worth over £1.5billion in companies complicit with Israeli apartheid. Palestine Action adopted the campaign in October 2023 due to the bank’s investments in Elbit Systems — the group’s primary target.

    A sustained campaign by Palestine Action

    Palestine Action’s 11-month long campaign against Barclays reached its peak on 10 June 2024, when 20 branches had their windows smashed, drenched in red paint, in a co-ordinated nationwide overnight action:

    Barclays Palestine Action Elbit

    Four days after, Barclays CEO CS Venkatakrishnan penned in the Guardian that the bank is concerned about “overall suffering” in the region, and is very accepting of the type of “peaceful protest” seen in multiple years of campaigning up until this year. But, in a media campaign co-ordinated with former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Venkatakrishnan complained of Palestine Action’s disruptive actions against the bank.

    Inadvertently, Barclays CEO affirmed Palestine Action’s strategy, which is to make the cost of dealing in genocide, occupation, and apartheid exceed the potential to profit from it. Throughout this year-long campaign, several activists were arrested:

    During questioning, police claimed that many actions caused damage between £250k to £500k in value. Most actions forced bank branches to close for weeks at a time, contributing to the financial disruption to the bank.

    There are still many complicit institutions

    These actions were taken as part of Palestine Action’s four-year campaign against the premises of Elbit Systems, and against the financial and industrial partners which support them like Barclays.

    Elbit Systems is a major supplier of the Israeli military, its contributions including the vast majorities of Israel’s drones, along with mortuary munition and artillery rockets currently being used in Gaza.

    The campaign has seen two of Elbit’s weapons factories forced to permanently shut down in Britain, and has forced a number of partners to halt relations with Elbit. Recently, activists have struck at over a dozen premises in Britain of Allianz a major shareholder in and insurer of Elbit.

    A Palestine Action spokesperson said of the Barclays decision:

    Through a focused strategy, direct action has achieved multiple successes and forced the hands of many complicit institutions. We will remain committed and focused to the task at hand and target any and all institutions and businesses which enable Israel’s biggest weapons firm to maintain their genocidal operations.

    That means, if Barclays does reinvest into Elbit Systems in the future, Palestine Action will come knocking again.

    Featured image and additional images via Palestine Action

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The zombie apocalypse FINALLY hit the City of London – and not a moment too soon

    A protestor was arrested as Extinction Rebellion scaled and occupied insurance buildings, released zombies, and unleashed the Four Insurers of the Apocalypse to warn of looming social collapse and unrest in a third day of ‘Insure Our Survival‘ actions targeting insurers in the City of London.

    City of London sees plague of zombies. Well, more than usual…

    One protestor was arrested on Wednesday 30 October as Extinction Rebellion’s Insure Our Survival campaign escalated their week of actions in the City of London demanding that insurers stop insuring the oil, gas and coal projects causing extreme weather such as the terrifying floods that have killed at least 51 people Valencia and other cities in Spain.

    One arrest happened as ten XR activists in business suits occupied the offices of insurers AIG Talbot – major insurers of fossil fuels – in Fenchurch Street. They have unfurled banners reading “AIG Stop Insuring climate criminals’ and read out a statement demanding that the firm immediately stop insuring all new oil, gas and coal:

    Some of the group handed out leaflets to staff asking them to be superheroes by pressuring their bosses to pull the plug on insuring the deadly expansion of fossil fuel exploration and production, while others played a giant game of Climate Collapse Jenga in the street outside.

    One activist was arrested for an alleged breach of bail conditions while taking part in a ‘soft blockade’ outside the building, handing leaflets to arriving staff and holding banners reading ‘Insure Our Survival’ and ‘Stop EACOP’, a reference to the planet-wrecking ‘Carbon bomb’ East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline that will only be possible if the developers can get insurance.

    This afternoon, three Extinction Rebellion protestors scaled the outside of the famous Walkie Talkie building in the City, home to insurers Ascot, Talbot, Chaucer, Markel, Allied World, CNA Hardy, Tokio Marine Kiln, Sirius International and Lancashire Syndicates.

    The trio took positions above the main revolving entrance doors and put up banners reading ‘Insure Our Survival’ and ‘Insuring fossil fuels = Climate Chaos’. At the time of writing, all three were still in position and large numbers of police and security had sealed off the doors and surrounding area:

    City Of London Extinction Rebellion Insure Our Survival

    Don’t contribute to these injustices, says Extinction Rebellion

    Meanwhile, eight university students from the Education Climate Coalition staged a protest outside of the offices of QBE Underwriting and Aspen Management Agency in Fenchurch Street warning insurers: “Stop insuring fossil fuel projects or graduates will refuse to work for you.”

    The group, from universities including London School of Economics, University College London and Imperial College London, held banners reading ‘Students won’t work for fossil fuel insurers’ and ‘QBE & Aspen you won’t get our brains.’

    One-in-three 18-24 year olds has ‘climate quit’ a company with a poor environmental policy and Education Climate Coalition spokesperson Shana Sullivan, a University College London graduate and part-time PhD student, warned:

    Any graduate with a conscience wouldn’t want to contribute to these injustices. We want to ensure fellow students and graduates know about it, and implore these companies to change their policies.

    The dramatic actions happened as hundreds of XR protestors marched through the streets of London staging a series of theatrical events that highlighted the focus of the day – the social collapse and unrest that will happen in the wake of flooding caused by the climate crisis that the UK’s top insurers are underwriting.

    Four Insurers of the Apocalypse

    Throwing the government’s red budget briefcase into shade, the Four Insurers of the Apocalypse strode into the City of London with their own much more scary versions. Three of the fearsome four toted red briefcases packed with Flood, Famine and War, while the fourth lit the fuse on a giant carbon bomb to overheat the planet. ‘It’s not looking good for ALL of our futures unless insurers stop insuring new oil, coal and gas,’ one of them said:

    City Of London Extinction Rebellion Insure Our Survival

    Nearby, a dirty insurer in a gas mask was spotted lounging on a green Lamborghini and reading Insure Our Survival’s truth telling tabloid, The Sin. In a world exclusive, the only red top not owned by a Business As Usual billionaire revealed that insurers are boosting their profits by insuring fossil fuel crooks to flood our homes – then charging us more for flood insurance.

    A mass zombie die-in, scores of zombies and protesters disobedience dancing to a climate emergency version of Michael Jackson’s hit single Thriller called Driller Killer, an Unfairground game and food, music and speeches spread Insure Our Survival’s message throughout the City:

    City Of London Extinction Rebellion Insure Our Survival

    City of London: not even 28 years later…

    Insure Our Survival spokesperson, Steve Tooze, said:

    These three days are about bringing home to the public and the insurance industry the terrible and deadly consequences of insuring new oil, gas and coal projects at a time of accelerating climate emergency.

    Today, we focus on the ultimate effect of flooding from climate crisis-driven extreme weather – social collapse, unrest and rioting as hungry, desperate people begin to panic. One of the world’s most respected climate research bodies, the Potsdam Institute, warns that will happen unless the fossil fuel criminals being enabled by the insurance industry are stopped from digging and drilling more of their deadly products.

    We hope the insurers are hearing us loud and clear – you have the power to stop the fossil fuel industry in its tracks and until you use that power you will face an escalating campaign of protest and action that will wreck your reputation and damage your share price.

    Insurers will see evidence of this escalation tomorrow as protests spread out across the UK with Insure Our Survival activists targeting the insurance offices and operations in towns and cities in England, Wales and Scotland.

    Featured image and additional images via Extinction Rebellion

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Myanmar villagers protest against Europe’s Airbus after airstrikes

    Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese.

    Victims of military airstrikes in Myanmar protested against Europe’s largest aerospace group, Airbus, saying it and neighboring China were supporting the junta in its war against pro-democracy forces in which their village was destroyed and dozens of people killed.

    Myanmar had been in bloody turmoil since the military overthrew an elected government in early 2021 with pro-democracy activists taking up arms in alliance with ethnic minority guerrillas in a battle to end military rule.

    Anti-junta forces have made unprecedented gains in fighting over the past year but the military has responded with sustained airstrikes on the insurgents and civilians in areas they have captured.

    “We are protesting to ask companies to stop supporting the junta’s airstrikes and warfare, like the Chinese government and the aircraft company Airbus,” said a leader of the protest in Hseng Taung village in northern Myanmar Kachin state.

    “We’re demonstrating here specifically because we want to show Hseng Taung’s destroyed houses, caused by the shooting and the bombs,” said the protest leader who declined to be identified given the military’s crackdown on dissent.

    Hseng Taung was devastated during a month of battle between the military and anti-junta forces, residents said. More than 30 people were killed and about 400 homes were destroyed in airstrikes and shelling in the battle that ended on Oct. 8, they said.

    About 50 people took part in the Tuesday protest with some of them holding banners saying: “Airbus – stop investing in war crimes.”

    The activist group Justice for Myanmar outlined the sale of a combat aircraft and missiles to the Myanmar air force by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, or AVIC, as well as continued “maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for Chinese fixed-wing aircraft in use by the junta.”

    Airbus is an investor in AVIC’s Hong Kong-listed holding company and strategic partner, AviChina Industry and Technology Co. Ltd.

    An Airbus spokesperson, in response to a report by RFA Burmese on Sept. 16 about the links, said the company was in compliance with all relevant sanctions against Myanmar and had not supplied defense products to Myanmar or its armed forces.

    “Airbus’ relationship with Chinese companies, including AVIC, is fully compliant with all European and international laws and regulations, notably with regards to the existing arms embargo on China,” the company said.

    “Airbus’ industrial and technology partnerships in China are exclusively focused on civil aerospace and services.”

    Similar protests against the supply of weapons to the military were held this week in the Sagaing region, one of the areas of Myanmar most impacted by the junta airstrikes and shelling.

    RFA contacted the junta’s main spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, for comment but he did not respond by the time of publication.

    Similarly, China‘s embassy in Myanmar did not respond to enquiries from RFA about the protesters’ demands, by time of publication. China is one of the junta’s main foreign supporters.

    RELATED STORIES

    Myanmar still getting jet fuel despite calls to cut supply: rights group

    Caveat creditor: China offers a financial lifeline to Myanmar’s junta

    Volkswagen’s truck unit should cut any Myanmar junta links: groups

    Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • It always seems impossible until it’s done: Just Stop Oil take further statue action

    The statue of Nelson Mandela, the former South African President and anti-apartheid activist got the Just Stop Oil treatment today with a speech bubble and high viz vest. Just Stop Oil is demanding that the UK government work with others to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.

    Just Stop Oil: it’s always impossible until it’s done

    At 9:30am today, two Just Stop Oil supporters dressed the figure in a high viz vest and added speech bubbles reading “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” and “Just Stop Oil”:

    Just Stop Oil Nelson Mandela

    Nelson Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994-1999, after spending 27 years in prison for his actions in support of the African National Congress and its military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”). The quote “It always seems impossible until it’s done” is widely attributed to Nelson Mandela although no direct reference exists.

    The 2.7m high statue in bronze by English sculptor Ian Walters was installed in 2007 after a campaign by South Africa journalist and anti-apartheid activist, Donald Woods. Mandela, who attended the unveiling said “We trust that the statue will be a reminder of heroes and heroines past, as well as an inspiration for continuing struggles against injustice.

    The action came after the group changed tactic – and started using famous statues to highlight the ongoing climate crisis and rich people’s profiteering that causes it.

    As the Canary previously reported, Just Stop Oil has so far taken action at:

    • The Beatles statue in Liverpool.
    • Emmeline Pankhurst in Manchester.
    • Greek goddess Demeter at the British Museum.

    We must end the cycle of failed politics as usual

    A spokesperson said:

    People say it’s impossible to Just Stop Oil, but we would argue it always seems impossible until it’s done. What choice do we have? Scientists are telling us if we carry on burning fossil fuels, crops will fail, billions of people will be exposed to unlivable conditions, hundreds of millions will face starvation and ultimately death. We need a rapid fossil fuel phase out and an emergency plan to protect the people.

    Mandela devoted his life to the service of humanity, as a human rights lawyer, political activist, a prisoner of conscience and an international peace maker. Keir Starmer and his ministers could choose to follow Mandela’s example. Instead, they stand with Israel as it slaughters and maims Palestinians and Lebanese, they cheer the incarceration of those involved in the nonviolent struggle to defend life on earth and they defend the companies that are profiting from death and destruction.

    Our struggle will not end until we break the endless cycle of failed politics as usual. The system is broken and we cannot rely on these or any other politicians to save us. We need revolution in how we make decisions, empowering ordinary people to decide their own futures through citizen-led assemblies. That’s why we’re calling on everyone to join us for a day of action on November 2nd.

    You can join the group and others in Parliament Square on Saturday 2 November at 11:30am to take part in the Politics is Broken bloc at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s National Palestine March.

    Read more on that here.

    Featured image via Just Stop Oil

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The floods are HERE! Extinction Rebellion cause righteous CHAOS in City of London

    Extinction Rebellion occupied the world-famous Walkie Talkie tower and sailed an iconic pink boat through the streets of the City of London on Monday 28 October. It was to kick off a week of mass protests in the capital and across the UK – under the banner of its Insure Our Survival campaign. The group is calling on the insurance industry to stop insuring fossil fuel criminals who are heating up the planet and flooding our homes.

    City of London: Extinction Rebellion is BACK

    An inflatable version of the boat that made its game-changing first XR appearance in Oxford Circus in April 2019 was hoisted on the shoulders of activists, holding smoke flares and wearing extreme wet weather gear, surrounded by hundreds of protestors.

    This morning, groups of protestors staged a dramatic wave of insurance occupations across the City of London.

    They occupied the lobby of the Walkie Talkie building, home to insurers Ascot, Talbot, Chaucer, Markel, Allied World, CNA Hardy, Tokio Marine Kiln, Sirius International, and Lancashire Syndicates:

    City of London Extinction REbellion

    They also targeted 60 Gracechurch Street, where insurers Allianz have offices:

    Supporters of Scientists for XR wearing white lab coats entered the lobby of the Prudential Regulation Authority, the insurance industry’s regulatory body overseen by the Bank of England, on Moorgate:

    The PRA could halt new fossil fuel projects – but they’re choosing profit over planet.

    Activists from Christian Climate Action staged a protest inside 22 Bishopsgate, City of London – where Hiscox, an insurer that is refusing to rule out insuring the East Africa Crude Oil ‘carbon bomb’ pipeline, is headquartered:

    City of London Extinction Rebellion

    At 20 Gracechurch Street, the offices of insurers AXA, medical professionals from Health for XR staged a street picket to express their serious concerns about the health impacts of the climate crisis that the insurance industry is enabling.

    Stop the climate criminals

    Huge lines of City of London workers formed outside the Walkie Talkie and 22 Bishopsgate as a security clampdown was hurriedly staged:

    Insure Our Survival

    Protesters at all five offices handed out leaflets to arriving workers calling on them to be superheroes and pressure their businesses to get out oil, gas and coal insurance. They also delivered ultimatum letters to insurance CEOs warning they would face more actions unless they pull the plug on their fossil fuel clients.

    Mass phone calling and email actions and social media storms by Digital Rebellion saw City of London insurance executives bombarded with demands from around the world to drop their fossil fuel clients, and pull out of ‘carbon bomb’ projects that are flooding our homes.

    Insure Our Survival spokesperson Steve Tooze said:

    Each day this week we will be telling a story about the terrible impact that insurers are having on the lives of ordinary people here and across the world by insuring fossil fuel criminals to keep digging and drilling for oil, gas and coal and heating up the planet.

    Today we are highlighting the climate crisis-driven extreme weather that we have seen causing floods that have wrecked homes and farmland across the UK, as well as in Europe, the USA and the Global South.

    We want to make clear the dirty trick that insurers are playing on us all by insuring fossil fuels that cause flooding and then charging us more to insure our homes – or refusing to insure them at all – because the risk of flooding has increased.

    The City of London has not seen the last of Extinction Rebellion

    He noted that:

    The campaign has targeted 52 insurers and we aim to permanently toxify these insurance brands in the minds of the public and the business community by strongly linking them with the fossil fuel companies who are causing the climate chaos we all see getting worse every day.

    But we will also be making an appeal to the insurance industry and the people working in it – to use their power to pull the plug on fossil fuels by refusing to insure new oil, gas and coal projects and infrastructure.

    Tooze concluded:

    Every insurer that declares they will do so will be instantly removed from our target list. Failure to do so will mean the risk of repeated visits this week, and in the weeks and months to come, until they meet our demand.

    Major insurers Zurich pulled out of new oil and gas after our week of actions in February. Italy’s biggest insurer Generali went a long way to doing the same last week. Now it’s time for the rest to get on to the right side of history by following in their footsteps.

    Extinction Rebellion will be staging another two days of protests and actions in the City of London before activists stage more than 30 actions against insurance offices and businesses in towns and cities across the UK from Thursday 31 October to Saturday 2 November.

    Featured image and additional images via Extinction Rebellion

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Just Stop Oil has given TWO famous statues an orange makeover

    Just Stop Oil is famous for a) blocking roads, b) throwing soup, c) annoying the right wing, and d) doing more to raise awareness about the climate crisis than any other campaign group in recent years. Now, it’s turned it’s attention to statues as another line of defence against climate-wrecking capitalists.

    Just Stop Oil says Just Stop Famine

    Firstly, a statue of the Greek goddess Demeter at the British Museum got the Just Stop Oil treatment on Friday 25 October with a speech bubble reading “Just Stop Famine” and high viz vest:

    The statue of Demeter is a life-size, seated ancient Greek statue dating from around 350 BC. Demeter was the goddess of agriculture and of fertility who created the harvest, the grain, and other crops as well as the circle of seasons.

    The action follows the publication earlier this week of an open letter from some of the world’s top climate scientists.

    They are warning that the risks of a collapse in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) have been “greatly underestimated” and that a collapse would have devastating and irreversible impacts, including potentially threatening the viability of agriculture in northwestern Europe.

    According to a earlier study, the UK could see temperatures plunge by up to 10C and the report’s authors say that “no realistic adaptation measures can deal with such rapid temperature changes”.

    AMOC collapsing?

    Even before a collapse in AMOC, the climate crisis is already having a dramatic effect on our ability to grow food. Farmers in England experienced the second-worst harvest on record this year because of heavy rain made worse by climate change, while Scottish farmers described this year’s growing season as ‘the toughest in 30 years’.

    Meanwhile tens of millions of people in Southern Africa are facing starvation as rising temperatures have fuelled the worst drought in a century, severely impacting food production across the region. Five countries have declared national disasters.

    A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said:

    Famine or a world without oil. What’s it to be? The climate crisis is threatening our food security and these impacts will only get worse until we stop burning fossil fuels. If you think famine only happens elsewhere, think again.

    Our rich nation status will not protect us from what is coming. A collapse in the Atlantic ocean currents would destroy our ability to grow food and you can’t eat money.

    Deeds, not words

    Then, a statue of Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader, in Manchester got the Just Stop Oil treatment on Saturday 26 October with a speech bubble reading “Deeds not words: Just Stop Oil” and high viz vest. These props were later removed by Highway Maintenance workers:

    Emmeline Pankhurst, a leading British women’s rights activist, founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), an all-women suffrage advocacy organisation dedicated to “deeds, not words”.

    The statue, Rise up, women (Emmeline Pankhurst, 1858–1928), was created by award-winning sculptor Hazel Reeves and shows Emmeline standing on a chair addressing a mass demonstration. It is only the second ever statue of a woman in Manchester and was installed in St Peter’s Square in 2018 after the Moss Side-born suffragette was selected by public vote to be immortalised in bronze.

    In 2022, Helen Pankhurst, the great-granddaughter of Emmeline, wrote:

    My suffragette grandmothers are now seen as heroes. Today’s climate protesters will be too…Environmentalists of all forms have the moral high ground. I have absolutely no doubt that in 100 years’ time they will be seen as the real heroes. Those who ignored the warning bells will be – nay, already are – on the wrong side of history.

    Just Stop Oil: no more hot air

    The action follows the publication of the UN emissions gap report which confirmed that the continuation of current policies will lead to a catastrophic temperature rise of up to 3.1°C. Launching the report, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said:

    There is a direct link between increasing emissions and increasingly frequent and intense climate disasters. Around the world, people are paying a terrible price.

    Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP said.

    I urge every nation: no more hot air, please. Use the upcoming COP29 talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, to increase action now.

    A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said:

    Emmeline Pankhurst once said: ‘we are showing them that government does not rest upon force at all: it rests upon consent’. Well, we do not consent to government plans to continue burning more oil and gas for decades to come. We do not consent to plans that will lead to 3C of global warming destroying our ability to grow food and meet basic needs for our families.

    We do not consent to enriching the few at the expense of the many. It is long past time for deeds not words. If governments won’t stop oil we need to replace them or we all die.

    Out on 2 November

    You can join Just Stop Oil and others in Parliament Square on Saturday 2 November at 11:30am to take part in the Politics is Broken bloc at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s National Palestine March.

    Read more on that here.

    Featured image and additional images via Just Stop Oil

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Thanks to ACORN, Brighton has STOPPED using bailiffs for council tax debt

    ACORN Brighton can reveal that following its year-long campaign to force the council to stop using bailiffs to collect council tax debt, it has won the campaign.

    Council tax debt: a national scandal

    As the Guardian reported, councils using bailiffs for council tax debt has become a national scandal. Not that it’s new – the practice has been going on for years:

    Local authorities can issue a final notice for full payment of a council tax bill within seven days of a missed payment. A UK household which missed a typical £140 monthly payment could be forced to pay the entire remaining amount of council tax for the year – as much as £1,668 – within three weeks.

    Failure to pay the full bill can lead to court action, with the debt passed on to bailiffs within six weeks. Residents unable to afford a hefty unexpected cash demand often borrow via a credit card at high rates of interest to avoid going to court.

    By contrast, credit card firms and other mainstream lenders are legally required to engage with consumers who miss payments, offering them repayment options and typically allowing at least three months before escalating recovery action.

    One of the most prominent criticisms of using bailiffs for council tax debt recovery is the disproportionate impact it has on financially vulnerable households.

    Those who fall behind on council tax payments are often already dealing with severe financial stress. This is frequently due to circumstances beyond their control, such as unemployment, illness, or a sudden increase in living costs.

    Sending bailiffs to collect debts from individuals in these situations can lead to further financial turmoil. With bailiff fees and charges added to the existing debt, individuals can quickly find themselves in a debt spiral that is nearly impossible to escape.

    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has raised concerns that aggressive council tax debt collection tactics can cause emotional distress and exacerbate mental health problems. For families already facing financial instability, the sudden arrival of bailiffs can be both traumatizing and destabilising, leading to severe mental health implications that have ripple effects throughout communities.

    No justification for it

    Meanwhile, councils argue that bailiffs are an effective method of council tax debt recovery. However, the efficacy of this approach is far from clear. According to a report by Citizens Advice, only a small fraction of the debts collected by bailiffs come from individuals who can afford to pay in full.

    Instead, the majority of recovered funds come through partial payments or from additional charges added by bailiff agencies, raising questions about whether the initial council tax debt to the council is the primary motivator for these collections.

    Another critical issue with using bailiffs is that councils are often contracting private enforcement firms with little accountability to the public. Bailiffs are frequently criticized for aggressive tactics, with reports of intimidation and harassment.

    Though there are regulations in place, such as the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, which set guidelines for bailiff conduct, the enforcement of these regulations is inconsistent. Many debtors report being subjected to harassment and threats, which are technically against the law but go largely unpunished due to the low level of oversight within the bailiff industry.

    ACORN leading the way

    But now, in Brighton, ACORN has won a victory.

    Councillor Tristram Burden has confirmed Brighton and Hove City council will stop referring cases of council tax debt involving people on benefits to bailiffs, and will instead engage residents in a supportive process involving affordable repayment plans.

    ACORN has also forced the council to invest an extra £2.2 million in the council’s discretionary crisis fund, which will go towards supporting the most vulnerable in the city.

    Keziah, the chair of ACORN Brighton, said:

    We’re delighted that the council have made this long-overdue change. This will have a massive impact on the lives of struggling people across the city, and shows the power of ACORN’s strength in numbers.

    This follows a similar victory announced earlier this year in which Manchester City Council committed to stopping the use of bailiffs to pursue council tax debt for 48,000 low income households.  ACORN is also running an ongoing campaign on the issue in Haringey.

    Council tax debt: outsourcing public responsibility

    This outsourcing of public responsibilities to profit-driven companies raises an ethical question: should councils, as public bodies, delegate their debt recovery processes to private agencies whose primary goal is profit rather than service?

    In effect, the council’s duty to provide public support becomes compromised, as the focus shifts from helping residents in financial difficulty to extracting maximum payment at any cost. The practice needs to end across the board – and urgently.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Palestine Action probably just caused a GLOBAL PANIC for a pro-Israel lobbying firm

    Palestine Action has probably just caused a global internal panic for a PR firm that lobbies on behalf of Israel weapons manufacturers. Because the last time the group targeted company APCO, it caused it to go into a tailspin.

    Palestine Action: taking on APCO again

    On Friday 25 October, activists from Palestine Action blockaded the London headquarters of ‘APCO Worldwide’, registered political lobbyists for Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons firm:

    Returning to the APCO site after a September action of the same effect, activists locked-on to block the office’s main entrance, the premises sprayed in red paint:

    Police swarmed onto the scene, but were unable to do anything for several hours after Palestine Action’s 8:30am wake up call to APCO:

    Eventually cops arrested the actionists – but not until they’d been there for around four hours:

    At a time when Elbit System’s weapons are being used to commit genocide in Gaza, and a genocide within a genocide in north Gaza, APCO is working to represent Elbit in the halls of the British parliament and government.

    APCO: lobbying for genocide

    APCO is a provider of consultant lobbying services to ‘Elbit Systems UK’, a major exporter of drone components to Israel and a subsidiary of ‘Elbit Systems Ltd’ which provides for the vast majority of Israel’s military drone and ground vehicles.

    Among APCO’s staff is ‘Lord Stuart Polak’, whose own lobbying firm ‘TWC’ was purchased by APCO in 2018, six years after TWC was reported to have conducted a “secret campaign” to secure a £500m Ministry of Defence contract for Elbit, according to the Sunday Times.

    However, Palestine Action had previously managed to disrupt the ‘business as usual’ of APCO. As it tweeted, after its last action in September, the company went into meltdown – cancelling internal meetings. It was because there had been disquiet from employees in the Middle East over APCO’s involvement with Israel:

    APCO Worldwide is doubtless also concerned with Elbit’s relationship to MoD procurement, particularly as Elbit Systems Ltd looks to internationally market its “battle-tested” new products, – including new lines of missiles, and its ‘quadcopter’ drones recently displayed for the British market at Elbit’s Bristol HQ.

    Palestine Action: 16, not out

    Currently, 16 Palestine action prisoners are jailed across Britain, ten of whom have been detained and investigated using powers under the ‘Terrorism Act’, breaches of which they were not subsequently charged with.

    These individuals have been imprisoned using powers abused at the request of Israel’s war machine. FOI information shows that not only Elbit, but the Israeli Embassy, have lobbied the British state to take greater repressive action against Palestine Action activists.

    Its lobbyists have certainly pushed for the same repression.

    Featured image and additional images via Martin Pope

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Now even the Beatles have got the Just Stop Oil treatment

    An iconic statue of the Beatles in their hometown of Liverpool got the Just Stop Oil treatment with placards and high viz vests. Just Stop Oil is demanding that the UK government work with others to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.

    Just Stop Oil meets the Fab Four

    At 8am on Thursday 24 October, Just Stop Oil supporters dressed the Beatles figures in high viz vests and added speech bubbles reading “Imagine there’s no oil” and “Hey Jude, let’s Just Stop Oil”:

    This comes as people in France and Italy are cleaning up after the worst floods in over 40 years last weekend resulted in at least one death and scenes of devastation as houses and cars were washed away. This is just the latest in a long line of severe floods across Europe this summer.

    It has prompted alarm amongst insurance industry bosses who are calling for government support. Meanwhile lucky residents of one Dorset town will be able to access emergency raincoats when their houses get washed away by floods.

    The Beatles Statue was positioned on Liverpool’s Waterfront in December 2015, to coincide with the 50 year anniversary of the band’s last gig played in Liverpool at the Liverpool Empire Theatre. Donated by the famous Cavern Club and sculpted by Andrew Edwards, the figures are larger than life size and weigh 1.2 tonnes in total.

    Big Oil has been burning the planet since the Beatles last played Liverpool

    A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said:

    It’s been nearly 60 years since the Beatles last played in Liverpool and that’s about as long as Shell, Exxon and their captive politicians have known that burning more and more oil will lead to catastrophic warming. It is now clear that the collapse of human civilization and the death of millions if not billions of people means nothing to the psychopaths in charge.

    To Paul McCartney we say, yes individual efforts are needed and yes not eating meat will help but without a lead from governments we are fucked. If governments won’t stop oil we need to replace them or we all die. Let’s come together, imagine there’s no oil, then make it happen.”

    Politics is broken and we cannot rely on politicians to save us — not from poverty, not from the cost of living crisis, not from complete climate collapse. The Labour government doesn’t work for ordinary people, they work for corporations and billionaires, while supporting genocide in Gaza. It’s time to put this right. That’s why we’re calling on everyone to join us for a day of action on November 2nd.

    Just Stop Oil says it stands “with our 24 supporters in prison, with the 1,800 victims of our broken criminal justice system imprisoned for over a year without trial and with the 1,700 murdered across the global south, for protecting all our lives”:

    Everyone knows that politics is broken and we cannot rely on politicians (or judges) to save us — not from poverty, not from the cost of living crisis, not from complete climate collapse. The Labour government doesn’t work for ordinary people, they work for corporations and billionaires, while supporting genocide in Gaza. It’s time to put this right.

    Just Stop Oil out on 2 November

    You can join Just Stop Oil and others in Parliament Square on Saturday 2 November at 11:30am to take part in the Politics is Broken bloc at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s National Palestine March.

    As a prefigurative day of action we will be actively inviting and welcoming a large number of groups to come together – including the climate and nature movements, Palestine solidarity, inequality and democracy movements to join forces and march on parliament and join us after at the Umbrella Rally, Banquet, Peoples Assembly, and After Party.

    Read more on that here.

    Featured image via Just Stop Oil

    By The Canary

  • Tommy Robinson’s far-right demo is going ahead on Saturday – and so is the counter-demo

    Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace and Justice Project, Stop The War Coalition, and other groups will be out supporting a protest this Saturday. It will be a counter-demo to far-right figure “Tommy Robinson” and his organising of a protest in central London.

    Stop the far right and stop Tommy Robinson

    As Jeremy and the Independent Alliance recently stated, the politics of hate harms its targets, but it also fails society by distracting from real solutions to our challenges. Attacking Muslims, demonising minorities, and blaming migrants won’t build homes, educate children, fund healthcare, create jobs, or address the climate crisis.

    However, Tommy Robinson the grifter doesn’t care about this. All he cares about is fomenting hatred to line his own pockets. So, he’s organised a protest in central London – leaving from Victoria. But a coalition of groups, including Stop The War Coalition, various trade unions, and the Peace and Justice Project, have organised a counter-demo as follows:

    • Date: Saturday 26 October.
    • Time: Assemble 11.30am.
    • Location: Piccadilly – Regent Street St. James’s, SW1Y, London (Piccadilly Circus).

    Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is a former member of the Nazi BNP and founder of the English Defence League, and is mobilising a significant number of far-right thugs onto the streets of London.

    On 1 June, he gathered over 5,000 individuals for an extremely Islamophobic event where dangerous rhetoric echoed Nazi slogans.

    In July over 20,000 people joined Tommy Robinson’s last demonstration and this one is expected to be even bigger. That’s why many of us opposed to his politics of division must join the counter-protest and send a clear message that we reject the politics of hate.

    There will be coaches heading down to London from towns and cities from across the country – click here to book your seat.

    Everyone out

    We need to make sure that this is one of the biggest anti-racist mobilisations that this country has seen in years.

    We must unite against racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism. We must vehemently defend the right to protest and want to see those hundreds of thousands who have been demonstrating in recent months over Palestine on the streets on 26 October to unite against the fascist threat.

    Please share the demo with your friends and networks.

    Together, let’s show that unity trumps division, and solidarity will win over hate.

    Featured image via Vox Populi Media – screengrab and Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • A judge just said he was “satisfied” Palestine Action “acted out of desperation” over Israel’s genocide

    On Wednesday 23 October, four Palestine Action activists on trial for blockading the gates of Elbit’s Leicestershire drone factory were convicted. But it was only on one charge, and the judge gave them non-custodial sentences.

    Palestine Action: acting out of “desperation”

    The four activists were found guilty by district judge MC Wilkinson, having earlier been cleared of the charge of Obstructing Lawful Business. They were each sentenced to 18 months conditional discharge, and ordered to pay £300 court costs. Locking-on was only made a criminal offence under the Public Order Act 2023. The judge told them:

    I’m satisfied you took these steps out of desperation, for people trapped in suffering not of their own making.

    On 27 February 2024, as the death toll in Gaza surpassed 30,000, Palestine Action shut down Elbit’s drone factory, UAV Engines, in Shenstone, Leicestershire.

    Elbit, Israel’s largest weapons company, use the site to design and manufacture Wankel-type, or AR-80-110, rotary engines, for Israel’s Hermes killer drone fleet. In the action, four activists locked themselves to two sets of gates, effectively closing down the factory. The trial of the #Shenstone4 started this week, at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court, with the activists facing charges under the Public Order Act 2023.

    The activists were initially charged with both Obstructing Lawful Business, and Locking-On, but they were cleared of the former charge on the first day of the trial.

    Also giving evidence for the firm was ‘Quality Manager’ Jody Yates, who claimed that the drones manufactured at the site weren’t capable of carrying a payload.

    When pressed about the Hermes 450 drones, which have played a central role in the Gaza Genocide, and were used in the slaughter of the World Central Kitchen aid workers, Yates said that he had seen this in the tabloid press, but that he didn’t have that level of “insider knowledge”.

    After the prosecution case concluded, the four Palestine Action defendants took to the stand, giving powerful evidence, not least in terms of their motivation.

    Someone had to do something about Elbit

    Harriet Rollins told the court:

    It started when I made a Palestinian friend. She was born in Gaza. I was worrying for her, and her family. They had moved back there before 2023. Hearing the news, knowing she was there, and then with the media blackouts, not hearing from her for days on end. Her granddad was murdered, specifically by one of those drones. It was a breaking point for me…that engine, for that drone, could have been made at UAV.

    For her part, the next defendant, Hannah, when asked what led her to take part in the action against UAV Engines, said:

    Protests didn’t seem to be having an effect. The UK vetoed at the UN, my MP abstained on the SNP motion for a ceasefire, aid money had stopped going into Gaza – the UNWRA funding – for healthcare, for food, for shelter, and education. Nothing had started to change, it seemed to get worse.

    Rae told the court:

    Every day, I was waking up, and going to sleep, to seeing people’s bodies, buried under the rubble, babies with heads barely attached…I started trying to do things, sending emails to my MP, attending all the talks, and demos, I could. I tried to get my Uni to divest… It brought awareness, but made no difference to the Genocide happening in Palestine.

    Rae went on:

    I wanted to bring the murderous drones to a stop.

    Lastly, the fourth Palestine Action defendant, Miss Maan, said:

    This really hit home for me. I’m Sikh, in 1984 there was a Sikh Genocide. My mum escaped.

    She continued:

    It was all happening, streamed live. The protests weren’t doing anything. And then the Al Shifa hospital was destroyed. Live videos were streamed on Instagram. I was watching these people suffering, on the floor of a hospital, while I lay in my bed.

    We do what we can, where we are. I am a human being, at the end of the day, and I was seeing babies being decapitated.

    Palestine Action will ‘continue to do everything they can’

    While convicted on the one charge, the four Palestine Action activists walked free from court, with their heads held high.

    A spokesperson for Palestine Action said:

    These four courageous young people had to risk their liberty, trying to stop the production of engines, for Israeli killing machines, at Elbit’s Leicestershire drone factory. While we welcome the non-custodial sentences, it should be Elbit in the dock, charged with actively assisting in the Gaza Genocide.

    Until that day comes, we will continue to do everything we can to shut Elbit down, and to target all those who enable and support them, in bringing death to the children of Palestine.

    Featured image via Palestine Action

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Hundreds block the road outside the MoJ demanding Labour ‘free political prisoners’

    On Thursday 24 October, hundreds of peaceful protesters gathered outside the Ministry Of Justice (MoJ). They were there to demand Richard Hermer, the Labour Party government’s attorney general, ‘free political prisoners‘ of groups like Just Stop Oil and Palestine Action.

    Free political prisoners

    Since the publication of the government’s political violence tsar John Woodcock’s report in May, calling for members of groups such as Just Stop Oil and Palestine Action to be treated as organised crime groups, more than 50 members of those groups have been jailed.

    Some of them have been incarcerated for as long as four or five years, following trials in which they have been banned from explaining to the jury why they have done what they have done.

    The group Defend Our Juries along with Plan B have been campaigning on this issue. In September, they blocked the road outside the MoJ. Now, on 24 October they were back.

    Around 300 people blocked the road to traffic in both directions outside the MoJ:

    The action was carefully designed to be a lawful expression of democratic rights, in accordance with the Supreme Court judgement in Ziegler and others. That is, police should not arrest activists:

    Free political prisoners MoJ

    In recent times however, people have been arrested for far less. So, all those participating were prepared to be unlawfully arrested.

    The exhibition, directly outside Hermer’s office in the MoJ, was a carbon copy of that which took place in the cul-de-sac outside Southwark Crown Court on 27 September, in which 320 people took part.

    Past and present

    Protesters held up images of political prisoners, past and present, to the windows of his office, defying him to turn a blind eye:

    free political prisoners MoJ

    They called for an end to the role of oil and arms industry lobbyists, such as John ‘Lord Walney’ Woodcock and Policy Exchange, in silencing and jailing their political opponents:

    The action fell fittingly upon United Nations Day. This will intensify the pressure upon the attorney general to bring the UK back into compliance with international law, as called for by the United Nations.

    There was also a strong message over the role of juries in the justice system:

    free political prisoners

    Jury equity as well as free political prisoners

    As the Canary has documented, ‘jury equity’ is a vital constitutional safeguard that juries can acquit a defendant as a matter of conscience, irrespective of a judge’s direction that there is no available defence (also called ‘jury nullification‘). This ensures that all defendants have the opportunity to explain their actions when their liberty is at stake, including by explaining their motivations and beliefs.

    Famously, the principle was used to acquit the civil servant, Clive Ponting in 1985, after he leaked information exposing the government’s misinformation over the sinking of the General Belgrano – despite the judge directing the jury that Ponting had no defence to breach of the Official Secrets Act.

    The principle of jury equity has recently become contentious over juries repeatedly acquitting members of groups taking action for political purposes, such as members of Extinction Rebellion, Palestine Action, and the Colston 4. However, some now-notorious judges have been ignoring this – even threatening to charge jurors themselves with Contempt of Court if they use equity.

    Everyone has the right to freedom of assembly

    The peaceful protesters were outside the MoJ for 90 minutes. They then suddenly stop up, and a gospel choir began to sing. The assembly then marched through Westminster:

    The action finished on a green in the middle of SW1, where the names of some of the people on free political prisoners placards were read out:

    Tim Crosland from Plan B said at the protest that, regarding free political prisoners:

    People are talking about it and are thinking about it because everyone here, including the police officers who are listening here, knows it is crazy to be filling our jails with peaceful people for taking direct action to protect life and uphold the law. Nobody can think that is a good thing.

    There was an irony being at the MoJ for this free political prisoners protest. A sign on the main window read:

    Be you never so high, the law is above you

    That is, of course, demonstrably false. As Israel currently commits countless war crimes, Michelle Mone enjoys the high life, and Boris Johnson gets to publish a book – people who have peacefully protested languish in jail.

    Defend Our Juries’ calls to free political prisoners resonated. Now, we all need Labour to act.

    Featured image and additional images via the Canary

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Student journalist detained at University of Minnesota protest

    Student journalist Tyler Church was briefly handcuffed and detained while reporting student protests against the Israel-Gaza war at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis on Oct. 21, 2024.

    The Minnesota Daily, the university’s student-led news outlet, reported that the protest was organized by members of the UMN’s Students for a Democratic Society chapter to pressure the administration to divest from investments in Israeli companies and weapons manufacturers.

    Daily reporter Church told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he learned of the building takeover from a push notification from the university, which said that students had stormed Morrill Hall, an administrative building, and were “causing property damage and restricting entrance and exit from the building.”

    Church said that after reporting outside alongside two other Daily journalists for about 30 minutes, the protesters let them into the building. He added that the outlet’s editor-in-chief, Spencer White, brought the journalists steel plate vests labeled with “PRESS” to wear while inside.

    “More or less, we just looked around, assessed the damages so far, prepared to set up interviews with some protesters and got general coverage of the event so far,” Church told the Tracker. “I had had a meeting set up with one of the protesters, followed by another protester joining. During the middle of that interview, the police had started clearing buildings from the basement, which was where I was.”

    Officers with the University of Minnesota Police Department and Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office entered the building through basement tunnels at approximately 5:45 p.m., the Daily reported.

    “Police broke down the door, weapons drawn, and hauled us to the ground,” Church said. “During that, I said multiple times, ‘I’m with the media, I’m press, I’m with The Minnesota Daily.’ Even still, they told me that it didn’t matter and that I had to get on the ground. They handcuffed me and put me with everyone else who had been detained.”

    When his fellow Daily reporters were escorted to the basement along with the demonstrators, they questioned the officers about why Church had been detained and placed in zip cuffs. Church told the Tracker that after about 20 minutes, an officer decided to release him.

    “They struggled with the handcuffs because the handcuffs were put on me so tightly that they were actually digging into my wrist,” he said. “Eventually, the cop had gotten one off me and gave me the scissors to do the other one because he didn't feel comfortable cutting them because they were so close to my wrist.”

    Church told officers his backpack — containing his laptop and two notebooks with journalistic work, as well as his coursework — was upstairs, but they said they were unable to find it and directed him to retrieve it from the department’s offices the following day.

    Officers told the three Daily reporters and a journalist from The Minnesota Star Tribune to remain in the basement until the building was cleared, Church said, and ultimately led them out through the tunnels several hours later. Eleven protesters were arrested, according to the Daily.

    Both White and one of the other Daily reporters told the Tracker that Church was the only journalist detained or handcuffed that day. The editor added that the Daily staff were glad Church was OK and that they are working to recover the items seized by the university police officers.

    Church told the Tracker that when he attempted to retrieve his equipment, the university police’s office was closed, with a contact number posted on the door. He said he left a voicemail, and an officer eventually told him he could retrieve his belongings when the office reopened, but didn’t clarify when that would be.

    The University of Minnesota Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.


    This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Bristol will show a RED LINE for Palestine this Saturday

    This Saturday 26 October, people from Bristol together with groups from around the region, will gather to express their horror over the continuing death toll caused by Israel’s genocide in Palestine – by drawing a RED LINE over the Zionist’s entity’s actions.

    The RED LINE for Palestine in Bristol

    A group of campaigners from Bournemouth will be bringing the “RED LINE” which consists of 1.5m wide rolls of red fabric with a total length of kilometre which will be carried on the march. Organisers have hired a drone to capture spectacular footage as the red line snakes around the city.

    The RED LINE March will assemble at 11.30am at the western end of the Bristol Cathedral at the end of Deanery Road, College Green BS1 5TL. A feeder march organised by the group “Queers for Palestine” will also march from the University of Bristol to College Green.

    Following speeches on College Green, the march will start at about 12.00/12.30pm.

    The march will set off using the “ramp” in front of the Council House proceeding to the Centre, Nelson Street, Broadmead Shopping Centre, Broad Weir & Newgate, and will finish for a rally at the Bandstand in Castle Park BS2 0HQ.

    Each 100-metre section of the fabric will be carried by “blocks” representing concerned citizens and professionals.

    These include academics/educators, medics, media-workers, a group pushing empty child buggies representing the enormous death-toll of children, faith groups, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Extinction Rebellion and environmental campaigners, the group Queers for Palestine, and many others.

    This should not have been crossed

    A spokesperson for Bristol Palestine Alliance said:

    The kilometre of Red fabric represents the “Red Line” that civilised society says should not be crossed – yet daily we see Israel crossing every conceivable humanity red line.

    Speakers at the rally will include:-

    • Feda – Bournemouth Red Line.
    • Khaled Fandi – Palestinian activist.
    • Benazir Jatoi – lawyer and activist.
    • Dizraeli – Bristol rapper and poet.
    • Nick Bilborough – Hands Up Project.
    • Neezo – Award winning humanitarian and human rights activist.

    Leading the RED LINE will be a banner bearing the name Shaban Al-Dalou. Footage taken by witnesses on mobile phones showed 19-year-old Shaban Al-Dalou, who was being treated for an injury, lying on his back on a bed, attached to an IV drip, in a makeshift tent hospital, frantically waving his arms before being engulfed by flames ignited by an Israeli bomb.

    These images have gone-viral on social media and have been viewed by millions around the world since the attack.

    The horror in Palestine must stop

    A spokesperson for Bristol Palestine Alliance said:

    It can be hard to comprehend the enormity of over forty thousand deaths in Gaza. But the video of this young man burning to death, seen by millions around the world now, shows us the horrific suffering of just one person in a way we can immediately connect with. Hopefully this will open more people’s eyes to the suffering and injustice of what is happening in Palestine, and together we bring it to a halt.

    In every protracted struggle against injustice there comes a galvanising moment, for instance the Amritsar, Sharpeville, or Soweto massacres, when the world wakes up and takes notice of the enormity of the injustice taking place and moves to halt it. We can only hope this horrific death can be that wake-up call.

    Featured image supplied

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Just Stop Oil’s ‘Sunak Singers’ found NOT GUILTY after disgusting show trial

    Just Stop Oil’s so-called ‘Sunak Singers’ have been acquitted, after what was essentially a show trial by the state.

    Just Stop Oil’s Sunak Singers

    Back in November 2023, a group of 18 Just Stop Oil supporters gathered outside Rishi Sunak’s home in Kensington, London, and made themselves heard by beating pots and pans:

    They were demanding that the UK government immediately halts all future licences and consents for fossil fuel exploration in the UK.

    Supporters carried placards reading “COP Failure=Crop Failure”, “No rest for the Wicked” and “Arrest the Real Criminals”:

    Just Stop Oil Sunak Singers

    Around 40 Police and several territorial support vehicles arrived from around 8:30pm. The police detained 16 of the Just Stop Oil Sunak Singers under Section 50 of the Police Reform Act. Police requested names and addresses of attendees which were given.

    At around 10pm officers began arresting the supporters.

    Pia Bastide was present. She remarked:

    People with flooded homes can’t sleep. Children dying from starvation can’t sleep. Communities staring down wildfires can’t sleep. So why should climate criminals like Rishi Sunak get a peaceful night’s sleep?

    Teenagers are being imprisoned for marching, without ever being convicted of anything. The Met Police should be targeting the real criminals – like Rishi Sunak, and all the oil barons striking slimy deals at COP28.

    After the protest, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided to charge the Just Stop Oil Sunak Singers under Section 4 of the Public Order Act 1994 – the use of “threatening behaviour” to “cause harassment”. This is despite Sunak and his family not being in the house:

    However, as soon as the trial of the first group of Sunak Singers started on 21 October, it quickly fell apart.

    Not guilty – as any reasonable person would have realised

    As Just Stop Oil noted:

    The prosecution’s witness didn’t show up to court [on 21 October].

    Yesterday there were several delays as one of the defendants, Indigo, was failed to be produced from prison by the courts.

    The body worn footage showed Police Constable Williams saying “We’ve had a chat with them, they’re peaceful, they have a right to protest.”

    All three officers giving evidence admitted the action was peaceful and they witnessed no offence taking place.

    Despite all this, the CPS are still choosing to pursue this case.

    Then, after all that on 22 October the judge effectively threw the case out. Just Stop Oil said:

    After his ruling, District Judge Benjamin said that “everyone on that road was innocent” and advised the CPS to consider dropping the second trial group.

    One of the defendants Indigo, who the state kept in prison, said:

    Our Criminal Justice system is prioritising the criminalisation of non-violent climate defenders for sitting on the curb outside one of our then prime ministers’ many addresses, days before COP. If this were to happen in Russia, Uganda or Iran we would be quick to point out the injustice.

    Chris Packham said:

    Alarm bells are ringing! Good! – the world’s leaders are sleep-walking to oblivion, it’s time they woke up to their responsibilities and found the sense and courage to actually lead us towards environmental stability and recovery.

    The justice system is working as intended

    Just Stop Oil’s Sunak Singers were acquitted just days before a protest will be held outside the Attorney General’s office. It’s over the 50+ activists currently in prison – incarcerated by the state for daring to protest against it.

    The trial of this eight shows not that the justice system is broken. It shows that it is working exactly how it should be: defending the interests of the rich and powerful, and the system itself, while subjugating the rest of us – often violently.

    Just Stop Oil’s Sunak Singers are just another thin end of the wedge of a system whose proponents are desperately trying to keep it going – at any cost, and at the deadly expense of the rest of us.

    Featured image and additional images via Just Stop Oil 

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Stop burning trees, Drax! Campaigners take to parliament over rogue biomass industry

    Climate justice campaigners in London joined groups around the world on Monday 21 October. It was for an International Day of Action on Big Biomass. Campaigners staged a ‘Save Nature, Stop Burning Trees’ demonstration beside Big Ben to call for an end to subsidies for tree-burning in UK power stations like Drax in Yorkshire and Lynemouth in Northumberland.

    Drax: stop burning trees

    The International Day of Action on Big Biomass coincided with the start of the UN COP16 Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia, and the activists drew particular attention to the devastating impact that logging forests to supply wood to burn in power stations like Drax is having on nature:

    Drax, which is the UK’s single largest carbon emitter in the UK and the world’s biggest tree burner, receives around £1.5 million per day in renewable subsidies from UK energy bills to burn trees.

    In London, campaigners held a ‘Save Nature, Stop Burning Trees’ banner protest and rally outside Parliament with signs saying “End biomass subsidies” to call on MPs to end renewable subsidies from UK energy bills for Drax’s tree burning and to say no to new subsidies for wood-burning power stations.

    Pete Dean from Biofuelwatch said:

    The UK government has promised us “Clean power by 2030” and announced plans to plant millions of trees. However, this will be completely undone if it persists with its plans to continue the life of the single largest tree-burning enterprise in the whole world. Drax power station gets public subsidies of almost £1.5 million a day, for burning trees taken from some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. We’re outside Westminster in London and across the UK calling on our MPs to stop new forest-destroying subsidies.

    Much of the wood that Drax burns comes from clear-felled, biodiverse forests in the Southeastern USA and Canada. These forests are home to many rare and endangered species, including black bears, Wood Storks, Rusty Blackbirds and caribou.

    Failing to act on the climate crisis

    Robin Wells from Fossil Free London said in a speech at the rally:

    We know that the governments of the world are failing to act on the climate crisis, even though they’re putting subsidies into things that appear to be green like carbon capture and storage or biomass. The truth of it is these are false solutions. The burning of trees in Drax Power Station can be as bad as burning coal, the worst fossil fuel available.

    We need governments at this Biodiversity COP and at the COP in Azerbaijan to stand against corporations using greenwash to take our future, our lives and our good and thriving existences from us. For that to happen, governments need to get these corporations in line and they need to invest in real green solutions. They need to stop burning trees and axe Drax.

    Merry Dickinson from the Stop Burning Trees Coalition said:

    With record temperatures and extreme weather around the world, it’s never been more urgent for the government to protect our precious forests and stop funding tree-burning companies like Drax that are driving forest destruction, biodiversity loss, climate breakdown and injustice around the world.

    For the sake of our planet, it’s vital for MPs to end renewable subsidies for Drax’s planet-wrecking tree burning and instead invest in genuine climate solutions like home insulation and wind and solar power that can create new green jobs and ensure a liveable future for everyone.

    Biomass is not the answer, Drax

    The government is currently considering whether to extend renewable subsidies for tree-burning companies like Drax beyond 2027. Last week, 15 NGOs including RSPB, Greenpeace, WWF UK and Friends of the Earth, wrote to the Government urging Ministers not to extend subsidies for burning wood because of the disastrous impact of the biomass industry on nature, communities and the climate.

    Last week, an investigation by the Financial Times into Drax’s internal emails revealed that the company was: “highly likely” to have burnt wood sourced from old-growth forest areas in Canada deemed to be environmentally important.  In February, a BBC Panorama investigation found that Drax is continuing to burn rare forest wood from British Columbia in Canada.

    Featured image and additional images via Biofuel Watch

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.