Earth First! Anti-oppression Policy and Addendum to Statement on DGR Transphobia

Earth First! Journal Collective

We would like to offer up the Earth First! Journal editorial collective’s anti-oppression policy below. Its a working and living document which has been hard fought over. It is only a document and despite it, the Earth First! Movement, like our society at large, still suffers under the grip of deeply embedded oppressive thoughts and behaviors. We have this policy, not as a form of righteousness, but as a reminder to ourselves of our own internal issues, of the years of distorted patriarchal, capitalist and racist education many of us have received and learned to embody.  It is in the spirit of this document that we made our decision about DGR.

However, we have also received accusations from members of DGR, including those who have now severed themselves from that movement, that they have received death threats and that some of their female organizers have been assaulted. This is not acceptable and does a great deal of harm to our movement. We condemn the trans phobic behavior of DGR and the oppressive actions carried out by those who have physically attacked DGR organizers or threatened their lives.  

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Anti-Oppression Policy

The Earth First! Journal editorial collective recognizes that the institutional, economic, political, social and cultural dynamics of hierarchy, power and privilege that define mainstream society also permeate the radical environmental movement. These dynamics are expressed in various interlocking systems of oppression (e.g., racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ageism, ableism, speciesism, etc.), which prevent equal access to resources and safety, disrupt healthy communities and movement building, and severely—sometimes irreparably—harm our allies, our friends, our loved ones and ourselves.

Sovereign Nations Walk Out of Meeting With U.S. State Department Unanimously Rejecting Keystone XL Pipeline

Cross Posted from Huffington Post

The State Department, still with “egg on its face” from its statement that Keystone XL would have little impact on climate change, sunk a little lower today as the most respected elders, and chiefs of 10 sovereign nations turned their backs on State Department representatives and walked out during a meeting. The meeting, which was a failed attempt at a “nation to nation” tribal consultation concerning the Northen leg of the Keystone XL Pipeline neglected to address any legitimate concerns being raised by First Nations Leaders (or leading scientific experts for that matter).

Tribal nations added probably the most critical danger of the pipeline which is to the water. Their statement is below:

Alabama City Destroying Ancient Indian Mound for Sam’s Club

from Facing South

City leaders in Oxford, Ala. have approved the destruction of a 1,500-year-old Native American ceremonial mound and are using the dirt as fill for a new Sam’s Club, a retail warehouse store operated by Wal-Mart.{C}A University of Alabama archaeology report commissioned by the city found that the site was historically significant as the largest of several ancient stone and earthen mounds throughout the Choccolocco Valley. But Oxford Mayor Leon Smith — whose campaign has financial connections to firms involved in the $2.6 million no-bid project — insists the mound is not man-made and was used only to “send smoke signals.”

Bulgarians Rise against Romania Shale Gas ‘Fracking’ Permit

Cross Posted from Novinite

Bulgarians in the northeastern city of Dobrich are going to stage a new wave of protest rallies against the use of the hydraulic fracturing technology in neighboring Romania.

The organizers, quoted by Standard daily, say they are going to revolt against big money and for protecting nature.

One of them, Sintiya Nedyalkova, states she is going to dedicate her entire life to the full moratorium on shale gas exploration and exploitation as it would be detrimental to the Dobrudhza region.

Japanese Nuke Protestors Start Hunger Strike

Cross Posted from JapanTimes

Opponents of nuclear power started a hunger strike Thursday to press the government to drop a lawsuit demanding they remove their tents from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

They sat down in chairs in front of the tents, wearing headbands and happi coats.

“We are not removing the tents,” they announced in a statement. “We are against the restart of nuclear power reactors.”

Watch Bank Robbers Get Away

from Earth First! News

You’ve got to admit it, you’ve always wanted to rob a bank right? Its not just about the money either, its also about fucking over a bank and the cops like some modern day Robin Hood.  It’s a total fucking double rainbow if you get away with it.

Anyway, check out this pretty amazing video below from a successful bank robbery in Detroit for potential inspiration. Though it isn’t real, well hell, its fucking hilarious, the cops look like idiots and the good guys get away!

Oil Companies Offices Raided by European Commission

By Matt Tabibi, Rolling Stone

We’re going to get into this more at a later date, but there was some interesting late-breaking news yesterday.

According to numerous reports, the European Commission regulators yesterday raided the offices of oil companies in London, the Netherlands and Norway as part of an investigation into possible price-rigging in the oil markets. The targeted companies include BP, Shell and the Norweigan company Statoil. The Guardian explains that officials believe that oil companies colluded to manipulate pricing data:

The commission said the alleged price collusion, which may have been going on since 2002, could have had a “huge impact” on the price of petrol at the pumps “potentially harming final consumers”.

Lord Oakeshott, former Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said the alleged rigging of oil prices was “as serious as rigging Libor” – which led to banks being fined hundreds of millions of pounds.

The inquiry also involves Platts, the world’s largest oil price reporting agency. The concept here is very similar to both the LIBOR scandal, which involved banks manipulating the benchmark rates for interest rates, and to the possible rigging of interest rate swap prices through the manipulation of ISDAfix, the benchmark rate for those instruments, which is also the subject of a regulatory probe.