Monsanto and Xe (Acadami)

by Earth First! News

A couple of weeks ago, we cross-posted an article from the website Political Blind Spot about Monsanto and Blackwater. While the article does contain many unsettling facts about the collaboration between the two organizations, it has been brought to our attention that it makes claims that are not backed up by any clear, concrete evidence.

Grassroots Anti-Pipeline Groups And Idle No More Say, “Enbridge No More!”

by Vanessa Gray and Clayton Thomas-Muller / IdleNoMore.ca

Aamjiwnaang—Today, members of Aamjiwnaang and Sarnia Against Pipelines (ASAP) along with supporters of the Idle No More movement and environmental groups gathered in Sarnia’s Chemical Valley at Lasalle Line where Enbridge’s Line 9 comes above ground across the road from the border of the Aamjiwnaang reserve. Community members and grassroots activists briefly blocked the Lasalle Line road with a mock oil spill, calling attention to the risks posed by the Line 9 Reversal Project and to commemorate the 3 year anniversary of the Line 6 spill in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

The demonstration on Lasalle Line is at the spot where Line 9 comes above ground and there is a small Enbridge facility right on the edge of Aamjiwnaang. At this site, Aamjiwnaang community members will conduct a land protection ceremony.

Domestic Eco-Terrorism Has Deep Pockets, Including Moms that Love Ecotage

from Earth First! News

According to a recent article in Forbes, environmental saboteurs in the U.S. receive broad popular support as well as financial resources from the organic foods industry.

The article’s authors Jay Byme, a corporate public relations expert and former U.S. AID senior official, and Henry I. Miller, founding director of the FDA’s Office of Biotechnology, claim that groups like Moms against Monsanto, Earth First!, GreenPeace, Stonyfield Organic and New York Time’s food writer Mark Bittman form a synergistic and terroristic anti-GMO food movement with the ultimate goal being “to sell more overpriced, overrated organic food.” 

Alabama and Mississippi Assessing Tar Sands Resources

by Michael Allen Mcrae / Mining.com

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley and Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant are partnering to study the oil sands in their two states.

The study, a partnership of various state bodies, will look at the Hartselle Sandstone, which stretches from  from north-central and northwest Alabama into northeastern Mississippi.  The most recent shows an estimated 7.5 billion barrels of oil are located in the reserves.

“We need new information on the development of the area,” Governor Bryant said.

People Power Guards Agusan Mountain

by Chris Panganipan / The Inquirer

Mt. Magdiwata, the only source of water in households here and a natural barrier against storms, is under threat again by the same people who abused it in 2010.

Residents sounded the alarm on the resurgence of illegal logging and illegal mining inside and near the watershed early this month after learning that poachers have become bolder.

In November 2010, some 4,000 residents went on a caravan to the foot of the mountain to call for a stop to illegal mining activities involving local businessmen in partnership with Chinese financiers within the buffer zone of the watershed in the guise of sand and gravel operations.

Feds Pressure Web Firms for Encryption Keys

by Declan McCullagh / Cnet

The U.S. government has attempted to obtain the master encryption keys that Internet companies use to shield millions of users’ private Web communications from eavesdropping.

These demands for master encryption keys, which have not been disclosed previously, represent a technological escalation in the clandestine methods that the FBI and the National Security Agency employ when conducting electronic surveillance against Internet users.

New Wick Drain Protest Delays CalTrans Again

from Save Little Lake Valley                7/23/13

Picture from the May wick drain lock down.

Caltrans’ attempt to drain and fill wetlands was shut down today when two activists locked themselves to both of the giant “stitcher” towers that are punching thousands of wick drains into the water table near this small rural town. The wick drains are being used to compact the soil so that it can no longer hold water, in preparation for building a freeway. The Willits Bypass freeway project entails the biggest loss of wetlands in Northern California in 50 years. Opponents of the project say it is a giant loss for taxpayers as well.

Two protesters were able to slip past CHP guards in the predawn darkness to get to the steel towers, which had been lowered to the ground for the night. The towers are now lowered each evening ever since activist Will Parrish climbed 60 feet into an upright tower, occupying it and shutting down work for eleven days from June 20 to July 1.

FBI Resurfaces in Portland

by Earth First! News

This statement was released today, via facebook, by an activist with Portland Rising Tide: 

“The FBI came to my parents house last week, asking questions they knew the answers to like ‘were does he live?’ (they know were we all live). 

My atty was not able to find out what or why they were bothering my sweet folks, but I will tell you why.

Its [sic] because Portland Rising Tide is outreaching, training, and organizing hundreds of Pacific NWers of all age groups to engage in a level of civil disobedience not seen in decades.

54 Grandparents and Grandchildren Blockade ERM

from Earth First! News

54 grandparents and grandkids blocked work inside ERM, the oil contractor in charge of writing the environmental review for the Keystone XL, as part of the Walk for our Grandchildren demonstration to raise consciousness about militarization and climate change.

ERM is a massive corporation hid their ties to big oil companies like Exxon Mobil and even TransCanada—an illegal act that exposes deep conflict of interest.

Five Alpha Bridge Blockaders Sentenced; Four in Jail Now

from RAMPS

Four of the bridge blockaders who pleaded guilty yesterday to blocking a public road turned themselves in after court to the tiny jail in Bristol, VA for their 5-day jail sentence.  Ande, Junior Walk, Jocelyn Sawyer,  and Emily “Gabby” Gillespie will be in jail until Monday, August 29th. David Baghdadi, who served 15 days following his arrest, did not have to do additional jail time (his 15 pre-sentenced days, which should have counted as 30, instead counted as his 5).