tagged w/ Civil Disobedience
-
The world pumped up emissions of the chief human-produced global warming gas last year, setting a course that could push beyond leading scientists' projected worst-case scenario, international researchers said Thursday.
The new numbers, which some scientists called "scary," were a surprise because experts thought an economic downturn would slow energy use. Instead, carbon dioxide output rose 3% from 2006 to 2007.
That amount exceeds the most dire outlook for emissions from burning coal and oil and related activities as projected by a Nobel Prize-winning group of international scientists in 2007.
Meanwhile, forests and oceans, which suck up carbon dioxide, are doing so at lower rates, scientists said. If those trends continue, the world will be on track for the highest predicted rises in temperature and sea level.
The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that an increase of between 3.2 and 9.7 degrees Fahrenheit could trigger massive environmental changes, including melting of the Greenland ice sheet, the Himalayan-Tibetan glaciers and summer sea ice in the Arctic.
Corinne Le Quere, professor of environmental sciences at the University of East Anglia and the British Antarctic Survey, said the prediction that current emissions put the planet on track for a temperature rise of more than 11 degrees means the world could face a dangerous rise in sea level as well as other drastic changes.
Richard Moss, vice president and managing director for climate change at the World Wildlife Fund, said the new carbon figures and research showed that "we're already locked into more warming than we thought."
"We should be worried -- really worried," Moss told the Washington Post. "This is happening in the context of trying to reduce emissions."
The new data also shows that forests and oceans, which naturally take up much of the carbon dioxide humans emit, are having less impact. These "natural sinks" have absorbed 54% of carbon dioxide emissions released since 2000, a drop of 3 percentage points compared with the period between 1959 and 2000.
The pollution leader was China, followed by the United States, which past data show is the leader in emissions per person in carbon dioxide output. And although several developed countries slightly reduced output in 2007, the U.S. churned out more.
Still, it was large increases from China, India and other developing countries that spurred the growth of carbon dioxide pollution to a record high of 9.34 billion tons of carbon. Figures released by science agencies in the U.S., Great Britain and Australia show that China's added emissions accounted for more than half of the worldwide increase. China passed the U.S. as the No. 1 carbon dioxide polluter in 2006.
Emissions in the U.S. rose nearly 2% in 2007, after declining the previous year. The U.S. produced 1.75 billion tons of carbon.
"Things are happening very, very fast," Le Quere told the Associated Press. "It's scary."
Gregg Marland, a senior staff scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, said he was surprised at the results because he thought world emissions would drop because of the economic downturn. That didn't happen.
"If we're going to do something [about reducing emissions], it's got to be different than what we're doing," he said.
_______________
Very disappointing. This should be a wake up call to industry and politicians.
The status quo must go. Time to put on more pressure. The world pumped up emissions of the chief human-produced global warming gas last... more
-
-
Al Gore, the former vice president and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is nothing if not passionate on the issue of global warming. But his usual fired-up remarks on the subject took a step into the Gandhian realm on Wednesday when he told an audience at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York that the crisis was so severe and intractable that it was time for direct action.
If you are a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration, he said at the third annual meeting of former President Bill Clinton's initiative, which arranges partnerships between the very rich and the very needy.
Mr. Gore said the civil disobedience should focus on stopping the construction of new coal plants, which he said would add tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere despite half a billion dollars worth of advertising by the coal and gas industry claiming otherwise. He added, Clean coal does not exist.
The audience at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers, which was composed of hundreds of heads of state and chief executives, as well as representatives of philanthropic groups, reacted with scattered applause. There was a lot of shifting in seats.
Mr. Gore did not elaborate on his call for action. And almost as soon as the words civil disobedience were out of his mouth, Mr. Clinton, moderating a panel that Mr. Gore shared with the singer Bono, the president of Liberia, the chairman of Coca-Cola and Queen Rania of Jordan, turned to the queen to ask whether Middle Eastern countries might ever become models of clean energy usage. The discussion continued in a less-fiery vein from there.
_____________
I can just bet people at the Clinton Global Initiative were shifting in their seats. ;-) Mr. Gore, I love you for this and am with you 100%. The climate crisis is getting lost in all of the talk about this 'election' and the 'financial crisis' that is actually related to our current energy policy. We do need more young people out here peacefully protesting to save their environmental future which also means saving this economy. And we also need older people as well to set an example for younger people about how change is really made. It isn't made by going to a rally of someone who claims to have charisma and can talk us out of it and thinking you have done something. It's taking action ourselves. I hope his endorsee is listening.Al Gore, the former vice president and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is nothing if... more
-
-
Howard Zinn was interviewed by Al Jazeera English in September. Here is an excerpt of the interview. The entire interview is availble at the link:
Q: Is there a way for this to improve?
HZ: Well you know, whatever hope there is lies in that large number of Americans who are decent, who don't want to go to war, who don't want to kill other people.
It is hard to see that hope because these Americans who feel that way have been shut out of the communications system, so their voices are not heard, they are not seen on the television screen, but they exist.
I have gone through, in my life, a number of social movements and I have seen how at the very beginning of these social movements or just before these social movements develop, there didn't seem to be any hope.
I lived in the [US] south for seven years, in the years of the civil rights movements, and it didn't seem that there was any hope, but there was hope under the surface.
And when people organised, and when people began to act, when people began to work together, people began to take risks, people began to oppose the establishment, people began to commit civil disobedience.
Well, then that hope became manifest ... it actually turned into change.Howard Zinn was interviewed by Al Jazeera English in September. Here is an excerpt of... more
-
-
A preview of a documentary on Ron English, a political public artist.
-
-
Will this verdict set the precedent for climate activists to stand up more vigorously in protesting climate change and the plans of coal and oil companies? I sure hope so. It is time for governments to be made aware that people are onto them. That when they say they want renewable energy we know they mean "clean coal" and nuclear and not TRUE renewable energy because it doesn't bring them $$$$$$$ in their campaign coffers. We are on to their lies and their smoke and mirror tactics to keep to the status quo... and we aren't going to be silent any longer. If scaling a chimney to write a warning will save one life from the effects of climate change or cancer, I will do it myself. This is also an issue of Democracy as well as environment. These plants being built are without the consent of the governed and part of deals made behind closed doors, and therefore, the governed have every right to protest them for the betterment of the whole, their families, and this planet. For these companies to continue to build coal plants knowing what they do to our health and our environment knowing there are cleaner, safer, better ways is simply willful negligence.
Photo credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8068270@N04/2414246369/
From the article:
The Maidstone verdict has changed all that and could prove a turning point both for the protest movement and industrial policy. It gave the clear political message that 12 people with - one must assume - no great scientific knowledge, had listened to the evidence of one of the best scientists in the world and concluded that climate change is now so serious and so urgent an issue that it is legally justifiable for people to invade a power station and do £30,000 worth of damage.
Out of the blue, the environmentalists say, the legitimacy of the government to pursue an expanding coal policy has been undermined and it may have become impossible for E.ON, the German owners of Kingsnorth, to go ahead with a new plant without fitting a £500m carbon capture and storage plant to collect and dispose of the greenhouse gases.
What is particularly galling for the backers of coal-fired power stations is that, because of the amount of damage alleged to have been done at Kingsnorth, the case went to a jury rather than a magistrate. The crown prosecution service and many corporations know that campaigners who challenge the law by non-violent action are being regularly acquitted by juries. In the past decade, prosecutions of protesters against GM crops, incinerators, new roads and nuclear, chemical and arms trade companies have all collapsed after defendants argued that they had acted according to their consciences and that they were trying to prevent a greater crime. Greenpeace itself has a four-nil record against the crown using the same defence and was widely known to be seeking a jury trial to present complex arguments about coal and climate change.
"They were pretty confident that a jury would listen to them more than the government," said one lawyer yesterday. "It gives them a platform. I doubt that we will see another climate change jury trial for many years."
"We are seeing a pattern emerging. The public is increasingly speaking through the courts," says Martyn Day, a partner with Leigh Day solicitors, which specialises in environmental cases. "These cases are a good guide to public mood and politicians should take close heed of them. It shows that society is greatly concerned about what is happening with the environment and that it is suspicious of government and business when they say they are acting responsibly.
"We're looking at a society which is far more in tune with the environment than in the past. Politicians and companies have not understood that most people now understand the issues. There's a feeling that government and the authorities have not been paying sufficient heed, and that the courts are righting the balance," he said.
Will this verdict set the precedent for climate activists to stand up more vigorously... more
-
-
Denver CopWatch is a grassroots organization working for increased police accountability and against police brutality in Denver, Colorado. We observe police actively and advocate for peoples' rights. Contact us at (303) 380-4329, or by sending a message here on Myspace.
Denver CopWatch was in the streets throughout the Democratic National Convention and we are expecting a great deal of footage and documentation of police activity, especially the brutality that occurred on Monday evening. If you have video footage, photos and witness contact info/statements, or any documentation at all you can send it to Denver CopWatch to be used for legal action/defense by e-mailing it to denvercopwatch07@yahoo.com, or you can call (303) 380-4329 and leave you name and phone number or a way we can contact you and someone will get back with you A.S.A.P. to collect the documentation you have to offer - either we'll give you an address to which you can mail it, or we can arrange to pick it up at your convenience - or you can mail it to the following address:
Denver CopWatch
P.O. Box 9944
Denver, CO 80209 Denver CopWatch is a grassroots organization working for increased police... more
-
-
August 26, 2008
2008 Democratic National Convention
As the Democrats celebrated inside the Pepsi Center on opening day of the convention, outside on the streets police pepper-sprayed protesters and rounded up dozens of them in mass arrests. The incident began near the Civic Center Park around 7:00 p.m., where a few hundred protesters had gathered to march. The police arrived in full riot gear, surrounded the protesters, blocking them in before firing pepper spray into the crowd. Protesters fled across the park, where they were met by dozens of police officers who boxed them in. Many of the marchers sat down in the street. Nearly a hundred people were arrested.
Democracy Now! arrived on the scene moments afterwards and spoke with some of the eyewitnesses. JACOB: My name is Jacob, and I work with Berkeley CopWatch. We go out, we watch the police when they're interacting with people. So, obviously, we're here at the DNC to ensure that police are not utilizing tactics that are against law. And what took place about an hour ago is, we had a big group of protesters start marching, and what happened is they cordoned off the block on both sides, and without any warning or nothing, they initiated arrests. Now, the rest of the people that should have had an opportunity to leave were asked to go up the street and then were also enclosed. So, basically, what the police did is they just did a mass arrest with the intention of keeping people in jail for the next two days, so they won't be out tomorrow, they won't be out the day after, to protest. STEPHEN NASH: I'm Steve Nash with Denver CopWatch. We're a police accountability group that observes the police, and tonight we watched protesters block the street about a block from here. It's about fifty protesters in the street. The police came at them in riot gear from both sides and hemmed them in. Then they refused to let anybody out, including people who were just on the sidewalk in the group, who were not actually trying to block the street. I saw one older legal observer who begged for the police to let him out, and they refused. They pushed him back into the crowd. Then they donned their gas masks and began pushing the media and legal observers and the public a block away in each direction and in a very aggressive manner. JACOB: 99 percent of the officers tonight that are operating have no identification, which is against the law. An officer has to be identified by a badge or a nameplate. JOHN TARLETON: People were generally very calm. There were several legal observers there from the National Lawyers Guild who gave everybody their legal number, because we were—what was, you know, unclear at that moment was whether the police were going to do a mass arrest. RON KOVIC: I was inside of the Sheraton Hotel watching the convention. I had just heard Ted Kennedy's inspiring speech, and someone whispered in my ear that there's a riot outside. I immediately left. I left the hotel with a friend, and we came outside. We came outside to see what was happening. I came outside because of my concern for you, because of my concern for the young people who are demonstrating.
AMY GOODMAN: And that last voice was by Ron Kovic, the paralyzed Vietnam veteran, antiwar activist, who arrived on the scene soon after the protesters were arrested. Special thanks to Democracy Now! producer Hany Massoud for that report.
Eileen Clancy is with I-Witness Video. We just have a few seconds for Eileen to comment on what has happened. The behavior of the police that you've come to watch as you've watched in conventions past, Eileen?
EILEEN CLANCY: One thing, I have never seen more police officers with fewer identification marks on them as I saw last night. It's a big problem. They have spanking new uniforms. Yet somehow the nameplates didn't manage to remain attached.August 26, 2008
2008 Democratic National Convention
As the Democrats celebrated... more
-
-
Peaceful protestors go over the wall to be arrested, but after an officer nearly drops a woman his superior talks to him about it and the police don't want to arrest anyone until that discussion is over. One peaceful protestor doesn't understand that and just wants to get arrested like everyone else who went over the wall. Pepper spray was used to delay his arrest.
I shot the video - you may air it.Peaceful protestors go over the wall to be arrested, but after an officer nearly drops... more
-
-
AIDS activists storm the Family Research Council to protest its opposition to condoms, sex education, and science-based HIV prevention. VC2 Producer Dean Hamer was able to get inside and film 12 activists who chained themselves to a "traditional marriage shrine" - until a guard snatched the camera.AIDS activists storm the Family Research Council to protest its opposition to condoms,... more
-
-
"Scores of bikers have caused rush-hour disruption in a protest against rising fuel prices.
The protesters gathered at Birch services on the M62 north of Manchester before heading off in a slow-moving convoy. The demo was organised by motorcycling groups, but they were joined by some taxi and lorry drivers.
Police stopped traffic on the motorway before the bikers left the service station, bound for Salford. The Highways Agency warned motorists to find alternative routes if possible.
It was the latest in a long line of fuel protests and came as some Labour backbenchers joined a chorus of voices warning Prime Minister Gordon Brown not to go ahead with a planned 2p increase in fuel duty this autumn.
Police estimate between 400 and 500 bikers took part in the protest. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said a "small number" of lorry drivers failed to comply with the rules agreed with the organisers of today's protest. The truckers were accused of breaking away from the protest group and driving at an unacceptably slow speed. Assistant Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: "The vast majority of those taking part have expressed their views in a way that was agreed with police, that was safe for motorists and that caused minimum disruption. We are disappointed that a small number of other demonstrators let them down and acted in an unacceptable way, causing added disruption to some drivers."""Scores of bikers have caused rush-hour disruption in a protest against rising... more
-
-
Restore the Constitution for Freedom, Peace and Prosperity!
Our goal is to raise $50,000 for The Revolution March on July, 12th in Washington D.C. on Flag Day, June 14th. We only need 1000 people to donate $50.00 each and we will succeed! Let's make The Revolution March the biggest event yet to happen in The R3VO1UTION . You can be an early part of that success by being part of this fun and inspirational event. Pledge today!
The goal of The Revolutiuon March is to organize a peaceful, non-violent march on the streets of Washington DC followed by a rally in support of R3VO1UTION that is happening in America. By involving as many volunteers and participants as we can, we intend to spread the know-how of mass mobilization and direct-action to the movement. As a law-upholding movement, it's our responsibility to use these Constitutional tools wisely and effectively.
Remember, when we say "Revolution" we say it with LOVE!
For more information about the Revolution March visit revolutionmarch.com
http://revolutionmarch.com/Default.aspx?rnd=1717136214
For more information about the Revolution March Flag Day Money Bomb visit FiftyForFlagDay.com
http://www.FiftyForFlagDay.com/Restore the Constitution for Freedom, Peace and Prosperity!
Our goal is to raise... more
-
-
Ils suivent les policiers des nuits entières dans les rues, les filment et prennent des notes. Leur mouvement est né à Berkeley, en Californie. Ce sont les copwatchers : cop comme flic, watchers comme surveillants. Certains veulent tout simplement faire valoir leur droit de citoyens, d’autres ont subi des violences policières. Leur combat : filmer la police pour l’empêcher d’être au dessus des lois. En 1991, aux Etats-Unis, l’affaire Rodney King - la bastonnade d’un automobiliste noir filmée par hasard par un amateur - avait mis le doigt sur la gravité des bavures. Depuis 1994, une loi autorise la police fédérale (FBI) à enquêter en cas de soupçon de brutalité policière. Mais les condamnations de policiers violents restent rarissimes. C’est pourquoi le mouvement Copwatch est né. Aujourd’hui, il en existe une soixantaine sur tout le territoire. Sabrina Van Tassel a rencontré ces militants infatigables, qui traquent chaque nuit les brigades de police : à Berkeley, Andrea Pritchett, l’une des fondatrices du mouvement et Jacob Crawford, un cameraman professionnel, deux "vétérans" du copwatching, des militants pour les droits civiques ; à San José, un groupe très actif, composé uniquement de jeunes victimes de bavures policières (à leur tête, Norren Salinas, dont le père est mort l’an dernier, électrocuté par la décharge d’un taser, cette arme de neutralisation électrique) ; à Riddley, un bourg à forte population latino, c’est un ancien flic d’origine mexicaine qui dénonce les brutalités policières. Bernabe Santillan a vécu le système de l’intérieur et le condamne. Lui aussi s’est muni d’une caméra pour observer le travail de ses anciens collègues. Il ne leur laisse aucun répit. Mais aujourd’hui, il est seul contre tous.Ils suivent les policiers des nuits entières dans les rues, les filment et... more
-
-
Three Minnesotan students were suspended on Thursday for not standing during the Pledge of Allegiance. The school says the students are required to stand but not to recite the pledge. The ACLU has stepped in to defend the boys claiming that the schools actions are unconstitutional.
Full story by Paul Walsh of the Star Tribune at the link.
Photo by Jon Super, Associated Press
Three Minnesotan students were suspended on Thursday for not standing during the... more
-
-
The Rev. Al Sharpton was arrested at the Brooklyn Bridge Wednesday as hundreds of demonstrators blocked traffic to protest the acquittals of three detectives in the 50-bullet shooting of an unarmed black man.
Sharpton, two survivors of the shooting and the slain man's fiancee were among about a dozen people arrested near the base of the bridge; police led away demonstrators at several other bridges and tunnels in the city, including seven or eight people arrested at the Holland Tunnel on Manhattan's West Side shortly after 4:30 p.m.The Rev. Al Sharpton was arrested at the Brooklyn Bridge Wednesday as hundreds of... more
-
-
i live in burlington north carolina, better know as bucktown. im richard edens, i like to think imma big influence of our ways, we roll whiteowls, we listen to reggae, old memphis rap and we got some raw ass slang thats fresh and verrrrrrrry tasteyyy bruh, get at us here in bucktown its me my brotha ivan, greybird the dopeman, bo the fiend and ern the goodie goodie cocky ass, we a funny ass crew and im tryna get started in this type business, thanks current, i hadda bad feeling you wouldnt take a second look at my crazy anecdote but if you do get back at me i got loads n loads to telli live in burlington north carolina, better know as bucktown. im richard edens, i like... more
-
-
In 1969, Academy Award winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler exploded the boundaries of American verite cinema with his quasi-fictional masterpiece, Medium Cool. Set against the chaotic and hyper-politicized backdrop of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, WexlerâÂÂs narrative effectively blurred the lines between reality and fiction, forcing viewers to question the responsibility media has to its audience and the society as a whole.
Thirty years later, as anti-Bush activists and the New York police force prepared for their encounter on the streets outside the 2004 Republican National Convention, director Stephen Marshall took his cast and crew, including stars Rosario Dawson and Nathan Crooker, into the chaos. With Entertainment Tonight and New York Daily News in tow, the shoot was interrupted when six NYPD officers pulled up in a van and arrested Dawson and Marshall mistaking them for Black Bloc anarchists.
Conceived as a low-budget, hi-impact verite thriller for the political set, This Revolution, was developed, written, cast, shot (on 24P DV) and edited in 100 days, just in time for the Sundance deadline. The story follows Jake Cassevetes (Nathan Crooker), a network war shooter just back from Iraq who is assigned to cover the run-up to the RNC. When he meets and falls in love with Tina Santiago (Rosario Dawson), a young mother widowed after her husband was killed in Iraq, Jake is forced to question his world view. But it is not until he discovers his network has given his videotape of an anarchist Black Bloc group to Homeland Security that Jake decides to take action.In 1969, Academy Award winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler exploded the boundaries... more
-
-
Civil disobedience is the strongest force of resistence in democratic societies,
Lets hope it is seeing a comeback.
For a little inspiration:
Saul Williams, quite possibly one of the most talented, truth speakers of our time puts it best:
"NOT IN OUR NAME!"
Big UP to peaceful, powerful people.
Civil disobedience is the strongest force of resistence in democratic societies,... more
-
-
Celebrities, surfers and a mermaid paddled out to defend the dolphins from japanese fishermen in the killing bay of Taiji on 29th October 2007. Despite their peaceful protest, fishermen attacked them with long poles and boat propellors, and continued their slaughter. THe meat is used as food despite being highly contaminated with mercury, which causes brain tumors, birth defects and death.
Hannah is a professional mermaid who works on films, tv and print, and uses her profile to bring attention to the issues involving dolphins and whales.Celebrities, surfers and a mermaid paddled out to defend the dolphins from japanese... more
-
-
Here are a few articles on the resurgence, or attempted resurgence on Nuclear power. Useful for knowing some of the pro-N-power arguments that are being used.
Here are a few articles on the resurgence, or attempted resurgence on Nuclear power.... more
-
-
2007-11-19 1:18 AM +0800
A Japanese whaling ship has left Japan today to head to Australian/Antarctic waters to hunt whales. The Howard government will not act to protect these endangered species. With one week before the election, please TAKE ACTION TO HELP SAVE WHALES FROM SLAUGHTER. 2007-11-19 1:18 AM +0800
A Japanese whaling ship has left Japan today to head to... more
-
