Last Forest Walk: Message missing from the Media + Photos


This sunday was a unique walk in that it started in town of Mannheim where the destruction of houses is advancing, bringing attention to the plight of local inhabitants loosing their homes and being resettle by RWE. Then the approximately 300 people walked to the Bund meadow and placed a large yellow X in the paths of the diggers and unfolded and stood with numerous anti-coal mining signs and banners. Then it was through the forest, with several stops including the edge of the woods and then all the way to Oaktown where climbing demonstrations took place and the visitors joined the forest activists for a meal.

The forest walk continues to share the message that has been missing even from the less bias national and international media. Showing that the forest not only continues to be open but that the forest activist and supporters continue to invite and bring people into this vanishing ecosystem to share its beauty, uniqueness and its connection to global climate issues. Forest whose destruction is happening at the same time as that of the local towns and villages as the water table and aquifers are pumped empty to keept the mine dry.

The forest activists supporters and visitors also keep the message alive of the disproportionate use of force against the forest occupation going hand in hand with fear and propaganda campaigns against the activists.
The media can not be counted on to inform about the situation of our friends and comrades such as UPIII who continues to be imprisoned but it is something that it is up to the activists and all people of good will to keep this message going.

There was a common disbelief especially on the part of the younger participants that the towns, roads and forest that they walk on and through will be destroyed and cut. They have a valid reason to be concerned as that is another subject absent from the mass media narrative: How over the 50 millions tons of coal extracted from underneath Hambach Forest yearly is endangering their not just future but their very survival. Feeding runaway climate change, droughts, wild forest fires, Forcing on the future geteration through corporate greed backed up by the state force and repression a Climate Instability reality of violence,repression and food insecurity.

Using the tactic of invaders, occupiers and exploiters local media continues to attempt to redirect attention and blame to the very people that are resisting this war on the Planet and local communities. Attempting to justify the future waves of eviction and repression.  Which continue to be unjust and unjustified for all of those that have ever been in the forest, connected with Hambis or who have experience repression and who are not closed off to social and ecological injustice.

 

Continue ReadingLast Forest Walk: Message missing from the Media + Photos

Weekly Noise Demo for UPIII This Sunday 1900

The next solidarity noise demo in front of Ossendorf jail for UPIII will be at 19:000 instead of the previous 22:00. Come and support Hambi comrade by bringing megaphones, instruments or even cooking pots.  This can be doubly appreciated as weekend in prison suck as you get no mail and often there is less prison guards working so sometimes you do not even get out you cell for walk outside.  Such conditions for someone defending the forest or anybody in general bring attention how much the repression is being used to demoralize those inside and intimidate those active on the outside not to engage in direct action or activism.  Don’t let this happen! Resist repression, prison and Coal!

FREE UPIII!

Here is an excerpt from one of the last letters from UPIII, the full leter can be seen at: https://abcrhineland.blackblogs.org

I admire all of you for your courage, tenacity, energy, kindness, generosity and a million other things. The memory of it gives me strength, as do the many letters you have sent. Telling me I am not forgotten (and I do not forget you, either).

I remember your faces, your voices, the way many of you walk, the sound of your footsteps, heavy or light, fast or slow (I like to always be aware of who to expect so this is something I notice quickly).

The little things make you more “real” here, for want of a better phrase. That you still exist beyond these walls. I only got to know you for a short time (an unfairly short amount of time really) but that doesn’t matter, I look forward to picking up where I left off. I wonder how many of you there will be familiar faces? I’ll be here for four months, and I’ve already heard of people coming and going. This doesn’t dull my excitement tough, new friends to make!
Continue ReadingWeekly Noise Demo for UPIII This Sunday 1900

Resist Coal Commission!

The initial euphoria of coal industry dominated Coal Commission to address the issue of German Coal Exit has been replaced by German Federal Republic forming a mirror image of Trumps administration with its Climate Denying stepping out of international climate agreements and obligations and instead attempting to put in place massive subsidies that will keep  toxic and destructive lignite industry going even further despite it not even being able to compete on its own with falling prices of renewables.

As the Commission convened the German Environmental minister Svenja Schulze announced that the agreed to 2020 reductions of CO2 will not be met. Shielding Coal and fossil fuel industry and the Coal Comission from pressure and responsibility for effects of Climate Change with Global South disproportionately suffering the consequences.  Further subsidizing this failing industry and allowing it to continue its destruction of habitats, communities and climate by calling for massive “restructuring” assistance. Trump’s, recently blocked, subsidies to closing, failing and unprofitable coal and nuclear power plants attempted to do the same by framing the discussion in terms of energy security with the false narrative of renewable as being unreliable source of energy. The German state support and financial assistance to industries that the same government agreed to scale back and transition from acknowledging the global scope of Climate Change emergency is significant in how the Neo-Liberal profit based regimes are transitioning to even higher levels of corruption and lack of transparency in which even the capitalist profit based principles can not continue to function on their own without a mass appropriation of public resources for profit of the very few on the corporate and governmental top at the cost of sacrificing stability of the planet’s climate and its future as a whole. Late Ultra-Liberal Disaster Corporate-Welfare Capitalism is here: RWE for example has last year only made “profit” for the first time in last 3 years due to 4.5 billion tax refund(in effect a hidden subsidy) for their nuclear power plants whose upkeep is already being subsidized.

The make up and structure of the Coal Commission continues to deny and distance decision-making process from the effect of climate change by being presided over by 3 former pro-coal presidents of coal mining regions, and by one former industry energy “transition” think tank executive with one participant of heavily vested in fossil industry Deutsche Bahn, German Railways,setting up an agenda of calling for “financial cushioning” of shutting down of coal industry that the commission is attempting to delay to 2030-2050 and then only with those massive payouts involved. Not just the german public, which is in favor of coal exit, but the whole global population affected by RWE’s and Vatenfall’s massive coal usage and co2 emissions is being held hostage by Coal and its affiliated politicians. As high temperatures and droughts rage with coal, oil and gas industries flexing their muscle of influence and disinformation to demand more resources for more extraction of combustibles so they can continue to feed the blaze of run away climate change. Smoke Screen of “The jobs” narrative is repeatedly used instead, using the 30 thousand jobs in coal mining as a bargaining chip, without mention or inclusion of representatives of over 120 thousands involved in renewable industry in the working of the commission. Not included also are members of any other German opposition parties present in German politics within the commission which is solely dominated by CDU/CSU, SPD insiders whose strategy of competing for votes with far right nationalist AFD parties is to embrace some of their issues and appeal by becoming more right wing and conservative, this is the case not just with immigration but also especially with embracing Coal as a traditional German industry. This informal alliance extends also to repression of Hambacher Forest activists, calling for climate justice and immediate coal exit, as terrorists. AFD has made protecting German Coal and “jobs” one of their key issues another one is elimination of left and radical autonomous centers, projects and struggles. This narrative is also embraced by coal industry and Herber Reul, interior/police chief of North Rhine Westphalia a Rhine Rnergie advisor and Armin Laschet NRW president and also coal industry insider and supporter. Calling for and organizing massive police actions against Hambacher Forest activists fear mongering regularly not about the effects of climate change but about left wing extremism while even the official estimates place the number of right extremists at 3 times the number of those on the left. Another parallel of the Trump regime violently repressing opposition to pipeline and fossil fuel extraction projects with disproportionate police forces and sentences classifying those protecting communities, ecosystems and climate from violent destruction as a threat to public(read: profit) safety.

The 2 degree climate warming danger area entered now do to “business as ussuall” mentality of full co-option of the political structures by fossil industry signifies entering a run away climate change territory: Run away climate change that will not just be irreversible but is the begging of an upward exponential spiral of temperature increases of 10-15 degree climate warming that will result in massive water level rise, loss of arctic and antarctic ice cover and cause extinction of most life as we know it.  Issues not present in Commission outward statement with only one climate expert among 26 industry affiliated representatives.

“No Jobs on the Dead Planet” and “System Change not Climate Change” is now gaining not just deeper than ever significance but becoming a daily reality, reality that not only goes on unopposed by is enforcde by the political structures and governments.

Resist Corporate RWE and other Fossil Fools Climate Chaos and habit destruction:

Hambi Bleibt! Hambi Stays! Stays as a global and historical testimony that when the planet is pushed off the edge not just by opportunistic political constructs but also by their tanks and helicopters and their prisons there were and continue to be people that said “No More”: “Basta!” And who continue to resist the Disaster Capitalism narrative. How long and how much pressure the resistance continue to exert depends on all reading this and becoming active and supporting the Hambach Forest occupation and other indigenous and anti-extractionist climate Justice struggles world wide.

Free UPIII! and free Planet from the Specter of fossil fuels induced run away Climate Change Disasterism.

Continue ReadingResist Coal Commission!

Forest Walk Next Sunday as Michael Zobel comes under attack

The message below is from Michael Zobel the forest guide whose support and attention to the Hambi struggle has become integral part of the occupation.  That is also why Michael Zobel has just come under attack from the regional RWE Coal Press Outlet Aachener Nachrichten as being responsible for financially supporting the occupation and even violence.  This is obvious attempt to attack and instill fear in the support base and general population, it is also a distractionary tactic from the global social and ecological instability coal and resulting climate change is causing.  So if you are either in the region or especially in area around Aachen or anywhere in the world please offer your support to both Eva Toeller and Michael at this time for bringing the issues of endangered Hambacher Forest and local and global implications of using extreme energy such as coal to thousands who have taken part in the forest walks.

As long as lignite and other fossil fuel are being extracted without any social responsibility for their effect forests, communities and Climate will be under attack and state violence and repression and corporate intimidation will progressively become the way of life.

 

“Good afternoon, everyone,

it’s that time again, next Sunday we go to the Hambach Forest, the 51st monthly forest walk takes place. Together with about 100 booked guided tours we have now reached about 13400 participants!

It’s getting big again, it’s getting informative, the weather forecast is good. As always, there is no upper limit to the size of the group, we are happy about word of mouth. And of course the press is invited again, photographers, filmmakers…

15 July, Forest instead of coal – the 51st Sunday walk in the Hambach Forest

New meeting point and new route

Meeting point 11:30 a.m. Berrendorfer Straße in Manheim, near the sports field.

We meet as usual at 11.30 a.m. This time in Manheim. On Berrendorfer Strasse, near the sports field. Plenty of parking space available. Enclosed you will find a map of the market place.

From Manheim it goes to the old A4-track and to the BUND meadow. Here you can find information about the current legal situation. In addition a photogenic action on the property and around the meadow. From there we continue into the small part of the Hambach Forest, which still remains north of the former A4, to the clearing edge and into the occupied part of the forest.

And then this: We need help on Sunday. People standing at two or three neuralgic points and instructing or diverting drivers, at the gravel plant, at the turn-off to Manheim, at the market… and the way from the S-Bahn station is far, we need several volunteers with cars as big as possible, who can offer “shuttle services” between 11am and 12pm… Thank you for your support!

Registration and further information under 0171-8508321 or on www.naturfuehrung.com or by mail info@nullzobel-natur.de

Forest tours until December: 19 August, 16 September, in September additionally on all other Sundays, 7 October, 11 November, 9 December, in the clearing prevention season many more tours, perhaps daily…

Thank you for your support,

Michael Zobel, nature guide and forest educator, Eva Töller, Antje Grothus, Todde Kemmerich and many other people who are committed to the preservation of the Hambach Forest.

ps:

Antjes petition still needs signatures, now there are more than 74400, there is something else… please sign, forward…, thank you

https://weact.campact.de/petitions/hambacher-wald-retten-klimaziele-realisieren-1

the song for the 50th forest walk, thanks to Gerd

<font color=#38B0DE>-=www.youtube.com/watch?v=- Proudly Presents

who has not yet seen Todde´s film “Journey to the Underworld

Current information from the Hambach Forest at

https://hambacherforst.org/

more information on the subject

https://www.facebook.com/BuirerFuerBuir

The next Sunday walks August 19, September 16, October 7, November 11, December 9…

Prevent further deforestation, save the rest of the Hambach Forest!

Thank you for your support,

Michael Zobel, nature guide and forest educator, Eva Töller, Antje Grothus, Todde Kemmerich and many other people who are committed to the preservation of the Hambach Forest.

Michael Zobel”

Continue ReadingForest Walk Next Sunday as Michael Zobel comes under attack