The People on the Left are Serving and Protecting

The Shell to Sea Flotilla took to the waves in Broadhaven Bay this evening towards sunset in an attempt to foil winching preparations in advance of the pipe-laying ship the Solitaire’s arrival possibly sometime soon. The intrepid S2S Flotilla were opposed in their mission by Shell’s fleet of security mercenaries, Gardaí, and the Irish Naval service, which were deployed in overwhelming numbers and in an aggressive, deliberately un-safety-conscious manner. Seven S2S marine protestors were arrested and taken to Belmullet Garda station. In a simultaneous action at the gates of the Shell Glengad compound a local man was arrested and taken to Belmullet Garda station. An earlier marine S2S sortie successfully held up shore-based dredging operations in the Glengad compound this afternoon for about two hours; there were no arrests that time.

Related Links: Shell to Sea Coverage on Indymedia.ie | Glengad, Mayo - July 29th | Shell & Gardaí Force Community from Glengad Beach | Shell halted as Shell to Sea '8' are illegally detained + Video of Event | Audio Interview with S2S activists after weekend trip down | Rossport Solidarity Camp Returns to Glengad with a Fresh Call Out for Action

The Camp Welcomes You Back.

The Rossport Solidarity Camp was originally set up on ‘Rossport 5’ Philip McGrath’s land in 2005. In the Spring of 2006 the camp was set up again close to the beach at Glengad near the ‘landfall’ for Shell’s proposed pipeline. Following a mendacious but successful application by Mayo County Council for an order of eviction against the camp in September of 2007, the camp agreed to leave the dunes by January 1st 2008. Since then the 'camp' has organised from the Rossport Solidarity House in Pollathomas.

On Saturday 16th August 2008 the camp was set up afresh for the purposes of reorganising Shell to Sea resistance to Shell's latest plans to construct its offshore section of the pipeline from Glengad out to the Corrib Gas Field. A number of actions against that work have already taken place and local, national and international supporters are returning to the area to continue the fight.

As one supporter put it, "If there was ever a time to come to Mayo, this is it".

Related Links: Shell to Sea Coverage on Indymedia.ie | Glengad, Mayo - July 29th | Shell & Gardaí Force Community from Glengad Beach | Shell halted as Shell to Sea '8' are illegally detained | Audio Interview with S2S activists after weekend trip down

Shell Proving They Care About Safety

This morning at 10am, 15 Shell to Sea activists entered the water at Glengad Beach to stop Shell pipeline excavation work. Dinghies, surfers and swimmers surrounded the machine and stopped the work by their presence in the water.

3 members of the Garda water unit then began picking people out of the boats and the water and bringing the protestors into the Shell compound where other Gardaí conveyed them then to Belmullet Garda station. Gardaí were questioned by activists, asked to identify themselves, and give reasons why they were pulling people from the water. Gardaí were questioned as to what authority they had to give directions or use force against protesters in the water. They refused to account for themselves. “Public Order Act” shouted one very aggressive Garda.

Related Links: Shell to Sea Coverage on Indymedia.ie | Glengad, Mayo - July 29th | Shell & Gardaí Force Community from Glengad Beach

Getting Ready for Day of Mass Action

This is a series of daily video reports from the Climate Camp 2008 in Kingsnorth, Kent, UK

The Climate Camp 2008 at Kingsnorth has chosen that site, because there are plans to build a new coal powered generating station there and given that coal is a big emitter of CO-2 into the atmosphere, then this make sense to make it the focus of a climate action campagin.

The camp is ongoing; click here to access daily video reports from the camp.

It should be noted that the well known climate scientist James Hansen has come out strongly against any further coal plants and thinks there should be a complete halt to them, given that his and other scientists' recent research, including recent observations from the Arctic, show that the climate is turning out to be far more sensitive to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change is happening much much quicker than anticipated.

Indeed, the level of the annual summer melt in the Arctic in 2007 was so great that projections for an (summer) ice free Arctic have been brought forward from around the year 2080 to anytime within the next few years. This should be an urgent wake up call to everyone.

Violence from the police has been reported. Dunk, an Indymedia.ie contributor, says: "police handling was very over the top: witnessed headbutts from cops, shields and batons to heads and one poor bloke getting full side baton blow to knee, didn't see him after, rumours were that his knee cap had been seriously injured".

Related Links: Climate Camp | Chart of Arctic Sea Ice Melt & Case for Sustainable Emergency | US Scientist calls for Prosecution of Energy Company CEOs for Global Warming Disinformation | Camp Feauture on IMC-UK: Climate Camp Ready For Action | Climate Camp TV | Climate Camp Radio live streams everyday

The software used to run the Indymedia website has now been upgraded with the latest release (Oscailt 3.2) which now allows users to post stories and comments with multiple embedded videos and audios.

Previously you could only have embedded one video per story or comment. The embedded video was also recently upgraded a few months back to allow for embedded Politube.org video which are preferrable to YouTube videos because of licensing and the fact that they support independent media outlets and activists and are a non profit organisation.