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Climate Change : Copenhagen 2009 / The voices and the Actions of the people for Climate Change // a short film by Dimitris Meletis

voidweb — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:42:00 +0000

Void Network invites you to see the new video
of video activist Dimitris Meletis about climate change,
the December 2009 Copenhagen United Nations Summit
for the Climate Change (COP15)
and the resistances expressed there by the people.

Copenhagen 2009 – Οι φωνές που δεν ακούμε και οι δράσεις
που δε βλέπουμε from dimitris meletis on Vimeo.
video in English with Greek subtitles

Copenhagen 2009 – The voices and the actions of the people for climate change from dimitris meletis on Vimeo.

the video in English

Copenhagen 2009 – the extras from dimitris meletis on Vimeo.

the extras of the video / 51′:53″ duration time

Copenhagen 2009 / The voices and the Actions of the people for Climate Change

For many people, climate change is a propaganda of the media, an obsession of some environmental scientists and some green opportunities for large corporations. Unfortunately, there is also another dimension of the problem.

In December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark held the Unted Nations summit COP15. So called outstanding personalities of international politics as the governor Arnold Schwarzenegger were featured with statements like “I’ll be back”. In contrast, 80% of the NGOs involved in the process, were asked to leave the hall due to limited space.

Along with the closed session of the COP15 summit, during the same days were organized open procedures, such as «Klimaforum», that seemed a good opportunity to meet scientists, activists, artists, NGOs, journalists and active citizens from around the world. The meeting of all these diversity and the dialogue between them offered information and understandings on matters of vital importance. Even if f the result of this meeting can not be yet noticeable, certainly it sent the message to the known-unknowns “responsible” for the destruction of this planet. The “Declaration of the people”, the text resulting from Klimaforum arrived in the COP15 conference room and had 2 minutes to be spoken. Some of the organizers, said that 2 minutes is better than none. Is it better?

On December 16, however, the demonstration for Climate Justice was planned to meet the groups of excluded people to make the “People’s assembly”. The police kept the two groups away from each other and the assembly was finally made by those, that were still able to breathe after being exposed to the police’s teargas.

The relevant documentary, includes recognized personalities of the scientific community, such as Naomi Klein, George Monbiot and Ricardo Navarro as also people who arrived in Copenhagen to speak and act, on issues such as:

– How much «green» are the climate politics of economic superpowers ?

– What is the relationship of climate change with refugees?

– What is the contribution of banks in the global climate policy?

– Who is the actual debtor and who is the creditor on the planet?

– What can recommend or achieve 100 people connected to through internet?

– How many people could be detained for a broken glass of a bank and how the European “developed” system deals with the voices that react.

Please forward freely and show where you think

Thanks

Dimitris Meletis

Copenhagen 2009 – Oι φωνές που δεν ακούμε και οι δράσεις που δε βλέπουμε

Για πολλούς από εμάς, η κλιματική αλλαγή είναι μια προπαγάνδα των media, οικολογικές εμμονές κάποιων επιστημόνων και μια ευκαιρία διαφήμισης για μεγάλες επιχειρήσεις. Δυστυχώς όμως, υπάρχει και άλλη διάσταση του προβλήματος. Tο Δεκέμβρη του 2009 στην Κοπεγχάγη της Δανίας πραγματοποιήθηκε η σύνοδος κορυφής COP15 του ΟΗΕ. «Εξέχουσες προσωπικότητες» της διεθνούς πολιτικής σκηνής, όπως ο κυβερνήτης Arnold Schwarzenegger έδωσαν το παρόν με δηλώσεις του τύπου “I’ll be back”. Αντίθετα, το 80% των ΜΚΟ που συμμετείχαν στη διαδικασία, κλήθηκαν να αποχωρήσουν, λόγω περιορισμένου χώρου. Παράλληλα με τη κλειστή σύνοδο, πραγματοποιήθηκαν ανοιχτές διαδικασίες, όπως το Klimaforum, που φάνηκε καλή ευκαιρία να συναντηθούν επιστήμονες, ακτιβιστές, καλλιτέχνες, ΜΚΟ, δημοσιογράφοι και ενεργοί πολίτες από κάθε γωνιά του πλανήτη. Η μεταξύ τους ζύμωση απέφερε ενημέρωση για ζητήματα ζωτικής σημασίας και αν το αποτέλεσμα δεν μπορεί να είναι άμεσα αισθητό, σίγουρα το μήνυμα προς τους γνωστούς-αγνώστους “υπευθύνους” έχει παραδοθεί. Η “Διακήρυξη των ανθρώπων”, το κείμενο που προέκυψε από το Klimaforum έφτασε στην αίθουσα των συνδιασκέψεων και είχε 2 λεπτά να παρουσιαστεί. Κάποιοι από τους διοργανωτές του, είπαν πως 2 λεπτά είναι καλύτερα από κανένα. Είναι καλύτερα; Στις 16 Δεκεμβρίου πάντως, η πορεία για δικαιοσύνη στην κλιματική πολιτική, θα συναντούσε το γκρουπ των αποκλεισμένων για μια “Συνέλευση των πολιτών”. Το πλάνο δεν πραγματοποιήθηκε. Τα γκρουπ δε συναντήθηκαν ποτέ και όσοι άντεξαν το άρωμα του δακρυγόνου, έμειναν για να κάνουν κάτι σαν αυτό που είχε προγραμματιστεί. Στο σχετικό ντοκιμαντέρ, αναγνωρισμένες προσωπικότητες της επιστημονικής κοινότητας , όπως η Naomi Klein, o George Monbiot και ο Ricardo Navarro, μιλούν και δρουν μαζί με ανθρώπους που έφτασαν ως την Κοπεγχάγη, σχετικά με ζητήματα όπως:

–Πόσο πράσινη είναι η κλιματική πολιτική των οικονομικών υπερδυνάμεων

–Ποια η σχέση της κλιματικής αλλαγής με τους πρόσφυγες

–Ποια η συμβολή των τραπεζών στην παγκόσμια κλιματική πολιτική

–Ποιος είναι ο πραγματικός οφειλέτης και ποιος ο πιστωτής πάνω στον πλανήτη

–Τι μπορούν να προτείνουν ή να πετύχουν 100 άνθρωποι συνδεδεμένοι διαδικτυακά

–Πόσες μπορεί να είναι οι προσαγωγές για ένα σπασμένο τζάμι μιας τράπεζας και ποιο είναι το “ανεπτυγμένο” μοντέλο της Ευρώπης στο να διαχειρίζεται τις φωνές που αντιδρούν

Copenhagen 2009 – Oι φωνές που δεν ακούμε και οι δράσεις που δε βλέπουμε

Παρακαλώ προωθείτε ελεύθερα και προβάλλετε όπου κρίνετε

ευχαριστώ,

Δημήτρης Μελέτης

The post Climate Change : Copenhagen 2009 / The voices and the Actions of the people for Climate Change // a short film by Dimitris Meletis appeared first on Void Network.

The Climate is Changing by Crimethic Ex-Workers Collective

voidnetwork — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:30:00 +0000

The Climate is Changing…

Void Network:

As all of us were expecting

Copenhagen Cop15 Climate Change Summit

was a great fiasco.

Now everyone is sure about it:

Copenhagen Climate Change Summeit

was a total failure…

Is it possible to imagine that the

same economical and political system

destroying our planet, will be the same

one that will save it?

…Isn’t it stupid expecting the ones that

killing our life to change somehow and

starting care for the people

and the planet?…

How is possible the most catastrophic,

mechanistic, inhuman, racistic, barbaric

system that ever appeared on this planet,

Capitalism,

after 200 years of total destruction of life,

culture, humanity and dignity of people,

unthoughtful hard exploitation of animals

and plants, crazy struggle for expanding

of market in all our needs, all our dreams,

merchandising of anything….How is possible

to expect Capitalism that destroyed anything

to save now Planet Earth?

Isn’t it completely crazy?

It is just buisseness as usual for them…

WE WILL DESTROY CAPITALISM

BEFORE IT DESTROYS OUR PLANET!

The Climate is Changing

by Crimethic Ex-Workers Collective

If we really believed what scientists are telling us about global warming, the fire engines of every fire department would sound their sirens and race to the nearest factory to extinguish its furnaces. Every high school student would run to the thermostat of every classroom, turn it off, and tear it out of the wall, then hit the parking lot to slash tires. Every responsible suburban parent would don safety gloves and walk around the block pulling the electrical meters out of the utility boxes behind houses and condominiums. Every gas station attendant would press the emergency button to shut off the pumps, cut the hoses, and glue the locks on the doors; every coal and petroleum corporation would immediately set about burying their unused product where it came from—using only the muscles of their own arms, of course.
But we’re too out of touch to grasp what’s happening, let alone put a stop to it.
Those who learn about the destruction of the environment from books or the internet can’t hope to rescue anything. The decimation of the natural world has been going on around us for centuries now; it takes a particularly bourgeois brand of blindness to drive by felled trees, spewing smokestacks, and acres of asphalt every day without noticing that anything is happening until it shows up in the newspaper. People for whom reality is composed of news articles, rather than the world they see and hear and smell, are bound to destroy everything they touch. That alienation is the root of the problem; the devastation of the environment simply follows from it.
When profit margins are more real than living things, when weather patterns are more real than refugees fleeing hurricanes, when emissions cap agreements are more real than new developments in our own neighborhoods, the world has already been signed over for destruction. The climate crisis isn’t an event that might happen, looming into view ahead; it is the familiar setting of our daily lives. Deforestation isn’t just taking place in national forests or foreign jungles; it is as real at every strip mall in Ohio as it is in the heart of the Amazon. The buffalo used to roam right here. Our disconnection from the land is catastrophic whether or not the sea level is rising, whether or not the desertification and famine sweeping other continents have reached us yet.
As usual, the people who brought this crisis upon us are eager to explain that they are the best qualified to remedy it. But there’s no reason to believe that their motives or methods have changed. The results are in that smoking causes cancer, but they’re still trying to sell us low-tar cigarettes.
Forget about nuclear power, solar power, clean coal, and wind turbines. Forget about carbon trading, biofuels, recycling programs, organic superfoods. Forget about new legislation, along with every other inefficient, insufficient response involving ballots, petitions, or some other proxy. Our only hope is to fight with our own hands, to take a stand on the ground beneath our feet—rediscovering in the process what it means to be a part of the world, not separate from it. Every tree they try to cut down, we can stop them. Every poison they try to release into the atmosphere, we can block them. Every new “sustainable” technology they introduce, we can unmask them.
They aren’t going to stop destroying the planet until we make it too costly for them to continue. The sooner we do, the better.

Appendix: A Field Guide to False Solutions

The Corporate Solution

Where others see hardship and tragedy, entrepreneurs see an opportunity for financial gain. Putting the “green” in greenhouse gases and the “eco” in economy, they greet the apocalypse with outstretched wallets. Are natural disasters wrecking communities? That’s great—sell the survivors disaster relief and put up luxury condominiums where they used to live. Are food supplies contaminated with toxins? Slap “organic” on some of them and jack up the price—presto, what was once taken for granted in every vegetable is suddenly a selling point! Is consumer culture devouring the planet? Time for a line of environmentally friendly products, cashing in on guilt and good intentions to move more units.
So long as being “sustainable” is a privilege reserved for the rich, the crisis can only intensify. All the better for those banking on it.
The Conservative Solution
Many conservatives deny that our society is causing global warming; of course, some still don’t believe in evolution, either. But what they themselves believe is immaterial; they’re more concerned with the question of what it is profitable for others to believe. For example, when the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its 2007 report, an ExxonMobil-funded think tank linked to the Bush administration offered $10,000+ to any scientist who would dispute its findings.
That is to say—some people consider it a better investment to bribe experts to deny that anything is happening than to take any steps to avert catastrophe. Better that the apocalypse snatches us unawares so long as they can maintain their profits one more year. Sooner the end of life on earth than the possibility of life beyond capitalism!
The Liberal Solution
Certain do-gooders would like to claim credit for bringing global warming to the attention of the public, even though radicals have been clamoring about it for decades. But politicians like Al Gore are not trying to save the environment so much as to rescue the causes of its destruction. They are pressing for government and corporate recognition of the crisis because ecological collapse could destabilize capitalism if it catches them off guard. Small wonder corporate initiatives and incentives figure so prominently in the solutions they propose.
Like their conservative colleagues, liberals would sooner risk extinction than consider abandoning industrial capitalism. They’re simply too invested in it to do otherwise—witness the Gore family’s long-running relationship with Occidental Petroleum. In this light, their bid to seize the reins of the environmentalist movement looks suspiciously like a calculated effort to prevent a more realistic response to the crisis.
The Malthusian Solution
Some people attribute the crisis to overpopulation—but how many shantytown dwellers and subsistence farmers do you have to add up to equal the ecological impact of a single high-powered executive?
The Socialist Solution
For centuries, socialists have promised to grant everyone access to middle class standards of living. Now it turns out that the biosphere can’t support even a small minority pursuing that lifestyle; one might expect socialists to adjust their notion of utopia accordingly. Instead they’ve simply updated it to match the latest in bourgeois fashions: today every worker deserves to eat organic produce and live in a “green” condominium. But these products only came to be as a marketing ploy to differentiate high-end merchandise from proletarian standard fare. If you’re going to think big enough to imagine a society without class differences, you might as well aim for a future in which we share the wealth of a vibrant natural world rather than chopping it up into inert commodities.
The Communist Solution
In practice, Marxism, Leninism, and Maoism served as a convenient means to swiftly jerk “underdeveloped” nations into the industrial age, utilizing state intervention to “modernize” peoples who still retained a connection to the land before eventually dropping them unceremoniously at the margin of the free market. Today, party communists have gotten no further than blithe assurances that new management would take care of everything. Sing along to the tune of “Solidarity Forever”:If the workers owned the factories, climate change would not existAll the smoke from all the smokestacks would be changed to harmless mist . . .
The Individual Solution
An individual or community can live a completely “sustainable” lifestyle without doing anything to hinder the corporations and governments responsible for the vast majority of environmental devastation. Keeping one’s hands clean—“setting an example” that no statesman or tycoon will emulate—is meaningless while others lay the planet to waste. To set a better example, stop them.
The Radical Solution
Too many radicals respond to the crisis with despair or even a kind of wrongheaded anticipation. There’s no reason to believe the exhaustion of the planets petroleum supply will put an end to patriarchy or white supremacy. Likewise, it’s all too likely that hierarchy can make it through ecological collapse intact, so long as there are people left to dominate and obey.
We’ll get out of the apocalypse what we put into it: we can’t expect it to produce a more liberated society unless we put the foundations in place now. Forget about individualistic survival schemes that cast you as the Last Person on Earth—Hurricane Katrina showed that when the storm hits, the most important thing is to be part of a community that can defend itself. The coming upheavals may indeed offer a chance for fundamental social change, but we have to come up with a compelling vision and the guts to implement it.
Another End of the World Is Possible!

article originaly appeared in:

http://crimethinc.com/texts/recentfeatures/climate.php

the photos from Copenhagen appeared in the interesting article

of Der Spiegel: “Climate Talks in Copenhagen
Riots Outside, Chaos Inside”:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,667141,00.html

The post The Climate is Changing by Crimethic Ex-Workers Collective appeared first on Void Network.

Copenhagen Climate Change Cop15 Demonstrations / Is Mass Arrests Our European Future?/ Police Raid Christiania: More Mass Arrests

voidnetwork — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:02:00 +0000

After a long day of demonstrations against the Canadian Tar Sands, and the issues of climate change and migration activists have been tear-gassed and arrested by police while attending an evening party. The police appear to be trying to wear down street-level opposition through constant offensive action against activists.

In the early evening Naomi Klein addressed a Reclaim Power party in Christiania. Later in the evening, in unclear circumstances, the police arrived with a water cannon whilst a barricade had been built and fired tear gas [reports 1 | 2]. The situation spiralled, street fights broke out and the police entered Christiania, making numerous (200+) arrests 1 | 2 | 3] [Video 1 | 2 | 3]. [Photo

Despite the successful protests of 14th December, where activists were able to march through the streets without mass arrests, it seems it is effectively illegal to publicly voice opposition to emissions trading, carbon markets, and other “solutions” to the problem of climate change in Copenhagen. Over 1500 people have now been detained, arrested, beaten, tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, and purposefully held in sub-zero temperatures for voicing their opposition. Despite this people remain committed to showing solidarity with the global south and taking direct action.
for more info about Copenhagen Climate Change Cop15 Demonstrations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HaYTLR0QpA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eI28-N0prc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIjRHCy3FN8

The post Copenhagen Climate Change Cop15 Demonstrations / Is Mass Arrests Our European Future?/ Police Raid Christiania: More Mass Arrests appeared first on Void Network.

Copenhagen Climate Summit Legal Advice: Legal rights in Denmark

voidnetwork — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:53:00 +0000

Introduction

The following is a brief walkthrough of your basic legal rights in Denmark. Also included are a few pieces of advice, which can come in handy if you are confronted by the Danish police and judicial system.

On your person

Being in posession of ammunition shelters (even empty ones), gas sprays, slingshots, clubs or drugs (including hashish) are considered a crime in Denmark. The only kind of knife it is legal to bear in Denmark is a folding knife with a blade no longer than 7 cm, which cannot be opened with one hand and cannot be locked in open position. Police have also arrested people for carrying a screwdriver. Violation of the weapon law results in very large fines or worse.

The mask prohibition

It is illegal to use any form of mask at demonstrations in Denmark. Furthermore, the law has been formulated in such a way that you can get arrested for “attempting to break the prohibition”. This means that you can get arrested for carrying a scarf in your pocket.

You don’t have to actually attend a demonstration to get arrested, it is enough that the police “estimate” that you’re on your way to one. Normally the cops only enforce the prohibition at demonstrations though.

When stopped by the cops

You are only obliged to tell the police your full name, nationality, address and date of birth. Nothing more! If in doubt of your identity the cops have the right to take you in for further questioning.

Body search

The cops are only allowed to perform a body search on you if they have a validated suspicion (and they usually do) that you possess something illegal (drugs, weapons).

The head of the Copenhagen police department have recently made zones in the inner city and in Christiania where the police are allowed to search everybody without giving a reason for it. These zones can be made from one day to the next, and it is therefore impossible to say exactly were they are.

You have the “right” to be body searched by a police officer of your own gender, when the police present determents that it’s possible…

The arrest

If you get arrested then you still only have to give the cops your name, address, nationality and date of birth, that’s it. You have the right to know the reason for your arrest, so demand that they tell you. You will most likely be taken to a police station and locked in a detention cell. You have the right to a phone call, but the cops will usually deny you this or offer to make the call for you. You also have the right to medical attention if you are hurt or need medicine. The cops will want to interview you, but do NOT tell them anything, remember that they’re only trying to gather evidence against you and maybe your friends. You have the right to remain silent, use it.

You are not obliged to acknowledge the charges against you, and you don’t have to sign anything.

After 24 hours (72 hours for foreigners), you must be put in front of a judge or set free. The Judge can decide to sentence you to stay in custody for min. 1 and max. 4 weeks, uphold the arrest for 72 hours or let you free.

If you’re under 18 the police are obliged to take contact to your parents and have a person from the social authorities present at the interview. This person is NOT your friend, he or she will most likely tell you to answer the cops’ questions. Don’t do it. If you’re under 15 the cops can detain you, “if no other way is possible” in a detention cell, normally not for more than 6 hours, but under “special circumstances” they can keep you for 24 hours.

It cannot be said too many times; never talk to cops, never make a statement, you can only make things worse for yourself and your friends.

Preventive arrest

The cops can make preventive arrests if they estimate that you are a potential troublemaker. This means that they can arrest you BEFORE you have done anything illegal. They can keep you for up to 6 hours, longer if they consider it necessary.

Unlawful arrest

If they police arrest you and for one reason or another drop the charges against you or you are found not guilty in court, you have the right to get compensation for unlawful arrest. Always demand to get this compensation, the amount varies depending on how long you were detained but it’s always worth making an effort to get the police to pay up.

Lawyers

It’s always a good idea to have the names of one or more good lawyers in your possession. Ask around for names when you’re in a new place.

You have the right to have a lawyer present at the police interview, but as long as you don’t say anything, you won’t need one. If you have the impression that the police will put you in front of a judge, then insist on having the name of the lawyer you wish to defend you, written in the police report. If the police “are not able to contact” the lawyer you wish to defend you, you will be assigned a lawyer by the state for the preliminary hearing. If this is the case, you can always change your lawyer in time for the next hearing. To be able to pick your own lawyer makes a big difference, maybe not so much in the preliminary hearing; because the police prosecutors usually get what they want (latest statistics say 9 out of 10 times). But it is very important to have a decent lawyer, especially at the following court dates.

Expenses

If you lose a case, you’ll have to pay all expenses, including your own lawyers fee. If you win, the state pays all expenses.

Preliminary Hearing

The preliminary hearing will be held in the police-district where you were arrested. You will be put before a judge, and you still have the right to remain silent. It is almost always the best idea to use this right, because you have all the odds against you at the preliminary hearing (no witnesses to verify your story, no documentation etc). The police prosecutor on the other hand, will have police reports and possibly other hard evidence against you.

If your lawyer advises you to break the silence, consider the situation carefully. Anything you say will be used against you at later court hearings. If you have the least bit of mistrust towards the lawyer you have been appointed, don’t say anything. In virtually all preliminary hearings the police prosecutor gets their will, no matter if you talk or not. If you’re sentenced to stay in jail the judge will ask you if you wish to appeal the decision to a higher court.

It’s always best to say no to that question, but tell the judge to make a note that you want the right to appeal to the higher court at any time before your next hearing. After having talked to your lawyer and the two of you together have considered your chances of getting a positive response from the appeal you can decide if you wish to do so. The reason for considering the appeal carefully is that unless you have VERY good reasons the higher court will nearly always agree with the judge you stood before at the preliminary hearing and at the next hearing this judge will use the decision of the higher court to keep you in prison.

Custody

If you are sentenced to remain in custody, you will be imprisoned for at least 1 and maximum 4 weeks before you again will be put in front of a judge. You run the risk of getting letter and visit control, which means visits from the outside will be under surveillance and that the cops will read all your mail (in and out going) to see if they can find something that can incriminate you even further. This also means that it will take some time, 5 days or more, for letters to get through to you.

Even if you don’t have letter control, always assume that the cops are reading your mail. You usually have the right to make a single phone call a week. This phone call is sometimes monitored by the prison guards, who’ll call the police if they think you’re saying things that can be of interest in your case.

The judge can, under certain circumstances, decide to put you in total isolation, which means you don’t even have contact with other prisoners. This is the hardest form of imprisonment.

Prison

If you are sentenced to remain in custody it is extremely important that you don’t loose hope. Remember there are friends on the outside, waiting for you and working for your release. The system uses isolation, boredom and uncertainty to break you. So stay cool and focused, even though it’s not an easy task. Try to do as much as you can to kill the time in a meaningful way.

Ask to be taken to the library, write letters, ask to be allowed to go to the workout room, sign up for school, sign up for gym class. Ask the guards and the other prisoners what your possibilities are. Even things that on the outside would be a terrible waste of life, like going to the prison church or talking to a priest, can be a halfway meaningful thing when you are locked up.

Especially since the teachers and priests are not guards. If you don’t have visit and letter control, ask the guards to give you visiting applications and then send them to your friends as fast as possible, so they can apply for a visit. The process is also long and bureaucratic, but a visit from the outside is something that is worth fighting for. If you have visit and letter control you have to apply to the police for visits to be allowed.

Try to get a daily routine on the inside, the prison system is a machine and it wants you to be institutionalized as fast as possible. Don’t fall into what seems to be the “easy” path through the prison system. People who conform to the prison way of life are the ones that have the hardest time to function in real life when they get out. Make your own routines; stay up all night sometimes, communicate with the prisoners in the nearby cells, find the loopholes in the prison rules and use them, insist (in a friendly way if necessary) that the guards speak to you and treat you with respect (not that it always has any effect, but at least you’ve tried).

Talk to other prisoners, most are not as unfriendly as they might seem, after all, you have a common adversary in the guards and the police. What you must never do is to take loans from other prisoners and especially those who push drugs. Debth in the prison system quickly gets doubled and doubled again, until you’re up to your neck in shit.

House raid

If you’re charged with a crime, imprisoned or just under suspicion in a case, which the cops estimate has involved some sort of planning; it’s likely that your home address will be raided.

As roommate or resident of an address which is the same as a suspect/prisoner, it is important to be aware of the risk of the cops showing up with a search warrant. If they are not let in, they can legally break down your door.

You should always demand to see the search warrant BEFORE you let cops inside your home. You have to be aware though, that they under certain circumstances can perform a house raid without a warrant and then go to a judge within the next 24 hours and obtain a warrant “with retroactive effect”. If this happens you should meet up in court with a lawyer and protest to the raid.

You have the right to be present while the cops perform the search. You also have the right to an impartial witness (this could be a neighbor). It is important that you use this right, as it can help to minimize the amount of vandalism the cops will inevitably exercise on your home.

Deportation

The Danish authorities are very keen on shipping non-Danish citizens out of the country, even for minor offences. They have been known on several occasions to arrest people, give them a warning for some ridicules misdemeanor and then deport them. They can do this because of Denmark’s extremely harsh and rightwing immigration laws.

If you get deported you will usually not be allowed to enter the country again for a period of 1-5 years. The cops have recently started to demand that people arrested for minor offences (like shoplifting or traffic violations) pay their fines before they can get released.

Keep your eyes open

At big demonstrations and actions it is a good idea to keep an eye on your friends and have them to keep an eye on you. Then you will be able to help each other if potentially dangerous situations arise. It’s also easier to find out later who is arrested, and who are maybe just lost in the crowd.

Mobile phones

Be aware that if you’re arrested with your phone on you, the police will have easy access to all your contacts, phone calls and sms activity you’ve had prior to your arrest. Understand that your whereabouts on any given time can be determined by which phone mast you’re using when you´re operating your phone.

This is pretty accurate (depending how many masts are in the area); from a few hundred meters to a dozen or less. The information is stored by the phone companies for (at least) a year, so the police can map where you’ve been a year back if they need to. Another thing to be aware of is that the police prosecutor sometimes use as an excuse for imprisonment that the police “need time” to investigate your phone activities.

Computers

Some of your internet activities in DK are stored for one year. This means that homepages and servers you visit to some extent can be mapped. Also recipients of emails you send and receive can be tracked, at least to the server they’ve sent to and from. If your home is raided you can be sure that your computer will be confiscated. Remember that even deleted files and programs can be recovered from a hard disk by people who know what they are doing.

Last Words

All of the above is not written to scare you, on the contrary: knowing what you’re up against can only make you stronger and better capable to deal with cops and judicial system. Yes, you have some rights. They are supposed to be respected by the police, courts and prison system, more than often they are not.

Police use excessive violence, charge you with crimes you haven’t committed and lie in court. Judges will convict you, not by the evidence against you, but by prior felonies, the way you look and who your friends are. Sometimes prison officials will try to make a near hopeless situation even more desperate. Don’t give in to their terror.

Remember that they’re breaking their own rules to make their shitty system work. It’s their justice, not ours.

…

The post Copenhagen Climate Summit Legal Advice: Legal rights in Denmark appeared first on Void Network.

International Call Against Cop15 United Nations Climate Change Conference Copenhagen December 2009

voidweb — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:04:00 +0000

The catastrophe is real and climate change is one of its many symptoms. The COP15’s inevitable talk of “saving the world from the climate crisis” is an elaborate hoax to disguise the COP15’s true purpose: to restore the legitimacy of global capitalism by inaugurating an era of “green” capitalism. A new rhetoric of “saving the climate” will exist to justify their repression, their fortified borders, their colonial resource wars. To give the Emperor new clothes. Our response to this astounding lie is an uncompromising and absolute NO to their system.
More has to be shaken than our holiday habits to sustain the world for times to come. It would be foolish to pin our hopes upon the very people who continue to kill off the planet for money. At Copenhagen, they will argue over how to properly create a market to commodify and so pollute the biosphere, dispossessing millions of people from their land to profit from destroying what remains of our earth. Governments and corporations will not sacrifice their growth to reduce carbon emissions, or only do so in order to create a new authoritarian regime for themselves.
The entire rhetoric of the “climate crisis” and the “financial crisis” is a cynical maneouvre by the state spin-doctors to deny the all-encompassing crisis of self-declared civilization. The COP15 will only attempt to hide the war that capitalism is waging against all life on the planet, a war that has spread across the entire globe for the last five hundred years, a war that encompasses the totality of even the oceans and atmosphere. In the midst of war, one does not talk of management and “technical solutions.” You cannot fight a war by pretending the war does not exist, by blinding yourself to repression and becoming complicit in accepting the false-promise of a petit bourgeois tranquility. Instead, one recognizes the enemy. One chooses a position. One fights.
Only by ridding ourselves of those who claim to be representing us and by defeating the ideology of endless economic growth, industrial production and consumption can we take control of our lives and planet. It is time to state: we are going to consciously attack the structures supporting the COP15: we will break through the lines of their police; we will refuse to negotiate with warmongering governments and the embedded media; we will refuse to side with sell-out NGOs and all the would-be managers of protest; we will refuse all governments and governance and not just de-legitimize the present ones. It is time to state why we think that insurrection is needed to actually begin the change everybody is so desperate for. Acting together in fundamental opposition to those in power we might get a first glimpse of the richness and opportunities possible when ideas, experiences and concepts are shared amongst people from all over the world.

On with the international brigades!

It’s social war not climate chaos!

for more info and translations of the call in many different languages and many practical info about traveling in Denmark during the actions against Cop15:

http://nevertrustacop.org/Main/Practical

artwork by Void Network for all international activists

The post International Call Against Cop15 United Nations Climate Change Conference Copenhagen December 2009 appeared first on Void Network.

No Borders Groups Call to Action for Copenhagen Climate Change

voidnetwork — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:59:00 +0000

This is a call out to action to international no borders groups during the
COP 15 in Copenhagen!

Starting December 7, 2009

Climate change is now the ULTIMATE Shock
and Awe. It encompasses all of
life now, and is the new spectacle.
The climate change spectacle is the
complete reconstruction and
revitalization of capitalism and all of its
domination, hierarchies, exploitation,
racism, sexism, patriarchy,
heteronormativity, commodifications,
privatizations, oppressions,
repressions, murders, lies, and greed.
Climate change will be used to
terrorize us in every way we have been
terrorized before, but encompassing
all the single factors into one.
In the name of security,
Everything that living things
depend is on its way to being
commodified and privatized,
to push us even further and possibly
completely into pure Milton Friedman
´Chicago School´
of fundamental capitalist corporatism.
We cant not just think of this as
a climate issue,
it is much much more.
Water, air, food, and genetic life
is being privatized before our eyes.
And these human rights are and will be used
under the climate change banner to put up
borders and go to war.
Complex surveilance systems are being
put in place to keep the people from
below away from its privatized riches.
Indigenous, small farmers and people
from below are being pushed off their lands
by corporations, and massive natural
disasters that are making people escape
to safer regions.
Also, their is the prospect of
military intervention in the future
to deal with the effects
of violent storms, drought,
mass migration and pandemics.
Military experts are saying that
climate-induced crises could topple
governments, feed terrorist movements
or destabilize entire regions.
Sections of the political and military
establishment are planning
for the consequences
of climate change and are
developing military strategies
to deal with it.

The debate over climate change
and global warming management
at the UN is a struggle
among the national ruling establishments
for their own interests
on the international diplomatic stage.
While there is concern
that climate change can have unforeseen
political and economic consequences,
these competing capitalist states
have no means of seriously addressing
the issue, other than making
preparations for cracking down on
social unrest.
So, in closing.
If we don´t start attacking climate change
from its roots, and seeing that
the system we are in cannot and never
intended to solve climate change,
then we will be doomed to even more
repressive and oppressive regimes,
and even a rollback on the rights that were
worked so hard for by our comrades in the past
and it is already happening!
They have divided and conquered us
for a long time!
But now we have a chance to come together
and fight this under the same banner
to stop the revitalisation of capitalism
and the borders in which it creates.

See You On The Barricades!
climate_no-borders09@lists.riseup.net

The post No Borders Groups Call to Action for Copenhagen Climate Change appeared first on Void Network.

Cop15 Copenhagen United Nations Conference for Climate Change

voidweb — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:09:00 +0000

artwork by Void Network / for all activists and all
Climate Change movements that fight against capitalism

Climate activities towards, during and beyond the Copenhagen Summit:

The coming Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December 2009 have generated a wide interest. Tens of thousands of activists, conference delegates and lobbyists will converge in the city for the 15th Conference of the Parties, COP 15, in the UN negotiations on a climate agreement.

There is a wide range of initiatives calling for everything from direct actions world-wide and in Copenhagen, to demonstrations and alternative conferences during the summit, media events and lobbying. Many of the initiatives have similar names and at the same time a very different character.

To enable a critical overview Association Aktivism.info have made this compilation of commented and politically structured information. Association Aktivism.info is a Nordic organisation to support experience exchange on activism and between popular movements started by a working group in Friends of the Earth Sweden.

Apart from the initiatives below claiming to get people in common involved there are also numerous G8 meetings, business and other initiatives influencing the negotiations.

Popular actions in relation to the Climate Summit:

November

28 Demonstration at WTO Summit in Geneva

30 International protests against trade and climate actions, Seattle +10

December

4 The Trade to Climate Caravan starts from Geneva to Copenhagen

7 Climate Forum and COP starts

11 Protest against business day in Copenhagen, NTAC

12 Flood Action for Climate Justice am, FOE

12 Demonstration pm, in Copenhagen on global climate action day

13 Hit the production direct actions, CJA, NTAC

15 Agriculture day, CJA

16 Push for climate justice demonstration at the Summit, CJA

18 Final COP day

20 Final Climate Forum day

Some other days of interest:

August 2009

14 Zero Carbon Caravan starts in Wales towards Copenhagen

September 2009

21-22 Global premiere of the “Age of Stupid”

21-28 Mobility week, Europe

October

12 International Day in Defense of Mother Earth and Indigenous Peoples

15-18 International preparatory meeting in Copenhagen for COP activities, CJA

24 UN Day and 350 ppm international climate action day

Organizations and networks who have initiated the activities in Copenhagen:

Climate Forum 09
Alternative summit for civil society organisations with the aim to produce a joint statement and provide space for numerous discussions on climate justice with strong participation from the South.
http://www.klimaforum09.org

Climate Justice Action
Network for organizing action demanding climate justice and no to false solutions
http://www.climate-justice-action.org

FOEI Friends of the Earth International
International social movement organisation with one member group in each country
http://www.foei.org,
Copenhagen page

GCC Global Climate Campaign
A political initiative to mobilize a global climate action day each year
http://www.globalclimatecampaign.org

NTAC Never Trust a COP
Anti-capitalist activist network
http://nevertrustacop.org

Other networks and organizations initiating activities towards Copenhagen and beyond, a limited list of initiatives.

Danish:

Peoples Climate Action
Danish main stream NGO project, WWF etc. “Peoples Climate Action will develop a new model for how citizens are involved and engaged in the common global challenge: to create a sustainable world, where politicians, scientists, energy and climate experts and manufacturers give people new products and options, and where people give politicians , researchers, energy and climate experts and producers backing to create a better world”. The purpose is to “Create space and good environment for effective and engaging mobilization of civil society in the democratic process before and during COP15.” and “To assist in Denmark appearing to be an open, democratic and hospitable country, giving the whole world of positive possibilities for civil society inclusion, expression and participation in democratic decision-making center.” translated from the Danish text on the website.
http://www.peoplesclimateaction.dk/uk

International:

350.org
International Day of Climate Action in more than 100 countries October 24 to support reduction of the amount of carbon in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million.
http://www.350.org

CAN Climate Action Network
Climate lobbyist network of over 450 NGOs working “to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels. CAN members work to achieve this goal through information exchange and the coordinated development of NGO strategy on international, regional, and national climate issues.”
http://www.climatenetwork.org/

CJN! Climate Justice Now!
A network of organisations and movements from across the globe committed to the fight for genuine solutions to the climate crisis Š for social, ecological and gender justice.” Built on principles of climate justice, which were elaborated during the UNFCCC climate talks in Bali 2007:
http://www.grassrootsonline.org/news/blog/climate-justice-now
http://climatejustice.blogspot.com/
https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/cjn

Climate Camp movement
Direct climate action camps in Russia, India, Australia, Europe and North America
http://climatecamp.org.uk/node/548
History

GCCA, The Global Campaign for Climate Action
Main stream NGO coalition organizing TckTckTck campaign “a global movement for a unified voice against climate change. The combined efforts of millions of people, including you, and our member organizations will deliver a clear message that we demand meaningful leadership and action against climate change.” the same campaign that is also called The Global Alliance for Climate Justice, see below.
http://gc-ca.org

People’s Movement on Climate Change
The People’s Protocol on Climate Change is a global campaign that aims to provide venue for grassroots, especially from the South to participate in the COP15 process
http://peoplesclimatemovement.net

The Age of Stupid
Film on climate change and the need for action which will have its global premiere with more than 700 screenings in more than 40 countries on September 21/22. The film describes the climate conflicts all over the world and claim consumerism and capitalism as root causes to global warming.
http://www.ageofstupid.net

The Global Alliance for Climate Justice
“an open, democratic club of climate heroes founded by Mr. Kofi Annan. Become a Fan and join us in the fight for Climate Justice!!” Global social media campaign
http://www.timeforclimatejustice.org

Zero Carbon Caravan
14th August The caravan started from Climate Camp Cymru, protesting against the Ffos y Fran Open Cast Coal Mine, and also demonstrating sustainable solutions, with workshops on sustainable living, all organised according to consensus based decision making. It will continue towards Copenhagen aiming a showing that “it is perfectly possible to have a zero carbon lifestyle, and that it’s fun, by getting to the talks without fossil fuels, visiting inspiring places like the Centre for Alternative Technology and holding zero carbon conferences, festivals and concerts on the way.”
http://www.zerocarboncaravan.net

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Copenhagen in 60 seconds: key facts and figures. Against Who we Will fight in Copenhagen and Why?

voidnetwork — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:48:00 +0000

For all people thinking to participate in the demonstrations against United Nations Conference for Climate Change in Copenhagen during first weeks of December 2009, Void Mirror here publishes some vital information about… Against Who We Will Fight in Copenhagen and Why ?

Copenhagen in 60 seconds: key facts and figures

Ecologist magazine

8th October, 2009

Do you know your COP15 from your CDM? Your UNFCCC from your REDD? If not, you need our 60 second guide to Copenhagen

What are the dates?

7th-18th December 2009 .

Where exactly is it?

The Bella Exhibition and Conference Centre, Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark.

How many people will attend the conference?

Traditionally, the COP/CMP attracts several thousand participants. At least 10,000 are expected this year. Included in this number are government representatives, observer organizations, government officials, representatives of UN bodies and agencies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and accredited members of the media.

From how many countries?

Officials and ministers from 192 countries are expected to attend.

How big is the press contingent likely to be?

Previous COPs have attracted nearly 1,500 accredited members of the media. There will be a significant number of press conferences held during COP15. The program for these press conferences will be put together by the UNFCCC, and will be available during the conference.

What’s on the agenda?

The climate agreement for the period from 2012; specifically obtaining an agreement that combines respect for the environment (a reduction in man-made greenhouse gases that have a negative effect on our climate system), living standards and long-term security of energy supply in the best way possible. Concrete proposals will be set out for action by the EU and the rest of the international community.

What predictions have been made for the outcome?

Björn Stigson, President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, has neatly summarised six very different possible outcomes :

1. A ‘real deal’: the US and China provide the driver for a new, ambitious and comprehensive agreement.
2. Business as usual: the various countries follow current national targets.
3. A limited deal: headed by for example the Group of Eight (G8) a deal outside the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is found.
4. A mere prolonging of the present agreement, the Kyoto Protocol.
5. A stretching of the Copenhagen conference (COP15) into 2010.
6. ‘Window dressing’: a grand declaration but no real deal.

What are the key discussion points?

The ‘baseline year’ against which specified reduction targets will be measured, the duration of the second commitment period, ie. 2012 til when?
The proposed greenhouse gas reduction targets themselves for both the second commitment period and beyond.
Whether the agreement will be expanded to include greenhouse gases that are currently excluded from the Kyoto Protocol, for example the international maritime industry and the international aviation industry.
Whether the rules governing the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) will be tightened to ensure environmental integrity and avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions, or whether they will be relaxed to encourage more investment.
Whether the CDM will include as-yet-unproven Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology to receive funding as a way of allowing coal-fired power stations to continue operating and new ones to be built.
An agreement to include measures to curb the rate of deforestation, especially of tropical rainforests in developing countries – otherwise known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD).
Discussing a framework to help countries adapt to inevitable climate change. All developed and developing countries should be required to develop comprehensive national adaptation strategies. Financial and technological support should be provided to the most vulnerable developing countries.
Boost to research, development and demonstration (RD&D) of low-carbon and adaptation technologies.

Source: sourcewatch.org and europa.eu

What are the likely stumbling blocks?

The United States in particular has refused to make binding commitments unless major developing economies, such as China, are included in an agreement. Developing countries – most actively represented by the G-77 block – have indicated a willingness to cut emissions, but only if developed countries take a leadership role.

Developing countries are reluctant to accept hard carbon emissions targets as they struggle to grow their economies. Richer countries don’t want to accept hard targets, or be responsible for funding mitigation, if developing economies won’t also accept limits.

Everyone is waiting for the other to act on how deeply to cut their emissions of gases that contribute to climate change. No one wants to standalone.

What key objections/proposals do nations have?

The United States in particular has refused to make binding commitments unless major developing economies, such as China, are included in an agreement.

South Africa won’t consider the next round of climate change talks successful unless rich nations set aside money to help them address global warming. It is calling for financial and technological support.

Mexico has tabled a proposal for aid to be made available to poor countries in their struggle to cope with climate change.

UK proposes each of the G-20 nations find their own way of funding their efforts to control climate change. The position is opposed by India, China, South Africa and Brazil. UK also suggests that all national plans, such as the Five-Year Plans for India, shoudl would be open to international examination. Again, India opposes the idea.

Norway proposes to use funding from industrialised countries’ emissions budgets to generate revenue for international cooperation.

Members of the Alliance for Small Island Developing States (AOSIS) propose increased risk management and risk reduction strategies, including risk sharing and transfer mechanisms such as insurance.

What greenhouse gas reduction target could we consider a success?

NGOs in many industrialised countries are calling for at least 40 per cent emission cuts by 2020, in line with the scientific evidence of the reductions needed to keep below a 2C rise in average global temperature.

The information here is coming from the important egological magazine The Ecologist:

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/329459/copenhagen_in_60_seconds_key_facts_and_figures.html

for more information about Copehagen Conference:
http://www.theecologist.org/_tag/0/0/0/25/copenhagen/

The post Copenhagen in 60 seconds: key facts and figures. Against Who we Will fight in Copenhagen and Why? appeared first on Void Network.

Cop15 United Nations Climate Change Conference Copenhagen December 2009

voidnetwork — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:33:00 +0000

On the way
to Copenhagen Cop15 United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2009 , as all the financial and political powers that destroy the Earth prepare to make their elitist appearance, spreading delusion to the people of this planet and organizing crisis, ecological panik and nature destruction into a new profitable fairy-tale for the masses WE ARE PREPARING ALSO A SPECIAL “CONFERENCE” WITH ALL OF THEM!:

This is a message from
North European Autonomists:

The catastrophe is real, but the COP15’s inevitable talk of “saving the world from the climate crisis” is an elaborate hoax to disguise the COP15’s true purpose:
to restore the legitimacy of the now discredited global capitalism by inaugurating the era of “green” capitalism. A new rhetoric of “saving the climate” will exist to justify their repression, their fortified borders, their colonial resource wars. To give the Emperor new clothes. Our response to this astounding lie is an uncompromising and absolute NO to their system. More has to be shaken than our holiday habits to sustain the world for times to come. Only a fool would pin their hopes upon the very people who continue to kill off the planet for money. At Copenhagen United Nations Climate Change Conference, they will argue over how to properly create a market to commodify and so pollute the biosphere, dispossessing millions of people from their land to profit from destroying what remains of our earth. Governments and corporations will not sacrifice their growth to reduce carbon emissions, or only do so in order to create a new authoritarian regime for themselves. The entire rhetoric of the “climate crisis” and the “financial crisis” are a cynical manoeuvre by the state spin-doctors to deny the all-encompassing current crisis. The COP15 Conference in Copenhagen
will only attempt to hide the war that capitalism has waged
against all life on the planet, a war that has spread across
the entire globe for the last five hundred years,
a war that has now encompassed the totality of even the oceans and atmosphere.

In the midst of war, one does not talk of management
and “technical solutions.” You cannot fight a war by pretending the war does not exist, by blinding yourself to repression and becoming complicit in accepting the false-promise of a petit bourgeois tranquillity. Instead, one recognizes the enemy. One chooses a position. One fights. Only by ridding ourselves of those who claim to be representing us we will take back control.

It is time to state:
we are going to consciously attack the governance and industrial structure in Copenhagen: we will break through the lines of their police in order to get to them; we will refuse to negotiate with warmongering governments and the embedded media; we will refuse to side with sell-out NGOs and all the would-be managers of protest; we will refuse all governments and governance and not just de-legitimize the present ones. It is time to state why we think that insurrection is needed to actually begin the change everybody is so desperate for. Acting together in fundamental opposition to those in power we might get a first glimpse of the richness and opportunities possible when ideas, experiences and concepts are shared amongst people from all over the world. On with the international brigades, it is a social war not a climate chaos!

The post Cop15 United Nations Climate Change Conference Copenhagen December 2009 appeared first on Void Network.