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Aug 28, 15

All the News You Didn’t Even Know Was Going Down

Originally posted to It’s Going Down

Anti-Pipeline militants at the Unist’ot’en Camp in BC, Canada are on high alert against possible raids by the RCMP. One reports read:

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) has sent a letter to the RCMP warning against “an impending, and possibly large-scale, RCMP action in relation to the Unist’ot’en camp”.

“We understand that the RCMP may have already taken a decision, or be about to take a decision, that the RCMP will move in and remove people from the Unist’ot’en camp by force if necessary,” the BCCLA letter reads. “If we are mistaken in this, we hope that the RCMP will clarify this with the public immediately. We are deeply concerned that such an approach would be disastrous and would not respect the constitutionally-protected Title and Rights of the Unist’ot’en, as well as their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

“A move by the Crown to remove the Unist’ot’en camp would be at odds with these legal principles and with respect for their Title and Rights,” it reads. “We are extremely concerned with the suggestion that the RCMP may proceed without a court order, and without the Unist’ot’en having any opportunity to defend themselves in court.”

It seems the threat of arrests comes after TransCanada reported militants to the RCMP. Another article stated:

TransCanada reported pipeline activists to the RCMP today after a convoy of their workers were refused access to Wet’suwet’en land by members of a Unist’ot’en clan blockade.

Four vehicles carrying Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project workers were turned away at a checkpoint on Chisholm Road south of Houston about 11 a.m. this morning.

The TransCanada Coastal GasLink Pipeline was originally routed to cross south of the Morice River on its way from Dawson Creek to an LNG processing facility in Kitimat.

The company is considering an alternate route north of the river but both of the proposed routes cross Unist’ot’en territory.

In Ontario, Canada, the indigenous community of Grassy Narrows has issued a state of emergency due to water contamination from mercury.

In Northwestern British Columia, indigenous people have set up a camp to prevent a natural gas project.

In the United States, in North Dakota, police now have legal access to use weaponized drones. According to a post on Revolution News:

Thanks to a last-minute push by a pro-police lobbyist, it is now legal for law enforcement in North Dakota to fly drones armed with ‘less lethal’ weapons such as rubber bullets, tear gas, tasers, sound cannons and pepper spray.

Less lethal weapons can kill. At least 39 people have been killed by police Tasers in 2015 so far, according to The Guardian. Bean bags, rubber bullets, and flying tear gas canisters have also killed and maimed people in the U.S. and abroad.

When State Rep. Rick Becker introduced H.B. 1328, the law both banned weaponized drones and established a procedure for law enforcement to seek a warrant before using drones in searches. Only the warrant requirement survived.

“This is one I’m not in full agreement with,” Becker said at a hearing in March, The Daily Beast reported. “In my opinion there should be a nice, red line: drones should not be weaponized. Period. When you’re not on the ground, and you’re making decisions, you’re sort of separate,” Becker added. “Depersonalized.”

In other frightening police-state news, law enforcement in both Canada and the US are now getting into testing with new and improved “less lethal” ammo. This new ammo has silicon tips, which expand and flatten on impact, enhancing the pain felt.

In Chicago, a hunger-strike continues outside of the closed Dyett school, which community members are fighting to re-open. Several of those on hunger strike, which has been going on for close to two weeks, have recently been hospitalized.

Across the US, actions against fracking continued. Organized under the hashtag, #MidwestUnrest, various groups came together and got arrested outside of the home of John Kerry, to pressure him to block tar-sands pipelines. Midwest Unrest seems to be much like 350.org, a slick organization with social media presence, who announce their actions long before hand and engage in coordinated and large disruptive acts of civil disobedience.

In New York, actions continued at Seneca Lake against a fracked gas storage facility, with blockaders facing numerous arrests.

Across the US, thousands protested against Planned Parenthood which stood to lose funding to their clinics that provide free care to people in regards to sexual and reproductive health.

Also in the US, #BlackTransLivesMatter protests took place in various cities.

As of this writing, 781 people have been killed by law enforcement in 2015 alone.

In labor news, a new report from Russia Today reports that robots will soon be taking over much of the labor force. According to the report:

The encroachment of self-help kiosks and grocery store scanners has led doomsayers to suggest automation threatens the workforce of the future. A new report argues it will create new business sectors and new jobs as well.

By studying large companies in various industries, from Delta Airlines Inc. to Whole Foods Market Inc., as well as many startups, analysts have forecast that automation will erase 22.7 million jobs by 2025, or 16 percent of today’s total.

The prediction comes in a report titled “The Future of Jobs, 2025: Working Side-By-Side with Robots,” published by Forrester Research this week. The study’s findings were drawn from government employment data, and interviews with businesses and academics.

In Mexico news, Wired reports that the Mexican state is using ‘twitter bots’ to try and silence activists. As the article states:

…the bots have followed protesters from hashtag to hashtag over the past few months, drowning out real conversations with noise. They’ve also seen similar bots create fake hashtags in apparent attempts to push real hashtags out of Twitter’s trending list, spread anti-protest messages, and even send death threats to specific activists.

In the Southern Mexican City of Chilpancingo, Normalistas continued to act to demand jobs and education reform. According to one translated article:

Normalistas were arrested for looting trucks in Chilpancingo. Normalistas marched to demand magisterial seats when they detained two trucks to plunder; threaten to seek support…to free their comrades.

Guerrero riot police arrested six Normalistas – three men and three women who participated in the looting of retail distribution two trucks that stopped as they drove through the streets of Chilpancingo. The normal school who were identified as members of the United Front of Public Normal of Guerrero ( FUNPEG ) that marched through the streets and avenues of the capital of Guerrero, to demand delivery of teaching positions without presenting the corresponding evaluation test.

In ecological news this week, which brought more accusations that fracking is leading to earthquakes, and as fires rampaged across the northwest, Richard Walker wrote in Indian Country Today: 

In the drought-stricken west, more than 1.3 million acres of parched wildlands are being consumed by fire. Year-to-date, the total number of acres consumed by wildfire—a record 7,210,959—exceeds the 10-year average by 2.2 million acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

In Washington, where 16 fires had consumed 326,895 acres as of August 21, three firefighters have died, four injured, and entire towns evacuated.

In California, 46 percent of the state was considered to be in extreme drought as of August 21. In the Kern Valley, Lake Isabella—created by a dam that captures the flows from the Kern River—is at 5.8 percent of capacity, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In the wake of crippling drought and the threat of spreading wildfires, its encouraging to see resistance heat up against pipelines spread across various countries. However, the question remains, what kind of movement will this will look like? One controlled by those on the ground, or one given direction by the heads of non-profits for the sake of “speaking truth to power?” Power already knows the truth and knows the disaster this civilization is heading in. It’s time to physically stop it.

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It’s Going Down is a digital community center from anarchist, anti-fascist, autonomous anti-capitalist and anti-colonial movements. Our mission is to provide a resilient platform to publicize and promote revolutionary theory and action.

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