Author: sparki

Banner Suspended Above Downtown Roanoke, Calls On Billionaire To Clean Up His Act

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roanokeCross-posted from Mountain Justice

Banner Suspended Above Downtown Roanoke, Calls On Billionaire To Clean Up His Act

National groups call on Jim Justice to pay for his plunder

Roanoke, VA – Early this morning members of Mountain Justice, Rising Tide North America and Radical Action for Mountain and People’s Survival (RAMPS) hung a banner, suspended between two downtown buildings on Jefferson street in Roanoke. The groups are acting in support of community demands in Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee that billionaire coal baron Jim Justice stop poisoning water, exposing communities to devastating mountaintop removal coal mining operations and leaving central Appalachia a public health disaster. The banner reads; “Jim Justice Profits, Appalachia Pays.” and “Jim Justice, Toxic Spill Billionaire”.

The activists hanging the banner are with Mountain Justice, a regional group committed to an end of Mountaintop Removal and a just economic transition for Appalachia. They are joined by RAMPS, based in West Virginia, and Rising Tide North America, an international network of grassroots groups focused on stopping climate change.

Erin Mckelvy, of Lee County Virginia and a member of Mountain Justice spoke to reporters on the scene, “ There’s a lot of people out of work across the coalfields today, in part because of the bad business planning done by people like Jim Justice. Justice has the means to properly clean up these sites, and we think Justice’s part in destroying Appalachia’s mountains needs to end yesterday. How much more does one person need? Appalachia needs a new path forward, and Jim Justice should join us, or get out of the way.”

D. Steele, with RAMPS in West Virginia said: “I’m taking this action today to keep the bright light shining on Jim Justice and the ways that his coal mining operations hurt communities. From damaged house foundations to poisoned streams, violated permits to unpaid workers, billionaire coal operator Jim Justice is making millions from the exploitation of Appalachia’s people, forests, and mountains. He needs to clean up his act now, and commit to giving back to the communities that have given him so much.”

Today’s action comes after weeks of bad news for the Justice Group and Roanoke-based Southern Coal. From $9.9 million in new bonding fees, and fines of over a million dollars in Kentucky, to cessation orders in Tennessee and bond forfeitures in Virginia, Justice’s corner-cutting practices across the region show that community concerns are grounded in reality. Mountain Justice and allies call on people to support the groups most impacted by Jim Justice, like the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards in Virginia, in their push to hold the billionaire responsible for the damage he’s caused.

Today’s action is part of a long tradition of non-violent civil disobedience addressing social justice and environmental issues. Like in the civil rights era and movements to stop the destruction of forests, oceans and the climate, regulatory and political solutions to stopping mountaintop removal have proven ineffective and people working to stop the destruction of Appalachia’s Mountains have taken the next logical step in confronting coal barons like Jim Justice.

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Mountain Justice is a regional Appalachian network committed to ending mountaintop removal.

 

Radical Action Mountain People’s Survival (RAMPS) is a direct action group working to stop mountaintop removal in southern West Virginia

 

Rising Tide North America is an all-volunteer climate justice network working to confront the root causes of climate change.

Logistical Details on the RTNA Continental Gathering

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The RTNA Gathering this year is being held at Wiley’s Last Resort in Letcher Co., Kentucky. Wiley’s is a whacky, wild, weird place on top of Pine Mtn at the Eastern Edge of Kentucky. It is home to an Appalachian poet and visionary, Jim Webb, and is the second home to many artists, activists, outdoor enthusiasts and adventurers from across the Mountains and the Whirled.

Wiley’s sits high above the town of Whitesburg on one side, and Eolia on the East Side. Eolia, and many nearby communities have been laid siege by Mountaintop Removal operations for well over a decade, and the devastation is plainly visible from many locations at The Last Resort.

Whitesburg, on the West side of Pine Mountain, is the county seat, and one that shows the scars and open wounds of the boom and bust coal economy. Whitesburg is also the home to the Appalshop, a new farmers market, and a hopeful and growing set of people and small businesses that believe in, and are creating, a Bright Appalachian Future.

Wiley’s has been home to Mountain Justice events repeatedly since before we built the MJ People’s Pavillion and hosted Mountain Justice Summer in 2010. Since then we have returned, and added infrastructure, and deepened our network’s relationship with the land and people of Eastern Kentucky and SW Virginia.

That being said, times are hard for many in our area, and tensions are high, for some. We ask that visitors be respectful in dialogue about coal and energy, and that they listen at least as much as they share. We work closely with many who must go home to their families, and to church with their community, and will deal with the long term process our region is going through as King Coal loses his throne.

Now, about the site. There is grid tied electricity readily available. Cell phone service is very strong for Verizon and affiliated carriers, weak for most others. There is not internet on site, unless you bring it with you.

We will have water available through large water containers that are filled from a source off site. Running water for showers is limited, but we have solar shower systems available.

The most available toilets are composting toilets, though there is one bathroom with warm water and a shower available for limited use.

There is ample flat camping, both in tree cover and in open field. You will have to transport your camping gear away from your vehicle, so pack accordingly.

We encourage bringing Mtn. Bikes, for utility of travel over the land, and for the fun of seeing all of The Last Resort.

On Pine Mtn, there is known to be things like mosquitoes, no-see-ums, bears, snakes, poison ivy, potentially hot, potentially rainy, potentially very rainy and windy conditions, ETV. The event’s programming will take place in a large pavillion and in large tents. Weather conditions are known to change rapidly upon occasion. Pack accordingly.

All that being said, The Last Resort is truly an amazing place, and we are excited to welcome you. There are many hikes, swims, views, discussions and much more to be experienced, and we hope you have a great time while you’re here!

Below is a more succinct list of things to bring etc. A couple of very important things:

– There is a pack of dogs that help guard the Resort (The Panzer Division). They don’t take kindly to other dogs, but they love humans. Please don’t bring your dog, unless you absolutely must, in which case you should prepare to have this dog’s freedom seriously curtailed, a leash might not cut it.

– Dont bring glass. Jim Webb, aka. Wiley Quixote, does not like glass and it is grounds for expulsion, if he and the Panzer Division catch you.

 

 

WHAT TO BRING

* strong stand alone tent or bring strong tent stakes because of high winds
* sleeping bag/ ground pad/ tarp for under your tent
* flashlight/ headlamp
* camp chair/ folding chair
* RAIN GEAR – rain jacket, poncho, umbrella
* warm clothes / fleece jacket – it gets cold at night

* clothing that is appropriate for engaging in community service and field trips in a small rural town.

* BOOTS!!!!!
* sunscreen/ bug stuff/ Tec-Nu**
* reusable/ re-fillable WATER BOTTLE

* travel mug
* Musical instruments

* Mountain bikes
* Frisbees, soccer balls, kites, etc.
* Toiletries
* any specialty foods you may require
* notebook/ journal & writing utensil

* personal medicines(Stinger allergies – epi pen and Benadryl, not expired)

* solar panels
WHAT NOT TO BRING

The event will be waste free. This means, we will be composting, recycling, re-using, etc. but there will be very few trash cans going to landfills. Please Do Not bring anything disposable, unless you plan on packing it out with you.  In general, it is imperative that we begin to move away, in general, from our throw-away consumer culture. Let this camp be a first-step towards a less disposable existence.

Please do not bring your dog to camp. There are five large dogs that travel in a pack at Wiley’s and they don’t get along with new dogs.

Please do not bring the following items to camp.

No Glass

No 4-wheelers

No Trash

No Dogs

No Weapons

CAMP LOCATION AND DIRECTIONS

Wiley’s Last Resort

8904 US 119

Jefferson National Forest, Eolia, KY 40826

 

From Charleston WV

Take US 119 south from Charleston – go through Williamson to Pikeville KY

At the T intersection with US 23 at Pikeville turn left, remaining on US 119 south.  This is also US23 south

About 25 miles south of Pikeville, watch for signs for Jenkins KY.

At Jenkins, take US 119 south on the right heading towards Whitesburg KY

(If you go up the mountain into Virginia on US 23, you have missed the turn)

Take US 119 south for 10 miles to a 4 way intersection with a McDonalds

Turn left at McDonalds continuing on US 119 south for 4 miles – you will be going up a big mountain

At the top watch for signs that say Little Shepherd Trail, stay on US 119 South

Just past the Little Shepherd Trail, you will start heading down the mountain on US 119.  Go about 1/3 mile down the mountain

You will see the parking area on the right and the entrance to the camp with a pop up canopy will be on your left.

Turn left into the driveway.

From Louisville KY or Lexington KY or Ohio

Go to Lexington KY via I 64 or I 75

Head east on I 64 and go past Winchester KY

Get on the Mountain Parkway going east

Go past the Red River Gorge to the Campton exit

Get on KY 15 heading south through Campton and Jackson

At Hazard go past the Hal Rogers Parkway, stay on KY 15 sout

Take the KY 15 bypass on the right around Hazard

After going around the bypass you will rejoin KY 15 South

Take KY 15 South 30 miles to Whitesburg.

After passing the Wendy’s in Whitesburg (on your left), the 15 bypass will go off to the right

Take the KY 15 bypass around Whitesburg to McDonalds

At McDonalds turn right to go South on US 119 for 4 miles (up the mountain)

At the top watch for signs that say Little Shepherd Trail

Just past the Little Shepherd Trail, you will start heading down the mountain on US 119.  Go about 1/3 mile down the mountain

You will see the parking area on the right and the entrance to the camp with a pop up canopy will be on your left.

Turn left into the driveway.

From Asheville NC or Kingsport TN

Take I 26 north to Kingsport TN

Enter Virginia

Remain on I 26 as this road becomes US 23 North in Virginia

Go past Norton, Wise and Pound VA on US 23

Enter Kentucky on US 23 and go down the mountain

At the bottom of the mountain, get in the left lane and turn left onto US 119 south

Take US 119 south for 10 miles to a 4 way intersection with a McDonalds

Turn left at McDonalds continuing on US 119 south for 4 miles – you will be going up a big mountain

At the top watch for signs that say Little Shepherd Trail, stay on US 119 South

Just past the Little Shepherd Trail, you will start heading down the mountain on US 119.  Go about 1/3 mile down the mountain

You will see the parking area on the right and the entrance to the camp with a pop up canopy will be on your left.

Turn left into the driveway.

From Knoxville and Nashville TN and Points South

Get to Knoxville via I 75 or I40

From Knoxville, go north on I 75 and take Exit 112

Get on TN 131 North to TN 33 north heading towards Maynardville

Go through Maynardville on TN 33 and stay on this highway to the intersection with US 25 E at
Turn north on US 25 E and go through Harrogate TN and go through the tunnel at Cumberland Gap

Continue on US 25 E through Middlesboro KY.  Go about 10 miles past Middlesboro and turn right on US 119 at Pineville

If you go into the town of Pineville (through the flood walls) you have missed the turn onto US 119 North, go back

Go 30 miles on US 119 to Harlan, bear left and continue on US 119 past Harlan

Stay on US 119, after Cumberland KY, highway 119 will become a narrow and curvy road

About 20 miles past Cumberland, you will pass a sign for Bad Branch and head up a big mountain

Nearing the top of the mountain, look for a parking area on the left of the highway and the entrance to camp with a pop up canopy on the right

Turn right, pull up to the canopy and get instructions

From SW Virginia

Head north on US 23, go past Big Stone Gap and Wise and Pound

Enter Kentucky and head down the mountain

At the bottom of the mountain get in the left lane and turn left on US 119 South

Continue on US 119 for about 10 miles to Whitesburg McDonalds

Turn left on US 119 at McDonalds

go South on US 119 4 miles (up the mountain)

At the top watch for signs that say Little Shepherd Trail

Just past the Little Shepherd Trail, you will start heading down the mountain on US 119.  Go about 1/3 mile down the mountain

You will see the parking area on the right and the entrance to the camp with a pop up canopy will be on your left.

Turn left into the driveway

From other parts of Virginia

You may want to take I 81 down to Kingsport TN, then head north on I 26

Remain on I 26 as this road becomes US 23 North in Virginia

Go past Norton, Wise and Pound VA on US 23

Enter Kentucky on US 23 and go down the mountain

At the bottom of the mountain, get in the left lane and turn left onto US 119 south

Take US 119 south for 10 miles to a 4 way intersection with a McDonalds

Turn left at McDonalds continuing on US 119 south for 4 miles – you will be going up a big mountain

At the top watch for signs that say Little Shepherd Trail, stay on US 119 South

Just past the Little Shepherd Trail, you will start heading down the mountain on US 119.  Go about 1/3 mile down the mountain

You will see the parking area on the right and the entrance to the camp with a pop up canopy will be on your left.

Turn left into the driveway.

Rising Tide North America Statement of Solidarity with Palestine

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Rising Tide North America Statement of Solidarity with Palestine flags

Rising Tide North America is part of the global movement against climate chaos and for social and environmental justice. We believe climate change can only be addressed by exposing the intersections between the oppressions of humans and the earth. No effort to create a livable future will succeed without the empowerment of marginalized communities and the dismantling of the systems of oppression that keep us divided.

As such, we condemn the Israeli military’s attacks on the Palestinian people in Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank. We reject any attempt to isolate the attacks on the Palestinian people and the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza from the intersectional global fight for climate justice. As the broad-based climate movement prepares to march in New York City, we call upon other groups and organizations committed to fighting the climate crisis to condemn publicly the Israeli military’s assault on Palestine.

In New York City, we will march with communities and groups who are working daily for community resilience against climate events like Superstorm Sandy and for food and environmental justice. We believe that from Palestine to New York City and beyond, our struggles for climate and social justice are all related.

In the movement for environmental and climate justice, we stand with those around the globe fighting war and occupation. Rising Tide North America is committed to opposing land grabs and resource exploitation by industries and state-sanctioned institutions. One of those institutions has been, and continues to be, imperial militaries which destroy communities, the environment, and the climate.

Militaries exploit land and natural resources to fuel their violent control and power over others. The unfettered burning of fossil fuels by militaries to wage war and violence on communities is exacerbating climate change and the impacts of droughts, extreme weather events, flooding, and sea level rise. This will lead to an increase in forced displacement and the number of climate refugees hoping to seek access to food, water, and homes elsewhere.

We recognize and reject that the United States financially and materially supports the Israeli military and countless other land grabs. As North American-based activists fighting against climate change, it is necessary to connect the colonization, capitalism and imperialism of our state and others with our daily work. The Israeli military’s actions actively support the corporations whose profits depend on the control and exploitation of land. As many regions of the world have so called ‘valuable’ natural resources, including the occupied Palestinian territories, we extend our solidarity with all who are impacted by resource extraction processes, and encroachments on their sovereignty and self-determination.

We recognize that the struggle to protect the land, water, and air from colonization, capitalism, and imperialism is a struggle that the people of Palestine face everyday. We extend our voices of solidarity to the people of Palestine who are facing unacceptable escalation of violence as they struggle to end the illegal occupation of their land.

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Dallas, TX: Protestors Lock Themselves Inside of Hilton in Protest of ALEC Convention

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For Immediate Release:

July 30, 2014

BP RTContact: Jonathan Adams, Blackland Prairie Rising Tide, 817-676-4913,

jonathanadams624@gmail.com

This morning, two community members from the organization Blackland Prairie Rising Tide locked themselves to stair banisters inside of the Hilton Anatole hotel at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) annual national convention in Dallas, Texas. Subsequently, two more protesters dropped a banner from a banister in the hotel lobby reading “We Suffer, ALEC Profits.”

Beginning on Wednesday, thousands of business executives as well as local, state and national politicians attended the annual convention, which will last until Saturday morning. The members of Blackland Prairie Rising Tide are airing a multitude of grievances that relate to ALEC’s secretive practices, which include ‘wining-and-dining’ politicians in order to promote legislation written by corporations.

ALEC has written legislation that aims to privatize public services such as prisons, toll roads, and education. Many of the organization’s bills are written as ‘model bills’ that are meant to be replicated around the nation. Recently, the group introduced the controversial ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws in several states. The laws were brought to public attention by the shooter George Zimmerman in the infamous Trayvon Martin case.

Locally in Dallas, billionaire investors are using ALEC legislation to privatize the independent school district and transform it into a for-profit institution. This legislation works by promoting voucher programs that drain public schools of resources by using taxpayer dollars to subsidize private school profits and specifying that those schools must remain unregulated. In addition the bill works to deem public schools “educationally bankrupt” to rationalize giving taxpayer dollars unregulated schools

Cien Fuegos Carmona, a local anti-police brutality community organizer, locked himself inside of the hotel citing concerns of wealth disparity and oppressive governments that lead him to protest today. “Poor folks are always doing the work and the rich are always exploiting and looting our collective dreams,” said Carmona.

ALEC continues to subvert our democracy from behind closed doors, launching a series of corporate-funded attacks on the overall quality of life for the general public without input of those affected for the last four decades,” said Whytney Blythe, a local community activist and organizer who also locked herself inside of the hotel. “Some of the bills ALEC has sponsored includes: the racist Arizona SB 1070, the controversial Stand Your Ground Law and the Minimum Mandatory Sentencing Act, exacerbating the failed ‘War on Drugs’ and boosting the ever-growing prison population all in the name of profit. They actively fight against an established living wage for workers while simultaneously minimizing worker’s rights and manipulating national and state legislatures to inhibit a wide array of efforts to protect the environment as well as public health. The grave danger ALEC poses to our collective wellbeing is severe and we refuse to remain casualties in the name of greed any longer.”

The organization is now seeking donations for costs and plans to uphold a sustained local campaign in relation to local environmental concerns and free trade agreements.

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