National Day Of Action in Holland Fighting Anti-Squatting Legislation

The Dutch government has been discussing a ban squatting since 2003, but have failed at various times. Read previous article on squat.net

Now proposed for the 3rd time, squatters across the country are taking action today to avert the proposals. Many squats have opened their doors to the public and give guided tours for those curious neighbours.

Listen to: open radio stream

Dutch Updates and photos: see indymedia.nl

English Updates:

17.05 Rotterdam - Activists of the squatters campaign group 'Woonstrijd' have occupied a property on the `s Gravendijkwal (no 81A). Besides the occupation, various banners were dropped from (former) squats in the city and activities and guided tours are planned at the Poortgebouw and at the squat on the Zwaerdekroonstraat 62a.

16.23 Deventer - The occupied 'Vort Dracula' opened its doors today and had over 100 people coming through to take part in guided tours. 6 squats were open to the public across the city. Various folk from the national press were present in the morning. Also see previous timeline entry at 14.02.

15.17 Dordrecht - The activities in Dordrecht are now finished. The doors of the newly occupied house on the Vrieseweg 80 were opened up to the public and the local Food Not Bombs group handed out free food and leaflets in the city centre.

15:00 Den Bosch - A new infoshop has been opened in an occupied shop front. The police are still intending on evicting it, and the squatters have started court proceedings to avert this. The rest of the day of action has been hailed as a success, with well attended guided tours around the city and good responses from those doing their christmas shopping.

14.13 Hilversum - An empty and derelict petrol station has been occupied since early this morning. Owned by the council, it has been left abandoned for over 8 years. Due to financial mis-planning and resistance from people in the area the demolishion of the petrol station has been severely delayed. The location of the new squat is of historical importance as it is the exact spot of the old train station on the Amsterdam-Laren line. The police have come by to check out the situation. Everything is calm now and free soup, coffee, tea and leaflets are being handed out.

14.02 Deventer - An alternative 'Dickens day' has been organised in response to the 'Dickens day' taking place in the city. A group of dressed up children with horses have arrived at the squatted Q8 terrain. Guided tours are taking place and there is a small exhibition on the squatting history of the city is on display.

12.25 Haarlem - Last night various banners were dropped from squats in Haarlem. The guided tours have started and the press is persent also.

11.57 Zwolle - At 9.30 this morning a group of people have occupied the water tower on the 'Turfmarkt'. The police came to check out the situation, but everything is calm. A banner was dropped saying: "stop the squatting-ban".

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/12/387944.html

MSM Silent: Gunning for 100,000 Signatures: Servers Crash and Re-started: Impeach Cheney!

Dave Lindorff updates us on the amazing roots effort to get impeachment "on
the table".

Impeachment Advocates Crush Server, But Still No Reports in the Corporate
Media
Tue, 12/18/2007 - 16:10 - dlindorff

The push for hearings on Dennis Kucinich's Cheney impeachment bill (H Res.
799) continues, with the number of signers of Wexler's petition now topping
90,000. http://www.wexlerwantshearings.com/

The rush to sign on has been so heavy that on Monday it crashed the server.
Rep. Robert Wexler's people have since changed to a better server, but in
the process, there were some resets of the tally, which has led to a lot of
concern and even to anxious conspiracy theories among impeachment backers.
Wexler's office says there has been no problem with sabatoge, and that the
current number, just over 90,000 as of 10:45 am Tuesday, is accurate. The
list has been checked for duplicates and other signs of trouble, and looks
clean, they say.

So impeachment advocates should continue to push for support for this call
for action. Get people to the petition site and signed on.

But don't stop there.

READ THE REST OF DAVE LINDORFF'S REPORT:
http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/?q=node/84

[ Source: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/12/18/18467685.php ]

Laura Archera Huxley 1911 - 2007

The World Has Lost One of Its Greats -- Laura Archera Huxley 1911-2007
Updated
http://www.bruceeisner.com/new_culture/2007/12/the-world-has-l.html

'Energy Companies' Gallons of Greenwash'

Source: The Guardian (UK), December 11, 2007

"Shell, the oil company that recently trumpeted its commitment to a low carbon future ... has quietly sold off most of its solar business," reports Terry Macalister. "The move, taken with BP's decision last week to invest in the world's dirtiest oil production in Canada's tar sands, indicates that Big Oil might be giving up its flirtation with renewables." A Shell spokesperson said the company's solar operations were "not bringing in any profit." Shell still invests in some wind farms and biofuels operations. Pratap Chatterjee questions the environmental impact of "the world's largest bio-diesel facility," which Finland's Neste Oil plans to build in Singapore. "The scheme could exacerbate global warming," he reports for CorpWatch. The "$800 million plant will use palm oil," boosting "demand for new palm oil plantations that displace environmentally sensitive forests." Chatterjee is also skeptical of General Electric's "clean coal" claims. "'Clean coal' technologies are only marginally more efficient [at reducing emissions] and far more expensive. Others ... are still on the drawing board and may never work."

http://www.prwatch.org/node/6798