Open Invitation to Bidder 70 (Tim DeChristopher) Solidarity Action Meeting in Durango
dirty...@riseup.net
Hey folks,
Earth First! Durango is calling an open, public meeting regarding a
solidarity action/protest/rally to coincide with the Tim DeChristopher
trial in Salt Lake City, UT. Actions will be happening in SLC as well as
around the nation and around the world. Let's put Durango on the map!
The meeting will be in the downstairs conference room at Durango Coffee
Company from 5-7 PM on Sunday, February 13th. The date of the trial/action
itself is Monday, February 28th, 2011 (more info below).
Please spread the word and join us to coordinate a solidarity
action/demonstration here in Durango. See you there!
-Nathan,
Earth First! Durango
http://southwestearthfirst.wordpress.com/
~
The Story:
Tim is facing ten years in prison on two felony charges for derailing an
illegal sale of public land from the outgoing Bush administration to
private oil and gas developers.
The government is embarrassed by this very public trial, and wishes it
would go away, but Tim has refused any kind of plea bargain because he
thinks a jury of his peers should decide if he was justified in defying an
unjust system that is dooming us to an unlivable future.
It is this kind of peaceful, powerful, and courageous civil disobedience
that is largely missing from the climate movement. An outbreak of jury
trials (and willingness to serve time if necessary) could create a
political atmosphere that allows a reasonable governmental response to
climate change–while bringing the damaging injustices of our current
system into the spotlight. People pay attention when others make
sacrifices.
Tim forced a trial so we would have a chance to show the world that if you
stand up for a livable future, others will stand with you. Can you join
us?
Action Call: Join the Uprising!
By Peaceful Uprising
February 8, 2010
This letter was co-written by five leaders of social and environmental
justice. All recognize the trial of Tim DeChristopher to be a turning
point in the climate movement:
* Dr. James Hansen, author of Storms of my Grandchildren, and who is
regarded as the world’s leading climatologist
* Naomi Klein, author of #1 international bestseller The Shock Doctrine
* Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org and author of The End Of Nature
and Eaarth
* Robert Redford, actor, director, environmental activist, and founder
of The Sundance Institute
* Terry Tempest Williams, author of The Open Space of Democracy
Dear Friends,
A few months back, you likely heard about a vitally important court case
involving the prosecution of a principled young environmental activist
named Tim DeChristopher. After several delays, that trial is back on and
we are asking for your support on its openings days starting February 25th
(trial takes place Feb. 28).
Why is this trial so important to the fight against catastrophic climate
change, even in light of recent ecological disasters like flooding in
Pakistan and the BP oil spill? As we all know, this fight takes many
forms: huge global days of action, giant international conferences like
the one that failed in Copenhagen, small gestures in the homes of
countless people.
But there are a few signal moments, and one will come in February, when
the federal government puts Tim DeChristopher on trial in Salt Lake City.
Tim—“Bidder 70”—pulled off one of the most creative protests against our
runaway energy policy in years: he bid for the oil and gas leases on
several parcels of federal land even though he had no money to pay for
them, thus upending the auction. The government calls that “violating the
Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act” and thinks he should spend
ten years in jail for the crime; we call it a noble act, a profound
gesture made on behalf of all of us and of the future.
Tim’s action drew national attention to the fact that the Bush
Administration spent its dying days in office handing out a last round of
favors to the oil and gas industry. After investigating irregularities in
the auction, the Obama Administration took many of the leases off the
table, with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar criticizing the process as “a
headlong rush.” And yet that same Administration is choosing to prosecute
the young man who blew the whistle on this corrupt process.
We cannot let this stand. When Tim disrupted the auction, he did so in the
fine tradition of non-violent civil disobedience that changed so many
unjust laws in this country’s past. Tim’s upcoming trial is an occasion to
raise the alarm once more about the peril our planet faces. Local
supporters are asking people around the country to flood into Salt Lake
City in February. If you come, there will be ample opportunity for both
legal protest and civil disobedience. For example:
•Before Tim’s trial, Peaceful Uprising will be hosting events starting
February 25th with the Countdown to Uprising Empowerment Summit. There
will be evening concerts, film screenings, nonviolence and direct action
trainings, inspirational speakers, dancing, and gatherings. This is a
people’s movement that draws power from around the globe; for a few days
at the end of February its headquarters will be Salt Lake City.
Outside the courthouse, there will be a mock trial, (or, “real trial” as
organizers are calling it) with experts like NASA’s Jim Hansen providing
the facts that should be heard inside the chambers. We don’t want Tim on
trial—we want global warming on the stand. [UPDATE: the "mock" climate
trial was staged outside the federal courthouse on November 5th. It was a
great success. Watch it here.]
• Demonstrators will be using the time-honored tactics of civil
disobedience to make their voices heard outside the courthouse in an
effort to prevent “business as usual”—it’s business as usual that’s
wrecking the earth.
• There will be evening concerts, film screenings, and gatherings,
including a “mini-summit” to share ideas on how the climate movement
should proceed in the years ahead. This is a people’s movement that draws
power from around the globe; for a few days its headquarters will be Salt
Lake City.
You can get the most up-to-date news at countdowntouprising.com, including
schedules for the Countdown to Uprising Empowerment Summit activites and
much more. If you’re coming, bring not only your passion but also your
creativity—we need lots of art and music to help make the point that we
won’t sit idly by while the government tries to scare the environmental
movement into meek cooperation. This kind of trial is nothing but
intimidation—and the best answers to intimidation are joy and resolve.
That’s what we’ll need in Utah.
We know it’s short notice. Some of us won’t be able to make it to Utah
because we have other commitments or are limiting travel, and if you’re in
the same situation, countdowntouprising.com will also have details of
solidarity actions in other parts of the country. If you can contribute
money to help make the week’s events possible, please click here. But more
than your money we need your body, your brains, and your heart. In a
landscape of little water, where redrock canyons rise upward like praying
hands, we can offer our solidarity to the wild: wild lands and wild
hearts.
Tim DeChristopher deserves and needs our physical and spiritual support in
the name of a just and vibrant community. Thank you for standing with us,
Dr. James Hansen,
Naomi Klein,
Bill McKibben,
Robert Redford,
Terry Tempest Williams
~
The Plan"
Bidder 70 PaddlesOn Monday, February 28th 2011, people will come together
in Salt Lake City, Utah to make a powerful statement that we will not back
down from the imperative of fighting for a livable climate. By blocking
information from the jury the government has made it clear that this trial
is not about justice. Instead they have shown that their goal is to make
an example out of Tim that intimidates the rest of us into being obedient
to an unjust system.
This trial is all about intimidation and the best answer to intimidation
is joy and resolve. We will show our joy and resolve as people have
throughout history by raising our voices together and singing in the
streets.
http://www.peacefuluprising.org/