video

Have you ever squatted an airport?

Richard — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 08:32:16 +0000

What's worse than an airport? An airport which is being turned into gentrified flats for yuppie arseholes who work in the city but want a little bolt-hole to nip to at the weekend. Loft apartment, great view of the commercial district... yah yah yah excuse me while I pluck my own eyes out with a copy of the Foxton's Gazette.

So rest assured that when German anarchists heard about plans to do just that to an old airport of theirs, they started organising. And on the 20th of June, they're taking the airport back. With, if their film is to be believed, the armies of Mordor by their side and a full death metal soundtrack.

Take that yuppie scum. Next stop, the Dalston tube.

Train v plane: fight!

Richard — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:10:44 +0000

Ever wondered why so many people feel compelled to fly? Rail fares in the UK are the highest in Europe, whereas flying gets a £10 billion subsidy because there's no fuel duty and no VAT on tickets or planes. Sure, you can get a cheap ticket if you book ahead, but it's a nonsense that it's often cheaper to fly than to hop aboard a choo-choo.

Despite what the industry tells you, it's often faster, easier and certainly greener to go by rail than to fly. There's no check-in, no probing searches by bored security guards and no one tries to sell you crappy perfume and a pen with the airline's logo on. But we're indundated with adverts pushing 'cheap' flights and all that jazz on us day after day, so we forget the horrors of air travel and plop over to the Ryanair website to indulge ourselves (because we're worth it).

But where rail is given a fair playing field it can more than compete. Virgin runs the London-Manchester rail link, and has aggressively marketted its trips to the same audience as currently flies. It's paid off: they now have 77% of the market share, with passenger figures up 12% in the last year. This is, I should point out, despite 60% of their trains running late, and their walk on tickets being astronomically expensive.

So stop advertising aviation (and end that ludicrous subsidy) and give those poor trains a fighting chance. Don't delay, deface an airline advert today!

Police brutality at Camp for Climate Action in the City of London

Richard — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:03:42 +0000

Wednesday's Climate Camp in the City was going well, until the police decided to storm their way in with baton charges...

Plane Stupid Southampton: the movie

Richard — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:57:14 +0000

Back in February PS Southampton went to their local airport and set up a climate refugee center.

No third runway rap

Richard — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:56:44 +0000

Plane Stupid invade Stansted Airport

Richard — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:11:41 +0000

BAA staff ram Stansted protestors with snowplough

Richard — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:24:44 +0000

BAA security staff have been ramming the Stansted protesters with a snowplough.

Protester Richard Claxton, who was d-locked to the fencing at the time, said, "I was terrified: you don't expect to be attacked with a snowplough on a peaceful protest."

Plane Mad disrupt Ryanair AGM

Richard — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:08:34 +0000

Our Irish namesakes (well almost) Plane Mad have been very, very naughty. They've disrupted Ryanair's annual shareholder meeting. Nice one!

Stansted Airport - forest people strike back

Richard — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:52:32 +0000

What happens when low-budget tv programme 'Plane Crazy' ventures into the ancient woodland near Stansted Airport?

Ask Leo: Wake up, freak out - then get a grip (A.K.A what is a tipping point?)

Richard — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 10:31:58 +0000

Wake Up, Freak Out - then Get a Grip from Leo Murray on Vimeo.
In my other life I am an animator, and just graduated from the Royal College of Art. This is my graduation film explaining the concept of the tipping point in the climate system; this is the point of no return, after which truly catastrophic change becomes inevitable.

Enjoy.

Gas prices are too high...

Richard — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:16:16 +0000

Pity Puff Daddy. Not only does he have a name that reminds me of a Disney cartoon, but he now has to fly commercial airlines instead of using his private jet. Won't someone send him some oil?

Camp for Climate Action - police assault legal observers

Richard — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:21:10 +0000

Sickening. Just sickening. Police have started attacking legal observers at the Camp for Climate Action. Even MP Norman Baker almost got pepper-sprayed.

Camp for Climate Action - people vs fences

Richard — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:36:09 +0000

9th August 2008 is the day of mass action against Kingsnorth power station. It's surrounded by a fence... but we know what to do about that!

Melting point

Richard — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:11:32 +0000

Ecologist-produced film about the tactics used by the police against environmental protestors.

You can't spell greenwashing without 'green'

Richard — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:54:38 +0000

Just remember kids - think dolphins...