Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

chocolatpi

chocolatpi's Journal
chocolatpi's Journal
October 6, 2018

Thousands Protest Felling German Forest to Expand Coal Mine

https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2018-10-06/thousands-protest-felling-german-forest-to-expand-coal-mine

Thousands Protest Felling German Forest to Expand Coal Mine

Thousands of environmentalists are protesting the expansion of a coal mine in western Germany a day after a court blocked the felling of an endangered forest near the site.

Oct. 6, 2018

BERLIN (AP) — Thousands of environmentalists are protesting the expansion of a coal mine in western Germany a day after a court blocked the felling of an endangered forest near the site.

The mood Saturday at Hambacher Forest near Cologne was celebratory as thousands expressed relief over the court's temporary halt to the clearing of Hambach Forest.

The Muenster administrative court issued a temporary halt Friday after an environmental group argued the forest deserves protected status because of the bats that live there.

Energy company RWE wants to expand its adjacent lignite strip mine. The standoff between police and protesters — some of whom have camped for months in tree houses — has made the ancient woodland a cause celebre for environmentalists.
October 6, 2018

Thousands Protest Felling German Forest to Expand Coal Mine

https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2018-10-06/thousands-protest-felling-german-forest-to-expand-coal-mine

Thousands Protest Felling German Forest to Expand Coal Mine

Thousands of environmentalists are protesting the expansion of a coal mine in western Germany a day after a court blocked the felling of an endangered forest near the site.

Oct. 6, 2018

BERLIN (AP) — Thousands of environmentalists are protesting the expansion of a coal mine in western Germany a day after a court blocked the felling of an endangered forest near the site.
The mood Saturday at Hambacher Forest near Cologne was celebratory as thousands expressed relief over the court's temporary halt to the clearing of Hambach Forest.

The Muenster administrative court issued a temporary halt Friday after an environmental group argued the forest deserves protected status because of the bats that live there.

Energy company RWE wants to expand its adjacent lignite strip mine. The standoff between police and protesters — some of whom have camped for months in tree houses — has made the ancient woodland a cause celebre for environmentalists.
October 6, 2018

Ai Weiwei, artist, activist

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-ca-cm-ai-wei-wei-la-shows-20180927-story.html

Sep 27, 2018
Ai Weiwei is weary from travel.

The Chinese artist and human rights activist shuffles into the Marciano Art Foundation's cavernous Theater Gallery — he arrived in L.A. from Berlin just last night and has spent about half the year, he says, traversing the globe making films or exhibiting art. The Marciano space, a former Masonic temple theater, is dimly lighted and nearly empty, a box of cool, gray concrete. But at the far end of the room, light emanates from a new piece Ai has created – he's seeing it installed here for the first time.

Ai slowly makes his way across the room, soft spoken and a bit spacey, his loose cotton clothing fluttering ever so slightly from the AC — as if crossing a dark ocean toward the light. Finally, he peers over a railing into the glowing, sunken Black Box gallery housing his work. His cheeks lift and his eyes brighten.
..snip
Ai, an outspoken political dissident, has long been targeted by the Chinese Communist government for channeling his social justice activism into online projects and art that has resonated around the world. In 2011 he was arrested and detained, in a secret location, for 81 days after having been accused of vague economic crimes. Since getting his passport back in 2015, he's resided in Berlin but has kept an active studio in Beijing, his Zuoyou studio, where "Life Cycle" was assembled under his guidance.

Just days after the artwork was shipped to L.A., Ai's Beijing studio was demolished by the Chinese government. No one was hurt, but some artworks were damaged, others totally destroyed. He'd been alerted, months earlier, that he'd eventually have to vacate the space because it was being redeveloped – but the demolition began, as a surprise to him, before the mutually agreed upon evacuation date and without his consent.

"It was quite surreal, I was shocked," he says. "But in a state like China, you have no space to make any kind of argument or communication. You have to just stand there and watch."

Profile Information

Member since: Sun Sep 16, 2012, 12:48 PM
Number of posts: 7,888
Latest Discussions»chocolatpi's Journal