The Free

Chile:Dictator Laws used against anarchists, Mapuches…

By Pamela Sepúlveda

SANTIAGO, May 25, 2011 (IPS) – “What is happening in Chile isn’t justice; it’s a pantomime, because under the anti-terrorism law, there is absolutely no way justice can be done,” José Venturelli, spokesman for the European Secretariat of the Ethics Commission against Torture, said on a recent visit to this South American country.

The controversial law that Venturelli was referring to has been used to try members of Chile’s Mapuche indigenous community involved in the long-running struggle for their right to land.

Ramón Llanquileo, José Huenuche and Jonathan Huillical, sentenced to 20 years in prison, and Héctor Llaitul, sentenced to 25 years, began a hunger strike on Mar. 15 in a prison in southern Chile, demanding a fair and impartial retrial.
The four Mapuche activists were not actually tried under the counter-terrorism law, which dates back to the 1973-1990 dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet and has been widely condemned by the international community. But although they were tried under ordinary criminal law, the case against them was built on the investigation carried out under the anti-terrorism legislation, and their recent conviction was based on the testimony of police officers and anonymous witnesses.

The four were found guilty of theft of lumber and attempted murder for allegedly attacking a prosecutor riding in a motorcade in 2008 in the southern town of Tirúa, 700 km south of the capital.

Ten activists arrested is the so-called “caso bombas” (bombs case) ended a 65-day hunger strike in April, held to protest an alleged frame-up and their trial under the anti-terrorism law. They were arrested for allegedly setting off 29 bombs in Santiago in incidents dating back to 2005. But most of the supposed evidence against them was thrown out by the judge.

Bee Gardens: Flowers..Fruits for a Bee-Friendly Habitat

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An estimated 70 percent of the food we eat is dependent upon pollination by insects such as bees. You can help support these vital, fascinating creatures by learning how to raise them yourself! Whether you want to keep bees for pleasure or profit, in the city or in a rural area, “Keeping Bees and Making Honey” can guide you every step of the way, from where to place your hive all the way up to how to best savor your first spot of “homegrown” honey.

You may want to give your bees a helping hand when it comes to collecting pollen and nectar by planting bee-friendly flowers and shrubs in your garden or outside space. Even in a larger garden, you’ll unlikely have enough flowers to produce sufficient nectar to sustain a hive, so your bees will probably go farther afield — up to 3 miles — to find richer and denser sources of food. But the right flowers, fruit and vegetables in your garden will attract some of your own bees, as well as welcoming other visitors such as the bumblebee and solitary bee species. Above all, a garden or patch devoted to plants that are attractive to bees can be a source of great pleasure to any beekeeper, as much for the riot of color as for the activity of the bees.

#spanishrevolution. Plaza re-occupied.Victory!

May 27, 2011

All morning 1ooo’s and more 1000′ were gathering round the square. Now occupied by the ‘mossos’, Catalan riot police. But leaving intact one bit of the camp, isolated with about 200 people still demonstrating inside. This indicated the eviction was not to be total.

They would ONLY, steal or destroy most of the equipment, stalls, tents, etc (not the tree houses). ONLY controlling everything. Using the excuse to bring in cleaning lorries and clean the whole square, while the demonstrators pressed closer on all sides.

Finaly at 12.30 the convoy of cleaning lorries moved out, robbing all the equipment, and the police running behind, some firing rubber bullet guns in the air.

The multitudes rushed back into the square,. We were all jumping for joy, and with more desire than ever to continue.

Tomorrow the Barça spectacle. the police have asked us to self-evict due to the danger of ‘incidents’, but no one is moving, at least until the Assembly on Sunday. The main ‘giant screen’ has been moved from the Plaza to Arc de Triomf. But right next to the Plaza Camp

IS the sacred place to celebrate Barça victories(Canaletes).

Sé que la plaza de Lleida fue también desalojado pero no que pasó al final.