The world is changing at such a pace that it is hard to judge what the effects of the decisions we make will be. Things
like smoking, DDT, and asbestos are few examples of life changing mistakes we've made as a culture. When many of us heard
that the largest Chemical and Biological companies were coming together to convince foreign leaders that their chemical and
biological projects are the best solutions for our planet, we decided that we needed to raise awareness of the known, and
possible, consequences of such actions and present them to the public and the meeting holders.
We came together in the shape of a conference called
Biodevestation 7 to do these things despite threats from the start from police, city officals, and the companies hosting the meetings. we
organized outreach, speakers and protest. We got harassed, detained and even ARRESTED! for our efforts.
On the morning before the protest, some of us had gone to the conference, but others were still eating breakfast, taking showers,
calling family, and help friends. Some of us were staying at a house on Illinois St. that is owned by DG, a local activist
and were helping with permitted repairs as a trade to for a few nights room and board. At around noon police swarmed the house
and forced out everyone that was inside, and corralled those who were not.
We were all arrested and taken to jail for the night. A few of us posted bail, but most of us just stuck it out. While we
were in the, cops rifled through all our possessions, took personal property, smashed or damaged other property and, as documented
in the SL Dispatch, even urinated in bedrooms!
We were all charged with Occupation of a Condemned Building, a civil violation and are facing penalties of up to 90 days in
jail and a $500 fine...
