Midnight Oil

Subject: clayoquot sound remembered
From: "oceanside3033" <oceanside3033@gmail.com>
Date: 24/09/2012, 5:50 pm
To: powderworks@yahoogroups.com.au

the greenpeace / friends of clayoquot sound / midnight oil / concert at dawn / for clayoquot sound has its 13th anniversary today, 15 july 2006. on that beautiful overcast morning in the drizzle the oils performed truganini, sell my soul, the dead heart, earth & sun & moon, one country, warakurna, blue sky mine, now or never land, beds are burning. an encore of my country and renaissance man was to follow (i know because i got the set list from rob's hihat stand via my brother who was part of the local crew) but the lads had already been "delayed" by an ill-mannered mob of clear cut supporters ("get outta the car ya idiot") en route to the concert and required the police presence to deter physical violence.
 
prior to the concert peter spoke to the crowd assembled at the kennedy lake bridge, which was the actual blockade site, the concert having been moved to "the black hole", a particularly ugly area in a massive clearcut where the international peace camp was. it should be noted as well that the day prior to the concert members of the band met with the chief and other members of the local indigenous people and were given permission to perform but were asked to move the setting from the bridge to the black hole.
 
i know one friend in particular took it to heart when peter encouraged everyone to go home and bring back 10 more people. many clayoquot caravans and convoys followed. there's no doubt in my mind that the publicity generated by this event, both locally in brutish columbia and indeed world-wide, put the forestry issue in bc to the front burner and which later that summer saw the largest mass arrest (and subsequent mass trials) in canadian history, and in the end over 800 brave faces put themselves on the line and were arrested for peaceful civil disobedience / criminal contempt of court.
 
i hear much support for the logging industry 
i hear that the clearcuts are to remain 
i see clayoquot protectors in custody 
i see raging grannies in chains 

who are the real criminals (?)