ORCA

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Please bring any fun craft materials you fancy using.

Please do take a COVID lateral flow test before coming, and if you can wear a mask.
Accessibility statement for the Lockon: bit.ly/LockonAccess...
If you have any specific access needs not covered by this, please do reach out to us.

Calling all crafters, writers, activists, poets, union members, artists, zine enthusiasts, punks, human rights enjoyers, nature lovers, workers, sea mammals, babies, concerned residents, cats, green consumers, Cambridge people, tea drinkers, scissors pros,

Have you read our zine Bad Environmentalisms Well, we’re remaking it. Come with us for a fun meta-textual crafty adventure! You can read it at https://orca4el.com/zine-2025

Zine rejigging session Sunday 23 November 10:30am-1pm The Lockon 11-12 Fair Street, CB11HA Please bring any fun craft materials you fancy using. Please do take a COVID lateral flow test before coming, and if you can wear a mask. Accessibility statement for the Lockon: https://bit.ly/LockonAccessInfo If you have any specific access needs not covered by this, please do reach out to us.

Zine rejigging session
Sunday 23 November 10:30am-1pm
The Lockon

Have you read our zine Bad Environmentalisms?
Well, we’re remaking it. Come with us for a fun meta-textual crafty adventure!
You can read it at orca4el.com/zine-2025

UFFC A community of campaigners advocating for and supporting bereaved families following a death in state custody

You can find out more about the campaign on their website at uffcampaign.org
Or on their various socials, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter

The march is a great way to show solidarity with those families directly but there's much more work that needs to be done

The Realities of State Racism A speaker from Forensic Architecture gave insight into the realities of state racism They told stories of trials they’d been to, of how they were in much smaller courts with few to no public observers Judges show clear bias towards police defendants, and media outlets smear the names of the victims, branding them as dangerous criminals deserving of death In a country which alleges to have abandoned capital punishment, the state works hard to excuse and protect those who routinely murder its own citizens

The annual march this year had a lot of great speakers, the majority of whom were those that had lost someone. They spoke about their struggle and the realities of state racism and we wanted to share some of our key takeaways.

More than just Police and Prisons State violence and the carceral system aren’t confined to the prison system and murders by cops Speakers told stories of medical neglect, their family members left bleeding and injured while “first responders” chased down “suspects”, or handcuffed before being given first aid State violence includes the recruitment of racialized minorities to the police, where they’re left adrift amid abuse and used as a tool to whitewash the police’s reputation The underlying systems are racist, not just the police and courts. Until that changes, it doesn’t matter how many cops are ever tried for their crimes, the violence will continue

State Violence and Medical Services A recurring theme of the day was police responses to mental health crises Time and again stories were told of people in crisis who needed medical attention and mental support encountering police after calling an ambulance lack of training or care leads to those police escalating the situation to violence, unnecessarily using tasers and restraints on vulnerable people This extends to those incarcerated, who are routinely failed by prison staff, with many committing suicide in their cells when they were supposed to be under supervision

UFFC has been active for over two decades. Composed of those families directly affected by the sharp end of state violence, it exists as a support network for families who have lost loved ones, supporting them in their search for justice.

Supporting the victims of state violence A group from ORCA went to the United Friends and Families Campaign’s march October 25th The UFFC has been active for over two decades, comprised of families who have lost loved ones to state violence working to support each other in seeking justice Every year they march from Trafalgar Square to Downing Street There were lots of amazing speeches on the realities of state violence, and what can be done about it, here are some of our key takeaways

What We Need To Do More numbers at the march is good but it isn’t enough The march is an important way to support the families directly affected, but there’s more that needs to be done 1 Support the People’s Tribunal State prosecution has routinely failed the victims of police killings. The people’s tribunal plans to take group legal action, with the aid of international organisations, to bring the perpetrators to justice 2 Give time or funding to the campaign UFFC does a lot more than march; it’s a network of support for those directly affected by state violence. They need volunteers and funding to keep providing that support 3 organise in your local community In a time of increasing racism and state violence, it’s important to know your community and organise collectively to protect each other. Find out what’s happening in your area and how you can offer your support

On Saturday 25th October a group from ORCA went to London for the annual United Families and Friends Campaign (UFFC) march.

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY IS NOT THE FIRST, NOR WILL IT BE THE LAST

Since the EHRC put out their (now-retracted) interim guidance, several uni societies and sports clubs have jumped the gun in implementing measures excluding us from participation.

WE MUST RESIST HATE THROUGH ACTION

“Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take everyone on Earth to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale. [...] There will always be times when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it. I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate. [...]” --Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Good night everyone. May tomorrow bring us more justice and some peace.

The University of Cambridge, rather than resisting the ongoing, nationwide campaign of exclusion & marginalisation of trans people in accordance with its professed principles of equality, diversity & inclusion has chosen to advance it through the shameful intimidation of undergrad student committees

This continues a now well-established pattern in which the University of Cambridge pretends to stand for intellectual exchange, democracy, and equality - but engages with its own students and staff through lies, deception, and threats.

The exclusion of trans people from rowing in Cambridge is only one moment in a national attempt to segregate us from the rest of society. It did not start here and will not stop here.

TLC AND FRIENDS DISRUPT CAMBRIDGE BOAT RACE

Here's our statement:
Today we disrupted the University IVs Regatta races, preventing most of the boats from competing. By putting out an inflatable boat into the water for the duration of the racing afternoon, we left rowers unable to race.

There can be no “sustainability” while capitulating to tyrants, genocidaires, and oil barons.

See our website for more info: orca4el.com/no-oil-no-ar...

ORCA sees CISL for what it is, an attempt by capitalists and colonialists to cushion the blow of their murderous and imperialist actions in the Global South and for the university itself to hide its culpability in genocide and environmental devastation.

This includes profiteers of the apartheid regime in occupied Palestine, the genocide in Sudan and the Congo, and the facilitators of land-grabs in the Middle East and North Africa, with many of those companies having strong relationships with Trump, Israel’s Likud party, and the Saudi royal family.

Through its deliberate attempts to greenwash the colonial actions of its partners, a coalition of major multinational polluters, imperialists, and arms companies, CISL operates as a PR firm to capitulate to and justify the violent colonialism of some of the most vicious and destructive corporations.

Picture of the "Entopia Building", home of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, on Park Terrace in Cambridge. The brick wall has text "No Arms, No Oil, No Empire" in a stencil font. A hand-written "Free Gaza" can be seen below.

NO ARMS NO OIL NO EMPIRE

On Friday 24th October a group of activists representing ORCA tagged the office of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), the University of Cambridge’s premier greenwashing operation.

Today is International Day of Action on Big Biomass, we're joining @environmentalpaper.bsky.social @stopburningtrees.bsky.social & groups globally to call on governments to Cut Subsidies Not Forests​. Take action: tinyurl.com/yz8p2rxx #CutSubsidiesNotForests #AxeDrax #BigBadBiomass #StopBurningTrees

Greenwashing in action Ambler Metals in a joint company between Trilogy Metals and South32. South32 is a multinational corporation with head-quarters in Perth, Australia. They are issued from the splint in 2015 of BHP Billiton, that you might know for their very long environmental degradations and human rights abuses. South32 is part of CISL’s Corporate Leaders Group, a networking place for corporate execute with a slight touch of sustainability in the name. There, they convienne and discuss with other massive extractive companies such as Anglo-American. CISL’s greenwashing allow South32 and Ambler metal to justify their position as critical mineral producers.

This project is US imperialism, extractivism and destruction of indigenous people land and lives. This is enabled by CISL’s greenwashing of mining. Cut all ties. Followed by the campaign logo (CISL, Sustinable Lies? Cut All Ties), and the ORCA logo

CISL's relationship with South32 is a good exemple of Greenwashing: the need for 'transition minerals' in order to transition to renewable energies. CISL helps propagating the narative that justify the extraction of more and more minerals from the ground, destroying people's land on the way.

A defense project The US department of war has announced a partnership with Ambler Metals for strategic metals. They are going to be used to build more and more sofisticated killing machines. The US government has also announced a 15% investment in Trilogy Metals, one of the 2 parent companies of Ambler Metals. Trump also wants to make some money out of this. This Project is US Imperialism.

This project has already attracted the US DoD, is promising be only helpful to make more wars to extract more resources

Harmful to the Land The road would cross and impact 11 major and hundreds of minor rivers, all important to more than 20 species of fish (some essential to local communities). The construction, vehicles, and mines are all liable to pollute the crossed rivers and surrounding wetlands, increasing concentrations of heavy metals like lead. The project was rejected by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in June of 2024 before Trump reversed the decision in 2025.

Harmful to the People The road would cross and impact 11 major and hundreds of minor rivers, all important to more than 20 species of fish (some essential to local communities). A large caribou herd, a major food source for over 40 communities, is set to be heavily impacted with the road crossing their migratory and ranging paths. The plan would also effect local people's ability to hunt and gather key food sources by crossing land important to their survival.

This mining project by South32 will destroy critical habitats in very sparsly populated areas of Alaska. Fishes and caribous habitats will be affected, and with those the native populations that depends on it

Text reads: Cambridge "Sustainable" partner in Trump War Project The background is a open-sky mine, and there are elements of South32 logo

The Ambler Road Trump recently approved the construction of a road to link a new mining district in Alaska. With a map of Alaska, and the new road indicated in red in it. The Road links a highway near Wiseman to the west. We can see that it crosses 2 major rivers.

Trump's mining craze has been in the headlines for a while. But less known are the structures that enables mining corporation to evade public scrutiny.

We wanted to go back on CISL's links to this mining project.

Other types of batteries might be coming but in the meantime people's lives are being destroyed

bsky.app/profile/rebe...

This is a bad take that doesn't take into account how neocolonialism works. See green extractivism in Congo, Chile, etc. See the Xlinks project to extract solar energy from West Sahara to the UK.

Exposed: Top 50 Mining Corporations Driving Global Injustice. New research from People & Planet and the London Mining Network reveals the world’s top mining companies driving social and environmental injustices around the world.

🔍 Our new research with @ldnminingnetwork.bsky.social
shines light on the dirtiest mining companies.

❌ Dispossessing people of their land
❌ Polluting land + rivers
❌ Causing deadly disasters
❌ Association w/ militarisation, conflict + human rights abuses

londonminingnetwork.org/2025/10/tran...

Say No to New AI Data Centre Powered By Drax Drax, the University of York and the North Yorkshire Combined Authority have just submitted a bid to host an AI data centre at Drax, powered by burning millions of trees. The Government recently de...

I just signed a @stopburningtrees.bsky.social petition: Say No to New AI Data Centre Powered By Drax. Sign here: actionnetwork.org/petitions/sa...

Illness, animal deaths and water shortages: life inside Chile’s polluted ‘sacrifice zones’ Allegations of environmental breaches dog Anglo American’s mining operations. Now the company has been given the go-ahead for plans that communities say risk disaster

“We’re living in a sacrifice zone. Anglo American has polluted the water and the air we breathe.”

Glad to see this article published and shining a light on how Anglo American's mining operations are impacting the communities we work with in Chile 👇
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

🚨 REFORM. DISTRUPTED. 🚨

Tax Nigel's super-rich mates out of existence!

Reform members violently assault Abolish Billionaires activists as we call Farage out.

No amount of masquerading as a man-of-the-people can hide the reality, Nigel Farage is a billionaire-backed, private school, banker.

Energy giant Drax probed by watchdog over wood sourcing, following whistleblower claims The probe intensifies scrutiny of Drax, which is subsidised by bill payers to burn wood to create electricity - an energy source deemed "important" but whose environmental benefits are disputed.

Drax probed by financial watchdog - more questions for the energy giant that burns trees.

#CutCarbonNotForests

news.sky.com/story/energy...