Protesting LDPS' toxic actions, in kind

Fiction Portal Intergalactic Summit
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The outrageous targeting of civilians on Intaki V by Lai Dai Protection Service and associates has attracted widespread condemnation. This is naturally from Intaki, Federation and Mordu’s Legion, but also by Caldari interests. After all, Ishukone has a Caldari lease for the Intaki system and LDPS’ planetside war crimes are not conducive to capitalist exploitation.

Seeing as though Lai Dai is not listening to diplomatic protests, some of us have decided to take a different kind of protest to them. Recently, under 3000 m3 of Thukker Tribe (radioactive) toxic waste have been delivered for sale at markets on all LDPS stations. More is on the way, with the aim to make these markets costly to keep safe for market participants and LDPS employees alike. Over time, we hope to make LDPS stations into the radioactive waste dumps of New Eden.

LaiDaiPSToxicWaste
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[Ledger courtesy of EVEMarketer.com]

The toxic waste has been put on sale at relatively high prices so LDPS would incur a loss were it to buy the waste to sell at another location. For LDPS to simply remove the waste stockpiles would be a breach of valid market contracts, and will attract legal action before the Caldari Business Tribunal unless LDPS forces depart Intaki V.

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Update: non-violent direct action works. Now on to frustrate Lai Dai’s next move against Intaki.

New Eden Today YC121/08/09 22:06

  • Lai Dai Application to CBT for Exemption from State Economic Guidance on Toxic Waste Disposal Denied
  • Breaking : Lai Dai Corporation “Studying Options for Relocating Toxic Waste to Conflict Zone Sites”
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That pretty much spells out “We’re now going to dump it on Intaki V because screw you, that’s why”, probably accompanied by petulant smashing of a priceless Achuran vase or two.

Guess I’ll need to throw together a list of cleanup crews available for hire. Or kick some ISK the way of someone who’ll do that before me.

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If by works you mean ‘creates an even bigger problem for the people of Intaki’.

With all due respect to those behind this, what did you think Lai Dai would do with all that waste? Did you not think that they would consider weaponising it by dumping it on the planet they are invading?

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Mme,

Lai Dai could perfectly well put the waste in secure containers and launch those on low-energy orbits towards the respective stars. It would be their responsibility alone to haul the stuff several jumps away and use it to dirty-bomb civilian populations or locations.

If you’re trying to suggest any kind of moral equivalence, it falls flat. Their suggested response is simply not commensurate with the economic damage and loss of face they may have suffered as a result of our actions.

You can rest assured we will do our utmost to hinder Lai Dai’s attempts to harm Intaki V, and will retaliate if it comes to that.

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I’m not sure how you say that’s ‘working’, since Intaki is part of the ‘conflict zone’. Seems they’re just looking at using Intaki as a pilot program for poisoning more worlds. Heck, the plan probably involves ‘the Federation will take them back at some point, and they can pay for the cleanup then’.

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Also, doesn’t “nonviolent direct action” usually mean something like holding protest marches or nonviolently moving a bunch of people into their offices for a few days or something?

Trying to effectively poison the places people live and work (“mak[ing] LDPS stations into the radioactive waste dumps of New Eden”), the vast majority of whom don’t set or advise on policy, seems a bit more like, well, terrorism.

It’s not nonviolent at all. It’s physically threatening.

I don’t think LDPS is correct in the way they’re responding, either. Relocating radioactive waste into conflict zones seems irresponsible at best, and makes it pretty clear that LDPS doesn’t have the local people’s interests even slightly at heart. If it deploys it to Intaki, it’s a particularly petty way to respond.

That said, it seems like it’s of a piece with a quietly-emerging procedure for dealing with capsuleers generally: we ourselves are functionally immortal and legally nearly untouchable. The same can’t necessarily be said for the people we care about, however.

That doesn’t seem like it leads good places either, though. “Cross us, and your home will suffer” isn’t going to be an effective tactic against everyone, and whether it works or not the cruelty is obvious however I look at it.

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Right now Ishukone is at least partly responsible for clean-up. This whole situation is liable to make for some interesting politics within the Caldari State.

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Right now. So Ishukone drags their feet a bit, and both megas just wait to see if the Fed can get their act together enough to retake Intaki. They’re about due.

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I said “with the aim to make these markets costly to keep safe”, not unsafe. There is a difference. We complied at all times with reasonable hazmat handling procedures. And LDPS advertises their ability to stock toxic waste for sale at their facilities.
SupplyLDPS
It is a matter of volume, forcing LDPS to handle more of the stuff than they are comfortable with at a time when they probably don’t intend to handle any of it. It is economic damage, not terrorism.

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I’m sure your wisdom would ring true if you were at all involved in the situation beyond mere criticism, Miss Jenneth.

I’m curious if you’re aware of the irony in this statement given the implications of our investigation into Lai Dai’s potential dealings…?

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Now, reasonable women can disagree about the definition of non-violent. But it can also involve people chaining themselves to fences or railings so that removing them involves more than a burly security guard or three dragging the offenders away. Putting the toxic waste for sale at LDPS locations at about 4 times the sale price the host would use for their own stuff is akin to chaining yourself to the railings.

Leaving toxic waste lying around in open containers in a hangar would be reckless endangerment, but that’s not what I did. Also, station management could just confiscate the stuff in that case. But as it is, they have to pay me 20 million if they want to relocate it.

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Or they could leave it in your hangars where it’s your responsibility, and if anything happens, sue you for damages.

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I sort of expect my “wisdom” would be compromised by strong opinions if I were, ma’am.

On the contrary, I’m dealing with it as of-a-piece. But there’s no proof as of yet that those connections are real. They could be just a manifestation of how interconnected New Eden’s become, in which case someone might simply have noticed that threatening capsuleers’ homes gets at least some results in a way that threatening the capsuleers themselves generally doesn’t.

It’s a worrying tactic, whether it’s being used in a focused, organized way by a single group (or consortium of similarly-minded groups) or not.

This is your second rebuttal to the same post, ma’am. I guess you can see how a course of resistance focused on concentrating supplies of, let’s face it, very nasty, hazardous waste material might give people the wrong idea.

So, let’s take your intended course entirely at face value and say that you’re basically just looking to stress the financial and logistical resources by increasing the supply of something a little dangerous at their facilities. You’re just creating a strain on the system. Avoiding an accident is their problem. At worst, in order to avoid a spill or similar accident is scrupulously manage the increasingly expensive and problematic mass of material-- and, if it gets to be too much, they can always buy you out.

Okay, fair enough, only, consider how that looks to an outsider such as myself? Especially since all any of that stuff needs to become a very nasty aerosol chemical weapon and/or “dirty bomb” is something almost every capsuleer also routinely has in their inventory in bulk? To wit, explosives?

When a hazmat company’s workers start doing stuff like you’re describing, maybe it’s direct nonviolent action. I could even see a holdup like that as a worker protest tactic. But, when it’s a weapons dealer doing it. . . .

We are all of us, almost every single one, weapons dealers, typically with crates of explosives stacked to the ceiling. Even if you don’t actually have anything that could be used as a detonator anywhere near that stuff, the natural assumption is that you very easily could, at any time and without notice.

The ingredients are all in place. Even if you never, ever make a move towards doing such a thing, there’s a plain subtext that you could.

It’s not quite as neutral an act as chaining yourself to some machinery.

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Having spoken with Valerie in person, I can attest that she is a very kind, empathetic person who deserves the benefit of the doubt on this course of action.

I may not agree as to how effective this course of action will be but I know that it comes from a place of genuine concern and, if nothing else, it certainly has helped keep the plight of the Intaki people in the minds of the cluster at large.

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Thank you Ange, I appreciate that.

You know as well as I do that the court of public opinion is merciless. I hope you find the inner peace that you seek.

Namas :pray:

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Seeing as though Lai Dai will no longer be running rampage on Intaki Prime

I have taken my toxic waste away from LDPS stations.
Aysurvaral loqonadalt! Remain vigilant!

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