South East England – Page 22

GM Round-Up: Ready? Global sabotage the answer

Despite the European Food Safety Authority and of course Monsanto declaring MON 810 maize to be safe, Germany and France in Spring of this year banned the cultivation of this genetically modified crop. It was the only GM crop permitted in Germany. There are very active opposition movements in both countries – ripping up GM crops both at night and by day, occupying fields were it was due to be planted and other wide-scale protests.

In June in Germany, two hundred and seventy apple trees on a trial site owned by the Institute for Breeding Research on Horticultural and Fruit Crops of the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) in Dresden-Pillnitz were destroyed by unknown intruders. Most of the trees were genetically modified plants being grown in tubs in a special safety tent under field-like conditions. It is the first time that protesters have destroyed plants that were not being grown in the field.

According to a press release by the JKI, the tent fabric was cut open and all of the trees, which were about seven years old, were either snapped by hand or cut with pruning shears above the graft. The institute estimates the cost of the damage to be around EUR 700 000. Around ten years of research work has been destroyed.

Meanwhile, in Spain 80,000 hectares of GM maize are grown, mostly in Zaragoza and Catalonia. Thousands of people took to the streets this Spring to protest against Spain being the GM dustbin of Europe.

The UK government continues to spout recycled (from 10 years ago) industry nonsense claims about feeding the world, solving climate change and generally saving humanity. Scottish and Welsh politicians remain opposed to GM however.

In the UK BASF – who have been trying to grow GM potatoes over the last couple of years – didn’t bother this year. There have been critical reports over their antibiotic-marker GM potatoes, and the company is preparing itself for a hostile takeover bid. More info: decision not to plant this year | takeover threat

However, there are claims that a trial was grown in secret, and a Welsh GM industry-funded farmer continues to try to provoke through claiming to grow GM.

In April in Poland, anti-GM campaigners from GMO-Free Poland went on hunger strike for 3 weeks, wringing a minor concession out of the government.

Protest in India against GM corn led to a large number of arrests, with 35 arrested in other protests there against GM rice.

And on 19th August 2009 in Iceland, genetically-modified barley, which was being grown for experimental purposes in Gunnarsholt, south Iceland, by start-up company ORF Liftaekni, was damaged by a group of activists in the early hours of Wednesday. There will be no harvest this fall. The CEO said: “For a small company like ours, which is struggling in the difficult innovation environment, this is a serious matter.” The group of activists, which calls itself Illgresi (Weed), sent an anonymous email to the media, claiming responsibility for the sabotage.

Trouble at Vestas picket – HELP NEEDED!

9.9.2009 6pm
Police and security guards have descended in large numbers on the Vestas protest camp and appear to be attempting to break up the workers’ and supporters’ blockade. There has so far been one arrest -help is urgently needed!

We have received reports that large numbers of police have descended on the campsite/blockade which is being maintained by Vestas workers and their supporters outside the Vestas factory in Newport. There have been two arrests so far and the situation is expected to continue to escalate over the coming 24 hours or so.

Any supporters who can make it down to the Island and offer help of any kind are urgently requested to do so – check out savevestas.wordpress.com for details of how to get to the factory – or call 07950 539 254 for more info.

Vestas blockade – help urgently needed on the Isle of Wight – new camp update

Workers and supporters at the Vestas wind turbine factory in Newport on the Isle of Wight are attempting to stop the remaining blades being shipped out of the factory. This is the only leverage the workers, who have been hung out to dry, really have left against the company.

Here’s the latest from the Vestas campaign blog:

http://savevestas.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/i-see-no-ships-no-vestas-blades-will-move-from-newport-isle-of-wight-today/

“No boats today. Day one of the blockade was a success. Vestas did not try to move any blades. We are calling on activists to come and participate asap. We’re drafting a press release tonight.

“I know, a million questions flow, but we will have to wait a little longer. I imagine they are very busy down there – many of them for months now. Could do with reinforcements, so if you can free up a couple of days in the next week to go and help it would be priceless. I know it is a big ask but there are good reasons for asking it.”

See the blog for more details, travel info, etc:
http://savevestas.wordpress.com/

Site phone:
07935 868 009

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VESTAS WORKERS FIGHT ON FOR 600 JOBS
JOIN US ON THE BLADE BLOCKADE

Vestas has started rapidly shipping their remaining blades from stock in Southampton to the USA. At least two ships carrying 90 blades each have sailed from Southampton recently. Our best information is that Vestas may try to ship out the wind-turbine blades left in their Newport factory in the Isle of Wight in the coming days.

Protesting against the movement of those blades, and of the moulds which Vestas also wants to move, is the chief leverage that the workers have with Vestas. The occupying workers who were sacked must be reinstated with full redundancy paid. The government talks about 400,000 green jobs in the next five years – let’s make it start with Vestas. Just as importantly we believe that these blades should be used here in the U.K..

Around 10 blades, worth three quarters of a million pounds, were unfinished on 20 July when workers occupied the St Cross factory, to resist closure, and bosses sent home workers from the Venture Quays for fear that factory would be occupied too. Now the blades have been finished.

On Friday 4th September at 7am, workers and around 30 supporters from the mainland set up a camp to blockade the Marine Gate and prevent the blades being removed from the factory.
We have two hours notice about barges leaving Southampton, giving us this time to mobilise. The barges could come twice a day as it has been normal practice in the past for the barges to come and collect blades during the night also– the only time they don’t move the blades is (ironically) when it’s windy.

It is possible to win this campaign, if we keep up the momentum.
Support the Vestas workers – email savevestas@gmail.com
Pressurise Government: email Mandelson: www.bis.gov.uk/contact-us/ministers-l
Complain to Vestas through vestas-celtic@vestas.com or call 01925 857 100
Pass a resolution of support in your trade union or organization.
Encourage people to visit, or can pay for transport and expenses of those supporters who maintain the picket.
Send a donation payable to ‘Ryde and East Wight Trades Union Council’ to 22 Church Lane, Isle of Wight, PO33 2NB
For more information: www.rmt.org.uk. http://ventnorblog.com/topic/vestas-sit-in/ -a local news site with videos.

JOIN US ON THE BLOCKADE
With this blockade in place we now have the power to prevent the blades being moved out onto the barges. The new marine gate camp is an inspiring place to be and is a very welcome addition to the well-established Magic Roundabout Solidarity camp at the main gate. There is plenty of place to camp with a great view of the river. We are running a variety of workshops, locals are very supportive and the fireside chats each evening are inspiring. Come down and see for yourself. Bring friends and family.

Climate Rush On Tour

4th September 2009
The Climate Rush started on a one month tour of South West England at Sipson, making a procession to Heathrow Airport this morning with local residents to oppose the building of the third runway.

I was pleased as a fairly local resident opposed to further development of Heathrow to be able to join the Climate Rush and their two carts and three horses at Sipson this morning. Slightly less pleased that my own trusty steed, a 13th birthday present from my oldest brother many years ago, punctured a few hundred yards short of the Airplot site where they had been camping over night.

Greenpeace bought the Airplot site in the middle of the site for a third runway at Heathrow and invited everyone to join the plot as a beneficial owner, alongside the four legal owners, “Oscar winning actress Emma Thompson, comedian Alistair McGowan and prospective Tory parliamentary candidate Zac Goldsmith and Greenpeace UK.” You can still sign up for your small piece of the site at http://www.airplot.org.uk/ , and I think most if not all of us there today have already done so. The hope is that it will make it harder for the development of the site to go ahead.

I first photographed the opposition to the further development of Heathrow in 2003, when local residents organised a march (pictures at http://mylondondiary.co.uk/2003/06/jun.htm) against the proposal for a third runway, and have attended and photographed a number of protests since.

I grew up in Hounslow under the main flight path a couple of miles from touchdown where my parents had lived since the 1930s. Although I was a plane spotter at an early age, we all realised the havoc aircraft noise was creating in our lives, even back in the 1950s. I still sometimes have nightmares about planes going over in flames (as they sometimes did) and crashes, although since Terminal 4 blocked one of the existing runways (Heathrow used to have six runways) planes no longer take off or land over my present house to the south west of the airport. Noise is still however a problem – as it is for perhaps a quarter of Londoners. We often – almost continuously on summer days – have planes making steep turns on full power shortly after take-off blasting the peace (the airport authorities usually deny it ever happens, but they clearly talk total nonsense much of the time.)

My sister lives at least twice as far from the airport as me, but the noise there is often unbearable. Even very much further away, at Vauxhall, noise is still a problem, as you can see from a recent film by Jason N Parkinson – http://jasonnparkinson.blogspot.com/2009/08/film-under-flight-path-crossroad.html

Back in the 1950s we knew Heathrow was in the wrong place, only gaining permission for development by pretending it was needed for military use (always a deliberate lie.) Every further development there has always been obtained by underhand means. When T4 was built, they gained permission by promising they would never ask for a further terminal. At the enquiry for T5, they said they would never ask for a third runway. Were they to get away with this runway (and hopefully they won’t) it would not be long before they tried for another.

Heath Row was some of the best agricultural land in Britain. It and the surrounding area was the site of some of the oldest settlements in the country – long before the Romans came – for that very reason. Many of its prehistoric sites have been lost, some under the airport, others under other developments. My grandfather had a market garden and an orchard not far away, and Cox’s Orange Pippin, the finest of all dessert apples, was first recognised as a chance seedling and cultivated by Richard Cox a mile or so down the Bath Road around 1825. Around the Airplot site are apple trees of various varieties, both eating and cooking apples, and we also ate damsons from a nearby tree.

Sipson to the north of the airport was one of several Middlesex villages I used to cycle through as a kid, although development since then has been a little harder to it than some. Neighbouring Harmondsworth, also to be destroyed if the third runway goes ahead, has rather more of its original charm, with a village green with a pub and church and, a few yards away, one of the finest medieval tithe barns.

The procession left from the Airplot site, led by local residents from NoTRAG, ( http://www.notrag.org/) though most were at work today – more were expected later in the day and at the ‘Celebration of Community Resistance’ in Sipson tomorrow. Suffragettes (including a ‘token’ male) wearing ‘Deeds Not Words ‘ and ‘Climate Rush’ red sashes carried three banners, Justice, Equity and Truth; Equity travelled on a horse-drawn cart along with a violinist.

The banners read:
JUSTICE: Rich Countries Must recognise historic responsibility for climate change.
EQUITY: Emission quotas must be per capital; the rich have no more right to pollute than the poor.
TRUTH: Emission caps must be set in line with the latest climate science.

We went south down Sipson Road to the Bath Road, and across it onto the Heathrow site, turning to walk along the Northern Perimeter Road outside the perimeter fence. There we were joined by a police car, which helpfully stopped traffic for us. A few hundred yards along we were unsure of our route, and Tamsin Omond who was close to the front of the procession, rushed across to ask the police how we could return to the Bath Road.

Once we were off the airport site the police left us and we made our way back up Sipson Way and Sipson Rd to the Airplot site. Altogether we had walked around two and a quarter miles, and the horse pulling the cart hadn’t even raised a sweat. It was time for us – and the horses – to eat some of the apples. A couple of the suffragettes climbed a tree to pick some more, but they turned out to be cookers. The kettle had been hanging over the embers of a wood fire and a few more sticks soon brought it to the boil for tea.

Later events in the day included a childrens’ activity session, a tea-party with local residents and an evening of music. Activities continue on Saturday before the Climate Rush moves on – at walking pace – to Aylesbury for events there from 8-11 Sept and continuing at other places on their route to Totnes by the end of the month. Details are at http://www.climaterush.co.uk

Come to a Picnic

A Family Picnic Day to Stop Tesco Building at Titnore Woods, in West Sussex.

On Tuesday 22nd September, we will meet at 12 noon at the roundabout in front of the existing West Durrington Tesco Extra. It’s the where Romany Road joins New Road. At about 1230 we’ll move to a better picnic site in the fields behind the Tesco car park, where building work for the new Tesco has begun. Bring food to share and anything else that you think will help make the point that we don’t want Tesco destroying our landscape and our communities! Please tell your friends and bring them along.
The protest camp is nearby and they welcome visitors and donations.

http://www.titnore.wordpress.com

Police raid eco-protest camp

16.08.2009
POLICE bullies have invaded Camp Titnore near Worthing and intimidated the protesters, who have been peacefully occupying the threatened Durrington woodland since 2006.

Coming just a few weeks after Tesco got permission for its disgusting new abomination on neighbouring fields, it is feared this heralds an all-out attack on the camp by the usual unholy alliance of profiteering capitalist scum, corrupt local authorities and the taxpayer-funded thugs-in-blue.

Strong rumours are circulating that Worthing Borough Council planners are to meet very soon to give the final go-ahead for the 875-home housing development at Titnore Woods and that the camp will be cleared by force before work starts, possibly as soon as October.

The campers are appealing for all those who have supported them during their three-year marathon protest to make the effort to come and visit them now – before it is too late – and show the authorities that they cannot mistreat them with impunity as they enjoy public backing.

If people can go and stay at the camp for any amount of time, no matter how small, that would obviously be even better.

The latest police raid on the camp came under the the pretence of a “health and safety check”. Up to 18 tooled-up ‘officers’ intimidated the environmentalists with video cameras, as they were in-terror-gated. This included a young woman with a 4-year-old child who was visiting friends at the camp. The police then search and video’d all areas of the camp despite being told to leave the campers’ home.

Clearly even after all the criticism of the police by government ministers following their behaviour in London in April they are still out of control.

The campers now expect more harassment in order to get them to give up and leave.

Warning of a possible move to give the housing development the OK imminently, campaign group Protect Our Woodland! says: “A lot has to be done in a very short time. First please could you sign the petition at: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/TitnoreWoods/ and ask all in your address book to do the same. Next it is still very important to send an e-mail of objection to the council, please find all the details at www.protectourwoodland.co.uk then if you’ve still got the energy write to the papers.

“Yes we know there’s been very little reporting in the local papers – except for the Tesco part of the development – that’s because editors get fed up with the same old suspects writing in endlessly. So let’s see if a new hand will get results. All the details are on the website.”

Meanwhile the campaigning Durrington and Northbrook Times reports that work on the massive new Tesco Extra will start tomorrow, Monday August 17, with residents’ concerns bulldozed out of the path of the monster that they like to call progress.

It reported in a special email bulletin:

“At a public meeting in the Durrington Community centre, Robert Curtis Project Manager for builders Kier revealed that although disturbance to local residents would be kept to a minimum there would be some inconvenience.

“He admitted to a stunned audience, that one maximum weight multi-wheeled truck would have to come through the existing Tesco car park every 7 minutes as negotiations had broken down with the owner of land north of Fulbeck Ave, previously earmarked. The route to the car park indicated on the handout was through residential roads such as New Road (From the Lamb) and Romany Road.

“It was further revealed that apart from rainwater harvesting NO other sustainable features are to be incorporated. Not even one solar panel.

“So there we are then, our council has allowed this mega rich conglomerate to build a shed that will be a blot on the landscape, create a traffic nightmare, destroy local residents right to breathe clean air and enjoy peace and quiet. Thank you councillors you will be remembered at election time.

“What a shame not one reporter from either the Worthing Herald or Argus felt it necessary to be present to report on this. However you can rely on The Durrington and Northbrook Times to report what’s going on to residents.”

http://www.protectourwoodland.co.uk/tea.htm

Vestas Rooftop protesters to head down to NIMBY MP’s office

Vestas Rooftop protest to move to local MP constituency offices on Friday morning

Press statement- Thursday 13th August 4.30pm

After being on the roof for eleven nights, rooftop protesters will descend from the Vestas factory in East Cowes tomorrow morning (Friday) at 11am. They will then take the protest to the local MP Andrew Turner’s constituency office in Newport.

Vestas Rooftop protest to move to local MP constituency offices on Friday morning

Press statement- Thursday 13th August 4.30pm

They say: ‘Despite the green rhetoric from the main political parties, the truth of their attitude is apparent where green jobs are allowed to be lost and local MP Andrew Turner actively opposes a wind farm on the Isle of Wight. This typifies the NIMBY attitude which is blocking the progression of on-shore wind in the UK.’

‘Andrew Turner’s justification for the opposition to Wind power on the Island includes a statement that having a windfarm on the Isle of Wight would have no effect on the Vestas work force,(1) when in fact it is the cumulative effect of decisions like these which effects demand for wind power in the UK and has directly let to the closure of Vestas with the loss of over 600 jobs.’

Timings for photo and interview opportunities;

7.30 am We will be available for interviews over the phone from this time Telephone 07944 744922.

11am Protesters will abseil down from the side of the Vestas building, Columbine Road, Venture Quays, East Cowes, Isle of Wight and, alongside vestas workers, will be available for media interviews.

1pm – We will be at Andrew Turner’s constituency surgery requesting to talk to him on camera, to discuss his objections to Wind power on the Isle Of Wight, and his stance on NIMBYism

There will be a photo and interview opportunity at this time.
Address: 24 The Mall, Carisbrooke, P030 1BW
tel. 01983 530808

Rooftoppers Email address: vestasrooftop@googlemail.com
Telephone on the roof: Martin: 07944744922

Notes to editors:

1) Based on Andrew Turners response to windfarm application: ref. TCP/27774,P/01400/06)
paragraph begining: ‘I do not accept that a convincing…’
Copies of which will be available tomorow.

EF! summer gathering – exact location, travel info & updated workshop programme announced; coal-blighted communities visit

Earth First! Summer Gathering, 18th-24th August 2009, Cumbria

Never has halting the destruction of our planet been so important… Learn how to make them stop!

The gathering this year will be held at Seathwaite in the beautiful Borrowdale. The site is right in the heart of the Lake District and surrounded by mountains, streams and tarns. The nearest train station is Penrith. More detailed directions, public transport, walks & cycle rides to the site

Workshop programme in a variety of formats

Earth First! Summer Gathering, 18th-24th August 2009, Cumbria

Never has halting the destruction of our planet been so important… Learn how to make them stop!

Workshop programme in a variety of formats

WHO
Earth First! is a network of people and campaigns who fight ecological destruction and the forces driving it. We believe in doing it ourselves rather than relying on governments or industry. Direct action is at the heart of what we do, whether we’re standing in front of a bulldozer, shutting down an opencast mine or ripping up a field of GM crops.

Join us for 5 days of workshops, networking and planning actions at a low impact eco-living camp organised non-hierarchically

WHAT
Planning actions and campaigns, meeting and sharing skills with others who care. Over 80 training workshops plus games and evening fun:
• Learn skills for direct action. Tree Climbing, Orienteering, Security for activists, Legal briefing, Escaping public order situations, street medics – first aid, self defence, Boat blockading using kayaks, radio procedures and rock abseiling.
• Network your campaign against ecological destruction. opencast mining, genetic engineering, agrofuels, dam-building, hunt-sabbing, climate actions, oil pipeline resistance, road stopping, anti-whaling, squatting, rainforest protection.
• Learn about ecology, ecocentric ethics and alternatives to the corporate world of exploitation.
• Practical skills for ecological restoration and sustainable living, field trips and hands-on work.

YOU
We are all crew! This is your gathering come prepared to help run the camp and contribute to the programme. Contact us in advance with ideas for workshops, help with organising the gathering, come early to help setup the site or stay on for a couple of days for takedown.
If you can help get in touch!

BRING
Bring tent and sleeping bag. You can either cook food for yourself or for £4 per day chip in with collective cooking of delicious vegan organic food. There’ll be quiet sleeping areas, toilets and running water, a children’s space and spaces for workshops and info stalls.
Veggies will provide vegan cake and snacks. Children and young adults welcome with subsidized meals.

Arrive Tues pm. Workshops from Wed am until Sun pm.

Loads of campaigns are taking to the water in defence of the planet, like at Rossport where Shell are trying to lay onshore pipelines and the Great Rebel Raft Regatta at last summers climate camp. This summer’s EF! gathering will be building on these tactics with training in water based actions.

An excursion to visit communities in the North East threatened by an expansion of coal mining on Monday 24th August. Visit beautiful valleys and strong spirited communities and make links for ongoing resistance.

We aim to make the site as accessible as we can please contact us in advance if you have special needs, questions or concerns.

WHERE
The site is near in the Lake District, Cumbria. The nearest train station is Penrith and there is a bus service to the site, there are car and living vehicle spaces outside the camp.

Dogs: We are fortunate this year to be able to accommodate well behaved owners with dogs on leads but think about whether your dog will feel comfortable in workshops. Please call beforehand so we know numbers.

Cost: £20 – £30 according to what you can afford. We are not for profit all extra cash goes to help fund next year. Under 14’s free.

For more info contact us at :
summergathering@earthfirst.org.uk
www.earthfirstgathering.org.uk

Flotilla against new Bradwell nuclear reactor sails on Essex coast

On Sunday, 9 August, a flotilla of 20 boats, many with colourful banners saying ‘Save the Blackwater estuary and ‘No to new nuclear’ and flying yellow and white sheets from their masts, sailed from West Mersea and other locations on the Blackwater to Bradwell. The 50 or so sailors on board were protesting against the new nuclear power station and highly radioactive nuclear waste store proposed for the Bradwell site.

Several of the boats sailed along the West Mersea shore in front of protesters and holiday makers before heading over to Bradwell and anchoring in front of the old station.

Some of the sailors landed on the Bradwell beach and asked those who were there enjoying the beautiful weather to sign the BANNG (Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group) petition. The petition asks the Government to reject the proposal to build a new station and demands that the old station site be returned to greenfield within 25 years of closure, as originally proposed, and not the 100 years it is reported it will now take.

Varrie Blowers, the Secretary of BANNG said: ‘We believe that what is proposed would have a detrimental impact on the environment and marine ecology of the vulnerable Blackwater estuary, particularly on its oyster, fish and huge overwintering bird populations. The estuary is a beautiful amenity which is enjoyed by sailors and members of the public alike. All those who love and fear for the Blackwater need to protest at these proposals.

BANNG believes that the Bradwell site is particularly unsuitable for a new nuclear power station and waste store. As well as being on a shallow estuary, it is liable to flooding and increased incidence of storm surges as a result of climate change. We are particularly opposed to the production of yet more highly radioactive spent fuel which would have to be stored on site for more than 100 years, when there is not even a solution in prospect for dealing with the wastes that already exist’.

Charles Clark, who organised the vigil, said: ‘The vigil is the second in a series of protests organised by BANNG. The first, before Easter, drew attention to the impossibility of evacuating Mersea Island in the event of a nuclear incident. The purpose of Sunday’s vigil was to draw attention to the potential impact of the proposals on the Blackwater estuary itself. We were very pleased with the turnout of boats and sailors and the positive reaction of people on the Bradwell beach to the petition’.

For further information about BANNG and the petition contact Varrie Blowers (Tel.: 07932.644482).

We want to highlight:

* Environmental damage to the Estuary foreshore, wildlife, pleasure and commercial fishing and local oyster industries
* Potential restriction on access for recreational use to the Estuary and its foreshore
* Long term on site storage of highly radioactive waste
* Increased health risks to surrounding population resulting from toxic waste and from the lack of long term evacuation plans for the surrounding areas
* Negative Visual impact of the new facility and the retention of the former station

Climate Activists occupy roof of 2nd Vestas factory!

4.8.2009

4.8.2009
Climate activists have occupied the roof of the Vestas turbine factory at Venture Quays, East Cowes, Isle Of Wight, in solidarity with workers occupying a factory in Newport. The protestors have hung a banner above the Ferry Port saying: “Vestas Workers – Solidarity in Occupation. Save Green Jobs,” and issued the following statement:

This Cowes Week, tens of thousands of people have come to the island to use and celebrate the free, abundant, and natural power of the wind. At the same time, workers at Vestas are struggling to keep Britain’s only wind-turbine blade manufacturer open. Factories in East Cowes, Newport and Southampton are being closed with the loss of over 600 jobs, and hundreds more in support industries like Gurit, devastating not only green promises but the Isle of Wight local communities.

Now the people are saying enough is enough. At Newport dozens of workers are in the second week of their factory occupation with messages of support coming in from around the world. These courageous people are showing more vision and commitment to the future of jobs, communities and our planet than all the do-nothing business and political leaders put together.

In the face of man-made climate-change, keeping these workers with their unique specialist skills is as urgent for powering a sustainable future as it is for the for the island communities. But the government which was so quick to nationalise Northern Rock and pour billions into the ailing banks has so far done NOTHING to protect the future of Britain’s wind-power generation, despite their recent pledge to invest in “Green Jobs”.

Vestas meanwhile are leaving their workforce high and dry, with peanuts in redundancy pay and little hope of work, while they make off with the £76 million profits they made in the first quarter of 2009 out of their non-unionised workforce.

The Venture Quays roof occupation is in support of Vestas workers demands. We say,

– Take Vestas factories into public ownership, under workers management
Re-instate all workers, including those sacked while in dispute
Invest in developing wind-power in Britain
Retool the Vestas plant to produce for Off-Shore Wind Generation

This dispute comes in a period of crisis, both economic and ecological. The economic crisis has already seen a million people losing their jobs while banks ask for hand-outs, with massive cuts and tax rises on the horizon. On top of that, unless we act quickly, the ecological crisis of climate-change will threaten the very future of human life. Motivated by greed and paralysed by fear, our rulers seem incapable of responding. Instead, the lead is coming from below.

Working people are increasingly standing up and staying put. Occupation by not only workers but local residents is becoming a default option. This year we have seen occupations at the Visteon factories in Enfield and Belfast, schools occupied against closure in Glasgow and Lewisham, a London care-home, Thomas Cook in Dublin and now Vestas. People have been dis-empowered for too long!

Listen to the Vesta workers song “Boys on the Balcony” at http://www.seizetheday.org

http://savevestas.wordpress.com