"Greenpeace ends balcony protest at BP headquarters." ---------------
On Thursday 20th of May, two campaigners linked to the organization of Greenpeace protested against the oil spill in the Golf of Mexico. The two men unfurled a flag at the balcony in the headquarters of BP London showing the company's logo smudged in oil and the words "British Polluters". Six others held banners as they greeted staff at a side entrance on the ground. The goal of the protests was to point at the big distance between the bright green logo of the company and their real life consequence for the (once?) bright green planet.
From the side of Greenpeace we could hear: "BP has taken huge risks to pump oil from ever more remote places, while slashing investment in the clean energy projects that could actually help reduce our dependence on oil and beat climate change." From the side of BP: “the company has no objections to peaceful protests as long as they did not interfere with members of staff carrying out their work.” The protests ended peacefully with no police intervention. ---------------------------
A balcony protest at BP's London headquarters over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has ended with no arrests.
Two Greenpeace campaigners who unfurled a flag showing the company's logo smudged in oil and the words "British Polluters" came down unassisted.
Six others held banners as they greeted staff at a side entrance on the ground.
Oil has been spewing into the Gulf since the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on 20 April, which killed 11 workers.
'Investment slashed'
A Greenpeace spokesman said the protesters chose to come down because they had "made their point".
He told the BBC: "This is the start of a sustained campaign and not the last they'll hear from us.
"We wanted to draw attention to the discrepancy between BP's bright green logo and the reality of operations in places like the Gulf of Mexico." A Greenpeace protester with BP security staff Protests at BP's headquarters in central London have been peaceful
Earlier, one of the protesters, Ben Stewart, 36, from north London, said: "The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico can be traced back to decisions made in this building.
"BP has taken huge risks to pump oil from ever more remote places, while slashing investment in the clean energy projects that could actually help reduce our dependence on oil and beat climate change."
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said officers were called at 0500 BST to the building in St James's Square, central London, but made no arrests.
Earlier reports suggested the activists had gained access to the roof, but their protest did not get beyond the balcony above the front entrance.
The rig, owned and operated by Transocean, had been working on behalf of BP.
A BP spokeswoman said the company had no objections to peaceful protests as long as they did not interfere with members of staff carrying out their work.
She added: "BP is doing all it can in the Gulf of Mexico to fight the oil spill on a number of fronts - sub-sea, on the sea and at the shoreline."
BP says it has been funnelling about 3,000 barrels a day from the well to a tanker ship, using a mile-long (1.6km) tube. --------- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8693778.stm
zhangyu Protests stall BA talks as strike looms -------------- British Airways cabin crew can go ahead with strike action, originally planned to start this week, after their Unite union won an appeal 20/05 against a High Court injunction. British Airways, one of the largest airlines in Europe, was granted an injunction on 17/05 after the High Court ruled Unite, representing the cabin crew, had not reported results of its strike ballot correctly to members. ------------- Talks between British Airways and the union representing its cabin crew came to a halt Saturday after protesters stormed the building where negotiations were being held, a BA spokesman said.
The talks, which were aimed at at heading off a series of three planned strikes, had been ongoing for five hours, the spokesman said. Police were forced to escort BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh away from the scene, he said.
Asked whether the talks would resume, Walsh told the BBC Sunday: "I would hope so. I am expecting ACAS to try and facilitate talks, they've done a good job so far."
The two sides were meeting at the central London headquarters of ACAS, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, when a crowd of demonstrators broke in and disrupted proceedings.
"No one was injured and the parties left the building safely but ACAS regrets that, as host to the parties, such an incident should have occurred," the group's Chief Executive John Taylor said.
"It was disappointing that talks broke up in this way and we are already in touch with the parties to endeavour to restart the discussions," he said, adding that security arrangements would be reviewed. British Airways cabin crew plan to strike for five days from 11 p.m. GMT (7 p.m. ET) Sunday. Two other strkes are scheduled soon afterward, all part of the union's long-running dispute with BA over pay and working conditions. Have you been affected? Send stories, video, images
"I believe that there is a window of opportunity this weekend for a negotiated settlement to be achieved." ACAS chief conciliator Peter Harwood said in a statement given to Britain's Press Association. "If an agreement is not reached this weekend, there is every possibility that additional pressures on both sides will ensue which will make a final resolution more problematic."
The Unite union, which represents almost all of BA's 15,000 cabin crew members, went on strike over the issues twice in March, grounding flights and causing travel chaos for thousands of passengers across the globe. Talks since then have failed to resolve the dispute, leading Unite to call the strikes this month and next.
BA's reputation in a tailspin
Unite initially planned a series of four strikes, with the first one to have started May 18, but BA won an injunction that halted them. Unite won an appeal against the injunction a few days later and vowed the remaining three strikes would continue as planned.
Unite Joint General-Secretary Derek Simpson said Saturday a resolution was possible, hinting that the only sticking point remained BA's revocation of travel perks for those staff that went on strike in March.
He said the outcome of Saturday's talks was in the hands of Walsh.
"We can reach a settlement here, but he's got to turn around and remove those vindictive, petty sanctions," Simpson told Sky News.
BA has said it will implement contingency plans that will allow it to fly more than 70 percent of its customers during the first strike. It plans to operate all flights from Gatwick and London City Airports and more than half of its schedule from Heathrow, its main hub. --------------- http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/05/23/uk.british.airways.strike/index.html?hpt=T2
Japan PM Hatoyama apologises over Okinawa U-turn (May 23, 2010) --------------------------------------
Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama went to Okinawa to apologize for rebuffing his election promise to remove a US military base. Last month, thousands of Japanese demonstrators gathered in Okinawa, demanding removal of the base as chanting "Hatoyama go home."
The base has been stationed in Okinawa since the end of the second World War to guarantee regional security. US troops presence, however, has been highly criticized among Japanese public as incidents of raping and hellicopter crash happend, provoking anger and anti-American sentiment in the country.
Hatoyama's election promise allowed him and his Democratic Party of Japan to win the election, first since Liberal Democratic Party almost unilaterally reigned for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955.
After hearing prime minister's apologies, local governor Hirokazu Nakaimura said that Hatoyama's decision is "extremely regrettable and very difficult to accept." As upper house of parliament election coming in July, PM Hatoyama's decision to rebuff is likely to further decrease his popularity which is already in decline in recent months. -----------------------------------------
Mr Hatoyama travelled to the island and met local governor Hirokazu Nakaima.
Like many locals, the governor is opposed to the US presence and said the prime minister's decision would be "difficult to accept".
Japan and the US, allies since the end of World War II, say the base is needed to guarantee regional security.
The prime minister promised to move the base off the island during the campaign for last year's election which swept his Democratic Party of Japan to power.
But he said that after holding talks within Japan and with the US, the Futenma base had to remain on Okinawa although it would move to the less populated coastal district of Henoko - in line with a plan announced in 2006.
Humiliating climbdown
He said that the base was needed because the "security environment in East Asia remains fragile", pointing to heightened tensions in the Korean peninsula.
"I apologise to people in Okinawa as I could not keep to my word," the prime minister said.
"I must tell you that your decision is extremely regrettable and very difficult to accept," a grim-faced Mr Nakaima replied.
Outside, demonstrators chanted: "Hatoyama go home."
Last month, nearly 100,000 people staged a protest on the southern island, demanding that the base be removed.
Islanders have been angered by incidents involving US troops based there, including the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Japanese girl and a helicopter crash in 2004.
Other complaints have focused on noise levels and objections to the US military use of Japanese land.
The row has also damaged Tokyo's relationship with the US.
The BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo says it is a humiliating climbdown for Mr Hatoyama.
Our correspondent says the search for an alternative location has proved fruitless.
Polls suggest Mr Hatoyama has been losing popularity in recent months and analysts say this decline is likely to be exacerbated by his U-turn over Okinawa.
Elections to the upper house of parliament are due in July. ------------------------------------
A very down to earth* kind of guy. I'm an environmental sociologist interested in establishing material and organizational sustainability worldwide. I'm always looking for interesting materials/technologies, inspiring ideas, or institutional examples of sustainability to inspire others to recognize their choices now. To be fatalistic about an unsustainable world is a sign of a captive mind, given all our options.
*(If "earth" is defined in a planetary sense, concerning comparative historical knowledge and interest in the past 10,000 years or so anywhere...) See both blogs.
Sam Wijnants:
ReplyDelete---------
"Greenpeace ends balcony protest at BP headquarters."
---------------
On Thursday 20th of May, two campaigners linked to the organization of Greenpeace protested against the oil spill in the Golf of Mexico. The two men unfurled a flag at the balcony in the headquarters of BP London showing the company's logo smudged in oil and the words "British Polluters". Six others held banners as they greeted staff at a side entrance on the ground. The goal of the protests was to point at the big distance between the bright green logo of the company and their real life consequence for the (once?) bright green planet.
From the side of Greenpeace we could hear: "BP has taken huge risks to pump oil from ever more remote places, while slashing investment in the clean energy projects that could actually help reduce our dependence on oil and beat climate change." From the side of BP: “the company has no objections to peaceful protests as long as they did not interfere with members of staff carrying out their work.” The protests ended peacefully with no police intervention.
---------------------------
A balcony protest at BP's London headquarters over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has ended with no arrests.
Two Greenpeace campaigners who unfurled a flag showing the company's logo smudged in oil and the words "British Polluters" came down unassisted.
Six others held banners as they greeted staff at a side entrance on the ground.
Oil has been spewing into the Gulf since the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on 20 April, which killed 11 workers.
'Investment slashed'
A Greenpeace spokesman said the protesters chose to come down because they had "made their point".
He told the BBC: "This is the start of a sustained campaign and not the last they'll hear from us.
"We wanted to draw attention to the discrepancy between BP's bright green logo and the reality of operations in places like the Gulf of Mexico."
A Greenpeace protester with BP security staff
Protests at BP's headquarters in central London have been peaceful
Earlier, one of the protesters, Ben Stewart, 36, from north London, said: "The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico can be traced back to decisions made in this building.
"BP has taken huge risks to pump oil from ever more remote places, while slashing investment in the clean energy projects that could actually help reduce our dependence on oil and beat climate change."
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said officers were called at 0500 BST to the building in St James's Square, central London, but made no arrests.
Earlier reports suggested the activists had gained access to the roof, but their protest did not get beyond the balcony above the front entrance.
The rig, owned and operated by Transocean, had been working on behalf of BP.
A BP spokeswoman said the company had no objections to peaceful protests as long as they did not interfere with members of staff carrying out their work.
She added: "BP is doing all it can in the Gulf of Mexico to fight the oil spill on a number of fronts - sub-sea, on the sea and at the shoreline."
BP says it has been funnelling about 3,000 barrels a day from the well to a tanker ship, using a mile-long (1.6km) tube.
---------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8693778.stm
zhangyu
ReplyDeleteProtests stall BA talks as strike looms
--------------
British Airways cabin crew can go ahead with strike action, originally planned to start this week, after their Unite union won an appeal 20/05 against a High Court injunction.
British Airways, one of the largest airlines in Europe, was granted an injunction on 17/05 after the High Court ruled Unite, representing the cabin crew, had not reported results of its strike ballot correctly to members.
-------------
Talks between British Airways and the union representing its cabin crew came to a halt Saturday after protesters stormed the building where negotiations were being held, a BA spokesman said.
The talks, which were aimed at at heading off a series of three planned strikes, had been ongoing for five hours, the spokesman said. Police were forced to escort BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh away from the scene, he said.
Asked whether the talks would resume, Walsh told the BBC Sunday: "I would hope so. I am expecting ACAS to try and facilitate talks, they've done a good job so far."
The two sides were meeting at the central London headquarters of ACAS, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, when a crowd of demonstrators broke in and disrupted proceedings.
"No one was injured and the parties left the building safely but ACAS regrets that, as host to the parties, such an incident should have occurred," the group's Chief Executive John Taylor said.
"It was disappointing that talks broke up in this way and we are already in touch with the parties to endeavour to restart the discussions," he said, adding that security arrangements would be reviewed.
British Airways cabin crew plan to strike for five days from 11 p.m. GMT (7 p.m. ET) Sunday. Two other strkes are scheduled soon afterward, all part of the union's long-running dispute with BA over pay and working conditions.
Have you been affected? Send stories, video, images
"I believe that there is a window of opportunity this weekend for a negotiated settlement to be achieved." ACAS chief conciliator Peter Harwood said in a statement given to Britain's Press Association. "If an agreement is not reached this weekend, there is every possibility that additional pressures on both sides will ensue which will make a final resolution more problematic."
The Unite union, which represents almost all of BA's 15,000 cabin crew members, went on strike over the issues twice in March, grounding flights and causing travel chaos for thousands of passengers across the globe. Talks since then have failed to resolve the dispute, leading Unite to call the strikes this month and next.
BA's reputation in a tailspin
Unite initially planned a series of four strikes, with the first one to have started May 18, but BA won an injunction that halted them. Unite won an appeal against the injunction a few days later and vowed the remaining three strikes would continue as planned.
Unite Joint General-Secretary Derek Simpson said Saturday a resolution was possible, hinting that the only sticking point remained BA's revocation of travel perks for those staff that went on strike in March.
He said the outcome of Saturday's talks was in the hands of Walsh.
"We can reach a settlement here, but he's got to turn around and remove those vindictive, petty sanctions," Simpson told Sky News.
BA has said it will implement contingency plans that will allow it to fly more than 70 percent of its customers during the first strike. It plans to operate all flights from Gatwick and London City Airports and more than half of its schedule from Heathrow, its main hub.
---------------
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/05/23/uk.british.airways.strike/index.html?hpt=T2
Dasol Lyu
ReplyDeleteJapan PM Hatoyama apologises over Okinawa U-turn (May 23, 2010)
--------------------------------------
Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama went to Okinawa to apologize for rebuffing his election promise to remove a US military base. Last month, thousands of Japanese demonstrators gathered in Okinawa, demanding removal of the base as chanting "Hatoyama go home."
The base has been stationed in Okinawa since the end of the second World War to guarantee regional security. US troops presence, however, has been highly criticized among Japanese public as incidents of raping and hellicopter crash happend, provoking anger and anti-American sentiment in the country.
Hatoyama's election promise allowed him and his Democratic Party of Japan to win the election, first since Liberal Democratic Party almost unilaterally reigned for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955.
After hearing prime minister's apologies, local governor Hirokazu Nakaimura said that Hatoyama's decision is "extremely regrettable and very difficult to accept." As upper house of parliament election coming in July, PM Hatoyama's decision to rebuff is likely to further decrease his popularity which is already in decline in recent months.
-----------------------------------------
Mr Hatoyama travelled to the island and met local governor Hirokazu Nakaima.
Like many locals, the governor is opposed to the US presence and said the prime minister's decision would be "difficult to accept".
Japan and the US, allies since the end of World War II, say the base is needed to guarantee regional security.
The prime minister promised to move the base off the island during the campaign for last year's election which swept his Democratic Party of Japan to power.
But he said that after holding talks within Japan and with the US, the Futenma base had to remain on Okinawa although it would move to the less populated coastal district of Henoko - in line with a plan announced in 2006.
Humiliating climbdown
He said that the base was needed because the "security environment in East Asia remains fragile", pointing to heightened tensions in the Korean peninsula.
"I apologise to people in Okinawa as I could not keep to my word," the prime minister said.
"I must tell you that your decision is extremely regrettable and very difficult to accept," a grim-faced Mr Nakaima replied.
Outside, demonstrators chanted: "Hatoyama go home."
Last month, nearly 100,000 people staged a protest on the southern island, demanding that the base be removed.
Islanders have been angered by incidents involving US troops based there, including the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Japanese girl and a helicopter crash in 2004.
Other complaints have focused on noise levels and objections to the US military use of Japanese land.
The row has also damaged Tokyo's relationship with the US.
The BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo says it is a humiliating climbdown for Mr Hatoyama.
Our correspondent says the search for an alternative location has proved fruitless.
Polls suggest Mr Hatoyama has been losing popularity in recent months and analysts say this decline is likely to be exacerbated by his U-turn over Okinawa.
Elections to the upper house of parliament are due in July.
------------------------------------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10143374.stm