Overnight on February 6th, anti nuclear activists occupied trees on EDF's proposed new nuclear site west of Hinkley Point in Somerset.  This was in response to intial ground-clearance work being carried out by contractors the day before.

Although EDF have subsequently said that the work being done was only the clearing of dead elms, this is undoubtedly the first stage in preparing for major clearance, since EDF have now been given the go-ahead to begin reducing this beautiful piece of Somerset coastline to a lunar landscape.  They  are being permitted to do this even though it will be 12 months before they will know if they have planning permission for the 2 new nuclear reactors and a radioactive waste dump.  They obviously think this is a done deal!

In response to media interest today, including BBC TV Points West, Somerset Sound and Radio 4, and the Western Daily Press, EDF have also claimed that this stand of oak is not scheduled to be felled as part of the so-called “Preliminary Works”.  However, WSDC Planning Officer Andrew Goodchild has confirmed that this is untrue, and ALL vegetation within the site will have to be cleared in the next 4 to 6 weeks under the aptly named “Phase Zero”.   The nesting season won't be a big problem though, as they have a special license from “Natural England” to destroy the feathered songsters homes.  It seems they have a special license for just about anything!

Money talks, but actions talk louder.  The gallant folk who took command of the situation have acted pre-emptively and spontaneously and are currently few in number.  They are in a net off the ground and “just about” warm enough.  They need ground support – people to just visit them with treats, flasks, and warm words – which will also help defend them by keeping everything in the public eye.  A video camera would be extremely helpful, and maybe more phones.  RIGHT NOW THEY NEED A DELIVERY OF WARM SOCKS.

Image from earlier story. | Full story | Surround and Blockade of Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station 10-11 March | http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/

On Saturday 4th February 2012, The Bristol General Branch (GMB) of the IWW showed solidarity with Fellow Workers in Sheffield by handing out leaflets outside 2 central branches of Pizza Hut, and travelling further out to talk to staff at 3 other sites.

The Fellow Workers in Sheffield belong to Industrial Union (IU) branch 460, which covers all Pizza Hut workers in the UK. They are taking action to try and make the management listen to their reasonable demands:

• At the moment Pizza Hut (UK) staff are paid bank holidays as a normal day, i.e. they are not paid any extra for working, even on Christmas Day or Boxing Day! Staff used to get ‘time and a half’ until a few years ago, when the company took it away.

• Delivery staff, using their own cars, are only given 60p PER DELIVERY to cover petrol costs, and the wear-and-tear to their car, even if the delivery is up to 6 miles away! Despite the rocketing price of petrol, this rate hasn’t gone up in several years. The company promised a review, and a new rate, but has not delivered, so IU 460 have been forced to take action. They are demanding a rate similar to the AA’s recommendation for ‘own car use’ of 45p per mile.

The response from the public was very supportive, with many being shocked at the conditions the Pizza Hut staff work under, especially considering how much their pizzas cost! Over 200 leaflets were taken by the public, and many promised to contact Pizza Hut to express their support for IU460.

Staff at all sites were obviously supportive, and glad to see that their case was being highlighted. We hope to now set up a Bristol branch of IU460 and urge any Pizza Hut workers from any site in the West Country to email us IN CONFIDENCE at bristoliww@riseup.net to get involved.

 
(Mon 6th Feb/ 8pm / £4/3 but nobody refused for lack of funds)

We love our cell phones and the selection between different models has never been bigger. But the production of phones has a dark, bloody side.

"A hardhitting documentary that shows us the appalling price paid in Africa to sate our obession for mobile phones." 4/5 stars (Guardian)

The minerals used to produce cell phones come from the mines in Eastern Congo, home to a civil war that human rights organisations claim is the bloodiest conflict since World War II. By buying these so-called conflict minerals and phones we therefore contribute to the financing of this war, which for the last 15 years has claimed the lives of more than 5 million people, and during which 300,000 women have been raped.

Blood in the Mobile shows the connection between our phones and the civil war in the Congo, and exposes the extent to which contemporary technologies are needlessly perpetuating slavery and child labour in the world today. A speaker will be talking about the issues there too after the screening..

This screening is part of a series of promotional events leading up to the Bristol Radical Film Festival (27th Feb to 4th March), a week of screenings, workshops and debates culminating in a weekend of the best in radical film at The Cube cinema..

| Full article | bristolradicalfilm.org.uk | Festival Facebook Page | Film's website

Hundreds of Bristol activists, and thousands more from around the country are planning to surround and blockade Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset on the weekend 10-11 March to mark the first anniversary of the Fukushima Daichii reactor disaster. Similar actions will be taking place all over the world on those dates as part of a new, growing anti nuclear movement.

Japan, the most technologically advanced country and the world’s 4th largest economy has been brought to its knees by the ongoing events at Fukushima. The reactors that went into meltdown in March 2011 are now melted through, and 40 years of nuclear waste are emitting vast amounts of radiation, which has spread around the globe and is contaminating the whole environment of Japan. The disaster is far from over as more earth quake after shocks continue to destabilise the situation. In desperation the Japanese government is transporting and burning radioactive rubble all over Japan, and exporting highly contaminated food as” aid” to developing countries.

Men, women and children are living in highly radioactive areas but, they are not being evacuated as they should be. This intense radiation exposure will have very serious health consequences for present and future generations. How has Japan ended up in this dreadful situation? They said, “It can’t happen here.” Sound familiar?

Since the first civilian reactor started generating in Russia in 1954, there has been, on average, a major accident every 14-18 years: Windscale 1957, Three Mile Island 1979, Chernobyl 1986 and Fukushima 2011. This is about 1 in 6 chance with the current number of reactors. The more reactors that are built, the chances of major disasters increase. Bristol would have to be evacuated if there is a major accident at Hinkley Point, yet the council have no clear contingency plans in place should such an event take place.