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Protesters target weapons factory
10:12am Thursday 20th March 2008
Eight anti-war protesters locked and superglued themselves to the entrances of a weapons factory today in opposition to the Iraq conflict on its fifth anniversary.
Four demonstrators used arm tubes and a further four used bicycle locks to attach themselves to the entrances of EDO MBM Defence Systems in Home Farm Road, Brighton, East Sussex, at 6.30am.
One of the protesters, Tom Hayes, 29, said: "This is part of an ongoing campaign by us to ask people who work at the factory what has come out of five years of invasion and occupation in Iraq.
"It certainly hasn't benefited the people of Iraq, who will have been left completely traumatised by five years of conflict. It is just the oil companies and factories like this one which have really profited."
EDO designs, develops and manufactures weapon carriage and release systems and is an approved supplier to the Ministry of Defence and governments worldwide.
The campaigners, from Brighton-based Smash EDO, claim the company's products mean it has played a crucial part in acts of aggression by coalition forces in the Middle East.
Smash EDO spokesman Andrew Beckett said: "Our message is that EDO MBM were complicit in war crimes committed in Iraq through the manufacture of vital components used in aerial bombardments.
"The police are on the scene and they have confiscated cameras, apparently to gather evidence of crimes committed. We are hopefully going to be here for the long haul to disrupt the factory for the whole day."
The anti-EDO campaign, which includes local residents, Quakers, peace activists and human rights groups, started in 2004 with a peace camp and since then regular demonstrations have been staged at the factory.
No-one from EDO MBM was available for comment.
A Sussex Police spokesman confirmed officers were at the scene in a monitoring presence.
Your Say YourArgus
s, says...
10:41am Thu 20 Mar 08
Bignose, yupyupyup says...
10:58am Thu 20 Mar 08
s wrote:I'll tell you what's infantile about it. You're protesting the effect, rather than the cause. But that's much easier to do when you don't have the balls to address the real issues.
What's infantile about being against weapon manufacturers???
rb, brighton says...
11:02am Thu 20 Mar 08
s, says...
11:03am Thu 20 Mar 08
Bignose wrote:Why do you think you can't you be against both?
s wrote: What's infantile about being against weapon manufacturers???I'll tell you what's infantile about it. You're protesting the effect, rather than the cause. But that's much easier to do when you don't have the balls to address the real issues.
Bignose, oh boy says...
11:14am Thu 20 Mar 08
s wrote:So, going by your logic, and that of the other "protesters" here, one should beat up prostitutes in order to teach the pimps a lesson.
Bignose wrote:Why do you think you can\'t you be against both?s wrote: What\'s infantile about being against weapon manufacturers???I\'ll tell you what\'s infantile about it. You\'re protesting the effect, rather than the cause. But that\'s much easier to do when you don\'t have the balls to address the real issues.
Yup, that works.
weevil, hove says...
11:45am Thu 20 Mar 08
Bignose wrote:Ooh, more intellectual discussion from the enlightened and informed I see. Philistine.
i don't drink beer. and yes, you should "silence your dissent" as no one wants to listen to whining hedgemonkeys. no one said you should write to MPs. god, what an **** you are. go get "oppressed" so you can feel all self-righteous and stuff. yeesh.
Guns don't kill people, Brighton says...
11:55am Thu 20 Mar 08
Guns don't kill.
If only we were allowed guns it would be a fantastic country, just like Labour's goal of being like the good old USA.
Bignose, tsktsktsk says...
11:56am Thu 20 Mar 08
parker, Brighton says...
11:59am Thu 20 Mar 08
See the connections between EDO MBM parent ITT and war over the last century
ITT=FRANCO and war in spain
supported by ITT communications and US state department
ITT=HITLER (bombing Brighton in 1940 with ITT-Focke Wulf Nazi bombers) Funding Himmler leader of the SS and architect of the holocaust
ITT=PINOCHET(funding Chile 1973 CIA backed coup that killed tens of thousands
ITT=Nixon (bribing the republican party in 1968 to drop legal actions against them)
the list goes on
War is good for business
JOHNBOY, brighton says...
12:08pm Thu 20 Mar 08
parker, Brighton says...
1:06pm Thu 20 Mar 08
In reality its the directors and workforce of EDO MBM who are willfully neglect to wash the blood off their hands.
Number Six, Sompting says...
1:35pm Thu 20 Mar 08
Bignose, War Camp says...
1:40pm Thu 20 Mar 08
weevil, hove says...
2:13pm Thu 20 Mar 08
s, says...
2:36pm Thu 20 Mar 08
Bignose wrote:I'm not a protester, i just didn't understand what was 'infantile' about protesting. It's just freedom of speech.
s wrote:So, going by your logic, and that of the other "protesters" here, one should beat up prostitutes in order to teach the pimps a lesson. Yup, that works.Bignose wrote:Why do you think you can\'t you be against both?s wrote: What\'s infantile about being against weapon manufacturers???I\'ll tell you what\'s infantile about it. You\'re protesting the effect, rather than the cause. But that\'s much easier to do when you don\'t have the balls to address the real issues.
Your example of my logic is bizarre. I'm quite worried about the state of your mental health if the first example you can come up with involves violence towards women.
Bignose, yawn says...
4:36pm Thu 20 Mar 08
I'm not a protester, i just didn't understand what was 'infantile' about protesting. It's just freedom of speech.
Your example of my logic is bizarre. I'm quite worried about the state of your mental health if the first example you can come up with involves violence towards women.
Well, logic would be bizarre to anyone who thinks protesting against a small-time weapons manufacturer will have any effect other than enabling the protesters to say "at least I did something".
EDO is a convenient target. Why not go stand next to Parliament and really break some laws? Why not run for office so you can lobby and vote against going to war in the first place, and pass laws that discourage violence against (yes) women, children, and anyone else for that matter?
Oh right. Because it's far less romantic.
Yawn.
Bignose, Brighton says...
5:08pm Thu 20 Mar 08
Sorry my use of allegory made things difficult for you.
paul, worthing says...
5:27pm Thu 20 Mar 08
Bignose wrote:even better why don't these protestors go out to Iraq and help all these poor people, at least we wouldn't have to pay your dole money!
I'm not a protester, i just didn't understand what was 'infantile' about protesting. It's just freedom of speech. Your example of my logic is bizarre. I'm quite worried about the state of your mental health if the first example you can come up with involves violence towards women.Well, logic would be bizarre to anyone who thinks protesting against a small-time weapons manufacturer will have any effect other than enabling the protesters to say "at least I did something". EDO is a convenient target. Why not go stand next to Parliament and really break some laws? Why not run for office so you can lobby and vote against going to war in the first place, and pass laws that discourage violence against (yes) women, children, and anyone else for that matter? Oh right. Because it's far less romantic. Yawn.
Bignose, worthng says...
7:34pm Thu 20 Mar 08
s, says...
7:52pm Thu 20 Mar 08
Bignose wrote:Thanks for clearing things up "Bignose". I'm not sure that you can lump 'politicians' and 'big oil' together if you want to make your allegory work as they're two very different things. Your use of allegory did make things difficult for me but only because you appear to have problems expressing yourself clearly but please don't feel the need to apologise.
Oh and just to clear things up for you, "s" - "Pimps" mean politicians and Big Oil; "Prostitutes" means businesses like EDO. It wasn't meant to be taken literally.
Sorry my use of allegory made things difficult for you.
s, says...
7:53pm Thu 20 Mar 08
Bignose wrote:Where does it say that they're students or are you just making baseless assumptions?
well put, paul. that way they can give up their student subsidies from the evil goverment they hate so much, too.
Tess, says...
11:26am Fri 21 Mar 08
mnairb, Hove says...
12:08pm Fri 21 Mar 08
Anyway, why Thursday - oh, it must be Giro day, rent-a-cause has to get out of bed to sign on.
Tess, says...
2:29pm Fri 21 Mar 08
Number Six, Sompting says...
4:21pm Fri 21 Mar 08
Tess wrote:Hmm! Highly unique sense of logic there! So presumably there are only Brightonians at this demo. Someone like me from outside your locla community couldn't attend?
Becasue, Mnabir, it is about local empowerment and the importance of holding your own community responsible for its actions through citizen involvement. We are not citizens of Urkutsk. But I sense I am probably loosing you now...
I'm old enough to remember the anti-Vietnam protests in the sixties yet that was nothing to do with this country, far less your local community. Same applies to the demonstrations against China.
JOHNBOY, brighton says...
8:46pm Fri 21 Mar 08
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Foot Pugilist, Glued to a protester to protest infantile points of view says...
10:33am Thu 20 Mar 08