Fairford protestors news release

Click read more for the press release that I was sent from the Fairford protesters - a protest I have been covering on this blog. I would welcome answers to the challenges the protesters pose to the arms industry? How do they counter arguments that depleted uranium breaches the Geneva conventions?

Protesters were furious with the organizers of the Fairford Air Tattoo for implementing the type of censorship that would normally be expected in some of the worst dictatorships. At the Fairford Air Tattoo protesters handed out nearly 10,000 leaflets to highlight the culpability of the military industrial complex in preventing international climate change agreements and also to highlight the impact of depleted uranium.

Clearly somewhat angered that this pinnacle event of corporate and military glorification was being challenged, the Tattoo management  stationed security staff behind the ticket inspection points to remove the leaflets from visitors in a blatant attempt to implement the type of censorship that would normally be expected from the dictatorships that we despise around the planet and who we frequently wage war on. See first post of : http://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=34422&start=75 for evidence

But what option did they have, the issue with depleted uranium could hardly be more important and more wrong. Its use is in violation of the Geneva Convention and the Environmental Modification (ENMOD) agreements and some of the most senior politicians in the UK and USA along with some of the most senior military commanders could find themselves subject to extended periods in prison, the costs of clean up will bankrupt the UK and US economies, the conclusion that it leads to about the extreme danger of low level radiation makes the safety case for nuclear power virtually untenable with the present technological solutions and finally without the immense military advantage of depleted uranium weapons, we would not be able to wage war as indiscriminately as we have to secure the amounts of fossil fuel that we need to destroy our climate.

The only issue that is more important that depleted uranium is the imminent threat of runaway climate change which the sponsors and corporations at this event clearly do not want to acknowledge. Airbus for example, who have a big presence at the show,  are actively selling A380 Super Jumbos as private jets in defiance of all the science and evidence on climate change.

It was also interesting to observe the Saudi Hawk display team being at the same event that announced a £7.2 billion sale of Typhoon fighter jets to India. Saudi Arabia is biggest provider of funds to the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan and thus represents the biggest security threat to India. By supporting both side of a potential conflict in this way, the Air Tattoo demonstrates the moral bankruptcy of the arms industry.

In tribute to Saudi, we offer Beethoven, that well know anti-military campaigner who fought hard against the corruption that subsequently enveloped the Napoleonic regime:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtZ_7RVNm9I

Notes:
1. See also http://kevsclimatecolumn.blogspot.com/2011/07/fun-and-games-at-fairford-air-tattoo.html for a video dairy of the protests.
2. A star attraction at the Air Tattoo was the A-10 ground attack plane, which is specifically designed to fire depleted uranium munitions.