Experiments with truth: 11/3/09
- In San Diego, three single-payer health care supporters were arrested Monday after protesting outside the Mission Valley office of Blue Shield of California. Three others were arrested at a sit-in yesterday in St. Louis outside of Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield as part of the same campaign, organized by Mobilization for Health Care for All.
- Five peace activists were arrested Monday for entering a naval base in Bangor, Washington as part of a Plowshares action. The activists cut a hole in a fence to access the base. As they walked onto the grounds of the base, they left a trail of blood and hammered on the roadway and fences, and scattered sunflower seeds throughout the base. The base is used to service Trident nuclear missiles carried by US submarines.
- Following a landmark referendum, students at the UK’s Sussex University in Brighton this week voted to boycott Israeli goods.
- In the UK, 1,500 Unite union members at Fujitsu have voted in favour of striking in protest at planned cuts to jobs, pay and pensions.
- A union of workers at Greece’s largest commercial port has called a strike today and tomorrow to protest a concession to the Chinese company Cosco Pacific, saying the deal will lead to job losses.
Great blog! But… um… I live in Maine and I’m pretty sure there isn’t a naval base in Bangor. There are two naval bases: Brunswick Naval Air Station, which has just closed… and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard… which is technically in New Hampshire… but that’s a subject of debate between the two states. Portsmouth does dock submarines, so I’d say that’s a good bed… but no where near Bangor.
There’s also Bath Iron Works, a private ship building company which contracts with the Navy in Bath. There’s also the “top secret” SERE base hidden somewhere up in the North Woods, but that’s a training facility for combat pilots who’ve been downed behind enemy lines. Cutler Naval Station is on the coast in Washington County… but it’s just about abandoned. If anything is left, it’s just a radar or some communication equipment, probably staffed part time by civilians or the coast guard.
I’d like to know the original source of the report about the protesters breaking into the nuclear facility.
Thanks so much Jeremy. I got it from Democracy Now!, and they made the same correction on their show today. It was really my fault though, because I was sent the press release by one of the participants who I’m friends with. And I just didn’t catch that. I’m changing it now!
More here: http://plutopress.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/why-boycotting-apartheid-israel-matters/
I was one of the students at Sussex involved in the campaign. Glad that the news is spreading.