Anti-Capitalists Disrupt Military Security Conference
WEF=DEATH | 31.01.2002 11:26
A group of Anti-Capitalists attempted to force their way into the Air Power 2002 conference at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, W1. Seven demonstrators sounded alarms, set off stink bombs, held banners and distributed leaflets.
The conference, organised by Arms giant Lockheed Martin, is a corporate and military event, dedicated to formulating the latest war strategies and peddling weapons of mass destruction. Participants include: Air Marshal Robertson, Senior Military Adviser, BAE Systems UK; General Joseph Ralston, USAF, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, SHAPE; Lieutenant General Walter Jertz, German Air Force, Director Reaction Forces; Major General David Deptula, Director, Air Force Quadrennial Defence Review, HQ USAF, Pentagon.
The occupation co-incides with enormous anti-capitalist mobilisations against the meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in New York and the 37th Annual Munich Security Conference in Germany. At a time when many are claiming that September 11 has pacified or destroyed the anti-capitalist movement, today’s occupation, alongside the Argentinian uprisings, and the thousands demonstrating in the USA and Germany, shows that the agenda of war, forced famine, criminalisation of refugees and the expansion of the capitalist economy, will continue to be resisted.
This week’s meetings of the elite, in London, New York and Munich, are being held under the guise of increasing ‘our security’ in the wake of recent world events. Whose security? ‘Security’ in this context means security for those in power to continue to accumulate, terrorise and subjugate. What ‘security’ will the conferences offer a Bolivian small farmer who cannot afford bread or fuel; a sweatshop worker in the Philippines; an Afghani family whose home is a crater thanks to US and British bombs; the unemployed youth in the suburbs of Paris; an asylum seeker at Campsfield or Woomera detention centres; the striking thousands in Britain, and those forced to choose between low-wages or constant harassment on the dole? What is really being offered by their so-called ‘security’ conferences?
Solidarity with all those fighting for a world without bombs, bosses or borders!
From Manchester to Munich, Birmingham to Buenos Aires, Kabul to Kiev, New York to New Delhi we echo the cry, “Away with all of them” (quote from Argentina in Spanish first then translated into English).
The occupation co-incides with enormous anti-capitalist mobilisations against the meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in New York and the 37th Annual Munich Security Conference in Germany. At a time when many are claiming that September 11 has pacified or destroyed the anti-capitalist movement, today’s occupation, alongside the Argentinian uprisings, and the thousands demonstrating in the USA and Germany, shows that the agenda of war, forced famine, criminalisation of refugees and the expansion of the capitalist economy, will continue to be resisted.
This week’s meetings of the elite, in London, New York and Munich, are being held under the guise of increasing ‘our security’ in the wake of recent world events. Whose security? ‘Security’ in this context means security for those in power to continue to accumulate, terrorise and subjugate. What ‘security’ will the conferences offer a Bolivian small farmer who cannot afford bread or fuel; a sweatshop worker in the Philippines; an Afghani family whose home is a crater thanks to US and British bombs; the unemployed youth in the suburbs of Paris; an asylum seeker at Campsfield or Woomera detention centres; the striking thousands in Britain, and those forced to choose between low-wages or constant harassment on the dole? What is really being offered by their so-called ‘security’ conferences?
Solidarity with all those fighting for a world without bombs, bosses or borders!
From Manchester to Munich, Birmingham to Buenos Aires, Kabul to Kiev, New York to New Delhi we echo the cry, “Away with all of them” (quote from Argentina in Spanish first then translated into English).
WEF=DEATH
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Full conference inormation..
31.01.2002 12:32
visit
for further details or, here are a load below from the site, including a full conference programme
La Lucha sigue!
Love and Rage
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CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
31 January - 1 February 2002
Royal Lancaster Hotel, London, UK
Air Power 2002 - The Political Choice
Conference Programme
Day One Programme - 31 January 2002
0900 Chairman's Opening Remarks
Air Marshal 'Black' Robertson, Senior Military Advisor, BAE SYSTEMS, UK
0910 Keynote Address
Air Chief Marshal Sir Anthony Bagnall, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, MoD, UK
[A general 'scene-setter']
SESSION 1 - AIR POWER AND POLITICS
Session Chairman: Major General Kenneth W Hess, Commander USAF, 3rd Air Force, RAF Mildenhall, UK
0925 AN ACADEMIC VIEW
Air Marshal Sir Timothy Garden, Visiting Professor, King's College London, UK
[An academic view of the politics associated with air power and its use]
0950 THE MILITARY ASPECT
General Joseph W Ralston, USAF, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, SHAPE, Belgium
[A military view of the political utility/politics associated with the use of air power, drawing on personal experience in as far as this is possible - or free rein!]
1015 Open Forum Discussion
1030-1100 Coffee & Exhibition
SESSION 2 - THE INDUSTRIAL ANGLE
Session Chairman: David Gould, Deputy Chief of Defence Procurement, MoD, UK
1100 THE QUADRENNIAL REVIEW/US DEFENCE REVIEW
Major General David A Deptula, Director, Air Force Quadrennial Defence Review, HQ USAF, Pentagon
[A summary of the outcome for the military of the QDR/US Defence Review]
1130 THE US AEROSPACE INDUSTRY TODAY & TOMORROW
Tom Burbage, Executive Vice President & General Manager JSF, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, USA
[The impact of the new US administration on specific programmes, on Lockheed Martin and on the US industry in general]
1200 POLITICS AND THE EUROPEAN AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
Stephen Henwood, Group MD - Programmes, BAE SYSTEMS, UK
[A similar look at the current and future of the European Aerospace industry from the BAE SYSTEMS angle]
1230 Open Forum Discussion
1245-1415 Lunch & Exhibition
SESSION 3 - PRACTICALITIES, POLITICS AND AIR POWER
Session Chairman: Air Vice-Marshal R A Wright, Assistant Chief of Staff, Policy & Requirements Division, SHAPE, Belgium
1415 AN AUSTRALASIAN PERSPECTIVE
Dr Alan Stephens, Royal Australian Air Force Historian, Australia
1435 A GERMAN VIEW
Lieutenant General Walter Jertz, German Air Force, Director Reaction Forces Air Staff, Germany
[What the future holds for the German Air Force]
1455 Open Forum Discussion
1410-1540 Coffee & Exhibition
1540 THE POLITICIAN'S RESPONSIBILITIES
Bruce George MP, Chairman House of Commons Defence Committee, James Gray MP, Shadow Defence Minister and Paul Keetch*, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Defence
1640 Open Forum/Panel Discussion
1700 COCKTAIL RECEPTION SPONSORED BY BAE SYSTEMS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air Power 2002 - The Political Choice
Conference Programme
Day Two Programme - 1 February 2002
SESSION 4 - PROGRAMMES UPDATE
Session Chairman: Air Vice-Marshal Nigel Day, Capability Manager (Strike), MoD, UK
0900 Keynote Address
General de Corps Aerien Michel Fouquet, Commandant CDAOA, France
(A discussion of the French Air Force today and in the future, and of the political influences on its size, shape and capabilities)
0925 EUROPEAN PROCUREMENT IN PRACTICE
Lieutenant General Ben Droste, Former Chief of Staff, RNAF, The Netherlands
[A discussion of the European procurement process, with specific reference to the Dutch replacement fighter issue]
0950 Open Forum Discussion
1005 - 1035 Coffee & Exhibition
1035 MAJOR PROGRAMMES UPDATE (Including Eurofighter)
[A run through the status of major MoD programmes, including Eurofighter (20 mins), provided by Air Commodore Chris Harper, Air Commodore Eurofighter, RAF Strike Command, UK; Gripen (20 mins) and Brigadier General Jan Andersson, Deputy Inspector General, Swedish Air Force, Sweden and UK MoD (20 mins), Air Cdre Al Hudson, Director Equipment Capability (Deep Strike), MoD, UK
1135 JSF UPDATE
Brigadier General Jack Hudson USAF, Programme Director JSF, USA
1210 UNMANNED SYSTEMS UPDATE
Bob Mitchell, Vice President Advanced Systems Development, Air Combat Systems, Northrop Grumman Corporation, USA
(An industrial look at major unmanned systems)
1235 Open Forum Discussion
1245 - 1415 Lunch & Exhibition - Sponsored by Eurofighter International
SESSION 5 - CRISIS MANAGEMENT
Session Chairman: Rear Admiral Scott Lidbetter RN, AOC 3 Group, RAF Strike Command, UK
1415 THE DECISION PROCESS
Dr Edgar Buckley, Assistant Secretary General Defence, SHAPE, Belgium
[Political control over military operations in a crisis]
1440 THE TARGETING CONUNDRUM
Air Commodore Mike Heath, Director of Targeting & Information Operations, MoD, UK
[Matching military aspirations to political will]
1505 Open Forum Discussion
1515- 1545 Coffee & Exhibition
1545 DELIVERING CAPABILITY
Air Chief Marshal Sir John Day, Commander-in-Chief, RAF Strike Command, UK
[The capabilities the RAF brings to the solution of political crises]
1615 Open Forum Discussion
1645 Chairman's Closing Remarks
1650 - CLOSE
Notes:
1. Names in bold are confirmed.
2. Names with * are expected to confirm.
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Sabo Tagit
well done people
31.01.2002 12:48
Captain Moonlight
They think it’s all over
31.01.2002 13:02
They think it’s all over
The last activist has now left the Royal Lancaster Hotel, after over an hour inside.
The hotel is rumoured to have a rather nasty smell about it, and the walls are allegedly decorated with slogans such as “Murderers are here” and “WEF=Death”. There were no arrests, although some people were assaulted by security guards.
There will be a demonstration outside the hotel during the conference tomorrow (Friday 1 Feb) at 12 noon, near Lancaster Gate tube.
WEF=DEATH
A bit late
31.01.2002 15:35
At 1130 am the last activist was removed from the Royal Lancaster Hotel, after spending over an hour inside.
The hotel is rumoured to be rather smelly and the walls are allegedly decorated with slogans such as "Murderers are here today!".
There were no arrests, although a few people were assaulted by security guards.
There is a demonstration outside the conference tomorrow (Friday 1st Feb) at 12 noon, Royal Lancaster Hotel, near Lancaster Gate tube.
WEF=DEATH
Away with All Beasts!
02.02.2002 00:59
In fact, why not launch some water-balloon "cruise missiles" at their cocktail parties, just to let them have a small taste of what their "smart bombs" can do to disrupt innocent civilians' lives.
Danny
you did us proud
02.02.2002 12:59
ginger