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Fluent anti-DSEi action in Sheffield

Sheff IMC | 02.09.2003 19:50 | DSEi 2003 | Anti-militarism | Technology | Sheffield

Around twenty people took action against Fluent Ltd, a computer modelling software company on an industrial estate next to Sheffield airport today.

Fluent deal in Death
Fluent deal in Death


The company makes software for a range of industries from food and environmental to oil and nuclear. However the protest was specifically about Fluent's use of software for airflow modelling of missiles. Their web site claims they are "the largest commercial CFD software supplier in the world" and have "a broad client base in the Aerospace and Defense Industries".

They also intend to exhibit at the highly controversial DSEi arms fair in London next week.

Four people barricaded themselves inside the revolving doors using door stops inside to stop the doors rotating. Two more used bicycle D-locks to lock themselves to the doors by their necks to the same door. Anyone entering the building was forced to do so via the backdoor so whilst this didn't stop work at the building it did make a powerful symbolic protest.

Three more people climbed up onto the canopy above the main entrance and hung a banner: "Fluent Deal in Death". Other folk handed out leaflets about Fluent's involvement in the arms industry. Several police cars arrived fairly shortly after the protest started at 9 am though the police were fairly chilled saying the protest could continue if work was not stopped.

The protest ended around 11.15 but not before local press and a TV cameraman had visited the scene.

Fluent later claimed that someone had switched off the air conditioning which could have damaged computer systems and that someone else had broken a glass panel on the building.

All in all a successful action and nice way to spend a few hours in the sun.

Sheff IMC

Comments

Hide the following 12 comments

excellent :-)

02.09.2003 21:43

Can't tell ya how
pleased
I am!

To
hear

of yet another

*WICKED*
*AUTONOMOUS*

ACTION!! :-)


woohoo! Well done y'all.

v.pleased


Not impressed

02.09.2003 23:06

Oh FFS. Fluent sell generic fluid mechanics software. What are you going to do next: picket a spanner manufacturer because they happen to sell some spanners to Lockheed?

 http://chris.croome.net/photos/2003/0902/064_Fluent_Deal_in_Death_Sm.jpg.63.html - "Really nasty bombs, buy them here": what a bag of total shit.

It's also nice to know that while happy to harrass a small local software company the protestors aren't slow to give their money to enormous distant megacorps and then wear their branded clothing to give them free publicity:
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/images/2003/09/276378.jpg (McD's)
 http://chris.croome.net/photos/2003/0902/042_Fluent_Deal_in_Death_Sm.jpg.41.html (GAP).

Badger


A small local software company?

02.09.2003 23:45

Badger claims that Fluent are a "a small local software company" ... well that is not the impression that their global web site gives:  http://www.fluent.com/ also the Sheffield office is their European HQ:  http://www.fluent.com/worldwide/europe/ ...

However, I don't think this actually matters (how big they are as a company or the lables on peoples clothing) -- the point is that this company are an exhibitor at DSEi -- check this for yourself:  http://www.dsei.co.uk/exhibit_list_2003.htm

Perhaps Badger's baiting is because s/he is not happy that there will be protests against DSEi?

 http://www.dsei.org/

 http://www.sheffieldagainstwar.org.uk/articles/anti-war-lyrics/bob-dylan-masters-of-war/

snowball


global to local

02.09.2003 23:54

dear not impressed,this "small local software company"
is to exhibit at DSEi, europes largest arms fair.
d'you have any idea how much that costs and who
the clients then are?

well if you are not impresed then so be it. There
certainly are companies more involved in the
direct building and sale of weapons, that's for
sure.





pie


the issue is end use

03.09.2003 10:16

some clear examples of end product use
 http://www.fluent.com/solutions/examples/x175.htm
 http://www.fluent.com/solutions/examples/x4.htm

and their involvement with US military
 http://www.fluent.com/about/news/newsletters/00v9i1/a8.htm
one senior type worker on the day said they had contracts with the MOD

don't forget... their freinds in the oil industry
 http://www.fluent.com/solutions/oilgas/articles.htm

Local company...my ass check their international offices
 http://www.fluent.com/worldwide/index.htm

muke


well done people

03.09.2003 11:07

mr badger mate these people are dealing in death thats how thay get there income and there not small etc.. there are plans for them to expand there vile death trade at sheffield airport.. this meaning more crapp jobs for the locall people who at the end of the day (ie job seekers allowance) will be forced to take this employment.. more pollution at j33 the moust poluted part of sheffield.. i say well done those people and more should have been done to close them down not just to highlight there vile trade of death.. but for the day as this is where it cost people like this in the pocket.. hit there profitt make them think.. sad the frontline workers are effected true.. but idd sooner them be unemployed than haveing to undertake such crapp work in death of there own class the working class.. i can not express my joy at this action and it gets my 100% plus suport well done those people.. keep up the presure make scum like this pay..

mozaz

mozaz
mail e-mail: actforpeace@yahoo.com


get 'em worried

03.09.2003 14:52

Nice action.

Don't matter how big or small the company is - would be nice to get to a stage that all would-be exhibitors at DSEi worry about it making them a target for protest.

Every weapon and delivery system is just a collection of components put together. And every manufacturer of components has to take the blame for the end product. Nobody forces this company to sell their products to the defence industry do they?

Lets show these people up for the nasty, shady, profiteering arms dealers they really are.

All these companies like to pretend that they make nice neutral stuff really, and it just happens that some of the stuff they do is used in arms. Smiths Aerospace after a recent action tried to make out to the local press that it 'just does hydraulics'.

They forgot to mention that its their specialist hydraulics and electonic systems that keep things like F-16s and Apache helicopters and guided missiles in the air. Fairly crucial to their effectiveness as weapons you would have thought.

So - yet another good pre-dsei 'warm up' action. Can't wait for the main event.

la la bo


Well done - a thoughtful and effective action.

05.09.2003 17:29

It inspires me to do something to stop those who profit from killing.

Persistant actions against businesses and financial intitutions that do will eventually save innocent lives

Well done!

Lazy B


well done

06.09.2003 15:28

glad you did this. keep up the good work. if the police are going to make the excel centre a no go zone throughout dsei by implementing various sections of the terrorism act (ironic that!?) then targeting individual companies might definitely be the way forward - still get local press interest to raise profile of anti-dsei protests and easier because of the relatively low security.

ian


Guilty as Charged!

06.09.2003 16:02

This is no company inadvertantly and indirectly entangled in the arms industry, but one that deliberately and directly deals with merchants of death. Well done for protesting it, and I'm sure a few of the companies employees will have had their consciences tweaked if nothing else. I believe this kind of relentlessly truth telling will prove to be a key long-term strategy in closing down the international arms industry.

Yakoub
- Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/yakoub0001/index.html


Other fluid simulation applications

14.09.2003 19:49

Are you really too ignorant to understand what CFD (computational fluid dynamics) really is - just a piece of (admittedly very clever) software - like Excel or Quattro Pro or Netscape even.
What about the excellent work done with Fluent (and by Fluent staff) on blood flow in arteries and heart valves (rather more ethical than experimentation on animals) or sewage treatment processes or smoke movement during fires or the spread and movement of oil slicks and other pollution.
Maybe the application of CFD (and there are lots of CFD codes out there) to military applications pays the bills to allows these other areas to progress.

Pops


End doesn't justify the means

15.09.2003 11:24

Putting the profits to a "nice" use doesn't justify generating them by dealing in death in the first place.

Sure, CFD has lots of beneficial applications, as you mention. If it were being exhibited at, say, a medical exhibition I'd be happy. But that doesn't mean we should remain silent when it's being promoted as a military tool at an arms fair!

Z