The 'Block the Builders' campaign will be holding their mass blockade when they decide to. Up until that moment, as they say, they will update their website each thursday on the on / off status of their blockade. This has happened again this week.

See  http://www.blockthebuilders.org.uk/action/

So posting on indymedia as was done previously saying "THE" blockade is on (ie implying that the block the builders main blockade that they are working towards is on), is misleading.

That is why someone from block the builders replied saying this is misinformation. They did of course also say that anyone is free to blockade any time they like!

Posting saying well some people are going to do it anyway is not misleading (assuming you do it :-) so good luck to you.

If block the builders post the status of their blockade from their website again, they could be clearer too, and say something like No Block The Builders Blockade this week. easy.

For anyone feeling a bit confused: Block the Builders is not organising a blockade for Monday 14 March.

Of course other groups may be (though perhaps they would identify themselves - or at least provide minimal contact details - so that people knew whether it was true or not, suggest whether there was any legal support, training, transport, how to get there, etc).

Personally I would be really happy to see other groups taking explicitly nonviolent direct action to help prevent building work at Aldermaston (after all, for those of us involved in the women's peace camp, that - and opposing the Trident warhead programme - is what we have being working on for the past 20 years!).

However, construction work has not begun on the facilities (2 x IT buildings, an accomodation building, and the Orion laser facility) for which the MoD have planning consent (these sites are visible from the public highway).

So it is rather unclear what/why anyone would be blockading on Monday.

Again, perhaps the repeated postings which suggest that a blockade *will* be on would provide a bit more info if they were actually true.

No-one has even written to the organise group saying "oh we think you are wrong not to call the blockade for this Monday", never mind evolved (regressed?) into "factions".

Therefore we can only assume this is deliberate misinformation and attempt to drag a few people down there to waste energy and resources.

However, if anyone is seriously organsing a blockade for Monday it would be nice to hear from them (and not just via random and hostile postings on IMC UK, but in a kind of grown-up way - like calling us or writing an email, or sthg).

All we can say is that BtB is definitely not organising one for 14 March. The current system of posting details on Thursday about the following Monday will continue.

An attempt is being made by a small element within the BtB organisation to gain control of the wider movement. As they have access to the website they feel they can dictate what we will be doing. These people DO NOT represent the majority viewpoint.

We, the majority had hoped to avoid having this debate in public but as an attempt is being made to claim "ownership" of the group we feel it is only fair to present the wider picture to supporters.

Just because some building work has not started does not mean there is no building activity at Aldermaston, indeed when some of us where there yesterday we counted 11 building related trucks going into the complex, these we intend to stop.

The Blockade is on, I repeat the blockade is on.

We will be posting pictures here after the event and an alternative website is currently being organised. For those seeking further information please call me on 07770 522398 or email me  James-Tolthan@yahoo.com

Think up another name different to Block the Builders, then continue with your campaign. Then there's no confusion. Don't keep saying "the" blockade is on. Becasue in this way it appears to me to be a dirty tricks campaign, trying to spread confusion and spread a lack of trust. Of course I give you the benefit of the doubt, which is why I say think up another name - it's not as if the world of politics is unused to new initiatives with new names all the time. So you say you will set up your website and continue - great. Then do so, but in the interest of the actual issues here make it distinct from Block the Builders, easy. No need for all this on / off thing.

For some extra information:

The Blockade the Builders event (which btw has come out of Aldermarston Womens Peace Campaign) is about a MASS ACTION at a specific point in time. There are over SEVENTY people who have pledged to risk arrest for this, which will happen when the campaign calls it, and is intended to block all entrances /exists for an entire day. This is very clear.

Repeat this is about a MASS ACTION that people have signed up to support. I'm not sure what you are on about to be honest. "IT" in reference to this specific BTB officially advertised mass action is NOT on this coming monday.

Sure if you want to go ahead and protest before then, then that is your right, so do so. Go take action together with your group. Just be clear in what you are doing and what you are saying.

The latest Block the Builders campaign comments here on Indymedia have been very clear...
- The planned BTB mass action blockade is not on this coming monday
- If others want to protest anyway then please do

It doesn't get any clearer than that! They even said get in touch!

Currently at the moment all you are appearing to do is make a fool of yourself. Now if you go and set up a website and so on and organise protests and actions then fair play to you, really.

And good luck!

I'm afraid it's our old friends the SWP who are attempting to gain control of the organisation. Looks like on this occasion the rank and file are resisting

This is really a good joke. I don't think the SWP/Stop the War would be interested in taking control of BTB, and they would also not have any chance... The groups involved with Block The Builders - as mentioned in another comment, AWPC, Trident Ploughshares, the d10 group - are very unlikely to be taken over by the SWP, or to even be friendly with the SWP. Stop this bullshit on the site and do a blockade, if you want to...

Very strange. Neither the phone, nor the email James/Jim gave exists...

Email:
[The following recipients failed (Error message)]:
---------------------------------------------

 James-Tolthan@yahoo.com
SMTP error from remote mailer after end of data:
host mx1.mail.yahoo.com [67.28.113.11]: 554 delivery error:
dd This user doesn't have a yahoo.com account ( james-tolthan@yahoo.com) [-15] - mta191.mail.re2.yahoo.com

Phone: Doesn't even ring. Just makes "click" when you dial the number

Is there some misinformation going on here?

Bless us all, what comic confusion! Clearly this non-hierarchical organising throws up some issues to be worked through. Fair enough, this sort of things takes time.

Wry smile though when some poor soul popped up blaming the paper-sellers. 'My porridge is cold, it's an SWP plot!' Sadly in this case I think we may need to address some of the complexities ourselves, rather than blame the Trots, fun though it is.

I dont know about the email as I didn't try it but the mobile number certainly works. I spoke to him today and got travel details. Perhaps he was just out of range when you called ?

Hi Sally,

You said you'd got travel details from Jim/James but omitted the really exciting and important stuff about how the blockade actually went. How was it....? We're all dying to know......?

Buzz