“Save Vestas” 4th Plinth Protest – Pix-&-Vidz

Dateline: 4th Plinth, Trafalgar Square, London, UK, 05:00-06:00, Fri 31 Jul 09 – Gerry Byrne makes best use of her one hour stint on the 4th Plinth, as a part of Antony Gormley's One & Other art project, by staging a one woman “Save Vestas – Save Jobs – Save the World” protest, coping as best she can with a bunch of drunk, abusive, foul-mouthed, profoundly ignorant, laddish twenty-somethings that comprised the majority of her audience.

Vidz at YouTube
• playlist: 4th Plinth Protest -- Vestas Occupation -- Fri 31 Jul 09
» http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=FF671524FDDD744C
• video: 4th Plinth Protest -- 1. Success vs. Heckling Drunks
» http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqmV3M-GQK4
• video: 4th Plinth Protest -- 2 Interview Commences
» http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9rGLvQTM-Y
• video: 4th Plinth Protest -- 3. Interview Concludes
» http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKsyo10y_m8
• channel: Dalinian's Vidz – to which you’re invited to Subscribe
» http://www.youtube.com/user/dalinian61

A1. One Woman Protest in the Belly of the Beast

A2. Smiling in the Twilight

A3. Workers' Climate Action banner

A4. Inviting Ed Miliband to move beyond gesture politics

A5. Scrap Trident & Build Windfarms – it’s not rocket science

A6. The Blindingly Obvious Solution

A7. The Solution, overflown by part of The Problem

A8. The bigger picture

A9. Glimpsing a brighter, greener future

B1. WCA – DIY – AOK

B2. Big Brother is Watching Me!

B3. Abusive, drunk, arrogant, foul-mouthed, profoundly ignorant, self-polluting, ultra-sectarian, self-professed “Trotskyite” – an obnoxious disgrace, eventually constrained by security personnel

C1. Post Protest Interview (video still)

C2. Act in Solidarity Now – recount tales of our victories at your leisure

Blessings be upon Gerry Byrne’s daughter, who posted the following to savevestas@googlemail.com

“My mum’s on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square tomorrow morning from 05:00.
She’s taking some Save Vestas banners and leaflets.
If anyone can get down to take a photo and give out leaflets, apparently the early morning sessions get quite a crowd.
Solidarity,
R

• Being as how I’m an Indymedia photographer, with a bike, living 2.7 KM from Trafalgar Square (or so says my handlebar sat-nav), and a massive Vestas Occupation fanboy, that would be me then. I’ll set several early alarms, wrap up warm, and post to Indymedia London & UK plus savevestas@googlemailcom. Blessings be on that supporter’s Mum!
Victory to the Vestas Occupation,
Tim Dalinian Jones”
~ Vestas Protest, Friday morning, the 4th plinth, Trafalgar Square
» http://savevestas.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/vestas-protest-tomorrow-the-4th-plinth-trafalgar-square/

As my new kitten Rosa might say (in LOLspeak), “I wuv U, teh InterWebs!”

So here are those pix-&-vidz. Gerry did a grand job, despite lacking for an appreciative audience. Indeed, I made the mistake of engaging with, then getting persistently harassed by, what turned out to be by far the worst of a bunch of pissed-up, insulting, scornful, woefully ignorant, obnoxiously disrespectful, laddish twenty-somethings – identified in B3 above – who eventually had to be led away by the security personnel, who attempted to constrain the worst excesses of his foul behaviour.

Not only did Gerry dispel some of the local ignorance regarding the Vestas Occupation, she also bigged up opposition to the BNP’s “Red White and Blue” Festival in Derbyshire, due to be held on fields off Codnor-Denby Lane, in Denby, for a third consecutive year, on Aug14, 15 and 16.
• Stop the BNP’s Red White and Blue Festival
» http://nobnpfestival.wordpress.com

You can see the full hour of Gerry’s crowning glory at the One & Other website:
» http://www.oneandother.co.uk
• Video of Gerry Byrne's Plinth Protest
» http://www.oneandother.co.uk/participants/gerrybeee


Whatever Next?
All Weekend
• NEWPORT, IoW – Vestival, Vestas factory gates, Patrick Rolfe: 07 905 352 751 – pat.rolfe64@googlemail.com – http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=36918891 
» Vestival Event Posting – http://london.indymedia.org.uk/events/1810

Fri 31 Jul 09
• WARRINGTON – Vestas HQ, 302 Bridgewater Place, Warrington WA3 6XG, Protest, 12:00 noon
• GATESHEAD – Bridges Room, Gateshead Civic Centre, Meeting, 18:30-20:00, email: tynesidecacc@yahoo.co.uk

Sat 1 Aug 09
• LONDON – Unity House (RMT HQ), 39 Chalton Street, NW1 1JD, Workers Climate Action Public Meeting, 10:30-12:30, tel: 07 843 945 005, email: workersclimateaction.info@gmail.com
• MANCHESTER – Piccadilly Gardens, Rally, 12:00 noon, organised by Manchester Trades Council and CACC, tel: 07 958 535 231
• NEWPORT, IoW – St Thomas's Square, Rally, 13:00, Patrick Rolfe: 07 905 352 751 – pat.rolfe64@googlemail.com – http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=36918891 

Sun 2 Aug 09
• BRIGHTON – Cowley Club, 12 London Road, BN1 4JA, Solidarity Organising Meeting, 14:00, tel: John, 078 45 183 407

Tue 4 Aug 09
• NEWPORT – Newport County Court, 1 Quay Street, PO30 5YT, Isle of Wight, Mass Court Protest, confirmed as 09:30, Patrick Rolfe: 07 905 352 751 – pat.rolfe64@googlemail.com – http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=36918891 


From Inside The Occupation
“Ian Terry, one of the occupiers, is asking as many people as possible to go to the IoW to support them at the court hearing on Tue 04 Aug 09.

Hello to everyone who has been supporting us. My name is Ian, I am an occupant of Vestas Blades. We need your help. We have the support of the RMT, FBU, POA, PCS. These forces, and the wider solidarity from workers, is what the government fears above all else. We need your support on Tuesday outside the Court in Newport. As this is not a realistic request for some people who are miles away, I ask you to email your union leaders and get a couple of ambassadors of your union down – to show the unity we have felt from the start. This is the key to telling the government we are not alone. Please email me personally with any ideas, or info on the court side, but we need to be out in force, standing shoulder to shoulder. Let’s give our planet a fair chance.

Thanks for all your support – it has kept us all focused.

Ian Terry — killingcuriosity@hotmail.co.uk”
~ Message from Ian Terry: come to the IoW on Tuesday!
» http://savevestas.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/message-from-ian-terry-come-to-the-iow-on-tuesday/


Express YOUR Solidarity with the Vestas Workers Occupation
When your kids, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, etc. ask you, “What did YOU do in the Great Climate War?”, here are the things you can tell them about that YOU did to aid this struggle.

1. Go There: Join the Vestival solidarity camp and Newport County Court protest
• see above for details

2. Mutual Aid: Let’s put OUR Money where our Mouth Is – Donate to the Save Vestas Campaign
» By PayPal: from the campaign home page – http://savevestas.wordpress.com
» By Cheque: payable to ‘Ryde and East Wight Trades Union Council’, 22 Church Lane, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 2NB

3. Tell Vestas: Feed Them Properly!
This report from the Guardian and Luke Paxton’s interview on BBC present a grim picture of the food situation for the workers occupying the plant. Congratulations to those who got some food in, but we also need to put maximum pressure on the company to stop starving our boys!

• Email/telephone Vestas with a simple message: feed the Vestas occupiers properly or keep receiving these emails/telephone calls. There are Vestas offices all over the world:

» http://www.vestas.com/en/about-vestas/find-vestas.aspx 

• Starting close to home, here are the details for Warrington, Vestas’ UK HQ:
» Email: vestas-celtic@vestas.com
» Tel: 01 925 857 100

• Vicki sent an email to these addresses – please join her, by copy-&-pasting the following to a "To:" field in your email app:
» vestas@vestas.com, vestas-americas@vestas.com, vestas-argentina@vestas.com, vestas-brazil@vestas.com, vestas-australia@vestas.com, vestas-newzealand@vestas.com, vestaschina@vestas.com, vestas-india@vestas.com, vestas-asiapacific@vestas.com, vestas-japan@vestas.com, vestas-korea@vestas.com, vestas-austria@vestas.com, vestas-france@vestas.com, vestas-centraleurope@vestas.com, vestas-hellas@vestas.com, vestas-italia@vestas.com, vestas@vestas.nl, vestas-poland@vestas.com, vestasiberia@vestas.com, vestas-mediterranean@vestas.com, vestas-northerneurope@vestas.com, vestas-mediterranean@vestas.com, vestas-celtic@vestas.com

4. Morale Boosting: Communicate YOUR Solidarity
» Send messages of support from yourself and/or your organisation to savevestas@googlemail.com
» Organise a visible demonstration of solidarity, take a photo with a placard that reads “Save Vestas” and email the photo to savevestas@googlemail.com

5. Do The Right Thing: Try to get “New” Labour in Ministries to back Real Labour in Struggle

• Petition UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown online via the petitions.number10.gov.uk website – very quick-&-easy:
» http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/SaveVestas/

• Petition energy minister Ed Miliband – flood him with calls for the Government to take over the Vestas factory and keep it producing, under new management
» sample message: It's “Money Where Mouth Is” time for UK Wind Turbine Manufacturing
» Ed’s email – ps.ed.miliband@decc.gsi.gov.uk
» Ed’s Doncaster constituency – 01302 875 462
» Ed’s Westminster number – 020 7219 4778

• Call on the UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Lord Mandelson to save wind energy jobs
» http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/climate/press_for_change/vestas_petition_20414.html


Up the Revolution,

Tim Dalinian Jones


All these photos and video clips are 'CopyLeft'
This means you are free to copy and distribute any of my photos or videos you find here, under the following license:
• Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License
» http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
» Accreditation: tim.dalinian.jones@gmail.com

Contact email: tim.dalinian.jones@gmail.com