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Aliyev re-elected as President for another 7 years – the chain of oil autocracy that binds Azerbaijan
Blog post -
Apr 18, 2018
On 18th April Ilham Aliyev will be inaugurated for the fourth time as President of Azerbaijan. His re-election comes as no surprise. It is so predictable that it barely counted as ‘news’ and consequently got next to no coverage in the international media. Originally the election was scheduled for 17th October, but at nine weeks...
Vive La Zad ! – in the midst of the tear gas, La Zad exists in our hearts
Blog post -
Apr 11, 2018
The police arrived at 03.00 am on the morning of Monday 9th April. The exact number is, of course, unclear but it is said that 2,500 officers in riot equipment, with crash helmets and visors, Perspex shields and plastic body armour were deployed. Two and a half thousand highly trained men appeared out of the...
Spring in the Thames Valley – The extraordinary resistance of the more than human
Blog post -
Apr 9, 2018
Even in the dark the Blackbird sings. The bubbling song fills the night outside our bedroom window. You sleep silently, the bedclothes rising and falling, as the notes of the bird flow over you. Hours later, the grey light of dawn has come and with it the calls of Song Thrush and House Sparrow....
La Zad puts down roots – sensing the future
Blog post -
Mar 18, 2018
We’re in the middle of the crowd. Standing some way back from the stage, watching transfixed and elated at the performance of Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp. Two trombones, two drummers, two marimbas, two electric guitars, two cellos and five other musicians blast out such a blissful riot of sound that our souls sail above...
Defending the NHS – Platform and a community of health
Blog post -
Mar 4, 2018
Recently I was sitting talking with a friend who was relating the harrowing tale of her partner’s sudden illness. My heart was in my mouth as she described the paramedics arriving in minutes to their home, the ambulance that took them to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, her partner being transferred to a specialist clinic...
Victory at La ZAD ! – inspirational resistance through community
Blog post -
Jan 25, 2018
The people of Notres Dame des Landes have won! The people of La ZAD have won! The airport that the French state have tried to build for 50 years has been defeated! On 17th January President Macron decreed that the Nantes International airport, similar in size to Heathrow, would not go ahead after half a...
Avebury and the infrastructure of community
Blog post -
Jan 15, 2018
Over the Winter Break I walked at Avebury in Wiltshire with Nick Robins, a long term Platformer, who’s worked on several projects and was a Trustee. We had the chance to reflect on time and community. The soft whale back curve of the Ridgeway rose to the left, its skyline punctuated by barrows ringed with...
Campaigners condemn BP’s ‘under-the-radar’ merger in Argentina
Press release -
Dec 19, 2017
For immediate release 19 December 2017 Campaigners condemn BP’s “under-the-radar” merger in Argentina BP has announced that the merger of its Argentinian arm Pan-American Energy and the Argentinian-Chinese downstream company Axion Energy is now complete.[1] Platform campaigner Anna Markova commented, BP’s announcement is perfectly timed to attract the least attention possible, both in the UK...
BP, el dueño oculto de fracking: Pan-American Energy y el mega-proyecto Vaca Muerta
Publication -
Dec 7, 2017
[ingles] [bajar informe en .pdf] Pan American Energy es considerada la mayor empresa petrolera privada de Argentina. Actualmente gestiona el mayor yacimiento de petróleo del país (Cerro Dragón) y es responsable de una cuarta parte de la extracción no convencional de gas en la Provincia de Neuquén. En realidad, PAE pertenece a la multinacional petrolera británica...
