On a windy, grey Saturday afternoon we pitched our stall outside Brighton’s biggest branch of Barclays and got tons of action cards to the Treasury signed, demanding the government’s support for EU legislation curbing rampant speculation on food. It was a day of relay protest; as soon as we’d packed up, Smash EDO & Palestine Solidarity began picketing the bank for its investment in the arms trade. Barclays closed the front door of their bank and stationed a police officer outside (see pic).

Come to our night of short films upstairs at The Lectern pub on Lewes Road, just next to Brighton University on Tuesday 24th April. We’ll be showing Crises of Capitalism, Not a Very Green Revolution, Detroit: Rising From The Ashes, plus an inspiring short about WDM local groups. And it’s all for free!

7pm start, and The Lectern do food so join us beforehand in the bar downstairs for dinner if you like. See you there!

On 28 February 2012 six members from London WDM groups and one member from the Brighton & Hove WDM group together with WDM’s Food & Finance campaigner Christine Haigh travelled to Brussels to meet with their MEPs, or the MEPs’ Parliamentary Assistants respectively, to discuss the problem of excessive food speculation, which means higher food bills for us but is driving millions of people in the poorest countries into more poverty and hunger. The European Parliament is currently reviewing MIFiD (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive), which is the European framework for the regulation of financial markets. We are asking our MEPs to support strong regulation to curb speculation. Two key measures we are calling for are Transparency and Position Limits.

Watch the full series here.

On Saturday we took to the streets armed with a human-eating “climate loan” shark, in solidarity with international protests during the run-up to the U.N. climate talks in Durban beginning on Monday, and to illustrate how our government is lending climate adaptation money to poor countries through the World Bank, effectively behaving like a loan shark.

Alongside activists worldwide, we’re calling for the money to be donated through the United Nations Climate Adaptation Fund – so far our government has refused.

Photos from our very well attended public meeting. Thanks to Bongani and Deborah for inspiring, educational talks, and to everybody who attended, contributed and learned.

Come to our public meeting on Monday 10th October, 7pm at the Brighthelm Centre on North Road to hear Bongani Mthembu from South Africa and Deborah Doane, director of WDM, speak about the urgent need for climate justice ahead of the UN climate talks in South Africa in December.

Bongani Mthembu is from Umlazi, South Africa’s second biggest township. He is a member
of a Durban environment group, and campaigns against industrial pollution in the area. He
is working to educate ordinary South Africans about environmental injustice, and organising
demonstrations at December’s talks, calling for solutions that also tackle poverty and
inequality.

Bongani will be joined by Deborah Doane, director of the World Development Movement,
which is hosting the event.

As students enrolled in clubs and societies during the annual Freshers’ Fair, we took to the pathways of the university in outrage at the bank’s role in profiting from commodity speculation, guaranteeing massive price hikes in basic staples and forcing the world’s poor consumers into starvation.

“It’s outrageous that Barclays still have a space on the Sussex campus,” says Catherine Rowe, a Masters student and a member of our group. “They’re literally making a killing.”

Renowned author and eco-activist Danny Chivers (New Internationalist/Newsnight/Tenner Films) will be giving a free talk at the Lectern pub opposite B&Q on Lewes Road at 7pm on Wednesday 24th August.

Danny was one of the infamous “Ratcliffe Six”, direct action protesters whose trial collapsed in January after revelations about undercover police officer Mark Kennedy.

Danny will be giving the inside story of the whole bizarre Ratcliffe affair, mixed up with slam poetry, some unlikely good news on climate change, ideas for future eco-campaigning, and cute pictures of kittens.

This year, he has also been thrown out of BP’s AGM for an anti-tar sands protest, been lightly grilled by Jeremy Paxman live on BBC Newsnight, and also launched his new book: “The No-Nonsense Guide to Climate Change”.

There’ll be an opportunity to ask Danny questions and have dinner or a pint with other like-minded people. The Lectern pub will be serving food until 9pm.

Danny’s book, published by New Internationalist, is a handy pocket guide to the whole climate issue, using friendly, jargon-free language (along with a smattering of humour, poetry and unusual analogies) to explain the latest science, politics, solutions, technologies, barriers, activism, and where we go from here.

You can read the first chapter of the book for free online, here:

What people say about the book:

“Gets to grips with big ideas using good, plain language” – Nicola Bullard, Focus on Global South

“A worthwhile and engaging read which is particularly strong in laying out the science and yet staying positive” – Green Prophet

“Convincing and infectious” – All Top Books

What people say about Danny’s poetry:

“Feisty, thought-provoking and politically rounded…a seriously funny rising star” – New Internationalist Magazine

“Half master of witty banter, half eerily reasonable prophet of environmental Armageddon” – Radio Foreplay

“A star in the making” – John Rivers, Fifth Estate

You can see Danny performing some of his poetry here:

“Lifestyle Choice” live at the G20 protests in London:

“Consumed”, live at the Edinburgh Climate Camp:

“A Modest Proposal” by Tenner Films, on location at Dungeness nuclear power station:
(winner, Best Freefall Film, Limelight Short Film Award)

Activist film of the summer – no, decade, Just Do It will be at the Duke of York’s cinema on Saturday 20th August at 4pm. Featuring many of WDM B&H’s friends and cohorts, it should hopefully inspire us all to get on with changing our corner of the world.

There’s a Q&A afterwards and we’ll have a stall somewhere in the cinema so do come along and stay for a chat afterwards.