In the Wind and Rain at Menwith Hill U.S. NSA Spy Base

Menwith Hill by day

Dave and I at Menwith Hill in Yorkshire, England tonight in the driving wind and rain holding No MUOS flag given to us in Sicily - we are united in the struggle against the more than 800 U.S. bases around the world!

Talking with Lindis who has supreme stick-to-it-ivness which is what every organizer needs

My host in England this week, Global Network board convener Dave Webb (also chair of CND), arranged for me to speak this morning at Bradford University before an event sponsored by the Peace Studies Department.  Students and local community people turned out for the hour-long discussion.

Early this evening we made the 45-minute drive through end of day traffic to the U.S. NSA space satellite spy base at Menwith Hill for the weekly protest organized by CAAB (Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases).  We were joined by 10 other people in the wind driven hard rain as American workers came out of the base - a woman in the first car to come out flipped us the bird.  The presence of up-side-down American flags signaling distress rankled many of the Americans but it is important that they learn that all over the world people want U.S. war fighting bases shuttered.

Lindis Percy has been leading the weekly protests at Menwith Hill for many years through all kinds of bad weather.  In addition to the NSA role of spying on the people of Europe the base is also a key station for the 'missile defense' (MD) program. Menwith links up with the SBIRS satellite system to help direct the growing and provocative Pentagon MD system that is now being used to encircle Russia and China.

Lindis leaves tomorrow for Cuba where she will join fellow Global Network board member Dennis Apel from California at an international No Bases conference in Guantanamo.  They both were chosen by our Global Network leadership to represent the organization at that important conference.

In the morning I speak to another group of students in Leeds before Dave and I take the train to London where we will be for the next two days.  More on all that later.