As a reminder that grassroots activism CAN achieve results by exploiting new media, Mark Hanson posts an interesting story of a guy who only graduated last year and has already organised a rebellion against HSBC and forced two insurance companies to pull out of Burma.

Today we've exposed 16 insurance companies that are helping the Burma's generals buy the guns, bullets and tanks, which they use to rule Burma through fear.

A certain nauseous feeling always arises, when in my sister's car. It is always when we enter Total petrol station. It is not the scent of the petroleum that gives me a sickly feeling. It is in fact, the notion, that the Prime Minister of Burma is under house arrest, as her citizens cannot afford the fuel and food costs of the illegal government under the nom de jeure of Myanmer. A government that spends more on military processions than the welfare of Burmese people. A vile regime based on supernatural jingoism, enfused with pseudo-communism.

I found out last night at the Tower Hamlets Council Pension Investment Panel, that one of our fund managers have £2.3 million invested in Total (the 2nd highest holding in that particular fund) and £1.3 million in Chevron (7th biggest holding).

I suspect that our other Global equity fund will have similar investments in companies who have trading interests in Burma. We also own shares in companies such as GlaxoSmithKline (the huge British based drug company) who according to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC – click on this link for a full list) has business links with the Burma.

This afternoon I appeared on the BBC The “Politics Show” (London Region slot) to be interviewed with Cllr James King (who was on behalf of LAPFF) about Council pension schemes who invest in companies that trade with Burma. Cllr King was arguing that it may be appropriate for pension funds to invest in companies who trade with Burma, if they engage with these companies to influence and change their behaviour.

I for one will not be posting anything (except the banner below) and would ask fellow Labour bloggers to do likewise.

Please leave a comment if you will be supporting this initiative.

Below is a list of some of the best blogs on the situation in Burma (hat tip to Mr Eugenides)

Is it hypocritical to support one military action and not the other? I'm actually not sure. I'm not old enough to remember UK going into Kosovo, but I think I would have been for military intervention in the Balkans. There are some who are always against these interventions, people like Tony Benn etc. There are also conservitives like Malcolm Rifkind who was against intervention in Kosovo and Iraq. There are others who shared the views of Robin Cook, for the first war, not the other. Another Hitchenesque school of thought is always confusing, defining missiling Sudan as a war crime, but, defending the intervention of Iraq. I was against intervention in Iraq from the start. Does it make me hypocritical? I think on the basis that Milosovic was threatning other countries and ethnic blocs. But I didn't believe Iraq was threatning other countries, the failiure to get a second UN resoloution, the faulty intelligance etc. were the reasons for my opposition. Hussein was obviously lots of things which I won't choose to say on a Sunday morning. If the 'Blairesque' school of thought is to be believed, then we would also have to intervene in Belarus, Burma, Zimbabwe, China, North Korea, Sudan, Venezuela, Cuba, Iran and many other countries. And I'm sure, that many bloggers would like to see intervention in some of these countries, but not others.

Ian, not Paul, though Paul does too. Or did anyway.

The Times' Ann Treneman rightly identifies Ian as star quality for his despatch box response to a question on Burma yesterday.