28/03/2008

Ireland dumps Raytheon!

Ireland does the right thing…By mary
The new policy is likely to be adopted in the lead-up to a major international diplomatic conference on cluster munitions scheduled for Croke Park on May 19th-30th. The Government has taken a strong stance in favour of a total ban on ...Stop Cluster Bombs - http://www.stopclusterbombs.org.nz/

25/03/2008

Saudi Academy

Lockheed Martin wins Saudi training contract Bizjournals.com - Charlotte,NC,USA...
Saudi Air Force to produce and establish an undergraduate weapon system officer training program at the King Faisal Air Academy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ...

Would you be happy with links with St Athans??

small world ...Roger Duke joined QinetiQ North America, a wholly owned subsidiary of QinetiQ Ltd. of McLean, Va., as senior vice president of contracts. Duke most recently was vice president of contracts at Raytheon Technical services Co. Who's on first?Washington Technology - Washington,DC,

20/03/2008

Raytheon sponser Security Policy!

This week the Government launched its long awaited National Security Strategy. Last year, ippr established the independent Commission on National Security in the 21st Century, Co-Chaired by Lord Paddy Ashdown and Lord George Robertson. The commission secretariat recently published The New Front Line, which analyses the key changes taking place in the national and international security landscape.
Download without registration (PDF file)

IPPR boast in their latest newsletter ..party_Commission_preparing_an_independent_national_security_strategy_for_the_UK._It_is
co-chaired by Lord_Robertson and Lord_Ashdown
Another member is Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty_and former home office lawyer!

Sponsored by .....Ippr would like to thank EDS and Raytheon
The IPPR think-tank published on the 13 Feb, 'The New Front Line: Security in a changing world' from the ippr Commission on National Security, Working Paper No. 1 written by Ian Kearns and Ken Gude. This paper is on British Security Policy and claims to analyse the key changes taking place in the national and international security landscape and assesses their implications for policy, examining the context within which a national security strategy must now be forged. As a result, they claim that it becomes clear that the contemporary security landscape is about much more than terrorism alone. Umm... Yes it is a rather turgid and jargon riddled document. As Henry Porter pointed out this policy work has been sponsored by Raytheon who proudly boast of their support for IPPR.

This is Raytheon Arms Dealers of cluster munitions fame who have been excluded on ethical grounds from the vast Norwegian pension fund. This is the Raytheon who won a 10-year contract to ‘improve’ UK border controls and who the government gave a contract addendum worth £92 million on 12 Feb. Raytheon one of the Metrix consortium who the government wants to run military training not only for British service personnel, but those from any regime or private military company that can fork out the ready cash at St Athan in Wales where there have been allegations of pork-barreling. Raytheon has received over £750,000 in the last four years from Invest Northern Ireland. Just how much have they received in Wales we don't know.

Ippr’s Commission on National Security in the 21st Century last May sponsored by Raytheon ‘Governments in any case no longer own and control all of the relevant and necessary expertise and assets required in the making of an effective security policy…. private businesses …add value to the policy making process’, ‘

Who wrote this? Ian Kearns is Deputy Chair of the commission on National Security - Director of IPPR and is currently leading the institutes international and security programme. He has a wide range of experience in the private sector as a former Director of the Global Government Industry practice at Electronic Data Systems (EDS)! EDS another member of the Metrix Consortium.
Remember the collapse of the Child Support Agency, and the years of misery its incompetence brought to mothers and children, was due in large part to the fact that its half-billion-pound computer system, designed by EDS, never worked properly. In addition to the EDS debacle at the child support agency and the Inland Revenue's Tax Credits systems there is the disastrous unworkable MOD new computerised payroll system. EDs is overhauling ALL the UK’s defence IT. It is astounding that the MoD is prepared to reward failure by handing over billions more pounds of taxpayers' money to a consortium that has failed to deliver what it said it would time and time again.

So a former director at EDS is just the person to advise us on the role of the private sector and Security in a changing world.

OK for the IPPR, & UK not to be ethical!!
Note that ....Ireland's pension fund to exclude munitions-report Reuters UK - "I saw at first hand on my visit to Lebanon last year the havoc that cluster bombs can cause," Ahern told the paper. "These small bomblets can look like ...DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's National Pensions Reserve Fund plans to withdraw 27 million euros (21 million pounds) of investment from six firms involved in the production of cluster munitions, Irish media reported on Wednesday.The NPRF, charged with securing funds for pension and welfare costs of an ageing population after 2025, followed the example of Norway's pension fund, known as the "oil fund", which aims to be a world leader in ethical investment.The NPRF plans to stop investing in five U.S. companies: Raytheon, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Alliant Techsystems and L-3 Communications, and France's Thales, the Irish Times quoted a spokesman as saying.The fund's proposal follows a list of firms excluded by Norway's $387 billion (193 billion pound) fund, after pressure from Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern, who is campaigning for a ban on cluster munitions, the Irish Times said."I saw at first hand on my visit to Lebanon last year the havoc that cluster bombs can cause," Ahern told the paper. "These small bomblets can look like decorations or toys and, as a result, children are very vulnerable to them."

Ireland dumps Raytheon on cluster munitions!

Ireland's pension fund to exclude munitions-report Reuters UK - "I saw at first hand on my visit to Lebanon last year the havoc that cluster bombs can cause," Ahern told the paper. "These small bomblets can look like ...

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's National Pensions Reserve Fund plans to withdraw 27 million euros (21 million pounds) of investment from six firms involved in the production of cluster munitions, Irish media reported on Wednesday.
The NPRF, charged with securing funds for pension and welfare costs of an ageing population after 2025, followed the example of Norway's pension fund, known as the "oil fund", which aims to be a world leader in ethical investment.
The NPRF plans to stop investing in five U.S. companies: Raytheon, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Alliant Techsystems and L-3 Communications, and France's Thales, the Irish Times quoted a spokesman as saying.
The fund's proposal follows a list of firms excluded by Norway's $387 billion (193 billion pound) fund, after pressure from Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern, who is campaigning for a ban on cluster munitions, the Irish Times said.
"I saw at first hand on my visit to Lebanon last year the havoc that cluster bombs can cause," Ahern told the paper.
"These small bomblets can look like decorations or toys and, as a result, children are very vulnerable to them."

And so to remind you of the death toll in Iraq...
What is the real death toll in Iraq? The Americans learned one lesson from Vietnam: don't count the civilian dead. As a result, no one knows how many Iraqis have been killed in the five years since the invasion. Estimates put the toll at between 100,000 and one million. 19 Mar 2008 The British polling firm Opinion Research Business (ORB) asked 1,720 Iraqi adults last summer if they had lost family members by violence since 2003; 16% had lost one, and 5% two. Using the 2005 census total of 4,050,597 households in Iraq, this suggests 1,220,580 deaths since the invasion.

16/03/2008

MOD Brainwashing

Despair MOD Brainwashing
Who is to tell our children the TRUTH?

Future Soldier - From Fiction to the Frontline - supports National ...WebWire (press release) - Atlanta,GA,USA
Other defence sector events this week include QinetiQ, Rolls-Royce and Thales UK interacting with a number of schools in various parts of the UK, ...See all stories on this topic

Specialists from the MOD also work with the Engineering Development Trust (EDT) and their ‘Go 4 SET’ Scheme which aims to stimulate the interest of young people in Science Engineering and Technology. The MOD provides support to teachers to deliver science and other key curriculum lessons via the free, online Defence Dynamics teaching resource. Covering themes as diverse as mapping, flooding, genetic engineering and survival skills, lessons not only apply theory in the real world but also encourage students to debate the moral issues behind the introduction of new technology.

Read John Smith MP boasts of St Athan on the Curriculum here

Ilegal Propaganda in Schools
HOPE!
Marching in March The Observer, UK - 15 Mar 2008
Tens of thousands of children in the UK, myself included, walked out of school to say no to the war. At my Welsh comprehensive, 50 or so sixth formers ...With anti-war anthems like the Ugly Rumours gaining chart success and films like Nick Broomfield's Battle of Haditha getting rave reviews, perhaps this is a new way to focus and spread dissent Lena de Casparis
Lena de Casparis lives in London, and works for Red Pepper magazine.


Defence Dynamics 'FREE' propaganda
Includes links to MOD and nice military pics here not a drop of blood in sight!
from the website...SCIENCE - Lesson Plans
1. Describing waves - types of wave here This lesson introduces students to wave types, considering the properties of transverse and longitudinal waves, gaining familiarity with key vocabulary and the wave equation. Extended applied examples are considered, including the prediction of the site and scale of earthquake, 4D imaging of foetuses and various military applications used in both defence and humanitarian contexts, such as ground to air aircraft tracking, mine clearance and submarine navigation. The second half of the lesson focuses on developing a deeper understanding of waves via the study of seismic waves. Students consider their impact and measurement and review the role of the MOD in providing humanitarian aid after the 2005 Kashmiri earthquake. Interactive exercises and games are all progressive, supported with video and further resources. Students are encouraged to consider other applied examples, whilst varied teaching styles assist comprehension and impact.

2. SCIENCE - Lesson Plan Gases in the atmosphere here (Greenwash)
The MOD's Defence Estates policy is used as a case-study for responsible land management, including its proactive treatment of sites to minimise methane and CO2 output and its reactive remit for ensuring non-pollution of land (thus ensuring biodiversity and responsible CO2 production). MoD Topic Reduction of pollution in MOD sites
Curriculum Checklist..SC3 (Materials and their properties 2) p) how the Earth's atmosphere and oceans have changed over time q) how the carbon cycle helps to maintain atmospheric composition SC4 (Physical processes) 4d) about some ideas used to explain the origin and evolution of the universe.

3. Genetic engineering here

4, SCIENCE - Lesson Plan Radio waves and microwaves here ..This lesson provides a comprehensive introduction to radio waves and microwaves. Multi-media resources and interactive exercises reinforce understanding of civilian applications and the move towards wireless transmissions. The work of the Royal Corps of Signals, IT and communications providers for the Army, is used to provide an exciting real life context for applications of microwave and radio wave technology, with everyday civilian examples drawn on as well. MoD Topic Royal Corps of Signals
I wonder if it mentions EDS of the metrix consortium and the huge failures of MOD IT systems?

11/03/2008

War profiteers Carlyle group


Carlyle Group May Buy Major CIA ContractorBy CRIMES AND CORRUPTION OF THE NEW WORLD...(CRIMES AND CORRUPTION OF THE NEW WORLD...) Another spectacular acquisition was QinetiQ, the privatized arm of Britain’s military research corporation. It was acquired by Carlyle in 2003, sold in 2007, and recently emerged as one of the premiere US intelligence contractors ...CRIMES AND CORRUPTION OF THE... - http://mparent7777-2.blogspot.com/

Landmine clearance money goes to weapons scandal!

Good MoD idea?
1 . invite arms company Raytheon that makes landmines by another name (cluster bombs) to Wales and give them lots of public money to train militaries at the proposed St Athan Military Academy in using their products (and remotely) to kill others discriminately and indiscriminately (as directed by governments...and mutlinationals?).

2 . use monies taken from the 'conflict prevention fund' to clear up dangers of aforesaid landmines and keep...terrorising people in Iraq and elsewhere by giving it to BAe Systems to keep the war machine going!
MoD plans raid on landmine removal fund to keep Tornados flying in ...Guardian - UKThe decision to close the fast jets and engines business of Dara, the Defence Aviation Repair Agency, based at St Athan, Glamorgan, from last April provoked ...
Red Dragon - the final chapter...By Blogmaster The decision to close the fast jets and engines business of Dara, the Defence Aviation Repair Agency, based at St Athan, Glamorgan, (see Red Dragon Project in previous posts) from last April provoked a huge row in 2005. ...

10/03/2008

Protest at Serco profit from oppression and misery of others

  1. Serco also profits from nuclear weapons
  2. Protest at Serco AGM
  3. SERCO picket, London March 8, 2008

1. Serco also profits from nuclear weapons 09.03.2008

Serco also forms one third of AWE ML, along with U.S. arms giant Lockheed Martin and, presently, BNFL. This is the company which operates the Atomic Weapons Establishment sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield, both in Berkshire, on behalf of the Ministry of Defence. Serco therefore profits from the manufacture and maintenance of 'British' nuclear warheads for the Trident system.
http://www.serco.com/text/markets/defence/awe.asp
http://www.awe.co.uk/aboutus/the_company_eb1b2.aspx
home Homepage: http://www.tridentploughshares.org

2. Protest at Serco AGM 09.03.2008 23:43

Women from Aldermaston Women's Peace Camp have a (rogue) shareholder campaign against Serco in response to their WMD profiteering (though the reasons to despise this company are numerous ... talk about dirty fingers...).

Any women wanting to get involved (whatever your reasons for taking issue with Serco), should drop us a line, or come and have a chat with us at camp, or on Easter Monday demo at Aldermaston.
Serco AGM usually end of April/early May at the QEII centre in westminster.
some related links:
http://www.aldermaston.net/campaigns/serco_2004.php
http://www.peacenews.info/issues/2442/244222.html
http://www.cnduk.org/aldermaston/mail e-mail: info@aldermaston.net

home Homepage: http://www.aldermaston.net

3. SERCO picket, London March 8, 2008 Indymedia UK - UK
SERCO may be a name that most people would not recognise, though increasingly around the world it is running their lives. Around the world, governments are ...
See all stories on this topic
SERCO have a Research Institute in a court off High Holborn, and as a part of the International Women's Day, Feminist Fightback, All African Women’s Group and Black Women’s Rape Action Project held a picket there after the Million Women Rise event on Saturday March 8.

Around 40 people turned up to demand the immediate closure of Yarl's Wood and an end to the criminalisation of rape and torture survivors. They also called for an end to SERCO and other private companies profiting from the oppression and misery of others.
More about this – and many more pictures – on My London Diary soon.
http://mylondondiary.co.uk/2008/03/mar.htm#serco


07/03/2008

MOD gives your cash to qinetiq

MoD confirms agreement with Qinetiq
The Engineer - London,UK
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a £951m contract with Qinetiq confirming volume and availability for a five-year long term partnering agreement ...

05/03/2008

St Athan PFI Decision made in London

Not a single politican from WAG is challenging the UK government ability to have this sort of power over Wales - to make this decision for Wales?

Q.
Did the 'Wales Office' not have to approve the St Athan PFI?
Paul Murphy : Written Answers - Wales: Departmental Private Finance Initiative (3 Mar 2008)
The Wales Office has not initiated or approved any private finance initiative projects in the last three years.http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2008-03-03a.190810.h&s=speaker%3A10454#g190810.r0

A. Its not a Welsh PFI. Remember that MC3 package 1 solution was based around Bordon and Cosford and Portsmouth. It was instigated by Mod with Ministerial backing. However the Welsh politicians did help Metrix win the bid by hard lobbying and the WDA provided human resources to METRIX.

04/03/2008

St Athan scheme from another point of view

Defence Training Review Rationalisation Programme
By Aquilavic(Aquilavic)
The scheme involves the construction of a new £14billion state-of-the-art Training Academy at St Athan in South Wales which will provide 618 courses for 6000 students. The MoD hopes that construction will begin next year with the first ...
Aquila Victrix - http://aquilavictrix.blogspot.com/

Another point of view have we heard of
Holdfast ...Holdfast
is another consortium created to deliver specific services to the RSME through the RSME PPP Project

Defence Training Review Rationalisation Programme

Some years ago the Ministry of Defence initiated its Defence Training Review. The key element of this is the Rationalisation Programme which aims to introduce modern training methods and technology and to concentrate training into a handful of campus-style National Centres of Excellence. The MoD believes that this rationalisation and modernisation will provide the flexibility it needs to match training to the specialist defence requirements of the 21st century as well as releasing more military personnel for the frontline. The approach will also focus on developing an integrated training environment which amalgamates delivery across all three services and across both military and civilian personnel.
In line with the government's general approach to public funding, the DTR Rationalisation Programme is structured within a 25 year multi-billion pound Public-Private Partnership and has been split into two contractual packages:

  • Package 1: Aeronautical Engineering (AE), Electro-Mechanical Engineering (EM) and Communications and Information Systems (CIS)
  • Package 2: Logistics and Personnel Administration (L&PA), MOD Police and Guarding (MDPG) and Security, Languages, Intelligence and Photography (SLIP)

The Government's preferred supplier for Package 1 is the Metrix consortium, led by the recently privatised defence contractor Qinetiq and property developer Land Securities Trillion. The scheme involves the construction of a new £14billion state-of-the-art Training Academy at St Athan in South Wales which will provide 618 courses for 6,000 students. The MoD hopes that construction will begin next year with the first phase of tri-Service training beginning in 2013.

The MoD is considering the options for Package 2. Having removed the 'Provisional Preferred Bidder' status from Metrix, the situation is more open with both Metrix and Holdfast consortia in the bidding.

The Defence Minister Mr Ainsworth said:"The Government is committed to giving our Armed Forces the best training available so they continue to perform to the highest standards and are equipped to deal with any challenges they will face. The delivery of new tri-Service training centres under the Defence Training Review will ensure we give our personnel the best living and learning environment we can offer."

Link> MoD: Defence Training Review Report
Link> MoD: Defence Training Project on track
Link> MoD: Tri-Service training hub on the way for engineering and communications specialists

The Wales Office has not initiated or approved any private finance initiative projects in the last three years.

Wales Departmental Private Finance Initiative

I am pleased the Welsh Office has not initiated
or approved the biggest ever PFI/PPP in Wales the St Athan Military Academy.

Bob Spink (Castle Point, Conservative) | Hansard source

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the (a) value and (b) start date was of each private finance initiative project approved by his Department in each of the last three financial years.

Paul Murphy (Secretary of State, Wales Office) | Hansard source

The Wales Office has not initiated or approved any private finance initiative projects in the last three years.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2008-03-03a.190810.h&s=speaker%3A10454#g190810.r0

03/03/2008

MP accuses government of cover up over St Athan

MP accuses government of cover up Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard has accused the government of covering up problems around the proposed Defence Training Acedemy in St Athan, Wales. The Wrekin MP challenged Wales Secretary Paul Murphy in the commons yesterday to give a “100 percent guarantee” that the project was safe. His intervention came after the Ministry of Defence’s decision to strip Metrix, the consortium which won the St Athan contract, of its preferred bidder status for running the second phase of the defence training shake-up....There are clearly infrastructure problems in delivering the remaining defence training package as well as the constant squabbling between the Welsh Assembly, local authorities and the MOD. The full article from the Shropshire Star can be viewed here. 29th Feb 2008

01/03/2008

Ibrahin Mousawi visit to cardiff criticised by tories and orthodox rabbi

‘We don’t want people preaching politics of hate in our county’
Mar 1 2008 by David James, South Wales Echo
A CONTROVERSIAL journalist dubbed “a spokesman for terrorists” is to speak in Cardiff on Monday.

In defence of ‘freedom fighters’ Mar 1 2008 by David James, South Wales Echo IBRAHIM Mousawi said he was coming to Cardiff with a message of peace and denied Hezbollah were terrorists.

Channel 4 - News - Snowmail: Prince Harry in Afghanistan

Despite this, Mr Mousawi's here tonight, addressing a Stop the War Coalition rally - but first, he'll stop by the studio and explain how that squares with ...

Calls have been made to ban a controversial Middle Eastern figure ...

Mr Mousawi is said to edit Hezbollah's newspaper, Al-Intiqad, and to have been political editor of Al-Manar television, the group's main mouthpiece. ...
www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144913&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231190... - 55k - 22 hours ago -

MIDDLE EAST RESISTANCE LEADERS TO BRING ANTI WAR MESSAGE TO CARDIFF

The man David Cameron has tried to ban from Britain will be speaking at a special public meeting in Cardiff on Monday about the need for activists around the world to oppose the “War on Terror” and get the troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ibrahim Mousawi, editor of the Hizbollah newspaper Al-Intiqad (Criticism), is accused by Cameron of being a “vicous antisemite”, a charge he vehemently denies.

“I have nothing against Jews. I have nothing against any human being, whether because of religion, gender or political affiliation,” said Mousawi, who recently invited five Jewish rabbis to a conference in Beirut and hosted their visit.

Also appearing is Hassan Juma'a, the leader of the Iraqi Oil Workers Union which has campaigned against the privatisation of sections of the Iraqi Oil industry. They recently struck to demand that Iraqi oil stay in the hands of the people and remain a nationalised industry.

“It was our duty as Iraqi workers to protect the oil installations since they are the property of the Iraqi people and we are sure that the US and the international companies have come here to put their hands on the country’s oil reserves.”

The meeting, part of a UK-wide 'World Against War' tour, will unite these speakers with activists and trades unionists in what will be the biggest Stop the War event in South Wales since before the invasion of Iraq five years ago.

“People like David Cameron attack Mousawi because Hizbollah has the arrogance to fight to defend Lebanon from invasion and devastation,” said Jonny Jones, one of the officers of the local Stop the War group. “In Iraq, people like Hassan Juma'a are fighting a daily battle to defend their country's resources from foreign plunder and for an end to the occupation that has cost a million lives and billions of pounds. British activists will be inspired to hear what these people have to say and they, in turn, will be able to take the solidarity of the British movement back to their countries.”

They will be joined by members of the British anti-war movement including Professor Justin Lewis, Head of the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, whose work includes extensive research into the pro-war bias of much of the mainstream media. Also speaking are Anne Greagsby of campaign against the St Athan Military Academy and Chris Nineham from the Stop the War Coalition.

The meeting will take place on Monday, March 3rd at 7.30pm in the Main Law Lecture Theatre, Law Building, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff. A coach will be available from Swansea, which will leave the front of Fulton House on Swansea University's Singleton Campus at 6.30pm. Admission is free and all are welcome.

More quotes from Mr Mousawi:

“I want to refute this notion that there is a ‘clash of civilizations’. I believe that all over the world, people want the same things. We all want to be with our families; we all want to come back to our kids at the end of the day and bring bread to their tables and give them a good education, to live in harmony and peace.”

“We want genuine peace. We don’t want compromises and we don’t want to go again and again to the same vicious cycle every 10 years or five years, where you make a temporary settlement and you end up with another war coming. The roots of the problem, the roots of the cause of the problem, should be addressed.”

“Governments should not censor what people have to say and confiscate the right of intelligent people to decide what to hear or not to hear. I’m a staunch defender of political freedoms and freedom of speech.”