Question Carwyn Jones AM on the militrary academy!

Bridgend CND in conjunction with Bridgend Quakers are holding a meeting this Thursday, 4th September, 7:30pm, in the Friends Meeting House (87, Park Street, Bridgend) with Carwyn Jones AM "answering" questions on the proposed St Athan military academy.

Why not use this opportunity to get some questions together.

Mr. Jones should not leave with the idea that only a few in the area are concerned about this issue

If you could give anyone a lift to the meeting or need help with a lift please let me know

The contact for Bridgend CND is Pete Thompson

3 Litchard Hill,

Bridgend,

SA6 8HS.

01656 648 817

petehommo@gn.apc.org

Last minute consultation sham

Views on St Athan plans sought WalesOnline -

A NEW round of public consultations on the multi-billion pound Defence Training Academy at St Athan will be held this month. The Defence Technical Academy ...See all stories on this topic
Too little too late in the holiday period when many are away and with little notice and without consulting in n Cardiff - useless

UFO over St Athan

Is there anybody out there?
WalesOnline -
An anonymous source suggested the incident took place while the helicopter was at 500ft and waiting to land at the Ministry of Defence’s St Athan base in ...See all stories on this topic...sure it wasn't John Smith MP??

St Athan campaign and Raytheon 9

We get a mention here. Opposition and horror at Raytheon grows! We call on politicans from Wales to oppose the privatisation of military training and Keep Raytheon out of Wales!

Raytheon out of Wales

Welsh Assembly laying welcome mat for Cluster Munition Bomb ...As it turns out, though, Raytheon’s actual record concerning cluster munitions may prove to be less damning than its critics claim. Raytheon’s spokesman ...

Now then.... there are a few errors in this report so...listen

The intention was to go to Llanwit Major to raise awareness of the opposition to the Privatised Military Academy in face of an ongoing well funded propaganda exercise by MOD/Metrix/John Smith MP and No politicans prepared to speak out.
Campaigners where in different locations in Llanwit Major on that day in extremely bad weather and were faced with intimidation and surveillance from a disproportionate police presence. The campaign against the privatisation of all UK military training to arms dealers has been almost entirely been an e-campaign. There have been sucessful protests at the OU offices in Cardiff, the Senedd and in Cardiff City Centre hampered by the massive police surveillance and control.

The allegation that we haven't responded to contact from the college is NOT true. In fact I wrote and sent booklets and had no reply. I would be very happy to speak/meet them any time so please email no2militaryacademy@inbox.com

The 'ire' of Llanwit Major was from ONE shop owner who has business from MOD and therefore is expressing self interest. War profiteers ire is to be expected.

Facts about Raytheon -
Raytheon is the fifth biggest arms manufacturer in the world and are directly implicated in war crimes: In 2003, a Raytheon device hit the Shu'ale market in Baghdad in 2003, killing at least 62 civilians. In 2006 a Raytheon device hit Qana in Lebanon in 2006, killing at least 28 civilians, including 16 children. By welcoming Raytheon, our politicians are complicit with war crimes.

Bush to Nasrallah: An Offer Hezbollah cannot refuse? Part III: the ...The People's Voice - Nashville,TN,USA('Birdie' was the nickname for the M-43 Raytheon manufactured cluster bomb which was widely used by Israel against civilians in 1978, 1982, and to a lesser ...
Bush to Nasrallah: An Offer Hezbollah cannot refuse?Atlantic Free Press - Groningen,Netherlands

Raytheon Company produces, according to its own web-site JSOW (Joint Stand Off Weapon), and cluster munitions to these: “JSOW integrates the BLU-97 combined effects bomblets and the BLU-108 sensor fused weapon submunitions for area targets or armoured vehicles”. These are considered as cluster weapons.
The small explosive devices or bomblets are certainly key components in a cluster weapon. These consist of components such as the explosives themselves, the surrounding canister and a detonation mechanism or fuse which make the explosive charge detonate. The canister which contains bomblets is, as a rule, specially designed for this purpose and must therefore be regarded as a key component in a cluster bomb. This also consists of several sub-components. All canisters will have a mechanism or a fuse which makes the canister open and drop the smaller explosive devices. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0623-01.htm

Hundreds and possibly thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed or maimed by outdated, defective U.S. cluster weapons that lack a safety feature other countries have added, according to observers, news reports and officials. Bruce Mueller, a former Army lieutenant colonel who made managed the fuse program for defense contractor Raytheon. Cluster munitions have a high dud factor and are used also for that purpose to lay a minefield as Israel did during the last hours of the brief 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon. The streets were littered with cluster munitions - this saw some of the most extensive use yet of cluster munitions, mostly by Israel, in highly populated areas. Some dated back to 1976.

Civilian casualties caused by these weapons, both during the war and after, have refocused global attention on the weapons' most frequent users and producers, including in recent or ongoing conflicts in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Later this month, around 90 countries are expected to sign the Ban on Cluster Munitions Treaty at a conference in Dublin, Ireland. The likely signatories include some of Europe's biggest traditional users and stockpilers of the weapons, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom? - the most frequent user that has entered the process. Read more here

Katie Harrison's very comprehensive daily updates on the proceedings of the Dublin Conference on the WILPF website There is a cluster munition survivor's blog a CMC/ Handicap International 'Ban Bus' blog,

Watch this programme on Cluster bombs (video) http://www.hd.net/drr306.html%20Dan Rather Reports Bombs Left Behind
Long after a cease fire in the Iraeli-Lebanese conflict, thousands of unexploded bombs--cluster munitions--still cover the battlefields and are wounding many unintended victims--civilians.

Raytheon and cluster munitions report on the connections between the banks and the producers from Netwerk Vlaanderen. here

A military academy is NOT the best option for the local economy - privatising military training is a dangerous option - Who are Raytheon and other to be answerable to? Who will monitor what is going on?

And likely to fail as other privatisations have been e.g. railways and COST the British tax payer more.

The union PCS who represent the curerent trainers oppose the plan.
Young people in S Wales are more likely to pressed in to military service to fight for illegal wars.

The whole project is unethical..what happened to a vision for an ethical foreign policy?

The only winners are the arms dealers Raytheon and friends. They profit - We pay!

More info

Raytheon Cluster Bomb Protest ! on Flickr - Photo Sharing! A protestor holds a placard during a Ban Cluster Bombs Protest outside Raytheon in Derry on Wednesday afternoon calling for a ban on the use of Cluster ...
Sign the petition here

Weapons firm’s role in St Athan academy condemned (UK) see here

Cluster Bombs, Landmines, Nuclear Weapons and Depleted Uranium Weapons
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML

The assortment of Raytheon weapons also includes cluster munitions. ......

News

US subverts the cluster bomb ban Boston Globe, US Its efforts in Dublin are really about undermining the treaty itself. US allegations that the cluster ban treaty would undermine NATO are another ......US "bullying" hurts cluster bomb ban work-activists ReutersTime to stand up for what we believe Globe and Mail Campaigners call on US to stop bullying negotiators on cluster ...

Solidarity with the Raytheon 9! Kick Raytheon out of Wales

Lebanon burns - Raytheon earns

Palestine burns -Raytheon earns

Iraq burns - Raytheon earns

Read Mark Steels censored Raytheon Article too
Kick Raytheon out of Wales - Show Solidarity with the Raytheon 9!

5.30 - 6.30, Tuesday 27th May, Transport House (T&G Building), 1 Cathedral Road, Cardiff information here

Called by Stop the St Athan Military Academy Campaign, supported by Cardiff Stop the War Coalition, CAAT and other peace groups. Raytheon 9 website here

Raytheon - banned by Liverpool Council, the Norwegian and Belgian government, manufacturer of cluster bombs and lethal weapons - has been welcomed to Wales by our politicians with barely a murmer of dissent. They are a key part of the new, privatised UK Military Academy being built in Wales.

Let's be clear, Raytheon are directly implicated in war crimes: In 2003, a Raytheon device hit the Shu'ale market in Baghdad in 2003, killing at least 62 civilians. In 2006 a Raytheon device hit Qana in Lebanon in 2006, killing at least 28 civilians, including 16 children.By welcoming Raytheon, our politicians are complicit with war crimes.

Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of Wales has defended Raytheon and attacked anti-war campaigners as liars. Raytheon Nine trial set to start The trial of the “Raytheon Nine” anti-war activists started this week in Belfast, and will last for up to six weeks.The nine anti-war protesters, occupied and shut down the Derry offices of Raytheon, the fifth biggest arms manufacturer in the world, on Wednesday 9 August 2006 during Israel's war on Lebanon.

The action was part of a wider protest at Raytheon’s complicity in the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon and the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.Rush messages of support to resistderry@aol.comFor background see:Unmasking the System - Exposing Welsh Politicians lies about Raytheon'Who has the power to frame reality-- the power to describe things as they really are, the power to make clear the power relationships in a community, family or country?To unmask the truth of a situation is to expose the fraudulence of the glowing phrases, the lofty claims, and the false promises of oppressive authorities and to make clear the human rights, the community obligations and the just relationships which the reality of the situation requires'

Mark Steel

Mark Steel's censored Raytheon article By Jim Jay(Jim Jay) Can be found here. The Independent decided not to print it -

Raytheon 9 Trial has finally started (Reibiliun) Here is a brief outline of the day: The trial of the Raytheon 9 finally got underway today at Laganside Court in Belfast. The day started well with about 50 people congregating outside the Courthouse. 28 of them carried placards with ...

Raytheon Nine trial set to start Socialistworker.co.uk - The trial of the “Raytheon Nine” anti-war activists is set to start this week in Belfast, and last for up to six weeks. The nine anti-war protesters, ...

Raytheon poisons folk!! Raytheon Class Action Lawsuit

If you are one of the many residents of St. Petersburg, Florida who have been affected by the Raytheon groundwater contamination, then it is vital that you contact Joe Saunders, at Saunders Walker.

Police Surveillance tatics over academy

Look who’s watching!

SIR – The security implications of the Metrix military training academy coming to St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan have not been admitted by its supporters.
Since personnel and the academy buildings would be potential targets for terrorist attack, high levels of surveillance and security are to be anticipated.
It is, however, a surprise that anti-Metrix campaigners are already being given this treatment.
At the anti-Metrix demonstration in Cardiff on Saturday, the Met’s special surveillance unit from London was openly photographing participants.
People travelling to Llantwit Major for leafleting in the town (announced on the website) were met off the train by half-a- dozen police officers.
A person posting leaflets around the doors in St Athan was followed around by a uniformed policeman.

Phone tapping appears included, judging by a police car waiting in a car park after people arranged by phone to meet there.

As Blair’s support for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan made England a target for terrorist attacks, so did new laws and police surveillance become necessary. Let’s recognise that the Metrix academy would take Wales further into the US military axis and bring military-style surveillance to the Vale of Glamorgan. Max Wallis

Fit Watch are a fluid group of people who have come together to resist and oppose the tactics of the Forward Intelligence Teams (cops who harass protesters)...that the non met cop in attendance was PC Bacon (1222) from Cambridge

Wyn Jones ..What happened to the party of Lewis, Valentine and Williams?

Sue Fortune Member no 77615 Ruabon Branch, Clwyd South


Dear Mr Wyn Jones

Twice now I have written to you, both in Caerdydd and at your own address, about the grave concern Plaid’s public welcome to the St Athan military training centre has caused me and many others. You have not bothered to reply. Perhaps you have more important correspondents than rank-and-file party members, who are only good for shoving leaflets through doors on rainy weekends just before elections, and putting tenners in the hat at conference after the rousing feel-good session on Friday afternoon.

Perhaps letters from people whose family have been English-speakers for three generations are at the bottom of the in-tray – although I notice no words of Cymraeg on cheques and banknotes, and they seem to move quickly enough. Perhaps someone whose membership of the Party is based purely on political conviction, and not family, chapel or business connections is simply too naïve to be worth a reply.

But naïve or not, I have a few points I’d like you to address, and as you don’t choose to do so, perhaps they’d form the basis of a diverting discussion in public.

Plaid has joined with Labour in welcoming the plans for a military training establishment (please don’t let’s dignify it with the misnomer “academy”; we are talking here about training hired killers, not philosophers) at St Athan. For a while it displayed this welcome on its website, as if it was something to be proud of.

It will cost £14,000,000,000 of public money. Taxpayers’ money.

It will be run in conjunction with Metrix, a consortium of arms manufacturers including the notorious Raytheon, a company famed for its cluster bombs (condemned by the UN and the EU), “bunker-busters (like the ones responsible for the massacres of civilians at Qana and Baghdad), the “Silent Guardian” heat ray weapon (whose potential for use in torture has alarmed Amnesty International and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture) and depleted uranium missiles (have you seen the child victims dying of leukaemia years after such bombs explode? They are pitiful).

And among the indispensible public services it will offer are training for the crews of Trident and its replacement, as well as armed forces from around the world, many with appalling human rights records.

So much for Plaid’s environmental, human rights and anti-nuclear commitments.

But what about all the jobs, I hear you reply. Well, I haven’t got a job, and, as I’m expected to live on £20 a week, naturally I’d like one. But you propose to spend £14,000,000,000 to “create” (and we’ll come to that in a minute) 5,000 jobs, at most. That’s £2,800,000 per job. Well, you give me a tenth of that, and even if I put it in the bank and do nothing but buy new shoes and good wine, I’ll generate plenty of economic growth, without going to the trouble of mass murder and nuclear aggression.

But “create” jobs? We’re told (loudly) that all sorts of skilled technicians will be working at St Athan for meatily high wages (rejoice!) – and then (more quietly) that actually these peole are already doing these jobs, for these wages, in England. They’ll move to St Athan, handsomely kitted out with generous relocation allowances which they’ll spend on local properties, thus inflating house prices ever further beyond the reach of local people. Is lining the pockets of a few Caerdydd estate agents really such a priority for a responsible and principled party? Meanwhile the jobs paradise will consist of the chance to fry chips, clean toilets and serve pints to hordes of squaddies, for the minimum wage. Rather a contrast to the £270,792.67 in expenses alone claimed by a certain AM!

And why are we arguing the toss about the “jobs bonanza” anyway? I’m sure building Auschwitz created many jobs, but surely that didn’t make it right?

I joined Plaid because I wanted to be a member of a principled organisation that was committed to making a change for the better and was unafraid to speak up for what was right. A party that wouldn’t have its head turned by a taste of power in the Assembly; that would be mature and responsible enough to resist the snouts-in-trough blandishments of vested interests. Naïve indeed to think so, I fear. Sure, there was a flutter of embarrassment last autumn, when Jill Evans tried to discuss what was wrong about St Athan. But although a placatory form of words was found, it seemed to make as much difference as Clare Short MP’s opposition to the Iraq war.

What happened to the Party of Lewis, Valentine and Williams?

Many a young lady has had to open her legs from dire necessity, and it’s understandable if deplorable that this in certain cases becomes a habit of rather less than last resort. I’ve no illusions about the whorish propensities of the country I love. I can forgive without condoning.

But never, never, never will I join in with those who pimp for her. And that, Mr Wyn Jones, is what Plaid and its adherents will become, if they lack the guts to to stick to their principles and oppose the disgrace of St Athan..

I won’t be out in the rain pushing Plaid leaflets through voters’ doors this time. Nor will I be voting. And my membership card will be returning to you in the post.

Yours in shame and sorrow

Sue Fortune
Member no 77615
Ruabon Branch, Clwyd South

Anti-metrix demo

No savings on st athan??? Big Brother fit?

Parliamentary Question on DTR Recently Mark Pritchard MP asked a parliamentary question on behalf of PCS:21 April 2008 : Parliamentary Question
Armed Forces: Training
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of likely savings as a result of the Defence training review over the next 25 years.

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The broad projection of the through life (30 years) savings of the DTR Package 1 project is approximately £400 million, although this continues to be subject to development of the Metrix solution. As previously announced, the way ahead for Package 2 is the subject of further work and therefore no specific estimate of the likely savings can yet be made.

FIT in Cardiff By Really Fit(FIT Watch) Pictures with numbers and where possible names of FIT and Evidence gatherers always welcome. Mail defycops@yahoo.co.uk. These pics are from a demo against a military academy at St Athans (nr Cardiff) which took place on the 26th April. ...Fit watch - http://fitwatch.blogspot.com/

What's the story?By David(David) Plaid Cymru, following on from their St Athan Military Academy confusion (on one hand welcoming it, on the other reiterates Plaid Cymru’s opposition to privatisation, including that of military training) it seems they're at it again. ...The Cynical Dragon - ttp://thecynicaldragon.blogspot.com/

Demonstration Against the St Athan Military Academy By Cheryl The demonstration was against the proposed St Athan Military Academy, which would mean enforced relocation or loss of jobs for many PCS members. From the PCS point of view there are several issues; risk to the front line, loss of skills ...PCS Shropshire Area - http://www.pcsshropshire.selfip.org/newspage

Questions at university over military academy By Greg Lewis(Greg Lewis) Protesters say they’ve found the first chinks in the armour of the arms and defence consortium behind the new St Athan training academy. Much is being made about the educational courses which will be on offer at the massive base – and ...What Is Wales And What Is It For? - http://whatiswales.blogspot.com/

Raytheon, EDS, Privatisation and a New Labour Think Tank

Raytheon, EDS, Privatisation and a New Labour Think Tank

The state is utterly clueless on the public-private divide

Simon Jenkins The Guardian, Wednesday February 20 2008 tells us that Northern Rock is far from unique. The government has long been throwing cash at behemoths that have failed to deliver.

Consider this: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 c;aim 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.

This IPPR paper sponsored by Raytheon is full of turgid jargon like ‘Diffusion of power from state to non-state actors’, ‘Some of this diffusion has been driven by states themselves through use of private military firms’, ‘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’, ‘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 ….. all add value to the policy making process.’ Yes whether overt or subliminal we get the message. Public Sector and governments no longer own or control the capability of managing their own security! Private Sector to the rescue, TINA!

Who wrote this? Ian Kearns is Deputy Chair of the commission on National Security

In the 21sr century 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. As Jenni Russel commented in the Guardian ‘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. An internal company memo admitted the system was "badly designed, badly delivered, badly tested and badly implemented". The disastrous implementation of the tax credits system, where a third of the 6 million families involved were over- or underpaid and a billion pounds was lost in the first year, was made infinitely worse because the computer system built to run it repeatedly crashed.’ In addition to the EDS debacle at the child support agency and the Inland Revenue's Tax Credits systems there was the disastrous unworkable MOD new computerised payroll system. Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "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.” 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.

ippr’s Commission on National Security in the 21st Century was established in May 2007 and is Chaired by Lord (George) Robertson, and Lord (Paddy) Ashdown. Shami Chakrabarti is one of the commissioners and I wonder if she has thought about it..

http://www.ippr.org/publicationsandreports/publication.asp?id=588

Qinetiq cuts jobs

Defence site 'to lose 200 jobs' 17th Feb
BBC News – UK About 200 jobs are to go in a Worcestershire town at the defence and security firm Qinetiq, a union claims. The firm, which has a site off Poolbrook Road, ...
"Qinetiq is undergoing a restructuring of its UK business that involves redundancies of up to 400 people."

You have to ask Qinetiq a key partner in the Metrix consortium bid to run the privatised military academy at St Athan, Wales how many jobs they actually intend creating here as they are in the business of cutting jobs - less people - more profit. Not the thousands promised then? That's why PCS the union representing MOD staff are fighting the privatisation!

Boycott investments in Raytheon!

The campaign agaisnt the St Athan Military Academy accuses the Welsh Assembly Government of hypocrisy over cluster bombs. Politicans profess their opposition to cluster bombs but invite Raytheon to Wales - spend money encouraging Raytheon to Wales - invest in Raytheon!

Rhodri Morgan "we have worked very hard to get this project for Wales. the reference to cluster bombs and Raytheon by campaigners is a simple guilt by association argumnet with absolutely no supporting evidence. They should be ashamed of themselves for using such a smear as a substitute for intelligent argument."

Greens accuse government of hypocrisy over cluster bombs
Earthtimes, UK - 14 Feb 2008 Wellington - New Zealand was accused Thursday of hypocrisy in hosting an international conference aimed at banning cluster bombs while a government pension ...He said the state pension fund in Norway, where the drive for an international treaty prohibiting the use of the weapons began a year ago, had boycotted investments in US companies Lockheed and Raytheon which manufacture them.

Time to stop loving the money from the bomb
Scoop.co.nz, New Zealand -14 feb
The Green Party is calling on the New Zealand Super Fund to urgently withdraw from its ever-increasing investments in cluster bomb manufacturers before the ...

Wellington Conference to Address Cluster Munitions Threat
Scoop.co.nz, New Zealand - 11 Feb 2008
Next week in Wellington the New Zealand Government is hosting an international conference on a treaty to prevent humanitarian disasters created by cluster ...

UK give Raytheon,Qinetiq, Serco, 92 MILLION more?

Raytheon and their friends Serco and Qinetiq get 92 million more from UK government for what?..emmmm.. extended functionality and services related to uk border security..so what is that when it is at home? So how faulty was the exisitng contract and what was it for? Do we want these global coporate rotters doing UK border security? Raytheon Wins Contract Add-On From UK Houston Chronicle, United States - Feb 12 2008 © 2008 AP GARLAND, Texas — Military contractor Raytheon Co. said Monday it received a contract addendum worth 92 million British pounds ($179 million) from ... Raytheon inks $179M addendum to UK e-Borders contract CNNMoney.com - SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 11, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Raytheon (NYSE:RTN) Co. said Monday it has signed an addendum, valued at roughly ... Border Control Identity Loop, UK - Feb 12 2008 Trusted Borders, a consortium of companies led by Raytheon Systems Limited of the UK, has signed an addendum to the e-Borders contract it originally signed ... Raytheon Bags $179 Million Add-On UK E-Borders Contract RTT News, NY - 2/11/2008 2:53:50 PM Monday, Raytheon Co. (RTN), a manufacturer of technological products, services and solutions, announced signing an additional contract ... A Raytheon-led team will provide the U.K. Home Office extended functionality and services for the program, under the addendum, worth 92 million pounds Sterling or around $179 million. Raytheon is the key contractor for the e-Borders consortium ‘Trusted Borders', which won the original contract signed in November 2007. The other members are Serco, Accenture, Detica, QinetiQ, Capgemini and Steria. Mike Keebaugh, President, The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company's Intelligence and Information System business, said, "Raytheon is on the leading edge of providing technology and management solutions to address infrastructure and border protection challenges across the globe. As effective visitor management continues to be a critical issue facing nations today, we are confident this will be a significant growth area for our company." Raytheon Awarded $179 Million Add-On to UK e-Borders Contract Biloxi Sun Herald, USA -By Raytheon Company Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has signed an addendum to the e-Borders contract it won in November 2007. Under the addendum, valued at 92 ... 5 - IDENTITY CARDS - WHO PROFITS? Below is an extract from the Defy-ID 'greasy palms' list (available in full on www.defy-id.org.uk/greasypalms.htm), of companies either involved or actively seeking involvement in the UK identity scheme. This list is a work in progress and any information about companies, listed or not listed, will be gratefully received. Email: research@defy-id.org.uk

Are private military companies accountable?

Sexual Assault Is a Crime, Not a Labor Dispute, Unless of Course You Work for Halliburton/KBR [VIDEO] By Lucinda Marshall, Feminist Peace Network The notion that sexual assault cannot be tried as a criminal matter but is treated as a labor dispute is simply beyond belief. Read more »

Raytheon busy selling missiles

Spinwatch - Právo: US company, embassy lobbying among Czech MPs Raytheon representatives are currently attending a seminar for Czech and U.S. arms producers that ... Právo: US company, embassy lobbying among Czech MPs ...
www.spinwatch.org/content/view/4567/9/ - 27k

US's Raytheon Delivers 24 Missiles To Czech Army - AFP
CNNMoney.com – USA PRAGUE (AFP)--US defense firm Raytheon Co. (RNT) has delivered 24 air-to-air missiles to the Czech Republic which will be used to equip combat planes, ...

Raytheon - cluster munitions?

Rhodri Morgan frst minister is one of the few people in Wales who love Raytheon!

The mysterious case of the disappearing cluster bombs
(News/Arms Industry) ...t Industries, MBDA, Rhienmetall, RUAG, SAAB, Denel, General Dynamics, L-3 Communications, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Textron) to discreetly flog you the whole thing. A journalist from The Independ...

US insists cluster bombs not bad if used right
(News/Arms Industry)

Robert Evans, January 16, 2008, Reuters GENEVA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Cluster bombs, which nearly 100 countries are seeking to ban, should not be considered bad as long as states involved in con

QinetiQ - 394 University Projects

Arms Trade Report criticises York for taking on 59 Military Projects
By Jonathan Fransman
Nouse.co.uk - http://www.nouse.co.uk

QinetiQ - 394 university projects
QuinetiQ is a leading international defence and security technology company. It acts as the leading supplier of defence research to the British government which provides half its turnover. It also provides technological and security solutions to clients from both the civil and public sectors. The government recently sold a majority stake in the firm to a US private equity firm

See alson http://ouandarmsdealers.blogspot.com/

Blackwater - seven dead

Blackwater is a busy little bee: Bodies of seven family members found in Iraq orchard 22 Jan 2008 Iraqi security forces found the bodies of seven family members on Tuesday, all bearing signs of torture and shot execution-style, as they hunted al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] fighters outside Iraq's volatile city of Baquba, police said.

Private Military and security contractors could be getting away with murder - rape and torture - in Iraq

Private military and security contractors like Blackwater and Halliburton could be getting away with murder - and rape and torture - in Iraq - Keep them out of St Athan - no to private military

Imagine you're a security contractor dispatched to Iraq - a place where your greatest fear is being hit by a roadside bomb. But mere days after you arrive, you are gang raped by co-workers... and then pressured by company management to "get over it" or lose your job.

This is the story of 23-year-old American Jamie Leigh Jones, who recently recounted her personal horror in Iraq two years ago as an employee of KBR, Halliburton's former subsidiary, before a House subcommittee.

There are an estimated 180,000 private contractors working in Iraq, yet they seem to operate above the law both in Iraq and the U.S. This culture of impunity allows abuse and killings to thrive - with little recourse for the victims. Amnesty International is working to stop this - and we need your help to succeed.

It's been more than 4 years since the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Even though the Army's internal reports indicated contractor involvement in the abuses and the Department of Justice (DOJ) established a "Detainee Abuse Task Force" in 2004, it has not prosecuted a single contractor for abuses in Iraq to date. When pressed for answers, DOJ has simply said these cases remain "open" and that investigations are continuing.

Through our new "Counter Terror with Justice" campaign, Amnesty is working to reverse these injustices that further denigrate our nation's reputation around the world. All companies and contractors have an obligation to respect human rights at home and abroad. And the business community as a whole has a wider responsibility - moral and legal - to use its influence to promote respect for human rights.

With the stakes growing higher every day, we must move quickly to stop these egregious abuses in the "war on terror." Please consider making a gift today to help Amnesty to:

• Pressure the Justice Department to expedite investigations and prosecute cases of clear human rights violations by contractors.
• Pressure the Senate to pass a loophole-free version of the Security Contractor Accountability Act, a bill that would ensure that private military and security contractors are not above the law. A similar bill has already passed in the House, but we need your help to keep up the momentum!
• Drive increased media and public attention to the U.S.'s illegal practices in the war on terror. Our protests on January 11th generated huge TV and print media coverage around the world!

Help support Amnesty's work to hold private contractors accountable for the human rights abuses they commit by making a tax-deductible gift today.

Thank you for your commitment to creating a more just and peaceful world.

Sincerely,

Larry Cox
Executive Director
Amnesty International USA