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Smash EDO Events Update

Here comes your sporadic campaign update. In this email
-New campaign started against Barclays
-Remember Gaza Smash EDO mass demo
-Council Petition
-Fundraiser at Hector's House

TARGET BARCLAYS: SHUT ITT

see

http://www.smashedo.org.uk/target-barclays.html

Smash EDO will be launching the new campaign against Barclays with a picket at their Brighton branch on North Street on Saturday 28th at 11am. We are calling on groups around the country to take action on the same day. Why not organise your own local demonstration, email details to

smashedo@riseup.net

Barclays Banks are the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) market maker for ITT Corporation. ITT Corporation own EDO MBM/ITT in Brighton.

There has been a five year long campaign of direct action against EDO MBM/ITT aimed at persuading them to stop producing weapons components in Brighton. EDO's components are used by the US and UK in Iraq and Afghanistan and Israel in Palestine.

As ITT’s market maker, Barclays acts as a ‘middle man’, purchasing shares from a seller and holding them until such a time as a buyer becomes available. This ensures the stability of ITT’s share price by allowing shareholders to sell off their assets at any time, even when a a buyer is not immediately available, and vice versa. Barclays also profits from this enterprise by selling ITT’s shares at a small markup, which nevertheless generates a considerable income when spread across large sales.

For more information on 'market makers' click here.

Smash EDO are calling for autonomous actions against Barclays Bank to force them to stop providing 'market maker' services for ITT Corporation on the NYSE. By performing marker services for ITT Barclays Bank are profiting from EDO's complicity in civilian deaths in Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq. Barclays are the largest UK investor in the global arms trade. Bankers and institutional investors are the glue that finances the state terror wreaked by the arms trade. Companies like EDO do not operate in a vacuum but are propped up by the networks of corporations and investors which constitute the global capitalist system which puts profit before peace, greed before people.

You can report your actions (securely) at www.indymedia.org.uk

REMEMBER GAZA SMASH EDO MASS DEMO JANUARY 18TH. Assemble at 1pm, Brighton, wear black. For regular updates, location, accomodation etc see

http://www.smashedo.org.uk/remember-gaza.htm

Our next mass demo will take place on January the 18th. If you are able to be a local contact for your area, arrange transport or meeting points for your area, help with publicity etc please get in touch by e-mailing

smashedo@riseup.net or by calling 07538093930. So far there are a few local contacts (more on the way!) so start networking!

Cornwall:

kernowaction@gmail.com

Hastings -

info@hastingsagainstwar.org

Greater Manchester -

info@targetbrimar.org.uk

Bath -

bluehayes@gmail.com

Swansea -

d@undercurrents.org

Also, if you are planning to come to the demo, do consider arriving with an affinity group if possible.

SMASH EDO FUNDRAISER, SUNDAY DECEMBER 6TH, Hector's House, 52-54 Grand Parade, Brighton, 7pm-1am. Donations on the door.

Please help us raise some money through having a great evening out with the Meow Meows, Chukin and Baba Slips.

And, finally, a reminder: There is an ongoing petition demanding that Brighton and Hove council table a petition to condemn the activities of EDO MBM/ITT in Brighton. If you have not already done so, please add your signature (especially if you are a Brighton and Hove citizen) and circulate the petition widely. It can be found on

http://www.petitiononline.com/edoitt2/petition.html

Smash EDO
e-mail: smashedo@riseup.net
Homepage: http://www.smashedo.org.uk

Comments

Hide the following 14 comments

the market maker link should be...

22.11.2009 22:33

...

http://beginnersinvest.about.com/od/beginnerscorner/l/blmarketmakers.htm

Smasher

market maker link

22.11.2009 22:57

read the market maker link, v. interesting. down with barclays! smash edo!

emma goldman

hectors house

23.11.2009 00:34

just out of interest, what bank do hectors house have their accounts with? if youre gonna hold a fundraiser for an anti arms group i really hope its a bank that havent invested in the arms trade at any point. Otherwise you could be seen as contradicting your own campaign by putting money in the hands of a company that banks with a dodgy bank

squirrelllo

Why target Barclays instead of the arms factory itself?

23.11.2009 11:03

Why side track by targetting a company only loosely connected. Why not target the EDO death factory itself and keep on track by only targetting it! You are making the same mistakes as the animal rights movement made when it started targetting companies which had only loose connections with animal abuse laboratories, sometimes only the most tenuous of connections and so lost almost all public support. Keep on topic and only target the arms dealers and arms manufacturers.

Destroy EDO

Why target Barclays?

23.11.2009 12:31

In response to the above, Smash EDO constantly targets the EDO factory. There is a demonstration outside the factory every Wednesday from 4 to 6. There is also a mass demo in January highlighting EDO's role in the Gaza massacre, However, Barclays play a key role in supporting EDO and have little to lose from withdrawing that service. EDO cannot survive without the backing of companies like Barclays

smashy

Targeting shareholders etc is effective

23.11.2009 13:36

HLS have their savings held by an anonymous bank because every bank they ever held an account with was targeted by animal rights activists. If it weren't for the government intervening HLS could be bankcrupt by now because their shareholders have been targeted so much. Targeting secondary connections is effective.

Kia

Kia

23.11.2009 15:08

Evidently it's not very effective because HLS is still open. The same will occur at EDO, if the company can't get a commercial bank it'll be propped up by a state owned one.

It's no good arguing about if the government had or hadn't intervened, the fact is the government is willing to prop up businesses with tax payers money. They did it for HBOS, they did it for HLS, and they'd do it for EDO should the need arise.

It's common sense to realise that the government will not allow vital businesses to collapse, they will intervene should the need arise. The days of targeted companies collapsing due to banking issues are over, they're old tactics which do not work.

Missing the point

answer this then, clever clogs...

23.11.2009 15:41

What if we start targeting Barclays, not just for their connection to EDO, but maybe also their history of supporting dodgy regimes in Africa and helping to fund counter-revolutionary activity by certain African powers?Their share price will start dropping and with enough attacks on banks and actions at homes of shareholders and managers and directors, maybe Barclays would collapse - taking all the fucked up companies it helps along too!

Or, if we organised a 'take your money out of Barclays' day, highlighting their role in funding vivisection, arms traders and dodgy African regimes (not withstanding its support for the dodgy british regime, either!). Then they would literally collapse.........

that'd be bliss.....nat west next! (one can dream, cant one?)

those that think actions cant shut companies down or affect share price are mislead. Why are Novartis fighting against us so hard if our tactics are not working? Why have various farms and other animal-industry companies closed or gone out of business if violence against property or actions against shareholders do not work?

EDO directors have left in droves since the campaign started...One left right after the last major action, after the MD said publicly that EDO dont have anything to do with bombing people and war. Maybe the director left as a result of the blatant hypocrisy of his colleagues statement?

Believe me, if we really took Barclays as a main target from now on, it'd be a matter of say, less than a year or two, until they were suffering on the share market and also with public opinion. Never underestimate what will or wont piss off the 'average' Barclays customer....all those pet lovers out there might be surprised to know that Barclays HAVE WITHDRAWN support for various companies DUE TO ACTIONS against shareholders, etc.
Now that targeting them is due to helping arms trading, might touch the hearts and minds of all their peace-loving customers, too. With anything that hurts profits, we can win.

Target Barclays 28th November 2009, in a town or city near you..........TARGET THEM! Hit the share price, hit the share holders in the pocket and we can create a victory!! HIT THEM! Target Them!

Bakunin

But

23.11.2009 15:50

But the same would be true if they became bankcrupt due a sustained campaign of property damage - the state could still bail them out, but surely it'd only be willing to do this to a certain extent? We can't give up just because of the state.

Kia

Which is bigger: the pharmaceutical industry or the arms trade?

23.11.2009 17:39

The govt bail out animal abusers like Huntingdon Life Sciences because of pressure from the pharmaceutical industry, which is very wealthy, very powerful and has friends in high places.

I know the arms trade is pretty big, but does anyone know how it compares to the pharmaceutical industry?

And how much influence it has over politicians? I known they like to distance themselves slightly from the killing business, but I'm sure behind the scenes things are very cosy.

If the govt bail out companies for political reasons then logically the next step would be targeting the corrupt politicians who do this. Expect to get massive state repression if you start doing this though...

anon

The government are closely connected to the arms trade

23.11.2009 18:32

There's a revolving door between high ranking military and government jobs and executive positions in arms companies. There are also corporate lobby groups with massive influence over government policy, which is why the arms trade is so heavily subsidised by the taxpayer. I'd imagine the pharmaceutical industry is pretty similar.

Kia