28th November is a day of action against Barclays to launch the Target Barclays campaign. KAN! will be holding a picket at Falmouth Barclays – please contact us for further details.
Smash EDO’s five year campaign of direct action against EDO MDM/ITT, aimed at persuading them to stop producing weapons components in Brighton, is an inspiring one, especially to local campaigners. EDO MDM/ITT is a weapons factory whose components are used by the US and UK in Iraq and Afghanistan and Israel in Palestine.
Smash EDO’s tactics have engaged people on a local and a national level with regular noise demos and acts of sabotage at the factory – including £300,000 of damage in a decomissioning action during the Gaza invasion – and occasional national demonstrations held either at the factory or in the centre of Brighton. The campaign has fought large amounts of State/corporate harassment and intimidation, including EDO attempting but failing to get an injunction against protesters.
Their new campaign asks people to take action to stop Barclays providing market maker services to ITT. Barclays Banks are the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) market maker for ITT Corporation. ITT Corporation own EDO MBM/ITT in Brighton.
As ITT’s market maker, Barclay’s 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. Barclay’s 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.
18th January – Remember Gaza – Smash EDO Mass Demo – contact KAN for details of transport from Cornwall.
The trial for the EDO decommissioners is due to start in May 2010. Meanwhile one defendant, Elijah Smith has been in prison for ten months on remand following the action. Send letters and cards of support to: Elijah Smith, c/o PO Box 6, Booty, 82 Colston Street, Bristol, BS1 5BB.
Posted by .. 
Kernow Anarchist Network 