CONFERENCE ON THE 'NEW TERRORISM'

Another date to put into your diary is the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Conference on the 9th and 10th November. Entitled 'Transnational Terrorism: Defeating the Threat', the conference brief focuses on Islam citing the religion as having the potential to 'combine to create a fertile breeding ground for extremism'.

One speaker at the event, not involved in policy making, academia or journalism is David Handley CMG, Director of Group Strategic Analysis at BAE Systems. Could he be touting for more business from the UK government and promoting BAE to representatives from Qatar? Maybe - in its interim report in 2005, BAE Systems boasted of its relationship with the UK government:

'We are now also seeing the benefits of the work over recent years to eliminate inappropriate risk and improve returns from our major programmes business with the UK Ministry of Defence'[1]. Translated from corporate-ese this basically means that the company has managed to guarantee itself a profit at taxpayers' expense.

According to Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), BAE Systems' tools to tackle terrorism include: 'fighter aircraft, tanks, warships and missiles'[2]. The company also has markets in these countries: 'the US, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, India, Indonesia and Israel.'[3] CAAT are currently campaigning against the revolving door between arms companies and big business. To find out more about CAAT's 'Call the Shots' campaign see their website:www.caat.org.uk.

For more details about this conference and others at RUSI see the events list for more details.

CUTTING THE COST OF CORPORATE CARVE-UP

Now that Corporate Watch are a little more financially secure we are able to cut the price of Corporate Carve-up from £5.00 to £2.50.

Thanks for everyone's continued support - particularly through the rough patch at the beginning of the year - we are all really, really chuffed!

To order a copy of Corporate Carve-Up go to our online publications portal.

FACK'ED OFF WITH CORPORATE KILLING?

Launched at the 17th Hazards campaign conference in July 2006, Families Against Corporate Killers (fack) is a national network campaigning 'to stop workers and others being killed in preventable incidents'. Formed by a group of families whose loved ones were killed at work and who are challenging why companies often 'get away with it' and are not - if at all - aptly punished.

Bitterly disappointed with the UK government's Corporate Manslaughter bill, a potentially ineffective law, fack believe the bill 'is not fit for purpose and will not have any major effect in deterring negligent employers from injuring and killing people as it does not carry the threat of imprisonment for gross negligence.'[4]

The group carry on to protest for stricter legislation calling for company managers to be targeted for any negligence rather than just imposing fines on the company.[5]

The Hazards campaign is a network of resource centres and campaigners on health and safety at work, for more information about campaigns see: www.hazardscampaign.org.

GOODYEAR THAILAND VS UNION ACTIVISTS: UPDATE

From the last news update you may remember Anan Pol-ung, the activist fired from a Goodyear tyre factory in Thailand for his union activity (Tires Giant Fires Union Activist (Again)).

The case will soon be going to court and there is a call out for people to contact Goodyear's headquarters in the US and inform them of the unreasonable behaviour of their Thai-based business.

To support the union activists visit this website: www.laborstart.org.

Don't forget to visit our Corporate Watch blog for more news and recent updates!

References
[1] Page 1, Author unknown, 'BAE Systems plc Interim report 2005', baesystems.com/interims_07_sep.pdf viewed 26/10/06

[2] Campaign Against Arms Trade, 'More about Arms Companies', www.caat.org.uk/campaigns/clean-investment/universities/companies.php

[3] Ibid.

[4] News release from fack,www.hazardscampaign.org.uk/fack/news/" viewed 26/10/06

[5] Author unknown, 'Mother of drowned boy lobbies MPs', The Oxford Times, 11/10/06