Action: War Profiteers' Ball at Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, 1/19/09, Noon)

The PeaceAction Montgomery Inaugural Committee Requests the Honor of Your Presence at the War Profiteers’ Ball

Join us on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, January 19, 2009, at noon for The War Profiteers’ Ball, a spirited demonstration that will be held near the front gates of the corporate headquarters of the world's largest military contractor and arms exporter--Lockheed Martin.

Where

We'll meet at the Davis Library, 6400 Democracy Blvd, Bethesda Maryland, 12:00 sharp.

After a brief rally at Davis Library, we’ll march two blocks to the intersection of Democracy Blvd. and Fernwood Road. The busy intersection is within sight of Lockheed’s corporate headquarters. We’ll congregate on a grassy knoll on the Northeast side of the intersection. The familiar Lockheed Martin logo, perched high atop a large Lockheed building, is visible from the demonstration site.

What

Demonstrators will gather under a makeshift tent and toast their champagne (and fruit punch!) glasses to the demise of the global arms peddler. Signs directed at passing motorists will encourage people to contribute to Handicap International, a non-profit that aids civilians devastated by the effect of land mines and cluster bombs. Protesters in formal attire will work all fours sides of the intersection, encouraging motorists to contribute to Handicap International to help relieve the suffering inflicted by Lockheed’s weaponry. Participants will be provided with identical small, decorated buckets for cash donations. Wear your ball gown or tuxedo!

More details:
Visit the Peace Action Montgomery website.

UK Nuclear Warhead Factory Sold to US Companies

From the December 20, 2008 article in the Independent by Ben Russell:

Britain no longer has any stake in the production of its nuclear warheads after the Government secretly sold off its shares in the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston.

See: Secret nuclear sell-off storm: Aldermaston bomb factory is sold to American company in bid to boost Treasury coffers provoking fury as Parliament is bypassed.

The American companies who now share ownership of "AWE" include: Jacobs Engineering Group, Serco, and Lockheed Martin.

Meanwhile, for an overview of UK opposition to Lockheed Martin's manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, see: Lockheed Martin UK and the Muriel Lesters:

The Muriel Lesters, a group of Trident Ploughshares pledgers, are determined the world should know that this multinational giant has a £5.3 billion contract with the UK government to design and build new and illegal weapons of mass destruction at Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment. Both the UK government and Lockheed Martin are breaking international law, and neither wants us to know what they are doing.