Smash EDO plans "summer of resistance" in Brighton (From The Argus)

At least they will have somewhere to park their Bicycles outside the train Station.

but they only make a fkn little hinge that sits near the plane's payload. they aint some nuclear weapon plant or manufacturing landmines for kids. why all the fuss?
why not smash edl instead?

DID YOU KNOW!

A ceremonial badge worn by the first chairman of a West Sussex authority has been returned to the council after being found at a car boot sale.

The Arun District Council badge, which dates from 1973 when the council was created, was found at a car boot sale in Ford by Councillor John Charles.

He paid £3.50 for the lead badge, which was in its original box.

It is not known how the badge, which is not thought to have a high monetary value, came to be in the car boot sale.

"I saw the red box and thought its contents might be interesting," said Mr Charles.

"I could not believe my eyes when I saw what it was."

The history of the badge was traced by the council's chief executive Ian Sumnall, who found it was first worn by Councillor Leslie Walwin, chairman of the council from 1973 to 1975.

"It's incredible that, after all this time the first ever chairman's badge, which we never even knew existed, should find its way back to the authority via a car boot sale," he said.

The council said the badge's origins were a mystery but it bore no resemblance to the current elaborate, gold-plated civic regalia.

Surely smashing EDO and smashing EDL are not mutually exclusive activities?

Yaaaaaaaawn! - I suppose that it gives their sad little live's a feeling of importance closing down the widget factory, oh no wait, it's still there despite years of 'direct' action'.

Its allright the greens will sort them out they hate protesters smashing up Brighton oh wait..............

cnadyamble wrote:
but they only make a fkn little hinge that sits near the plane's payload. they aint some nuclear weapon plant or manufacturing landmines for kids. why all the fuss?
why not smash edl instead?

if it's that insignificant then they might as well just stop then hadn't they?

Waiting till 2012 ? i guess that gives em plenty of notice to allow for booking the time off work..........
OH silly me i forgot they dont work do they just a though but how about a summer of job hunting instead of
"summer of resistance" in Brighton
to much effort ?
ok i'll settle for a summer of taking a shower seeing as its me and all us mugs who will be paying for the soap

dhamallamafarmer wrote:

cnadyamble wrote:
but they only make a fkn little hinge that sits near the plane's payload. they aint some nuclear weapon plant or manufacturing landmines for kids. why all the fuss?
why not smash edl instead?

if it's that insignificant then they might as well just stop then hadn't they?

...WHAT!...And allow all those taxpayers to lose their jobs, thereby removing more income from the exchequer, making it difficult to continue to pay these workshy wasters their benefits without closing Old Peoples Homes and Hospitals. The sooner EDL get a foothold the sooner we can put these dirty scoundrels up against the wall. We are doomed all the time the the students down here (arty-unemployable) vote Green/Liberal. It is stark consolation that they will soon be unable to afford to go to these Universities and might have to get a job or, more likely, move back to the bleak, barren, soulless Northern cesspits from whence they came.

Smash EDO:
you only have to read the comments here every time there is an announcement about another demo to realise that you have no mandate whatsoever from the taxpayers of Brighton & Hove to carry on with your protests.

Who do they think they are, about time these sponging skanks got a life and a job like the rest of us. The Defence industry employs, directly and indirectly, many hundreds of thousands of people in the UK paying taxes and bringing investment to the UK worth billions some of which no doubt goes back out in benefits to these muppets. It then costs the tax payer tens of thousands of pounds to police these fools when they're trespassing and committing criminal damage.

Err... Why wait until the summer of 2012? If it matters so much why not the winter of 2011?. They've had more final pushes since the old lady who lived in a shoe!

tom-redruth wait, so the EDL gaining power would FIX our financial problems and you're citing HEALTHCARE as the reason?
you do realise, EDL would 'send all the forrins home' INCLUDING doctors, nurses, carers, police, paramedics, ambulance drivers, firemen in their thousands.. but NOT including students, no matter HOW soulless their northern cesspit of origin was. incidentally.. is the redruth a surname or geographical point of reference, cos don't forget, we had the first police enforced youth curfew in the WHOLE of the uk- we aren't exactly shining examples of bright soulful town.

these people have nothing better to do with their time and please dont mention work to them, you dont want to send them into meltdown, and as regards to putting them against a wall as a previous comment suggested in you threw them against it they would stick to it, soap dodgers is not in it, or maybe they would rather get these parts made in China and the workers all sacked and then they could be on the doll like them, if their is a demand these parts will be made wherever so lets give responsible people that want to work the chance to do so, so go home morons!.

So SmashEdo are recruiting new members, that explains the guy in the black car asking kiddies if they want a lift home, he's a SmashEdo pedo!
On a more serious note the above poster is quite right. They have no mandate from the people of Brighton and should be ashamed of their facistic attempt to impose their views on us through violence. Brighton has seen through their lies so they have to recruit from outside the city where people have not had the chance to see SmashEdo in action and the hypocrisy of a group of peace protestors using violence to achieve their aims.
You have done more damage to the cause you claim to support than good. You have associated in peoples mind your violence and fanaticism with the worthy cause of the Palestinians and you should be ashamed of yourselves for doing that.

Longest running campaign in Brighton = least succesful campaign in Brighton

JHunty wrote:
So SmashEdo are recruiting new members, that explains the guy in the black car asking kiddies if they want a lift home, he's a SmashEdo pedo!
On a more serious note the above poster is quite right. They have no mandate from the people of Brighton and should be ashamed of their facistic attempt to impose their views on us through violence. Brighton has seen through their lies so they have to recruit from outside the city where people have not had the chance to see SmashEdo in action and the hypocrisy of a group of peace protestors using violence to achieve their aims.
You have done more damage to the cause you claim to support than good. You have associated in peoples mind your violence and fanaticism with the worthy cause of the Palestinians and you should be ashamed of yourselves for doing that.

Longest running campaign in Brighton = least succesful campaign in Brighton

Couldn't have put it better myself.

I wonder whether comrade Ben will be at the barricades with the green (and red) comrades? they are a tiresome bunch of muppets who only speak for a few factions of the community. They would not be taken seriously in the real world outside Brighton and Hove.

Ballroom Blitz wrote:
Smash EDO:
you only have to read the comments here every time there is an announcement about another demo to realise that you have no mandate whatsoever from the taxpayers of Brighton & Hove to carry on with your protests.

how about the possibility that a lot of tax payers in Brighton don't bother writing ignorant comments and making sweeping generalisations about a group of people they clearly know nothing about?

Get a Job!

Smash EDO has got to be the most laughable action group ever... Reason for my observation is that they are targeting a company the make a component that could be used as a release mechanism. My objection is WTF don't they target manufacturers of the bombs the alleged release mechs are potentially used for? I agree with their ethics of stopping weapon manufacture, but seriously grow some and target some of the real culprits not the tiny organisations who make the possible components go for the big boys you weeners.

somebodyinhove wrote:
Smash EDO has got to be the most laughable action group ever... Reason for my observation is that they are targeting a company the make a component that could be used as a release mechanism. My objection is WTF don't they target manufacturers of the bombs the alleged release mechs are potentially used for? I agree with their ethics of stopping weapon manufacture, but seriously grow some and target some of the real culprits not the tiny organisations who make the possible components go for the big boys you weeners.

your observation is inaccurate. EDO MBM don't just make one component that *could* be used as a release mechanism. They make thousands of different weapons systems components and complete bomb racks, missile launchers, bomb fuses and guidance systems, that are certainly used only for military aircraft. The exploding bomb or missile and the launching device are all essential parts of a weapons system. Bullets are useless without guns. Bombs are useless without missiles launchers and bomb racks.
The British and US governments classify this equipment as 'Weapons' under their official lists of controlled 'arms', just as hand guns and rifles are also weapons. Your argument fails even more when you see that EDO MBM have also actually developed the internal electronics and connection systems on the Raytheon Paveway bombs used extensively in the illegal war in Iraq.

On top of this a court of law found in July 2010 that the directors of the company had probably been lying about their lack of any involvement in the weapons systems used on Israeli F-16 aircraft. The jury acquitted 7 people who had admitted damaging the EDO MBM factory in 2009 causing around £200,000 of damage, because evidence showed it was reasonable to believe the company were aiding and abetting Israeli war crimes.
The full extent of EDO MBM's unlawful activities is yet to come out, but rest assured, that day will come.

Tom Redruth wrote
"making it difficult to continue to pay these workshy wasters their benefits without closing Old Peoples Homes and Hospitals."

I think you would be surprised to know how many people involved in Smash EDO who work in care homes and hospitals but I know I'm wasting my time here...work shy soap dodgers ad infinitum

000242 wrote:
Tom Redruth wrote
"making it difficult to continue to pay these workshy wasters their benefits without closing Old Peoples Homes and Hospitals."

I think you would be surprised to know how many people involved in Smash EDO who work in care homes and hospitals but I know I'm wasting my time here...work shy soap dodgers ad infinitum

So why do you want other workers to lose their jobs? Stop playing gesture politics with people's lives.
.
I could understand the point of the protests if they were going to make one iota of difference to world peace, but if the nerve gas or whatever it is EDO make that is so terrible wasn't made in Britain it would be made in somewhere like France or China. We need the jobs and you we can't have some tiny group dictating what is or isn't an 'acceptable' job.

your ignorance is incredible.

first off nerve gas is a chemical weapon that has been illegal for the best part of a century, so if anyone made it wherever, they would be in breach of international law
2nd. no-one has ever claimed EDO MBM make nerve gas.
3rd. Your argument about jobs is false. Every arms industry job is subsidised by the UK tax payer to the tune of some 13K on average so they loss of all of the 99 jobs at EDO MBM, with the result that all 99 claimed benefits would actually mean a saving to the tax payer of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

4th: A small minority? Are you so sure about that when a local MP supports the actions of the campaign, elected council leaders attend its demonstrations, and a jury of twelve ordinary people from Sussex looked at the evidence and supported the campaign arguments.

smash edo should continue their " summer of resistance" in Syria where 10,000 + peaceful protestors have been shot dead for protesting. But then they would be executed as well, what a shame that would be.They never do seem too concerned about crimes against humanity by Syria,Yemen,Hamas Libya ,Burma etc etc.
But they are losers & their campaign is doomed to fail. I read in the Argus last year they had run out of money,could the Argus identify their leaders & check this out ?

Jimmy Stewart's Imaginary Rabbit wrote
"So why do you want other workers to lose their jobs? Stop playing gesture politics with people's lives."

Surely hospital/care workers firsts concern would be actual lives rather than jobs. If one person's job contributes to numerous deaths elsewhere would find that hard to defend. I guess when you say "people's lives" you mean people's income (here) rather than people's actual lives in Gaza, Pakistan, Somalia, Lebanon and Iraq?

hursthill wrote:
smash edo should continue their " summer of resistance" in Syria where 10,000 + peaceful protestors have been shot dead for protesting. But then they would be executed as well, what a shame that would be.They never do seem too concerned about crimes against humanity by Syria,Yemen,Hamas Libya ,Burma etc etc.
But they are losers & their campaign is doomed to fail. I read in the Argus last year they had run out of money,could the Argus identify their leaders & check this out ?

Protestors in Syria are being killed by small arms ammunition sold to the Syrians by the UK last year. The sniper rifles used to kill protestors in Libya were sold to Gaddafi by the UK four months before the uprising there. Military equipment has also recently been sold to the Yemen by the UK. So where do you think protests against arms sales by the UK should properly be held? And you would actually applaud the "execution" of UK citizens who object? What a heroic keyboard warrior you are - give yourself a medal.

It's all 'probably', 'rumoured', and 'more than likely' with Smash Edo and their baseless attacks on EDO, isn't it?

Why can't Smash Edo publish their PROOF that EDO are evil weapon-enablers? Ah, because they don't have any, that's why.

Still, why let a few facts get in the way of a jolly day out being an 'activist' for the great unwashed, and/or a bunch of Quentins and Jemimas fro mthe Home Counties, trying to unload their upper class guilt by 'doing something'.

* sigh *

Smash Edo - if you want be taken seriously, show us the freaking PROOF!

Dr. Livesey wrote:

Turing Test wrote:

hursthill wrote:
smash edo should continue their " summer of resistance" in Syria where 10,000 + peaceful protestors have been shot dead for protesting. But then they would be executed as well, what a shame that would be.They never do seem too concerned about crimes against humanity by Syria,Yemen,Hamas Libya ,Burma etc etc.
But they are losers & their campaign is doomed to fail. I read in the Argus last year they had run out of money,could the Argus identify their leaders & check this out ?

Protestors in Syria are being killed by small arms ammunition sold to the Syrians by the UK last year. The sniper rifles used to kill protestors in Libya were sold to Gaddafi by the UK four months before the uprising there. Military equipment has also recently been sold to the Yemen by the UK. So where do you think protests against arms sales by the UK should properly be held? And you would actually applaud the "execution" of UK citizens who object? What a heroic keyboard warrior you are - give yourself a medal.

Stop this ..

I think he has gone a little too far in the Execution of protesters...

(Guns do not kill people...BULLETS KILL PEOPLE FACT!)





however, incarceration for a period not exceed 2 years and removal of all state benefits would suffice and be deemed reasonable the the vast majority of people, outside of the Left wing loony student led workshy lazy unclean gits that inhabit Brighton and their smelly friends.

This comment is very incoherent, but just to correct you on one point that you seem particularly confused about: bullets don't kill people unless they're fired. So I'm going to put this in the simplest terms possible. People kill people. That's the fact. That's why some UK citizens object to bullets being sold by the UK to bad people who will fire them at good people. They don't like bad people getting their bullets from us. These UK citizens should be sent to prison, according to you. I don't actually think the "vast majority" of people would agree with you, and you're very silly to pretend to speak for them.

Now go back to your colouring book.

The ususal Right-wing rent-a-mob are BACK!! With their super-powers they can POW! Make unsubstantiated biased claims... WHACK! Make stereotypical assumptions about anyone who disagrees! KERBLAM!! Watch as they accidentally often reveal deeply held xenophobic tendencies....


You lot are about as credible as a comic book too...!

pilkenstein wrote:
It's all 'probably', 'rumoured', and 'more than likely' with Smash Edo and their baseless attacks on EDO, isn't it? Why can't Smash Edo publish their PROOF that EDO are evil weapon-enablers? Ah, because they don't have any, that's why. Still, why let a few facts get in the way of a jolly day out being an 'activist' for the great unwashed, and/or a bunch of Quentins and Jemimas fro mthe Home Counties, trying to unload their upper class guilt by 'doing something'. * sigh * Smash Edo - if you want be taken seriously, show us the freaking PROOF!

Between 2003 and 2005, I worked in the part of govt. that handled export licences, in particular for goods controlled under the various international treaties covering goods specifically designed for military use or goods that could be used for military purposes (the Wassenar Agreement). This part of govt was, then, DTI but is now BIS and the unit called Export Control Organisation. My role was to consider if goods for export required a licence under the Export of Goods Order - last ammended as I was leaving in 2005. During my time there, I handled and processed a number of licence applications, one of which specially stuck in my mind was components for bomb-release mechanisms specially for fighter/bomber aircraft - the US F-16 aircraft. Listed amongst the component parts was a bracket -specially designed for that purpose and so counted as a military item under the Wassenar Agreement - manufactured by EDO. I can specifically remember this item as its not very often one associates the arms trade with Brighton and I can recall looking up the company and its location at the time out of sheer curiosity. That may not be sufficient proof for you, but is enough for me. I am not associated with EDO nor have taken part in any of their protests but feel it is necessary to point out that the goods are made on that site, used for military purposes and have been implicated in Israeli attacks on Palestine.

The ususal LEFT-wing rent-a-mob are BACK!!
With their super-powers they can POW! Make UNSUBTANTIATED biased claims... WHACK! Make STEREOTYPICAL assumptions about anyone who disagrees! KERBLAM!! Watch as they accidentally often reveal deeply held xenophobic tendencies....
See how it works?!!
I think your credibility should be in question too....

since you asked

Some of the evidence



Archived EDO Corp ZRFAU promotional document http://web.archive.o
rg/web/2007092721411
3/http://www.edocorp
.com/documentation/Z
eroRetentionForceArm
ingUt.pdf (accessed June 2009)

Archived EDO Corp Promotional document http://web.archive.o
rg/web/2004040112023
3/http://www.mbmtech
.co.uk/br.html (accessed 17 June 2009)



Archived EDO MBM Website 2003-07 Pylon Ancillaries page http://web.archive.o
rg/web/2003100812512
0/http://www.mbmtech
.co.uk/pa.html

Archived EDO MBM Bomb Racks page that was removed in 2004 http://web.archive.o
rg/web/2003121508203
6/www.mbmtech.co.uk/
br.html

EDO MBM contracts with the USAF to supply parts for A-10s and F-16s
https://www.fbo.gov/
index?s=opportunity&
mode=form&id=0a3d78e
f79c64a80d119f316c8a
d8b19&tab=core&_cvie
w=1

EDO Smart Weapon Connector System Selected by Royal Netherlands Air Force for F-16.

Business Wire | November 20, 2005 | COPYRIGHT 2005 Business Wire.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- EDO MBM Technology Ltd, a U.K. business unit of EDO Corporation (NYSE: EDO), has received a contract from the Royal Netherlands Air Force for F-16 pylon umbilicals equipped with its Field Replaceable Connector System (FRCS). This is the first F-16 FRCS contract and marks a significant revenue opportunity for EDO as operators worldwide adopt the new certified standard.

EDO MBM originally developed the FRCS in response to the degraded operational capability resulting from high separation loads and subsequent harness and pylon damage being ...

---

EDO unit signs contract with Netherlands Air Force

Long Island Business News, Nov 21, 2005 by Ken Schachter
http://findarticles.
com/p/articles/mi_qn
4189/is_20051121/ai_
n15848564/?tag=conte
nt;col1

A unit of EDO Corp. (NYSE: EDO) has signed a contract with the Royal Netherlands Air Force for pylon umbilical connector systems used in the release of smart bombs on F-16 jets, the company said.Details of the contract with U.K.-based EDO MBM Technology were not disclosed.The company's stock was up 16 cents to $26.74 in mid- afternoon trading.EDO's Long Island operations include facilities in Bohemia and North Amityville.
Copyright 2005 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserve
-----


EDO MBM Technology Ltd, a business unit of EDO Corporation, has achieved flight certification for F-16 pylon umbilicals equipped with its Field Replaceable Connector System (FRCS).

June 13, 2005 (by Lieven Dewitte) -

EDO MBM developed the FRCS in response to the degraded operational capability resulting from high separation loads and subsequent harness (& pylon) damage being universally experienced during "smart" Mil-Std-1760 weapon release. FRCS prevents connector jamming, ensures low and consistent separation loads, and is fully field replaceable/repairab
le.

FRCS-equipped umbilicals were first used during the UK "Urgent Operational Requirement" integration of Enhanced Paveway II onto Harrier GR7 and are now under full production for RAF Tornado GR4 and Harrier GR9.

EDO MBM developed the F-16 application with improved routing of the umbilical through the pylon to further assist weapon loading. Umbilicals are now certified for 100 eject releases, an order of magnitude improvement that more than justifies the cost of embodiment. The capability is now being offered to F-16 operators worldwide.

Certification is in progress for several other NATO fighter platforms.
_____


DATE:02/05/06

SOURCE:Flight International

http://www.flightglo
bal.com/articles/200
6/05/02/206294/penta
gon-adds-foreign-equ
ipment-to-comparativ
e-test.html

Pentagon adds foreign equipment to comparative test programme

...

Other projects include evaluation of a “smart bomb” umbilical connector for the 1760 weapon databus developed by the UK’s EDO MBM Technology;...
________

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR
US Patent Granted 29 August 2006

http://patft.uspto.g
ov/netacgi/nph-Parse
r?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=H
ITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%
2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fs
rchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l
=50&s1=7097490.PN.&O
S=PN/7097490&RS=PN/7
097490

__________________

According to US Govt records on 14 May 2008 EDO MBM were awarded a manufacturing contract by the United States Air Force for 2,638 Electrical Connectors for the American A-10 Thunderbolt II military jet used for 'close air support' operations in Iraq.

The contract (file ref. FA8221-08-R-73182) was worth $183,713 and was marked

“Priority: C. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY URGENT REQUIREMENT CONCERNING PUBLIC EXIGENCY.”

All items were required on or before 30 June 2008

Solicitation Notice

http://216.239.59.10
4/search?q=cache:tct
CZxNruyQJ:www.fbodai
ly.com/archive/2008/
03-March/12-Mar-2008
/FBO-01528280.htm+SC
D-M11579&hl=en&ct=cl
nk&cd=2&lr=lang_en

Award Notice

https://www.fbo.gov/
index?s=opportunity&
mode=form&id=0a3d78e
f79c64a80d119f316c8a
d8b19&tab=core&_cvie
w=1

--------------------


25 August 2008
ITT recieves full field recommendation for its Field Replaceable Connector System

http://www.defense.i
tt.com/media/news_20
08-08-25.pdf
_________

ITT’s Field Replaceable Connector System achieves "No-Jam" success
at Exercise Red Flag
http://es.is.itt.com
/pr2008/pr08_0902.ht
m

BRIGHTON, U.K. – September 2, 2008 – ITT Corporation (NYSE:ITT) today announced its Field Replaceable Connector System (FRCS) has achieved clean electrical weapon separation during the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Exercise Red Flag. Exercise Red Flag provides highly realistic combat training, including the release of live smart ordnance, in a combined air, ground and electronic threat environment.
The FRCS is a jam-resistant weapons interface connector for installation on F-16 MLU Fighting Falcons from the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. Its new ‘push to fit’ design replaces the traditional screw-on connectors that have often jammed at separation causing physical damage and posing risk to mission, aircraft and weapon.
ITT’s FRCS recently completed successful field testing through USAF Foreign Comparative Testing and a full-fielding recommendation for use on F-16 MIL-STD-1760 weapons. FRCS pylon umbilical assemblies are in service on Tornado IDS, Harrier GR7/9, Typhoon, A-10C Thunderbolt and currently undergoing certification for F-15E Strike Eagle, Gripen, AV-8B, F/A-18 Hornet and several smart multiple store carriage systems.
ITT Integrated Structures serves three primary markets: aircraft-armament suspension and release equipment, electronic weapons interface systems, and advanced composite structures and subsystems for both military and commercial customers.


What id the F-15?
http://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/F-15_Eagle

_

ITT Press Release 22 Jan 2009

ITT receives USAF contract to install Field Replaceable Connector System
on F-15E Strike Eagle

CLIFTON, N.J. – January 22, 2009 – ITT Corporation (NYSE:ITT) today
announced that it has been awarded a contract to deliver Field Replaceable
Connector System (FRCS) weapon umbilicals (flexible cable that connects
the payload to the aircraft before release) for the F-15E Strike Eagle for
delivery in February 2009. This award clears the way for long-term
embodiment of the FRCS weapon umbilical across all F-15E squadrons.

Building on the success of providing smart-weapon umbilicals for many of
the leading fighter jets including the F-16, F/A-18, A-10, B-1B, AV-8B,
Gripen, Harrier GR7/9, Tornado GR4 and Tornado IDS, and Typhoon platforms,
ITT has developed the interconnecting system solution for the F-15E Strike
Eagle. Work will be performed at ITT Electronic Systems’ Integrated
Structures facility in *Brighton, United Kingdom*. (MY EMPHASIS)

"We’re pleased to be upgrading this important mission equipment for the
F-15, and we remain committed to effectively support the services as they
perform in extremely demanding environments," said ITT Electronic Systems
President Chris Bernhardt.

ITT’s FRCS, with a push-to-fit design, provides an efficient, jam free,
electrical interface on weapon disconnect with predictable and consistent
separation force. Previous equipment frequently jammed, causing risk of
weapon damage. The FRCS weapon umbilical utilizes flexible cable from W.
L. Gore & Associates. Demonstrated through ground trials, the FRCS weapon
umbilical assembly life has been certified in more than 100 ejected
releases.

This award has further potential for other aircraft including the F-35
Joint Strike Fighter and F-22 Raptor.

ITT Electronic Systems is one of the world’s leading suppliers of
electronic warfare technology for mission success and survivability. Key
technologies include integrated EW systems for self-protection,
reconnaissance and surveillance, force protection, mine defense, naval
command/sonar applications, and submarine communication and tracking. In
addition, Electronic Systems produces aircraft armament suspension/release
equipment; electronic weapons interface systems, and advanced composite
structures and subsystems, as well as Gilfillan precision landing and air
traffic systems.

About ITT
ITT Corporation (www.itt.com) is a diversified high-technology engineering
and manufacturing company dedicated to creating more livable environments,
enabling communications and providing protection and safety. The company
plays an important role in vital markets including water and fluids
management, global defense and security, and motion and flow control. ITT
employs approximately 40,000 people serving customers in more than 50
countries. Headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., the company generated $9
billion in 2007 sales.

Contacts:


Ed Mygland
Integrated Structures Business Development
ed.mygland@itt.com

Suanne Connolly
Integrated Structures Communications
suanne.connolly@itt.
com
. http://es.is.itt.com
/pr2009/pr09_0122.ht
m

***

Use of USAF F-15 in airtstrikes killing civilians after February 2009


Afghans riot over air-strike atrocity

Witnesses say deaths of 147 people in three villages came after a
sustained bombardment by American aircraft. Patrick Cockburn, in Herat,
reports

Friday, 8 May 2009


Shouting "Death to America" and "Death to the Government", thousands of
Afghan villagers hurled stones at police yesterday as they vented their
fury at American air strikes that local officials claim killed 147
civilians.

The riot started when people from three villages struck by US bombers in
the early hours of Tuesday, brought 15 newly-discovered bodies in a truck
to the house of the provincial governor. As the crowd pressed forward in
Farah, police opened fire, wounding four protesters. Traders in the rest
of Farah city, the capital of the province of the same name where the
bombing took place, closed their shops, vowing they would not reopen them
until there is an investigation.

A local official Abdul Basir Khan said yesterday that he had collected the
names of 147 people who had died, making it the worst such incident since
the US intervened in Afghanistan started in 2001. A phone call from the
governor of Farah province, Rohul Amin, in which he said that 130 people
had died, was played over the loudspeaker in the Afghan parliament in
Kabul, sparking demands for more control over US operations.

The protest in Farah City is the latest sign of a strong Afghan reaction
against US air attacks in which explosions inflict massive damage on
mud-brick houses that provide little protection against bomb blasts. A
claim by American officials, which was repeated by the US Defence
Secretary Robert Gates yesterday in Kabul, that the Taliban might have
killed people with grenades because they did not pay an opium tax is not
supported by any eyewitnesses and is disproved by pictures of deep bomb
craters, one of which is filled with water. Mr Gates expressed regret for
the incident but did not go so far as to accept blame.

The US admits that it did conduct an air strike at the time and place, but
it is becoming clear, going by the account of survivors, that the air raid
was not a brief attack by several aircraft acting on mistaken
intelligence, but a sustained bombardment in which three villages were
pounded to pieces. Farouq Faizy, an Afghan radio reporter who was one of
the first to reach the district of Bala Baluk, says villagers told him
that bombs suddenly, "began to fall at 8pm on Monday and went on until
10pm though some believe there were still bombs falling later". A
prolonged bombing attack would explain why there are so many dead, but
only 14 wounded received at Farah City hospital.

The attack was on three villages – Gerani, Gangabad and Koujaha – just off
the main road. It is a poppy growing area of poor farmers and there were
several fields of poppies near the villages. The Taliban are traditionally
strong here and the police and soldiers waiting around the villages were
said by eyewitnesses to be frightened. This would explain why Afghan army
commanders might have been eager to call for US airstrikes, though they
would have needed the agreement of American special operations officers.

Provincial officials, including the governor Rohul Amin, say that in the
lead-up to the bombing there was heavy fighting between hundreds of
Taliban and the Afghan Army and police. Going by Mr Faizy's account there
had been, "a fight some seven or eight kilometres from the three villages
in which two Afghan Army and a US Humvee were destroyed. A third Afghan
Army vehicle was captured." Three police were killed and four wounded, as
was one American and one Afghan army soldier. This was hardly a major
military engagement, but the pro-government forces seem to have got the
worst of it and their burned out vehicles still stand in the road.

The loss of life in Afghanistan from air strikes is often worse than in
Iraq where houses are more modern and usually have basements. In the
villages in Farah, people were living in compounds with mud brick walls
which crumbled easily. Pictures of the aftermath of the attack show people
standing beside the remains of a relative which often only looks like a
muddy pile of torn meat. One elderly white bearded man, said by neighbours
to have lost 30 members of his family, squats despairingly beside a body
that has been torn into shreds. Among the few wounded to stay alive is a
child with a badly burned face.

One reason why US bombing inflicts such heavy civilian casualties in
Afghanistan and Iraq is that both are very poor countries in which houses
are very crowded. When the US used air strikes and heavy artillery with
little restraint in the siege of Fallujah in 2004 it caused serious loss
of life. Wedding parties in both countries have often been mistaken for
"terrorist" gatherings and bombed.

In Afghanistan opinion polls show that support for the Taliban and for
armed attacks on foreign forces rises sharply after events like the
bombing in Farah. President Hamid Karzai frequently criticises the US
military for wantonly inflicting civilian casualties, attacks which his
opponents say is an opportunistic effort to burnish his nationalist
credentials.

The Taliban increasingly use tactics developed by insurgents in Iraq,
notably suicide bombing on a mass scale and IEDs, or mines in the road
detonated by a control wires or electronically. In Helmand province
yesterday a suicide bomber killed 12 civilians in an attack on a foreign
military convoy near the bazaar of the town of Gereshk. No foreign troops
were killed by the explosion, though two were wounded.


*****

The Irish Times - Saturday, November 7, 2009
Germany admits errors in air strike that killed civilians in Afghanistan

http://www.irishtime
s.com/newspaper/worl
d/2009/1107/12242582
79913.html

BERLIN – German troops made mistakes but acted appropriately when they
ordered an air strike on two fuel trucks in Afghanistan that killed dozens
of civilians, defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said yesterday.

In his first comments on the September 4th attack, Mr Guttenberg backed up
the German army’s initial assessment of a confidential Nato investigation
into the attack on Taliban fighters.

“Given the overall threat assessment, the air strike was militarily
appropriate,” Mr Guttenberg said after briefing parliamentary floor
leaders on the Nato report.

“There were procedural errors, certain shortcomings in training, and
questions were raised about the rules of engagement,” the conservative
minister added. “But even if there had been none, an air strike would have
been necessary.”

The attack was the most deadly operation involving German troops since the
second World War, killing 69 Taliban fighters and 30 civilians, according
to the Afghan government.

Mr Guttenberg also acknowledged there were civilian victims – the German
government’s first official recognition of this.

Germany has put pressure on Nato not to issue an outright condemnation of
the officer who ordered the strike, Col Georg Klein, because it could lead
to legal problems, according to German media reports.

The attack, carried out by a US F-15 fighter jet, was condemned by several
European foreign ministers. Germany has said it was necessary to protect
its troops from a possible suicide attack by Taliban fighters who had
hijacked the trucks.

Mr Guttenberg took office last month after a general election and has
quickly earned the respect of some soldiers, who see him as a straight
talker in touch with the troops.

He broke a taboo kept by his predecessor, Franz-Josef Jung, by using the
word “war” to refer to Germany’s participation in the Nato-led mission.

Germans remain highly sceptical of military operations more than 60 years
after the defeat of the Nazis. It was only a decade ago that German troops
participated in their first foreign combat mission since the war.

Smart Weapon Connector System Selected by Royal Netherlands Air
Force for F-16.

Business Wire | November 20, 2005 | COPYRIGHT 2005 Business Wire.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- EDO MBM Technology Ltd, a U.K. business
unit of EDO Corporation (NYSE: EDO), has received a contract from the
Royal Netherlands Air Force for F-16 pylon umbilicals equipped with its
Field Replaceable Connector System (FRCS). This is the first F-16 FRCS
contract and marks a significant revenue opportunity for EDO as operators
worldwide adopt the new certified standard.

EDO MBM originally developed the FRCS in response to the degraded
operational capability resulting from high separation loads and subsequent
harness and pylon damage being ...

__________________

EDO unit signs contract with Netherlands Air Force

Long Island Business News, Nov 21, 2005 by Ken Schachter
http://findarticles.
com/p/articles/mi_qn
4189/is_20051121/ai_
n15848564/?tag=conte
nt;col1

A unit of EDO Corp. (NYSE: EDO) has signed a contract with the Royal
Netherlands Air Force for pylon umbilical connector systems used in the
release of smart bombs on F-16 jets, the company said.Details of the
contract with U.K.-based EDO MBM Technology were not disclosed.The
company's stock was up 16 cents to $26.74 in mid- afternoon trading.EDO's
Long Island operations include facilities in Bohemia and North Amityville.
Copyright 2005 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserve
-----

****

2. Netherlands admits air strike that killed Afghan civilians

Afghanistan: Netherlands admits air strike that killed Afghan civilians


Source: Agence France-Presse (AFP)

Date: 02 Oct 2009

THE HAGUE, Oct 2, 2009 (AFP) – A Dutch warplane dropped the bomb which
Afghan authorities said killed nine civilians and four Taliban fighters in
the south of the country on Wednesday, the Dutch defence ministry said.

“It was a Dutch F-16 that dropped that laser-guided bomb,” ministry
spokeswoman Marloes Visser told AFP on Thursday.

Two Dutch F-16s based in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar were called
in to provide air support to soldiers from NATO’s International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) engaged in intense combat with insurgents fighting
from a compound in Nad Ali district of troubled Helmand province on
Wednesday.

Only one of the warplanes dropped a bomb, said Visser.

“All of the procedures to pinpoint combatants were respected,” she said.
“If there had the smallest doubt regarding the presence of civilians they
wouldn’t have acted.”

According to Helmand region officials six children and three women were
killed in the attack, with at least three other civilians injured.

“That’s terrible, it is something we never wanted to see happen and we try
at all costs to avoid,” said Visser.

Civilian casualties are a sensitive issue in Afghanistan, creating a rift
between President Hamid Karzai’s government and international forces as
well as resentment on the ground against foreign troops.

Some 100,000 NATO and US-led troops are stationed in Afghanistan, helping
the government fight a Taliban insurgency that is at its most deadly since
the 2001 US-led invasion toppled the hardline regime.

http://www.reliefweb
.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db90
0SID/KHII-7WFA3C?Ope
nDocument

some more evidence

4th December 2009

Brighton arms firm EDO MBM has been granted a patent by the Israeli
government for an electrical connector system used on F-16 warplanes.

The Israeli State Patent Journal shows Patent No. 159612 was granted to
the company for an 'Electrical Connector' also known as the 'Field
Replaceable Connector System' (FRCS)' on 20 July 2009. The cable connects
'smart bombs' to bomb racks and pylons under the wings of F-16 and F-15
aircraft with a unique snap on and off design.

EDO MBM filed the patent through Israeli law firm Sanford T.Colb and Co.

An identical American patent was granted to EDO MBM in 2006. Since then
they have supplied the FRCS to the USAF F-15 and F-16 fighter/bombers, as
well as to A-10 Thunderbolts used in the massacre of civilians in Afghanistan.

The RAF have already incorporated the component into UK military aircraft.

Israel have over 250 F-16s (the largest fleet outside the US), and dozens
of F-15 aircraft waiting to be upgraded with smart weapon release systems
such as the FRCS. The granting of the patent clears the path for EDO MBM
to sell the component directly to the Israeli Air Force or indirectly
through Lockheed Martin.

In April 2009 managing director Paul Hills told The Argus "We supply the
UK Ministry of Defence. I would, and have, stood up in court and sworn
under oath that we don't supply to Israel which is one of the things Smash
EDO accuse us of."


Notes:

1. The FRCS was invented by EDO MBM director John Eaton in 2002.

2. In October 2009 the Information Tribunal confirmed that EDO MBM have
since 1998 owned the rights to vital components used in the Israeli F-16
bomb rack, the VER-2, the ERU151 and the ZRFAU.

3. Since 2004 the USA have been delivering over 100 F-16I fighter/
bombersto Israel as part of the Peace Marble V arms deal.

4. An identical American patent was granted to EDO MBM in 2006 since when
the firm have been manufacturing the FRCS for the USAF F-15 and F-16
fighter/bombers, as well as A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft used in the massacre
of Afghani civilians this year. The RAF have also incorporated the
component into UK military aircraft since 2002

END

Source:
page 115 of Israel Patents and Design Journal 20 July 2009
www.justice.gov.il/N
R/rdonlyres/B60E23A0
-9DF4-478E.../1208.d
oc

How's about all you misguided, immature, naive and ignorant SmashEDO protesters provide us all with some proof.....proof that your pathetic little protests have had any effect whatsoever on the factory involved! It's still there isn't it? I guess any excuse to run riot and smash things up in the street is just too good to miss eh? Really though how many 'final pushes' can an organisation have before they admit 'Well we're clearly not achieving anything here'? Nothing but a laughing stock now I'm afraid.

You don't actually bother to read the articles you comment on at all, do you Leon? Well, that's the way it works around here, you see. You read the article first and then you make a comment on it.

Otherwise you make yourself look stupid.

Or are you genuinely this stupid?

1. 2004-2009 staff numbers fall from 200 to 99. No-one wants to work there.

2. 2005-2006. Company loses over £1million in legal costs after failed attempt to use high court to ban protests. Judge says company and its legal team abused the legal process

3. 2005. Managing Director resigns

4. 2006. Company fined by companies house for late filing of accounts that show high court legal costs. Credit agency Experian reduces company credit rating to ZERO as a penalty.

5. 2007 results.Company legal costs impact parent company EDO Corp results leading to an unexpected loss in 2006 financial year. Share value plummets. Investors angry. EDO Corp forced to sell to ITT Corp in December 2007 after being an independent company since the 1920s.

6. 2008. Company continues to lose money and has to sell off subsidiaries to stay afloat.

7. 2009. EDO Decommissioners cause over £180,000 damage to the factory. They are acquitted of conspiracy to cause criminal damage in July 2010 as Hove Crown Court finds their actions were lawful in the circumstances. They intended to prevent war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out with EDO MBM products.

What and you think that's due to a few stinking unemployed protesters smashing cars up in Lewes Road? Ah bless you. Do you know how many companies are struggling to stay afloat right now? Even big companies are feeling the pinch right now, many have seen there share price drop. I've heard the rhetoric on this forum over the years 'We'll close it down' 'One final push' but it's still there.

Seeing as the last EDO protest had just 150 people turn up it shows that really you have no support whatsoever.

this company was having trouble before the crash. In the midst of expanded military spending on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while all the other arms companies were raking it in, EDO MBM went down in size and value.

The EDO Corp CEO admitted the 2006 losses were due to legal costs from the UK high court case in an investors teleconference streamed on the web. EDO MBM public accounts document the legal costs. Its not speculation. The evidence proves the company have lost a fortune over the last six years and can't keep their staff. Over a dozen directors have come and gone in the same period. No-one wants to work there.

Please zrfau remind me how did smashing up the palace pier on your mayday protests in 2009 serve to advance the cause of the Palestinians? Maybe smashing up Mc Donalds made the children of Palestine sleep more soundly at night?
How does constantly lying about the police being responsible for the disruption the unelected elitist clique who run Smash Edo cause help you? You are proven liars and your tactics have alienated the people of Brighton which is why you have to groom young people from outside of Brighton in order to get any support whatsoever. No proof no support,the Information Commissioner stated quite clearly that after talking to the civil servants responsible for issuing export licenses that your claim that Edo exported to Israel was a lie!!!
You are a bunch of thugs whose brain dead tactics have completely failed and thats why you have to recruit people from outside of the area who havent seen through your lies yet.
I am left wing and proud that because of companies like Edo we are able to stop the likes of Gadaffi organising the mass rape of Libyan citizens. The rebels in Libya are real protestors you are a bunch of pretentious prats.

jhunty. You try hard to sound convincing, but you fail, because you misrepresent the facts.

The Information Commissioner found no confirmation of exports to Israel between 2000-2007 in the export licence docs held by the DTI/BIS.

The Jury in Hove Crown Court in 2010 looking at ten times more evidence from a wider period of 1998-2009 including the most recent documents then available, found that the evidence pointed to the fact EDO MBM were indeed making the parts used by Israel in its F-16s and more than likley exporting them without export licences.

The Managing Director of the company Paul Hills admitted that the evidence did suggest this, although obviously it is his right not to incriminate himself and he continues to deny it is the case.

Paul Hills also admitted using a subsidiary front company in the USA to deceive US Federal authorities into believing Brighton products were made in America. This made it easier- he said- to win contracts.

So the proven liars are in this story are the company directors of EDO MBM, not the protesters.

EDO MBMs parent company ITT Corp pleaded guilty to 208 violations of US arms control laws, by means of fraud and deception. They were fined $1000million.

EDO MBM's main customer BAE systems pleaded guilty this year to bribery and accountancy offences.

The high court found EDO MBM to have wilfully disregarded the legal system in 2006.

EDO MBM are still there because of the protection of Sussex Police who smear the campaigners with false allegations or criminality, while failing to investigate the true criminals.

I

And how about answering the other questions: How did smashing up the Palace Pier and McDonalds in 2009 help your cause or help the people of Palestine?
Try to give a proper answer and don't try and hide behind statistics this time.

Would you mind quoting a couple of examples of where zrfau could be said to be "hiding behind statistics" in answer to your questions on this thread, please, AmboGuy?

It's just that, as far as I can see (up until now at least) you've had direct answers to your points from zrfau, so to say they've been "hiding behind statistics" in their responses seems a little unfair.

I'm sure you don't want to appear to be making unjust accusations, so exactly where do you feel zrfau has used statistics to avoid your points/questions in the comments above?

Perhaps 'hiding behind statistics' was a little unfair but it just frustrates me a bit when several questions are put to him and he chooses to ignore the question he doesn't like and just lists bullet points he's probably copied and pasted off another website!
You say I've had 'direct answers' to my points but can you not see the direct question that has been put to him/her twice now?? Can you not see it anywhere? Really? Ok if you can't see which one it is I'll say it again in very basic english:
How did smashing up the Palace Pier and McDonalds in 2009 help your cause or help the people of Palestine?
It's not a rhetorical question, it's a very simple question that only needs a simple answer.
PS - I actually witnessed these events myself (and have seen a car getting vandalised in Lewes Rd on YouTube) by SmashEDO protesters so 'Well it wasn't us' isn't really a viable answer.

I think the answer would be, it didn't. But I'm not going to speak for zrfau.

Please note I used the words "up until now" in my comment before this one: I put them in brackets to make their meaning clearer to you. Those are the words that indicate I think you had direct answers to your questions "up until now".

There's no clearer why of saying it really, but I'll try to put it another way as you clearly didn't understand the first time... apart from the recent question about vandalism, where's an example of a comment/question zrfau has ignored or disingenuously responded to with a copy/paste in the above?

I just can't see it.

'No clearer why of saying it really'? Well I know what you meant but it doesn't help your argument about speaking clearly when you use the wrong words eh?
Well as I said in my post this question has been put to him TWICE now. If you want to nit pick about who asked it first then that's up to you but JHunty first asked the question and he totally ignored it.
I think you're getting confused though. You say 'apart from the recent question of vandalism, where's an example...' well if you read my post again I didn't say there was another example, I just wanted a simple answer to the one question about vandalism. Maybe you need to try and reads all the posts clearly before commenting? Just a thought.

Haha. I'll just re-state my original question to you, then.

Would you mind quoting a couple of examples of where zrfau could be said to be "hiding behind statistics" in answer to your questions on this thread, please, AmboGuy?

Maybe you should try to "reads all the posts clearly" to find an example.

Just a thought.

Ah, good. So you admit you were being "a little unfair", which was exactly the phrase I used when I challenged you to find an example of zfrau "hiding behind statistics" in the first place; one assumes you were forced to make this concession because... well, you can't find a single example of zrfau "hiding behind statistics" anywhere in this thread, can you AmboGuy?

I'm simply pointing out you made an unfair statement and misrepresented what went before by making a false remark.

So how about you find an example of me answering zrfau's questions for them, now? You might find a comment to the effect that I'm *not* going to speak for him/her, but I suggest that's all you'll find. So that would be another false remark from you, wouldn't it?

Then I'd like an example from this thread to support your assertion that I can't take criticism and am getting annoyed with you. Teehee! Maybe the fact that I pointed out a typo in your writing after you pointed out a typo in mine and mimicked your phrasing suggests to you that I'm getting a bit cross? I don't think it would to others. It's another false remark.

Then I'd like to see an example of where I've stated my views on SmashEDO as opposed to the arms trade in general. You assume I'm a SmashEDO protestor but... "reads all the posts carefully", AmboGuy. You'll find there's no evidence for that and in fact it's... a false remark.

Finally, let's have an example of where you think my punctuation detracts from the pellucidity of my expression or is technically ungrammatical. Your track record in providing examples to back up your statements in this thread at this point is very poor, you know.

So. How about you try not to go easy one me and show us all what you've really got, big boy.

Just to throw my tuppance in the hat....err you do seem to be quite angry mate.

Calm down !!

It's all in your head, dunderhead. :-)

Yikes you're seeing red now! Like Dunderheads says, 'Calm down'

Firstly - you have stated in the past that you are a SmashEDO protester and have attended marches with them. Please don't now start telling little porkies and go back on that.

Secondly - A degree in English tells me that your punctuation is bad.

Thirdly - I didn't say that your punctuation detracts from the pellucidity of your expression so I don't need to provide an example. Read the posts!

Thirdly - you want an example of you answering zrfau's questions for them? I asked him about the instances of vandalism and if it helps his cause or the Palestinians' cause (9:46am today to help you)
You replied ' I think the answer would be, it didn't. But I'm not going to speak for zrfau' (3.27 pm). Well you answered a question that wasn't for you so I guess you did 'speak for zrfau'. I haven't actually asked for your opinion but got it anyway. Maybe you can give me the quote where I have asked YOU what YOUR opinion is on the matter Again... READ THE POSTS!

Lastly - 'Big boy'?? You're either annoyed or attracted to me with a comment like that. I rather hope it's annoyed.

Big boy. I'm going out for a drink (to calm down -joke...) now so just briefly: I love the fact you're telling me what I've said in the past... brilliant. You've got to show me where I said I've been on a SmashEDO march.

That's a pretty grand claim for you to make so you must've been expecting me to call you out on that one.

When I get back from the pub you'll have shown everyone who's been telling the big fat porkies with that one, won't we AmboGuy (BA).

What did you get, a Desmond?

Enjoy the pub, I'm on an early tomorrow so an early night for me.

I have neither the time or the desire to go searching on the Argus webite for your previous comments and I don't really care that you're a SmashEDO protester. It's really no skin off my nose is it?

Glad you've thrown in the towel anyway. You put up a good fight and didn't embarrass yourself too much.

PS - Nope I got a 2.1.

I'm delighted to leave you with the observation that it's "no skin off your nose" to have limply exposed yourself as a (rather pathetic) liar in a public forum.

Ps. You could have done better.

Smash EDO ????
Yet another example of student Rentamob which **** of most of us (taxpayers) who fund the c**nts
who have no conception of anything except a punch up & a few pints of plastic lager followed by a bunk up
in a car park somewhere before resuming their Media Studies(5 years paid holiday watcihng TV)

Easy there 'big boy'. You know posting after you've had a few drinks isn't really a good idea.

Not sure how I've exposed myself as a liar. I think you'll find you're alone in that assumption. How long do you think it would take to trawl through every post you've ever submitted to find the ones where you admit you're a SmashEDO guy? No offence but you're really not that important to me. You've chosen your path in life, maybe when you're a bit older you'll look back and realise that you just made a few wrong decisions.

Yes I could have done better and could have got a 1st but there you go. Good luck with your GCSEs.

Ha ha Turing got well and truly OWNED!!!!

A Smash EDO protester will always come off looking like a chump !!

Ha ha

Yep

Still, at least he tried!

dunderheads: you're as much of a SmashEDO protestor as I am. I'm just some guy who doesn't like the UK's involvement in the arms trade. That's it.

AmboGuy: you're the idiot making ridiculous accusations. You said on here once that you'd eaten your own testicles. It's on same the thread where I said I was involved with SmashEDO.

x

Sorry about the phrasing of that last sentence, chaps. I've been in the pub.

Lovely weather today.

I rest my case.

Bye bye

Adieu, my lying little troll.

if you arent that bothered then stop f*ckn going on about it