Mark Thomas & St Athan debate film banned

OU bans film!

OUBUCU Ethics Group The Group was established by the Branch Executive in February 2007 to promote discussion and debate on the application of ethical guidelines to the University's partnership activities. It campaigns for the application of ethical guidelines to partnerships because: -

• the University should be committed to social justice in practice
• it enhances the reputation of the OU brand
• it makes long-term business sense
• societal and organisational awareness of ethical, environmental and corporate responsibility is spiralling upwards
• it's just plain right !

Does it matter from the Open University's Income comes from? So they organised a meeting to discuss this and following it
The campaign went to Milton Keynes as guests of UCU and had an opportunity to speak to the audience after Mark Thomas who was talking more generally about the arms trade. The custom is that the event is filmed and made available to staff and union members who where elsewhere at the time however the OU have apparently stopped and banned the film from been shown anywhere - so sensitive they are to criticism or discussion on the issue. Derek Prior - with the grand title of director of communications - was seen lurking in the background - the OU very own speech police (pr/spin person) ! I don't think he liked his letter being quoted!

What did the Vice Chancellor Prof Brenda Gourley have to say in March 2007 at the opening of the ou posh new offices in Cardiff??
"we are proud to have contributed to Wales’ latest success, one of the biggest ever investments it has attracted. Earlier this year the UK Government announced their decision to site a new defence training academy at St Athan here in the Vale of Glamorgan. As a long-term partner in the successful Metrix consortium, we are already hard at work with our partners to turn the MoD’s vision into the reality of a military training centre of excellence. The initiative is expected to create around 5,000 jobs and bring around £58m to the economy annually - a massive boost for Wales and a perfect example of what partnership working can deliver."...whoops!

The Open University branch of the University and College UnionAddress: OUBUCU The Open University Room 015, Wilson C Walton Hall Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, Tel: Email: 01908 653069 ucu@open.ac.uk ...

Raytheon 'war profiteers'?

UVM anti-war group pushes divestment BurlingtonFreePress.com, VT - 13 May 2008

Halliburton, General Dynamics and Raytheon were asked last week to respond to their characterization as "war profiteers." Raytheon did not reply. ...

why is the OU so willing to get in to bed with War profiteers?

students ban military - come on OU - BAN MILITARY

Student Power: A Microcosm of right-wing manoeuvres and how they were defeated by the left By Melanie MacDonald Tues, 29 April 2008

Recently, The University College London Students’ Union (UCLU) voted to ban The Officer Training Corps (OTC) from recruiting at union organizedevents like Freshers' Fair. The ban has caused quite a stir on and offcampus, making the front cover of the ‘Evening Standard’ with the bannerheadline, "Students Ban Military". Speaking about those in opposition tothe motion, UCLU General Secretary, Samantha Godwin, said: “they know thatif replicated elsewhere, it would become a really effective method ofprotesting against the war.
http://www.socialist.net/student-power-right-wing-manoeuvres-defeated-by-left.htm

See the Motion in full here: Troops out of UCL motion

Academy link aim for new school plan

Apr 8 2008 by Peter Collins, South Wales Echo

LONG-AWAITED plans for a much-needed new school in Llantwit Major will be drawn up this summer with the aim of helping to prepare pupils for jobs at the multi-billion-pound Defence Training Academy in St Athan.
(What Jobs?)
The redevelopment plan at Llantwit Major Comprehensive School is part of a multi-million- pound school investment strategy
Consultants are carrying out design work for a new school at Cowbridge Comprehensive School and a planning application is expected to be put before councillors later this year.
Meanwhile, initial design work to replace St Cyres Comprehensive School, in Penarth, has started with a full scheme due to be ready by the second half of next year.
Bryan Jeffreys, the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s director of learning and development, said: “At Llantwit Major, initial design work is planned for later this year.
“The intention is to link the redevelopment of Llantwit Major school with the roll-out of the Ministry of Defence Training Academy at St Athan. The School Investment Strategy is a priority.”
The role of schools, colleges and universities in providing skilled workers for the academy is seen as vital to its success.
However, academy opponents have called for the Open University in Wales to sever links with the academy. The Open University is part of the Metrix consortium, which made the successful academy bid.

Irish get ethical and dump Raytheon

Wat happened to the OU ethics? The Caridff OU did an ethical survey after the first St Athan Demonstation and what wasa the result! We look forward to hearing!

Will the OU work with Raytheon and Serco to train the Burmese army at St Athan?

The Government also wants students at schools and universities to play their part in protecting Britain’s security by reporting any suspicious activity.

Will OU staff report suspicious activity of Raytheon and other coporate trainers?

Ireland's pension fund to exclude munitions-report Reuters UK - "I saw at first hand on my visit to Lebanon last year the havoc that cluster bombs can cause," Ahern told the paper. "These small bomblets can look like ...

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's National Pensions Reserve Fund plans to withdraw 27 million euros (21 million pounds) of investment from six firms involved in the production of cluster munitions, Irish media reported on Wednesday.
The NPRF, charged with securing funds for pension and welfare costs of an ageing population after 2025, followed the example of Norway's pension fund, known as the "oil fund", which aims to be a world leader in ethical investment.
The NPRF plans to stop investing in five U.S. companies: Raytheon, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Alliant Techsystems and L-3 Communications, and France's Thales, the Irish Times quoted a spokesman as saying.
The fund's proposal follows a list of firms excluded by Norway's $387 billion (193 billion pound) fund, after pressure from Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern, who is campaigning for a ban on cluster munitions, the Irish Times said.
"I saw at first hand on my visit to Lebanon last year the havoc that cluster bombs can cause," Ahern told the paper. "These small bomblets can look like decorations or toys and, as a result, children are very vulnerable to them."

'Dads' Army' to protect against security threats --Official: Force likely to be "a variation" of the ARP [air raid precaution wardens] who patrolled Britain's streets during the Blitz 19 Mar 008 Gordon Brown wants tens of thousands of Britons to join a new Dads’ Army-style volunteer force to help the Government tackle threats to national security. The new force, called a new Civil Protection Network, will be based on the local Neighbourhood Watch schemes. The Government also wants students at schools and universities to play their part in protecting Britain’s security by reporting any suspicious activity.

Just to remind you of
What is the real death toll in Iraq? The Americans learned one lesson from Vietnam: don't count the civilian dead. As a result, no one knows how many Iraqis have been killed in the five years since the invasion. Estimates put the toll at between 100,000 and one million. 19 Mar 2008 The British polling firm Opinion Research Business (ORB) asked 1,720 Iraqi adults last summer if they had lost family members by violence since 2003; 16% had lost one, and 5% two. Using the 2005 census total of 4,050,597 households in Iraq, this suggests 1,220,580 deaths since the invasion.

OU Protest Cardiff

Cynefin y Werin (Common Ground) is an all Wales network of organisations which promotes equality, peace, justice, human rights and co-operation between nations, peoples and communities on the basis of sustainable environmental, economic and social development.

Does your university work for/with the milititary?
The proposed military training academy at St Athan will be built and run by a consortium which includes major multinational arms companies, and will train not only British service personnel, but those from any regime or private military company that can fork out the ready cash. This consortium includes the Open University and we call on them to withdraw. there will be a Protest today at 1pm at ou office 18 custom house street Cardiff.

This is part of the National Day of Action for University Ethical Investment - Coordinated events held at universities across the UK, in protest against university shareholding in arms companies. Anne Greagsby coordinator of the campaign against the privaitised military academy at St Athan said, "As a graduate from the opne university I am shocked that they could work with and profit from arms dealers such as Raytheon associated with cluster munitions and Serco and Qinetiq.

The Open University
"Our continued dedication to social justice and equality of opportunity is embodied in a set of commitments and principles. Through these commitments, we will strengthen our position as a university of choice."????

Military organisations - including arms companies and

the Ministry of Defence - annually sponsor hundreds of projects at UK universities.

The Study War No More report examines military involvement at 26 UK universities in order to highlight the impact military funding has on university departments. The report provides information about the funding of UK universities by military organisations, both governmental and industrial. It also intends to support students concerned about the impact their institutions have on international peace and conflict; and to encourage debate regarding the democratic deficit within academic institutions and the ends and ethics of research and research funding.

Study War No More: Military Involvement in UK Universities is a joint project between Campaign Against Arms Trade and the Fellowship of Reconciliation. The campaign website hosts full details of military involvement at 26 UK universities. You can download the Study War No More report, which exposes the ways in which the military sector is being pushed into UK universities, view in-depth data on each of the 26 universities we researched or find out more information on researching and campaigning in this area.
Read more

CAAT

For more info on national campaign, contact Andy at andy@caat.org.uk

http://www.studywarnomore.org.uk/documents/studywarnomore.pdf

Fit to study? The consequences of war

Iraq veterans are denied help for combat trauma
Guardian Unlimited, UK - 3 feb 2008
Despite ministerial pledges to improve support for British soldiers suffering mental health problems, veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder ...

Iraq veterans are denied help for combat trauma
Guardian Unlimited, UK - 3rd feb
Hundreds of veterans, including many who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, are being denied vital help by the government to cope with the psychological ...

The debate comes as the University of Manchester undertakes a study into how many Iraq war and Afghanistan veterans have killed themselves. It expects to publish the results this spring. Official figures show that at least 23 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans had committed suicide from 2003 to the end of 2006. Numbers for reservists are not known. Two members of the Territorial Army who had fought in Iraq, Private Dave Forshaw and Private Peter Mahoney, are known to have killed themselves.

There are fears that the number of suicides could eclipse the 33 British troops killed in the Iraq war itself. Falklands veterans' groups estimate that 300 men committed suicide due to the 1982 conflict compared with the 258 killed in action.

In the US, the suicide rate among soldiers has reached its highest level since records began almost 30 years ago. Last year, 121 active members of the army took their own lives, up 20 per cent on the previous year

Military Suicides Are Unacceptable Casualties of An Unjustifiable War
Common Dreams (press release), ME - 1 Feb 2008
Our sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters wouldn't have killed themselves without the sadness and trauma stemming from this unjust war.

Record Number of Army Suicides
OpEdNews, PA - 31 Jan 2008 by Aaron Glantz Page 1 of 1 page(s) At least 121 members of the US Army committed suicide last year. A new Army study found more than a quarter of those ...

Soldier Suicides Soaring in Iraq Jackson Free Press, MS -
Actually, research tells us that returning soldiers have greater risks for suicide, depression, anxiety, intimate partner violence, and so forth. ...

My fear is for our young soldiers after the battle
Guardian Unlimited, UK -
... while we were facing the daily suicide bomb threat in Iraq. It is all about prioritising in a way that the average UK manager does not have to consider. ...

For the front-line infantry there is now a one-in-four chance of death or serious injury, a 'hit rate' rarely seen since Iwo Jima or D-Day.