- Germany to be nuclear-free by 2020
- Syria's repression tanks run on Shell oil
- Geotime's spying software bought by the Met
- Olympic Committee to extend deals with three 'top sponsors'
- Veolia loses Winchester/East Hants contract Germany to be nuclear-free by 2020 In response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that Germany will be implementing its Energy Strategy faster than planned, meaning the phasing out of all nuclear power by 2020. However, some see the move as an attempt to placate the powerful German anti-nuclear movement. Link: Official press release
Syria's repression tanks run on Shell oil A new oil shipment of 600,000 barrels of crude oil, worth over $55 million, was marketed to Shell by Syrian oil state company Sytrol last week, a report by Platform has revealed. Some 17% of Syria's military tanks, which have been used to surround and bombard a number of towns and cities in which rebellion has taken place over the last few weeks, run on fuel derived from Shell's crude. Thousands of people have been killed, and many more injured, imprisoned or disappeared at the hands of security forces and the regime's thugs, supported by the army. Shell is one of the largest foreign investors in Syria, extracting oil, delivering crude to state refineries and purchasing crude exports. Despite the regime's continued crimes against the people of Syria, the oil giant continues its close co-operation with the regime, meeting with its leaders and making repeated public statements praising it. Link: http://blog.platformlondon.org
Geotime's spying software bought by the Met London's Metropolitan Police has apparently purchased a software that can track every movement a 'suspect' and their associates make in the digital world, displaying the results on a three-dimensional map. The spying software, made by Geotime and used by the US military, gathers information from financial transactions, IP logs (internet usage), social networking sites, mobile phones, satellite navigation equipment, and so on. According to the Guardian, police have declined to rule out its use in political protests, known in police-speak as 'public order disturbances'. Link: www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/may/11/police-software-maps-digital-movements/print
Olympic Committee to extend deals with three 'top sponsors'
The International Olympic Committee is in talks to extend its sponsorship deals with Acer, McDonald's and General Electric to include the 2014-2016 two-games package. The latest additions to the Olympics 'sponsorship list' include Dow Chemical Co. and Procter & Gamble, who got on board last year. The maximum number that the IOC wants for its sponsorship programme is 12, so it is said to be looking for a 12th sponsor in time for the London Olympics. Atos Origin, Panasonic and Samsung have extended their partnerships until Rio, which will host the 2016 Summer Games, while Coca-Cola, Visa, Omega, Dow, and Procter & Gamble have penned deals until the 2020 Games. Link: www.olympic.org
Veolia loses Winchester/East Hants contract Veolia has lost a new joint contract with the Winchester and East Hants councils for rubbish collection. The company, which is accused of complicity in Israel's apartheid policies against Palestinians, already had a contract for East Hants, while Winchester, where collection is in-house, were considering a new contract with Veolia. Although both councils would not admit publicly why the decision was taken, the move has been seen as the latest victory in the Dump Veolia campaign. Since October last year, a campaign by Palestine solidarity activists in Petersfield (East Hants) and Winchester, involving public demonstrations and gathering petition signatures, put mounting pressure on the councils to cancel their contracts with Veolia. Veolia had lost a contract in Edinburgh in December 2010, and in London's Richmond in February, Portsmouth in March, and South London in April 2011. Meanwhile, a number of Israeli military officials have expressed their 'concerns' that the recent reconciliation between Palestinian factions, and a unilateral declaration of statehood by the Palestinians at the UN in September, may lead to a boycott of Israeli military products around the world. The fears come ahead of the Paris Air Show later in June and London's DSEi in September, where many Israeli military and security products will be on display. Israel is the fourth-largest exporter of weapons in the world after the US, Russia, and France. Israeli defence exports reached around $7.5 billion in 2010. Link: www.palestinecampaign.org
Background: www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=3433 and www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=3514
- Syria's repression tanks run on Shell oil
- Geotime's spying software bought by the Met
- Olympic Committee to extend deals with three 'top sponsors'
- Veolia loses Winchester/East Hants contract Germany to be nuclear-free by 2020 In response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that Germany will be implementing its Energy Strategy faster than planned, meaning the phasing out of all nuclear power by 2020. However, some see the move as an attempt to placate the powerful German anti-nuclear movement. Link: Official press release
Syria's repression tanks run on Shell oil A new oil shipment of 600,000 barrels of crude oil, worth over $55 million, was marketed to Shell by Syrian oil state company Sytrol last week, a report by Platform has revealed. Some 17% of Syria's military tanks, which have been used to surround and bombard a number of towns and cities in which rebellion has taken place over the last few weeks, run on fuel derived from Shell's crude. Thousands of people have been killed, and many more injured, imprisoned or disappeared at the hands of security forces and the regime's thugs, supported by the army. Shell is one of the largest foreign investors in Syria, extracting oil, delivering crude to state refineries and purchasing crude exports. Despite the regime's continued crimes against the people of Syria, the oil giant continues its close co-operation with the regime, meeting with its leaders and making repeated public statements praising it. Link: http://blog.platformlondon.org
Geotime's spying software bought by the Met London's Metropolitan Police has apparently purchased a software that can track every movement a 'suspect' and their associates make in the digital world, displaying the results on a three-dimensional map. The spying software, made by Geotime and used by the US military, gathers information from financial transactions, IP logs (internet usage), social networking sites, mobile phones, satellite navigation equipment, and so on. According to the Guardian, police have declined to rule out its use in political protests, known in police-speak as 'public order disturbances'. Link: www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/may/11/police-software-maps-digital-movements/print
Olympic Committee to extend deals with three 'top sponsors'
The International Olympic Committee is in talks to extend its sponsorship deals with Acer, McDonald's and General Electric to include the 2014-2016 two-games package. The latest additions to the Olympics 'sponsorship list' include Dow Chemical Co. and Procter & Gamble, who got on board last year. The maximum number that the IOC wants for its sponsorship programme is 12, so it is said to be looking for a 12th sponsor in time for the London Olympics. Atos Origin, Panasonic and Samsung have extended their partnerships until Rio, which will host the 2016 Summer Games, while Coca-Cola, Visa, Omega, Dow, and Procter & Gamble have penned deals until the 2020 Games. Link: www.olympic.org
Veolia loses Winchester/East Hants contract Veolia has lost a new joint contract with the Winchester and East Hants councils for rubbish collection. The company, which is accused of complicity in Israel's apartheid policies against Palestinians, already had a contract for East Hants, while Winchester, where collection is in-house, were considering a new contract with Veolia. Although both councils would not admit publicly why the decision was taken, the move has been seen as the latest victory in the Dump Veolia campaign. Since October last year, a campaign by Palestine solidarity activists in Petersfield (East Hants) and Winchester, involving public demonstrations and gathering petition signatures, put mounting pressure on the councils to cancel their contracts with Veolia. Veolia had lost a contract in Edinburgh in December 2010, and in London's Richmond in February, Portsmouth in March, and South London in April 2011. Meanwhile, a number of Israeli military officials have expressed their 'concerns' that the recent reconciliation between Palestinian factions, and a unilateral declaration of statehood by the Palestinians at the UN in September, may lead to a boycott of Israeli military products around the world. The fears come ahead of the Paris Air Show later in June and London's DSEi in September, where many Israeli military and security products will be on display. Israel is the fourth-largest exporter of weapons in the world after the US, Russia, and France. Israeli defence exports reached around $7.5 billion in 2010. Link: www.palestinecampaign.org
Background: www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=3433 and www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=3514