CONTENTS
(1) ADD ANOTHER STORY TO THE LIST OF CITIZEN RESISTANCE TO LOCKHEED MARTIN
(2) GROUPS HOLDING VIGIL OUTSIDE MP MACKAY’S OFFICE
(3) DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE “NOT HONEST” IN PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS THAT PROMOTED LOCKHEED MARTIN’S F-35 FIGHTER JETS
(4) LOCKHEED MARTIN PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN ON F-35 STEALTH FIGHTERS, AS REVEALED IN WIKILEAKS CABLES FROM U.S. GOVERNMENT RE SALE TO NORWAY
(5) CALL ON CANADIANS TO HELP STOP THE PURCHASE OF F-35 FIGHTER JETS
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(1) ADD ANOTHER STORY TO THE LIST OF CITIZEN RESISTANCE TO LOCKHEED MARTIN
Tamara Lorincz is a remarkable young woman. For more information on Lockheed Martin, I highly recommend her website http://www.tamaralorincz.ca/ Tamara and I know many people in common; she lives in Halifax-Dartmouth where I lived for 15 years.
It was rewarding to connect with Tamara via phone. I also discovered that she is the Mother I read about who was so effective in a way that made me laugh – the protests over Lockheed Martin’s two million dollars to Dalhousie University.
There is growing resistance. Some of the stories we have covered: (to be constructed)
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(2) GROUPS HOLDING VIGIL OUTSIDE MP MACKAY’S OFFICE
Published on December 16th, 2010
Halifax Peace Coalition , Nova Scotia Voice , NEW GLASGOW, Afghanistan
NEW GLASGOW – Members of the Halifax Peace Coalition and the Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace will be holding a vigil outside Defence Minister Peter MacKay’s constituency office today.
Representatives and local constituents will be calling MacKay to cancel the $16 billion stealth fighters, bring the troops home from Afghanistan, and stop oil subsidies and exploration in Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The peaceful vigil will include singing modified Christmas carols – including “You’re a Mean One, Peter MacKay,” based on the song “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch – and delivering a Christmas card to MacKay.
Tamara Lorincz, a member of the Halifax Peace Coalition, said in a press release Thursday that the group will urge MacKay “to not be a Grinch and steal our future” by wasting tax dollars on stealth fighters and subsidies for oil and gas companies. She says those dollars should instead be invested in child care, education, humanitarian aid and renewable energy.
For more information, please visit www.halifaxpeacecoalition.ca or email: hfxpeace AT chebucto.ca
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(3) DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE “NOT HONEST” IN PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS THAT PROMOTED LOCKHEED MARTIN’S F-35 FIGHTER JETS
From: Tamara Lorincz
Date: Thu, December 9
As you may know, the Canadian government wants to buy 65 Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters for at least $16 billion, the largest military procurement in this country’s history. Lockheed Martin is the second largest weapons manufacturer in the world.
In an unprecedented move, the Department of National Defence went across the country this fall trying to sell the Canadian public on the stealth fighters. They were NOT honest in their presentation, I attended and also got a copy of the presentation.
Recently, Lockheed Martin put up a web site “Canada’s Next Generation Fighter”:
(Link no longer valid) http://f-35.ca/ though Canada has NOT signed any contract to purchase these fighters.
DND also put up a web site (Link no longer valid: http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/pri/2/pro-pro/ngfc-eng.asp) using the same pictures, text etc… as the Lockheed Martin F35 web site.
It has been revealed in the Wikileaks cables that the US Government and Lockheed Martin worked for a year in 2008 to manipulate the Norwegian public to support the Government of Norway in buying the F35s.
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(4) LOCKHEED MARTIN PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN ON F-35 STEALTH FIGHTERS, AS REVEALED IN WIKILEAKS CABLES FROM U.S. GOVERNMENT RE SALE TO NORWAY
Here is part of the Wikileaks cable:
CLASSIFIED Cable from U.S. Embassy in Norway to the U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
(Link no longer valid: http://213.251.145.96/cable/2008/09/08OSLO522.html )
NORWAY FIGHTER PURCHASE: HIGH-LEVEL ADVOCACY NEEDED NOW
Summary: “The GON (Government of Norway) decision making process on the purchase of new fighter aircraft has entered a critical phase. Public opinion has swung away from the F-35 due to negative coverage, and private contacts warn that the GON may decide to purchase the Saab Gripen or leave the decision to a future government. High-level Washington advocacy on this issue is needed to help reverse this trend. Norway’s decision on this purchase will either end or sustain one of the strongest pillars of our bilateral relationship and could impact subsequent Danish and Dutch decisions on the F-35, affecting NATO joint operational capacity and the vulnerability of the Northern Flank.”
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“Action needed to counter negative trends
3.(C) After extensive efforts by the Embassy and Lockheed Martin, the public debate over the summer consisted of largely balanced coverage.”
There is much, much more that reveals the U.S. Government, U.S. Embassies and Lockheed Martin have worked very hard to try to “sell” the F-35. Please see the other cables here: http://213.251.145.96/origin/42_0.html
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Request for Advocacy
6.(C) We request senior-level advocacy for the F-35, stressing the advanced fifth generation capabilities, countering the rampant negative myths on the F-35 and demonstrating that the USG is committed to Norway’s ability to defend itself and NATO’s northern flank. Septel contains a request for the Deputy Secretary of Defense to visit Oslo to make these points. Other advocacy efforts would contribute to helping the GON recognize the seriousness of their decision and resist the temptation of making a short-term expedient choice, but damaging long-term interests. WHITNEY
cables here: http://213.251.145.96/origin/42_0.html
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**These classified cables from the U.S Embassy in Oslo were filed by U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission at the time Kevin M. Johnson *He is now the U.S. Consul General in Toronto.
(Link no longer valid: http://toronto.usconsulate.gov/content/content.asp?)
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(5) CALL ON CANADIANS TO HELP STOP THE PURCHASE OF F-35 FIGHTER JETS
These stealth fighters will carry/burn 18,500 lbs of jet fuel (more carbon intensive and climate change causing) and will be more costly than $16 billion.
Please do what you can to stop the purchase of stealth fighters – email/call the PM, your MP, write a letter to the editor, make the links and spread the word.
We really need to work together on this across Canada – federal spending affects us all. Please don’t let the federal government waste OUR tax dollars on stealth fighters.
If you want to get more involved, you can join the no-stealth-fighter listserv through Steven Staples at the Rideau Institute: sstaples AT rideauinstitute.ca or find out more atwww.ceasefire.ca
Thank you very much for your support.
Tamara
Tamara Lorincz
BA, BComm, MBA, LLB
Halifax, NS CANADA B3M 3L3
Phone: (902) 443-2423; Cell: (902) 478-1379; tlorincz AT dal.ca
ECJ: http://www.ecojustice.ca; GN: http://www.space4peace.org/; HPC: http://www.halifaxpeacecoalition.ca/; NSEN: http://www.nsen.ca
“A better world is possible”