No more DESO
J | 09.07.2007 13:25 | Anti-militarism | Globalisation | Social Struggles
DESO, the government department for funding and lobbying for the UK arms industry, is to be scrapped.
DESO is a government department, run with taxpayers' money, and staffed by civil servants - though it is always headed by a key figure from the arms industry.
Its job is to help the arms industry - it subsidises, maintains rich contacts, lobbies the government / promotes UK arms companies within the MoD - maybe bribes the odd Saudi prince - you name it.
Even the government have now acknowledged that it is massively immoral, corrupt, and highlights the fact that we can never have democracy under capitalism. They are going to put it in the bin! Good news!!
There's no date for when this is going to happen. But one interesting effect if DESO were to close before September, would be on an arms fair due to take place then:
'DSEi' is the world's largest arms fair, and is due to take place in East London in September 2007. It is funded to the tune of #4.4 million (sorry, my keyboard has no pound sign) by DESO - ie the taxpayer. If exhibition organisers Reed Elsevier, (who after prolonged campaigning recently pulled out of hosting all arms fairs planned for after this year) want to go ahead with it, they'll need to have a whip round at the office......
Its job is to help the arms industry - it subsidises, maintains rich contacts, lobbies the government / promotes UK arms companies within the MoD - maybe bribes the odd Saudi prince - you name it.
Even the government have now acknowledged that it is massively immoral, corrupt, and highlights the fact that we can never have democracy under capitalism. They are going to put it in the bin! Good news!!
There's no date for when this is going to happen. But one interesting effect if DESO were to close before September, would be on an arms fair due to take place then:
'DSEi' is the world's largest arms fair, and is due to take place in East London in September 2007. It is funded to the tune of #4.4 million (sorry, my keyboard has no pound sign) by DESO - ie the taxpayer. If exhibition organisers Reed Elsevier, (who after prolonged campaigning recently pulled out of hosting all arms fairs planned for after this year) want to go ahead with it, they'll need to have a whip round at the office......
J
