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Creating Peace at Lockheed Martin in Bonny Doon on Nagasaki Day

by ~Bradley (bradley [at] riseup.net)
On August 9th, Nagasaki Day, 11 civilian weapons inspectors drove up Empire Grade Road and marched the last 1/2 mile to the gates of Lockheed Martin where the public road ends. The Santa Cruz Weapons Inspection Team (SCWIT) led the march marking the annihilation and devastation delivered to the people, animals and plants of Nagasaki, Japan, targeted on August 9th, 1945, by nuclear bombs far less powerful than the ones Lockheed Martin presently manufactures. The nonviolent action included the delivery of a letter from the people of Santa Cruz to Tom and Chip of Lockheed Martin suggesting they produce peaceful technologies instead of weapons like the Trident II (D5), Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM) armed with nuclear warheads. Paper flowers with messages to Lockheed were attached to the fence, a "peace bush" was planted and anti-nuclear songs were sung outside the gates of Lockheed Martin, the world's largest weapons contractor.
victim_8-9-06.jpg
Protest at Lockheed Martin in Bonny Doon
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/26/18291759.php

From the first nuclear bombs that the U.S. dropped on Japan in 1945 to the deadly "depleted" uranium it deployed in both Iraq wars, to the earth-penetrating "bunker busters" it projects detonating in Iran, the US has forged a multibillion dollar business out of nuclear weapons technology. The largest and most profitable designer, manufacturer, and merchant of those weapons is Lockheed Martin, which operates a 4,400 acre facility at the end of Empire Grade in Santa Cruz. The Bonny Doon-based Lockheed Martin facility manufactures and tests Contained Detonating Fuses (CDFs) for the deadliest weapon ever made - the Trident II D5 nuclear submarine missile.

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Why Local Activists are Turning their Attention to Lockheed Martin in Bonny Doon
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/newswire/display/10275/index.php

A newly-formed coalition in Santa Cruz is turning its attention to Lockheed Martin, which has a 4000 acre facility in Bonny Doon. Lockheed Martin (L-M) is the world's largest weapons contractor. It invents and develops high-tech war-fighting weapons, markets them to the Pentagon and to Congress, and sells them around the world on the open market. It pollutes the earth, both in the production of weapons and in their use in war. It has been convicted and fined for criminal violations of US law. And yet it has much more say about our government's policies than do ordinary citizens. Lockheed Martin buys access to our government representatives, largely with money it has made from selling weapons to our government, weapons that are both subsidized and paid for with our tax dollars. Profiteering from War.

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Lockheed Martin in Bonny Doon Says No to Water Testing
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/08/10/18296105.php

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Santa Cruz Weapons Inspection Team (SCWIT)
http://scwit.org

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Community Concerned about Lockheed Martin (CCALM, pronounced "calm") is a group of Central California Coast residents who have joined together to obtain information about the risks and hazards posed by the Lockheed Martin weapons facility, which occupies a 4,400 acre site at the end of Empire Grade Road in Bonny Doon, in Santa Cruz County.

http://www.ccalm.org

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Lockheed Corporation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lockheed Corporation (originally Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company) was an American aerospace company originally founded in 1912 which merged with Martin Marietta in 1995 to form Lockheed Martin.

Origins

The Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company was established in 1912 by the brothers Allan and Malcolm Loughead. This company was renamed the Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company and located in Santa Barbara, California.

In 1926, following the failure of Loughead, Allan Loughead formed the Lockheed Aircraft Company (the spelling was changed to match its phonetic pronunciation) in Hollywood, California. In 1929 Lockheed sold out to Detroit Aircraft.

The Great Depression ruined the aircraft market, and Detroit Aircraft went bankrupt. A group of investors headed by brothers Robert and Courtland Gross bought the company out of receivership in 1932. The syndicate bought the company for a mere $40,000. Ironically, Allan Loughead himself had planned to bid for his own company, but had raised "only" $50,000, which he felt was too small a sum for a serious bid.

In 1934, Robert E. Gross was named chairman of the new company, the Lockheed Corporation, which was headquartered at the airport in Burbank, California. The company remained there for many years before moving to Calabasas, California.

The first successful construction that was built in any number (141 aircraft) was the «Vega» been known for its use to several first- and record setting flights by, amongst others Amelia Earhart, Wiley Post and Hubert Wilkins

In the 1930s, Lockheed spent $139,400 to develop the L-10 Electra, a small twin-engine transport. The company sold 40 in the first year of production. Amelia Earheart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, flew this plane on their failed attempt to circumnavigate the world in 1937. The Electra also formed the basis for the Hudson bomber, which was supplied to both the British Royal Air Force and the United States military before and during World War II. Its primary role was submarine hunting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Corporation

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Lockheed Martin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, a community in Montgomery County, Maryland, and employs 135,000 people worldwide. Robert J. Stevens is the current Chairman, President, and CEO.

Lockheed Martin is the world's largest defense contractor (by defense revenue).[1] As of 2005, 95% of Lockheed Martin's revenues came from the U.S. Department of Defense, other U.S. federal government agencies, and foreign military customers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin

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Lockheed Martin Space Systems
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lockheed Martin Space Systems is one of the 5 major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. From a rich history of major companies Lockheed Martin has brought them together to offer design, integration, and production of:

* space launch vehicles
* satellites for commercial and military space
* and missile offense/defense systems

History

RCA Astro Electronics, a division of RCA was formed in the late 1950s and went on to become one of the leading manufacturers of satellites and related systems. RCA Astro Electronics was based in East Windsor, New Jersey. When General Electric purchased RCA in 1986 Astro Electronics was renamed GE Astro Space. This was sold to Martin Marietta in 1993 and became part of Lockheed Martin in 1995 following that company's merger with the Lockheed Corporation.

In 1995 Lockheed Martin announced the closure of the New Jersey facility and the relocation of operations to Sunnyvale, California. The New Jersey facility finished the orders it had and closed in 1998. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is now based in Denver, but still does considerable operations from Sunnyvale. Also located near Sunnyvale is the ATC (Advanced Technology Center), which is located in Palo Alto.

The Sunnyvale facility employs over 8,000 in over 40 buildings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_Space_Systems

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Trident missile
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Trident missile, named after the trident, is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which is armed with nuclear warheads and is launched from submarines (SSBNs), making it a SLBM.

The Trident was built in two variants: the I (C4) UGM-96A and II (D5) UGM-133A. The C4 and D5 designations put the missiles within the "family" that started in 1960 with Polaris (A1, A2 and A3) and continued with the 1971 Poseidon (C3).

Both Trident versions are three-stage, solid-propellant, inertially guided missiles whose range is increased by an aerospike, a telescoping outward extension that halves frontal drag.

The Trident is carried by fourteen active US navy Ohio class submarines and, with British warheads, four Royal Navy Vanguard class submarines.

The launch from the submarine occurs below the ocean surface. The missiles are ejected from their tubes by gas pressure created by a "gas generator", a solid-fuel rocket motor attached to the bottom of the missile tube which heats a pool of water creating steam. After the missile leaves the tube and rises through the water over the submarine, the first stage motor ignites, the aerospike extends, and the boost stage begins. Ideally, the missile is "sheathed" in gas bubbles for its entire time in the water, so liquid never touches its fuselage. Within about two minutes, after the third stage motor fires, the missile is traveling faster than 20,000 ft/s (6,000 m/s).

Trident I (C4) was deployed in 1979 and phased out in the 1990s and early 2000s. Trident II (D5) was deployed in 1990, and was planned to be in service for the thirty year life of the submarines, until 2027. However, a decision was taken in 2002 to extend the life of the submarines and the D5 missiles to forty-five years. This requires a D5 Life Extension (D5LE) Program, which is currently ongoing. The main aim is to replace obsolete components at minimal cost, while maintaining the demonstrated performance of the existing missiles. In 2006, The UK Government said that it would maintain the UK's independent nuclear deterrent, although it still had to decide exactly how. It is expected to join in fully with the D5LE program for the missiles and have its own program for extending the Vanguard class submarines' lives and maintaining the UK's own warheads.

Trident II (D5) UGM-133A

The second variant of the Trident is more sophisticated and can carry a heavier payload. It is accurate enough to be a first strike weapon. All three stages of the Trident II are made of graphite epoxy, making the missile much lighter. The Trident II was the original missile on the British Vanguard and later Ohio SSBNs.

Conventional Trident

The Pentagon developed the Conventional Trident Modification program in 2006 to diversify its strategic options. The US $503 million program would have converted existing Trident II missiles (presumably those scheduled for decommissioning of their warheads) into conventional weapons. It offered the promise of accurate conventional strikes with little warning and flight time. The primary drawback would have been establishing sufficient warning systems so that other nuclear countries would not mistake it for a nuclear launch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trident_missile

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Lockheed Martin: World's Largest Weapons Manufacturer
http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/corporate/dd/lm.html

Trident II D-5 Fleet Ballistic Missile
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/d-5.htm

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SANTA CRUZ: Dismantling the Bomb and Constructing Peace
Commemorating the Nuclear Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, August 6 and 9, 1945
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/08/09/18295695.php

BAY AREA: Protests Mark 61st Anniversaries of Atomic Bombings
International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples Protest at Bechtel HQ
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/11/18287138.php

IMC-US: Communities Re-Connect the Dots of the Nuclear Age
http://indymedia.us/en/2006/08/18604.shtml

GLOBAL: The 61st Hiroshima Day
http://www.indymedia.org/en/2006/08/844430.shtml
§Deadly Weapons
by ~Bradey
deadly-weapons_8-9-06.jpg
§No Border
by ~Bradey
no-border_8-9-06.jpg
§Lockheed Murder
by ~Bradey
lockheed-murder_8-9-06.jpg
§Bad Neighbor
by ~Bradey
bad-neighbor_8-9-06.jpg
§Mirror
by ~Bradey
mirror_8-9-06.jpg
§Flowers
by ~Bradey
flowers_8-9-06.jpg
§What'cha doing in there?
by ~Bradey
whatcha-doing_8-9-06.jpg
§Cranes
by ~Bradey
cranes_8-9-06.jpg
§Moving Gate
by ~Bradey
moving-gate_8-9-06.jpg
§Tom and Chip
by ~Bradey
tom-chip_8-9-06.jpg
§Santa Cruz Weapons Inspection Team
by ~Bradey
scwit_8-9-06.jpg
§Mystery Van
by ~Bradey
mystery-van_8-9-06.jpg
§Peace Bush
by ~Bradey
peace-bush_8-9-06.jpg
Add Your Comments

Comments (Hide Comments)
by from scwit.org
scwit-flyer.pdf_600_.jpg
WIT formed in response to the looming war in Iraq and our shared feeling that living in the nation that produces and possesses the most WMD in the world makes us less not more secure. On the first day of "shock and awe," the Santa Cruz Police Department recognized our increased vulnerability to terrorist attack here in Santa Cruz County ("Law Officers Say They Are Ready for Peace or War" Santa Cruz Sentinel, March 20, 2003), naming Lockheed Martin as a likely target for terrorism. Soon after, our newly formed WIT requested that Lockheed Martin disclose what it was manufacturing at its Bonny Doon site. Both that request and a second one were ignored. As the Bush administration was continuing to use WMD as the pretext for a "pre-emptive" war on Iraq, WIT held a press conference on April 11 at the Santa Cruz County Government Building to release information about the WMD that Lockheed Martin and other defense contractors manufacture and sell to the U.S military and to other nations and individuals. Afterwards, about 60 residents and self-appointed inspectors marched to the Lockheed Martin gate in Bonny Doon to demand answers to our questions. We were denied entry. We installed a placard on the fence that surrounds the site indicating noncompliance with an attempted inspection.

WIT is working with our County Supervisor, Mardi Wormhoudt, our State House Representative, Anna Eshoo, and our County Office of Environmental Health to answer mounting questions regarding the practices of Lockheed Martin in Bonny Doon. WIT works in solidarity with Community Concerned About Lockheed Martin (CCALM) which is gathering information about toxic and hazardous materials trucked in and out of Lockheed Martin and used and stored on site in Bonny Doon.
by from scwit.org
Why Do We Care About Lockheed Martin?

Lockheed Martin is operating right here in Santa Cruz County at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Company, Bonny Doon.

Lockheed Martin is the world's largest and wealthiest weapons maker and arms merchant. It received:

* $30 billion dollars in government contracts in fiscal year 2000-2001.

* $283+ million in fiscal year 2002 to provide Trident Missile system support and technical engineering services. The Trident II D-5 missile is a nuclear tipped first strike weapon carried on the18 Trident subs that roam the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Missiles launched from one Trident sub could destroy a continent the size of Russia.

* $200 billion (post 9/11) to build 3000 F-35 joint strike fighter planes by 2023

* $200+ million per each F22 and F16 fighter jet that it builds for the U.S and other governments.

Lockheed Martin continuously produces weapons of mass destruction that violate international law:

* Anti-personnel mines-condemned by international human rights law-are inherently indiscriminate, claiming more than 26,000 victims every year. The vast majority of these victims are civilians, often children, harmed or killed after the cessation of military conflict. Lockheed has refused to join the international consensus to not produce this weapon of mass destruction.

* AUP-3(M) Depleted Uranium systems. The U.S. is using depleted uranium shells in the war against Iraq, in violation of a UN resolution that classifies these munitions as illegal weapons of mass destruction. Depleted uranium is cited as the most likely cause of the six to ten-fold increase in cancer in southern Iraq after the Gulf war of 1991.

Lockheed Martin is a dangerous neighbor:

* In 1986 the California Health Services Dept. sued Lockheed for illegal storage and treatment of hazardous wastes at its Sunnyvale plant. While Lockheed agreed to pay $1.3 million, it has since not cooperated with inspectors and medical doctors to investigate possible toxic contamination.

* In 1991 when selling surplus land in Burbank, CA, Lockheed spent an estimated $200 million to "cleanse" contaminated soil but recovered most of the cost from the Defense Dept. at taxpayers' expense.

* Between 1984 and 2000, workers at Lockheed Martin's enriched uranium plant in Paducah, Kentucky suffered extreme exposure to uranium and plutonium. They were told that uranium was non-hazardous; they were not told that some of the material they handled was contaminated and highly dangerous plutonium.

* In November 2002 the Los Angeles Times reported that a former Lockheed plant is the likely cause of per chlorate contamination (a toxic component of rocket fuel) of water wells in San Bernadino County. Lockheed Martin is trying to persuade the state and EPA to set lower standards for per chlorate in drinking water so it can save millions of dollars in clean-up costs.

* Lockheed has caused significant toxic contamination in Silicon Valley and elsewhere and has been sued by workers for exposing them to toxics in irresponsible ways. In Palo Alto Lockheed has a toxic leach site.

* Prior to the Lockheed merger with Martin Marietta, the company covered up the fact that it shipped radioactive waste to incinerators not permitted to accept radioactive waste.

* Currently, Lockheed Martin is disposing of its used rocket engines in Russia by a process so toxic it is outlawed in the U.S.
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