US Leads the World in Arms Sales, Profiting Off Death and Destruction [View all]

[G_j]

http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/activists-acquitted-of-trying-to-block-largest-weapons-sales-fare-in-the-world

On Waging Nonviolence, Javier Gárate wrote of his acquittal -- and those of his fellow activists -- for attempting to symbolically blockade the London Arms Fair in September 2015:

After a week-long trial that ended on April 15, a judge from the Stratford Magistrate Court in London found me and seven co-defendants not guilty for our actions last September to shut down the Defence Security and Equipment International arms fair, or DSEI, on the basis that we were preventing a greater crime. This is a huge victory in the long struggle to shut down … the largest arms fair in the world, which takes place in east London every other year.

The last fair was in September 2015, and it saw more than 1,500 exhibitors from around the world displaying the latest technology of the war industry. DSEI is an invitation-only event, where invites go to governments, industry representatives and specialized press. Delegations from repressive regimes and countries violating human rights — such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel — walk through its corridors every other year browsing the latest weaponry [and most significantly signing contracts for billions of dollars].

The focus of Gárate and his fellow opponents of the global weaponry industry was the 2015 Defence Security and Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition held in London. RT took a look at some of the biggest corporate beneficiaries of worldwide weapons sales and found these two companies among those leading the pack: ...more...