-
-
related tags:
- Secretary
- CIOZone
- Military
- Department
- COT
- Cyber Czar
- Contractors
- Best practices
- Firewall
- ITRC
- defense spending
- Pentagon
- Defense Department
- appropriations
- Defense Contracts
- f-22
- us online news. world news
- Offense
- Panetta
- defense budget
- Sanchez
- command
- BSA
- Department of Defense
- Defence
- Lockheed Martin
- identity-theft
- CRE
- Military Industrial Complex
- ISA
- Criminal
- Self Defense
- Defense contractors
- military spending
- compliance
- hard power
- Agency
- Team spirit
- High School Athletics
- Gates
- Cyberspace
- Colts
- Rex Ryan
- Budget
- Infection
- Manning
- Army
- Weapons
- Playoffs
- Coach Raul Lara
tagged w/ Defense
-
Congress Cuts Winter Heating Aid For The Poor While Boosting The Defense Budget
How thoughtful of them.-
- Luna2na
- added this
- 1 month ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
White House drops veto threat on defense bill
Washington (CNN) -- The White House lifted a veto threat against a giant $662 billion defense authorization bill on Wednesday after legislators made changes in language involving detainees.
In particular, the legislators added language to make clear that nothing in the bill requiring military custody of al Qaeda suspects would interfere with the ability of civilian law enforcement to carry out terrorism investigations and interrogations in the United States.
A statement by White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the changes mean that President Obama's advisers will not recommend a veto. The measure is expected to come up for votes in the House and Senate this week.
Democrats to offer changes to payroll tax cut proposal
At issue was the president's authority in deciding whether people detained in terrorism investigations would be held in military or civilian custody.
Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the legislation includes a "national security waiver" that allows the president to transfer a suspect from military to civilian custody if he chooses.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/14/politics/congress-defense-bill/index.htmlWashington (CNN) -- The White House lifted a veto threat against a giant $662 billion... more-
- PetEr_Alan_ColE
- added this
- 1 month ago
- |
- 1 comment
-
-
US set to use army to put down protests + The Pentagon Is Offering Free Military Hardware To Every Police Department In The US
An analyst informs that the US has its army on standby against the Occupy and student movement as the economic situation in America deteriorates day by day. 1033 was passed by Congress in 1997 to help law-enforcement fight terrorism and drugs, but despite a 40-year low in violent crime, police are snapping up hardware like never before. While this year's staggering take topped the charts, next year's orders are up 400 percent over the same period. This upswing coincides with an increasingly military-like style of law enforcement most recently seen in the Occupy Wall Street crackdowns. http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/recent-news/43038-us-set-to-use-army-to-put-down-protestsAn analyst informs that the US has its army on standby against the Occupy and student... more-
- worrg
- added this
- 2 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
US FEMA Camps
The United States Federal Emergency Management Agency has numerous detainment camps throughout the United States. Some camps have been recently constructed and / or renovated and are fully staffed. The existence of the camps coupled with Presidential Executive Orders giving the President and Department of Homeland Security (of which FEMA is now part) control over ‘national essential functions’ in the event of ‘catastrophic emergency’ have resulted in concerns that the camps will be used to forcefully detain American citizens for unconstitutional purposes. http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/bizzareweird/43037-us-fema-campsThe United States Federal Emergency Management Agency has numerous detainment camps... more-
- worrg
- added this
- 2 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
A Little Straight Talk on National Defense
So by how much will the defense budget decline over the next decade? That could be seen as a trick question, because in nominal terms it will grow. Prior to the super committee's failure, the defense budget was slated to increase some 23% between 2012 and 2021. Now, according to Veronique de Rugy, the Pentagon will have to make do with a 16% boost...To pretend that this would make us virtually defenseless is to insult our collective intelligence. We can make that cut and still have the most powerful military on the planet by a factor of five or six. If that doesn't make you feel safe, nothing will.
How much is enough? During WWII we beat the Germans not by building the best tanks, just building more cheaper tanks. We do not need the largest navy in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S. Navy also has the world's largest carrier fleet, with 11 in service, one under construction (two planned), and one in reserve. The service had 328,516 personnel on active duty and 101,689 in the Navy Reserve in January 2011. It operates 286 ships in active service and more than 3,700 aircraft. The U.S. Army currently consists of 10 active divisions as well as several independent units. The force is in the process of growth, with four additional brigades scheduled to activate by 2013. Within the Army National Guard and United States Army Reserve there are a further eight divisions, over fifteen maneuver brigades, additional combat support and combat service support brigades, and independent cavalry, infantry, artillery, aviation, engineer, and support battalions. The Army Reserve in particular provide virtually all psychological operations and civil affairs units. As of 2009 the USAF operates 5,573 manned aircraft in service (3,990 USAF; 1,213 Air National Guard; and 370 Air Force Reserve); approximately 180 unmanned combat air vehicles, 2,130 air-launched cruise missiles, and 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles. The USAF has 330,159 personnel on active duty, 68,872 in the Selected and Individual Ready Reserves, and 94,753 in the Air National Guard as of September 2008. In addition, the USAF employs 151,360 civilian personnel, and has over 60,000 auxiliary members in the Civil Air Patrol, making it the largest air force in the world.
Is this all necessary? As a Vet., I say no. We could make do with a lot less, and apply that saving to necessary things like rebuilding roads and bridges, rebuilding crumbling sewage, water treatment, and water delivery systems, improved education system were kids are taught real science and math, health care reforms which would have its own savings by making Medicare/Medicaid negotiate pricing, creating high speed rail with our own products rather than other countries products, and finally building a green electrical grid. We could still have money left over if this is used judiciously.So by how much will the defense budget decline over the next decade? That could be... more-
- kvb1
- added this
- 2 months ago
- |
- 27 comments
-
-
Today's Military: The Most Top-Heavy Force in U.S. History
After Thanksgiving, waistlines aren't the only things that are bloated--the Pentagon's top ranks are fattening at an alarming rate.
Despite a plan set forth by former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to rein in the Department of Defense's (DoD) increasingly top-heavy force and assurances from Pentagon personnel that these plans were being enacted, the U.S. military is still adding top brass faster than you can say tryptophan.
In September, I testified before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel about the military becoming increasingly top-heavy as a result of growth in the proportion of general and flag officers at the Pentagon. This trend, which we at POGO dubbed Star Creep, is costly to taxpayers who have to foot the large bill for every new general and admiral. It also hinders military effectiveness by leading to what Gates referred to as a “bureaucracy which has the fine motor skills of a dinosaur.”
My fellow witnesses at the hearing—several generals and admirals as well as former Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Clifford Stanley—assured the concerned Committee that they had everything under control. They cited Gates’ Efficiency Initiatives, which purportedly eliminate 102 general and flag officer positions, as evidence of the DoD’s commitment to combating Star Creep. Stanley confirmed to Chairman Jim Webb (D-VA) that Gates’ successor—Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta—supported these efforts and, “has accepted the policies and the things put in place by his predecessor.” (Stanley tendered his notice of resignation in late October.)
What Senator Webb and I did not know at the time—and perhaps Stanley did—was that Gates’ initiative to cut general and flag officers had already come to a screeching halt. Data that were released recently on the DoD personnel office's website tell the tale.
New personnel data
When POGO began its analysis of Star Creep, the most recent data available to the public were from April 2011. Thus, when I presented Chairman Webb our recommendation that Secretary Panetta work to fully enact Gates’ Efficiency Initiatives to combat Star Creep and heard the other witnesses declare their support for the initiatives, I had no way of knowing that the DoD had already completely reversed course on Gates’ efforts.
Seventeen general and flag officers were scheduled to be eliminated between May and September through Gates’ Efficiency Initiatives. But the DoD didn’t reduce its top brass at all. Instead, six generals were added from May to September, increasing the number of general and flag officers from 964 to 970. Moreover, from July 1, 2011—Panetta’s first day as Secretary of Defense—to September 30, the Pentagon added three four-star officers. Coincidentally, this is precisely the number of four-star officers Gates cut during his final year as SecDef, from June 2010 to the end of June 2011. Thus, in just three months, Panetta undid a year’s worth of Gates’ attempts to cut the Pentagon’s very top brass. It’s doubtful that Gates would consider Panetta’s current rate of adding a new four-star officer every month conducive to efficiency.
One of these new four-star officers is Admiral Mark Ferguson, who became vice chief of naval operations and consequently a four-star admiral less than a month before he testified at Senator Webb’s hearing. Ironically, this beneficiary of Star Creep wrote in his prepared statement that the “Navy supports these efficiency actions and anticipates additional review to reduce or merge flag officer positions.” At the hearing he expanded upon this, stating that “We [the Navy] remain absolutely committed to create a more agile, flexible, and effective flag officer staff structure.” Apparently, this support and commitment to flag officer efficiencies includes adding admirals.After Thanksgiving, waistlines aren't the only things that are bloated--the... more-
- dliebelson
- added this
- 2 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
Report: Military Blew $1 Trillion on Weapons Since 9/11
But a new report shows the US defense establishment is in much better shape than it claims: The DOD has blown roughly $1 trillion on shiny new tanks, ships, and jets since the 9/11 attacks—and it's often done so with dollars that were supposed to be spent on those troops on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Not only have we blown money on defense spending, rather than spend it on the troops, we have spent it on buying new weapons at massively inflated prices.But a new report shows the US defense establishment is in much better shape than it... more-
- kvb1
- added this
- 3 months ago
- |
- 5 comments
-
-
Six new weapons the police and military can use to subdue unarmed people
The military industrial prison complex have been preparing for a breakdown of civil society for decades.
*****
From microwave energy blasters and blinding laser beams, to chemical agents and deafening sonic blasters, these weapons are at the cutting edge of crowd control, and look and sound like they belong in a Hollywood science fiction thriller.
The Pentagon's approved term for these weapons is "non-lethal" or "less-lethal" and they are intended for use against the unarmed. Designed to control crowds, clear streets, subdue and restrain individuals and secure borders, they are the 21st century's version of the police baton, pepper spray and tear gas.
1. The Invisible Pain Ray: The 'Holy Grail of Crowd Control'
Works like an open-air microwave oven, projecting a focused beam of electromagnetic radiation to heat the skin of its targets to 130 degrees. This creates an intolerable burning sensation forcing those in its path to instinctively flee
" ... the ADS provides the technical possibility to produce burns of second and third degree. Because the beam of diameter 2 m and above is wider than human size, such burns would occur over considerable parts of the body, up to 50% of its surface. Second- and third-degree burns covering more than 20% of the body surface are potentially life-threatening"
2. The Laser Blinding 'Dazzler'
The Personal Halting and Stimulation Response rifle, or PHaSR, is a massive laser shooter. It won't kill you, but it will temporarily blind you — or as the NIJ prefers to say, it will "dazzle" you into disorientation — by shooting you with two low-power diode-pumped lasers.
3. The Taser on Steroids
Taser has developed the Taser X12, a 12-gauge shotgun that instead of firing lethal bullet rounds, is designed to fire Taser projectile rounds. Known as Extended Range Electronic Projectiles (XREP), the XREP cartridge is a self-contained, wireless projectile that delivers the same neuro-muscular incapacitation bio-effect (a fancy way of saying electric shock) as the handheld Taser, but up to 100 feet.
4. Calmative Agents for Riot Control
Calmatives are chemical or biological agents with sedative, sleep-inducing or similar psychoactive effects.
Penn State’s College of Medicine researchers agreed that “the development and use of non-lethal calmative techniques is both achievable and desirable,” and identified a large number of promising drug candidates, including benzodiazepines like Valium, serotonin-reuptake inhibitors like Prozac, and opiate derivatives like morphine, fentanyl, and carfentanyl, the last commonly used by veterinarians to sedate large animals. The only problems they saw were in developing effective delivery vehicles and regulating dosages, but these problems could be solved readily, they recommended, through strategic partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry.
5. Screaming Microwaves That Pierce the Skull
Researchers are in the process of developing the Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio or MEDUSA, which uses a beam of microwaves to induce uncomfortable auditory sensations in the skull. The device exploits the microwave audio effect, in which short microwave pulses rapidly heat tissue, causing a shockwave inside the skull that can be detected by the ears. MEDUSA’s audio effect is loud enough to cause discomfort or even incapacitation. It may also cause a little brain damage from the high-intensity shockwave created by the microwave pulse.
6. Ear-Splitting Siren
It works using gas from a cylinder of domestic liquid petroleum, which is mixed with air and then detonated, producing a series of high-intensity blasts. Patented “pulse detonation” technology ensures high-decibel blasts. With an effective range of up to 50 meters, the makers say it is extremely loud but will not do any lasting damage. They warn, however, that within 10 meters the Thunder Generator could cause permanent damage or even death.
The Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, built by American Technology Corporation, focuses and broadcasts sound over ranges of up to hundreds of yards. LRAD has been around for years, but Americans first took notice when police used it in Pittsburgh to ward off protesters at the 2009 G-20 summitThe military industrial prison complex have been preparing for a breakdown of civil... more-
- maasanova
- added this
- 6 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
Joe Lieberman Says We Need To CUT SOCIAL SECURITY To Pay For Defense
"I am very curious to know what you folks think of this???"-
- KB723
- added this
- 6 months ago
- |
- 259 comments
-
-
Official: Pentagon set to certify repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'
The Pentagon is set to certify that the U.S. military is prepared to accept openly gay and lesbian service members, and doing so will not harm military readiness, a U.S. official told CNN on Thursday.
Link: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/07/21/military.dadt/index.html?hpt=hp_t1The Pentagon is set to certify that the U.S. military is prepared to accept openly gay... more-
- sitsi
- added this
- 7 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
Poly vs Jordan: '4th and Forever' Coach Huddle
In this "4th and Forever" Coach Huddle, Poly dominates Jordan, but Coach Lara feels like the team still needs to get work in. With Lakewood coming up the following week, he needs everyone to step up, because it'll probably be their biggest league game.
"4th and Forever"" chronicles the 2010 football season of Long Beach Polytechnic High School, touted by Sports Illustrated as the "Sports School of the Century" and boasts the largest roster of high school players who have gone on to the NFL. After decades of success, Poly had a down year in 2009. They had their worst season in 15 years and lost to local rival Lakewood for the first time in over 25 years. After years of being pegged as "the team to beat," the aura of invincibility is gone. The players are worried that their hopes for a college scholarship have dimmed. The clock is ticking and the question is: Can Head Football Coach Raul Lara pull the team together for one more season of greatness? And, can the players avoid the temptations of the street, succeed in the classroom, and emerge victorious on the field? Tune in Thursdays at 9/8c for all-new episodes of "4th and Forever." For more, go to http://current.com/4thandForever Current Media, the Peabody-and Emmy Award-winning television and online network founded in 2005 by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, engages viewers with smart, provocative and timely programming -stories that no one else is telling in ways that no one else is telling them. Current's programming shines a light where others won't dare and boldly explores important subjects -- opening minds, sparking conversations and forming deep connections with its viewers. The channel's audience is comprised of affluent, curious, social and connected adults who crave the kind of entertaining, enlightening, witty and informative programming found on Current's TV and online properties. Current is now available via cable and satellite TV in 75 million households worldwide - 60 million households in the US - through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107); Time Warner ; DirecTV (Channel 358 nationwide); Dish Network (Channel 196 nationwide); Verizon and AT&T. In the UK and Ireland, Current is available on BSkyB (Channel 183) and Virgin Media (Channel 155), and in Italy, Current is available on Sky Italia (Channel 130). Viewers can also find Current online at http://www.current.com.In this "4th and Forever" Coach Huddle, Poly dominates Jordan, but Coach... more-
- 4thandForever
- added this
- 8 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
Running for Daylight: '4th and Forever' Friday Night Rewind
In this "4th and Forever" Friday Night Rewind, Poly running back Keltain Malveaux gets great blocking, sheds a few tacklers and makes an 80-yard run that doesn't stop until he hits the end zone.
"4th and Forever"" chronicles the 2010 football season of Long Beach Polytechnic High School, touted by Sports Illustrated as the "Sports School of the Century" and boasts the largest roster of high school players who have gone on to the NFL. After decades of success, Poly had a down year in 2009. They had their worst season in 15 years and lost to local rival Lakewood for the first time in over 25 years. After years of being pegged as "the team to beat," the aura of invincibility is gone. The players are worried that their hopes for a college scholarship have dimmed. The clock is ticking and the question is: Can Head Football Coach Raul Lara pull the team together for one more season of greatness? And, can the players avoid the temptations of the street, succeed in the classroom, and emerge victorious on the field? Tune in for the series premiere of "4th and Forever" Thursday, May 26 at 9/8c. For more, go to http://current.com/4thandForever Current Media, the Peabody-and Emmy Award-winning television and online network founded in 2005 by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, engages viewers with smart, provocative and timely programming -stories that no one else is telling in ways that no one else is telling them. Current's programming shines a light where others won't dare and boldly explores important subjects -- opening minds, sparking conversations and forming deep connections with its viewers. The channel's audience is comprised of affluent, curious, social and connected adults who crave the kind of entertaining, enlightening, witty and informative programming found on Current's TV and online properties. Current is now available via cable and satellite TV in 75 million households worldwide - 60 million households in the US - through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107); Time Warner ; DirecTV (Channel 358 nationwide); Dish Network (Channel 196 nationwide); Verizon and AT&T. In the UK and Ireland, Current is available on BSkyB (Channel 183) and Virgin Media (Channel 155), and in Italy, Current is available on Sky Italia (Channel 130). Viewers can also find Current online at http://www.current.com.In this "4th and Forever" Friday Night Rewind, Poly running back Keltain... more-
- 4thandForever
- added this
- 8 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
Iran: the 10 lies they tell you - Part 2
The next 5:
6) 'Iran wants to destroy Israel'
False. A sentence which Is attributed to President Ahmadinejad translates into French as 'wiping Israel off the map'. However, the Iranian president has never uttered those words. Speaking in a conference against Zionism, Mr. Ahmadinejad has consistently said that we must 'rid the world of this scourge called Zionism' which is quite different. It is true, however, that more extremist parties than those in power do not rule out a war against Israel, but their importance is as marginal as the FN (Front National)* in France.
7) 'Iran is led by Ahmadinejad, a madman close to a cult'
False. Ahmadinejad has a PhD in economics from the prestigious University of Tehran, and was mayor of Tehran from 2003 to 2005, a city of 25 million. He is far from being the moron that Western media have made him out to be. Rumors of proximity to the Hojatieh sect (the equivalent of Scientology in Iran) or his participation in attacks is more propaganda from Mossad (Israeli intelligence) and the CIA than formal proof.
Continue reading on Examiner.com Iran: the 10 lies they tell you - Part 2 - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/iran-the-10-lies-they-tell-you-part-2#ixzz1Ocr57J43The next 5: 6) 'Iran wants to destroy Israel' False. A sentence which... more-
- Aimee_Kligman
- added this
- 8 months ago
- |
- 2 comments
-
-
Iran: the 10 lies they tell you - Part 1
translated from French by Aimee Kligman
A small article to break the rumors propaganda's neck about Iran that accumulate in the media and the French population for several years. All you have 'heard' here and there, that does not make sense, but that people repeat all day long. Or how to manipulate your minds so that you hate Iran.
The first 5:
1) 'Iran is an Arab country that was civilized by Europeans'
False. It's a weird idea prevalent in the minds of many Europeans in general think that all countries in the Middle East are ancient Arab countries or French or English colonies. Yet Iran, a country four times larger than France, is one of seven non-European countries around the world that were never colonized. Iran or literally 'land of Aryans' is the name chosen by emperor Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1935 to name what remained of the Persian territories following the partition of the empire and after the French and German teams discovered Persepolis and the remnants of the 3000 year-old Persian Empire, to whom we owe the invention and spread of the cuneiform alphabet and writing, the Silk Road, the tales of 1001 Nights, irrigation canals, the chess game, the first air conditioning, the first human dissections (Avicenna), the discovery of methyl alcohol, the invention of zero, a very large part of algebra and geometry (often unfairly called 'Arabic' mathematics), but also the system of modern armies (invented by Darius I and copied 500 years later by the Romans), the 'steam bath' (hammam is a Persian word), saffron, caviar, Persian rugs, painted Easter eggs, December 25 (birth of Zarathustra, replaced by the birth of Jesus in the Christian calendar). In Iran, we do not speak Arabic, but Persian, (Farsi) an Indo-Aryan language group that also includes the French language ...
2) 'Iran is linked to Al Qaeda and was involved in the September 11th attacks'
Continue reading on Examiner.com Iran: the 10 lies they tell you - Part 1 - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/iran-the-10-lies-they-tell-you-part-13#ixzz1OcqDT6Oitranslated from French by Aimee Kligman A small article to break the rumors... more-
- Aimee_Kligman
- added this
- 8 months ago
- |
- 1 comment
-
-
Five Eye-Opening Facts About Our Bloated Post-9/11 'Defense' Spending
A dollar spent on guns is one less buck available for butter.
May 28, 2011 By- Joshua Holland
This week, the National Priorities Project (NPP) released a snapshot of U.S. “defense” spending since September 11, 2001. The eye-popping figures lend credence to the theory that al Qaeda's attacks were a form of economic warfare – that they hoped for a massive overreaction that would entangle us in costly foreign wars that would ultimately drain away our national wealth.
They didn't bankrupt us the same way the Mujahadeen helped bring down the Soviet Union decades before, because our economy was much stronger. But they did succeed in putting us deep into the red – with an assist, of course, from Bush's ideologically driven tax cuts for the wealthy.
The topline number is this: we have spent $7.6 trillion on the military and homeland security since 9/11. The Pentagon's base budget – which doesn't include the costs of fighting our wars – has increased by 81 percent during that time (43 percent when adjusted for inflation). The costs of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have now reached $1.26 trillion. But that only scratches the surface; it doesn't include the long-term costs of caring for badly wounded soldiers, for example.
One line-item suggests that 9/11 has been used to justify greater military spending across the board; the nuclear weapons budget has shot up by more than a fifth after adjusting for inflation. How intercontinental ballistic missiles that can vaporize whole cities are useful in a “war on terror” is anybody's guess.
The Pentagon itself acknowledges these dollars haven't all been spent effectively – there is certainly plenty of waste. According to the Washington Post, the DoD has blown $32 billion (enough to offer free, universal college tuition for a year) on canceled weapons programs since 1997. According to the Post story, which is based on an unreleased Pentagon report, “For almost a decade, the Defense Department saw its budgets boom — but didn’t make the kind of technological strides that seemed possible.”
"Since 9/11, a near doubling of the Pentagon’s modernization accounts — more than $700 billion over 10 years in new spending on procurement, research and development — has resulted in relatively modest gains in actual military capability,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in an address last week.
He called that outcome both “vexing and disturbing.” Some might find the relentless focus on cutting benefits for vulnerable Americans "vexing and disturbing" in light of this profligate spending. Budgets, after all, are a reflection of our priorities.
Toward that end, let's put these numbers in perspective by looking at some of the other things we might be doing with those dollars. Because a buck spent on guns is one less for butter.
1. Post-9/11 Defense Hikes Equal Five Times the “Medicare Gap”
Economist Dean Baker notes that “the projections in the Medicare Trustees report, as well as the CBO baseline budget, show that the program faces a relatively modest long-term shortfall.” The amount of money needed to balance the program's finances over its 75-year horizon, he adds, “is less than 0.3 percent of GDP, approximately one-fifth of the increase in the rate annual defense spending between 2000 and 2011.”
2. Afghanistan Costs Alone Could Pay for 15.6 Years of Head Start
Head Start provides education, health, nutrition, and parenting services to low-income children and their families. It's an incredibly successful, effective and popular program, but there are only 900,000 places in the program for more than 2.5 million eligible kids. According to the National Priorities Project, what we've spent on the Afghanistan war so far could fund Head Start for all eligible children for the next 15.6 years.
3. Covering the Uninsured
A 2007 study conducted by researchers at Harvard University estimated that 45,000 people die every year in the United States from problems associated with lack of coverage. The study found that “uninsured, working-age Americans have a 40 percent higher risk of death than their privately insured counterparts,” even “after taking into account socioeconomics, health behaviors, and baseline health.”
According to NPP's analysis, the costs of the Afghanistan conflict alone could cover every uninsured American for 1.7 years.
4. Closing State Budget Gaps
Forty-six states face budget shortfalls in this fiscal year, totaling $130 billion nationwide. The supplemental requests for fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan this year add up to $170 billion – that doesn't include the Pentagon's base budget, nukes or Homeland Security.
5. Iraq, Just in 2011
Iraq is still a bloody mess, with an insurgency still underway. But our politicians have declared vistory and the media have largely moved on. That doesn't mean we won't spend almost $50 billion on those "non-combat troops" which remain, however. What else could we do with that kind of scratch if we just brought them home? NPP tells us it would buy:
24.3 million children receiving low-income health care for one year, OR
726,044 elementary school teachers for one year, OR
829,946 firefighters for one year, OR
6.2 million Head Start slots for children for one year, OR
10.7 million households with renewable electricity -- solar photovoltaic for one year, OR
28.6 million households with renewable electricity-wind power for one year, OR
6.1 million military veterans receiving VA medical care for one year, OR
9.8 million people receiving low-income health care for one year, OR
718,208 police or sheriff's patrol officers for one year, OR
6.0 million scholarships for university students for one year, OR
8.5 million students receiving Pell grants of $5,550
The Big Picture
It's a tragic irony that so much of the discussion surrounding the public debt centers on “entitlements” like Social Security (which hasn't added a penny to the national debt) when we're still paying for Korea and Vietnam and Grenada and Panama and the first Gulf War and Somalia and the Balkans and on and on.
Estimates of just how much of our national debt payments are from past military spending vary wildly. In 2007, economist Robert Higgs calculated it like this:
I added up all past deficits (minus surpluses) since 1916 (when the debt was nearly zero), prorated according to each year's ratio of narrowly defined national security spending--military, veterans, and international affairs--to total federal spending, expressing everything in dollars of constant purchasing power. This sum is equal to 91.2 percent of the value of the national debt held by the public at the end of 2006. Therefore, I attribute that same percentage of the government's net interest outlays in that year to past debt-financed defense spending.
When Higgs did that analysis four years ago, he came up with a figure of $206.7 billion just in interest payments on our past military adventures.
Joshua Holland is an editor and senior writer at AlterNet
I hope I did this right.A dollar spent on guns is one less buck available for butter. May 28, 2011 By-... more-
- rellyraps
- added this
- 8 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
Afghan Death Squad Killings Fail to Get Media Attention
Reports of a U.S. “death squad” in Afghanistan, complete with the publication of gory photographs, have failed to attract the intense political or media attention afforded a previous war scandal — the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
In 2004, CBS News broadcast an array of photographs showing American jail guards abusing Iraqi detainees. The most famous: a forced pyramid of naked, humiliated prisoners. The depictions touched off an avalanche of media coverage. In Congress, liberals called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. Democrats launched inquiries and held a string of well-covered hearings.
In recent months, another wartime embarrassment has emerged. The Army charged five soldiers with murder in the deaths of Afghan civilians in what amounted to a “death squad.” The German magazine Der Spiegel published several digital photos of soldiers posing with the dead last month.
Yet the U.S. media have given relatively little coverage, and no one in Congress has called for Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to quit, planned hearings or raised questions at budget hearings.
more at link...
How can you justify the "humanitarian" war with Libya with the bad press in Afghanistan? In addition, drones keep killing innocent civilians, women and children in Pakistan, even 2 US SOLDIERS were killed a few weeks ago by a drone. 9/11 Truth doesn't get any media attention either, except smear campaigns. Can't bury your head in the sand forever, unless you want to get us all thrown in a FEMA Camp.
We're already being prepped for tyranny through the airports and TSA. Can't happen here? It already has. The media is on the payroll; they're muckraking scum. That's why I know Wikileaks was an inside job, b/c look at all the media Agent Assange was getting. Only Der Spiegel, a German paper, covered it. Shame on you media!
http://www.malalaijoya.com/dcmj/images/malalaijoya/us_crimes_kill_team.jpgReports of a U.S. “death squad” in Afghanistan, complete with the... more-
- rodstradamus
- added this
- 10 months ago
- |
- 1 comment
-
-
REPORT: U.S. Military Spending Has Almost Doubled Since 2001
A new report released today by SIPRI, a Swedish-based think tank, reveals that U.S. military spending has almost doubled since 2001. The U.S. spent an astounding $698 billion on the military last year, an 81% increase over the last decade.
U.S. spending on the military last year far exceeded any other country. We spent six times more than China — the second largest spender. Overall, the world expended $1.6 trillion on the military, with the United States accounting for the lion’s share:
As a percentage of GDP, U.S. military spending has increased from 3.1% in 2001 to 4.8% last year.
The report notes that, “even in the face of efforts to bring down the soaring US budget deficit, military spending continues to receive privileged treatment.” Indeed, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and others on the right are passing legislation increasing defense spending. At the same time, they are insisting on massive cuts to social programs that provide vital assistance to the elderly, the poor and the middle class.
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/11/military-spending-doubled-since-2001/A new report released today by SIPRI, a Swedish-based think tank, reveals that U.S.... more-
- bundlebear
- added this
- 10 months ago
- |
- 62 comments
-
-
Budget Bistro Episode 7 - Chicken Panchinis
Budget Bistro is here to save the day! Informative and refreshing. We'll show you how to make a gourmet meal on a dime budget. With Host Eric Reinert, you will learn how to impress family & friends....and maybe a girlfriend/boyfriend or two!
Ingredients:
1 lb. stripped chicken
3/4 lb. Pancetta (Italian bacon)
3/4 cups Italian Bread Crumbs
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 lemon juice
1/4 cup (4 tblsp) Butter
1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil
4 Bamboo skewers
Directions:
Mix Bread Crumbs and Parmesan. Use olive oil to grease foil lined cookie sheet. Place strips of chicken in the remainder of olive oil. Mix chicken with oil. Roll chicken strips up with pieces of Pancetta in the middle then cover in bread crumb and Parmesan mixture then place on skewer. You should be able to put 7-9 on skewer. Place in pre-heated oven at 450 degrees. Cook for 25-30 minutes depending on how crispy you like. When you have a minute or two left cooking, mix butter and lemon juice and microwave. Microwave 5-7 seconds at a time to ensure a well heated but not boiled butter. Dip Panchinis in butter and enjoy!
Compliments of the Budget Bistro!Budget Bistro is here to save the day! Informative and refreshing. We'll show you... more-
- ericreinert
- added this
- 11 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
10 Reasons the Iraq War Was No Cakewalk
March 19 marks the eighth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, a nation that had no weapons of mass destruction and was not involved in the 9/11 attacks. It was sold to the American public as a war to defend our nation and free the Iraqi people. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said our soldiers would be greeted as liberators and that Iraqi oil money would pay for the reconstruction. Vice President Dick Cheney said the military effort would take "weeks rather than months." And Defense Secretary Assistant Ken Adelman predicted that "liberating Iraq would be a cakewalk."
Eight years on, it's time to look back at that "cakewalk."
1. 4,400 U.S. Soldiers Lost for a Lie
More than 4,400 Americans have died as a result of the invasion and occupation of Iraq -- more than were killed on 9/11. Over 32,000 U.S. soldiers have been seriously wounded, many kept alive only thanks to the miracle of modern medicine.
But those numbers don't tell the half of it. Stanford University and Naval Postgraduate School researchers who examined the delayed onset of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) found that, by 2023, the rate of PTSD among Iraq war veterans could rise as high as 35 percent. And for the second year in row, more soldiers committed suicide in 2010 than died in combat, a tragic but predictable human reaction to being asked to kill -- and watch your friends be killed -- for a war based on lies.
2. Bankrupting Our Nation
In 2008, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard University's Linda Blimes put the cost of the Iraq War at roughly $3 trillion, or about 60 times what the Bush administration first said the invasion would cost. But while a staggering figure, Stiglitz and Blimes now say that their estimate "was, if anything, too low." In an update published last fall in the Washington Post, they note that the war not only drove up the federal debt, but helped drive the skyrocketing oil prices that contributed to the crashing of the global economy.
According to the National Priorities Project, the money the U.S. government spent destroying Iraq could have provided yearly salaries for 12.5 million teachers or paid the annual healthcare costs for 167 million Americans. When elected officials tell us our nation is bankrupt, we should tell them to bring our war dollars home.
3. Hundreds of Thousands of Iraqi Dead
The ones who have suffered the most from the Iraq "cakewalk," of course, are the Iraqis themselves. For an invasion sold as an act of liberation and "profound morality" by propagandists like Jeffrey Goldberg, the U.S. and its allies sure managed to kill a staggering number of those they were liberating. The group Iraq Body Count (IBC) has documented at least 99,900 violent civilian deaths as a direct result of the U.S.-led invasion. But that's an extremely conservative estimate based largely off deaths reported in Western media, an approach bound to undercount the massive death toll from the invasion. Indeed, as WikiLeaks revealed last October, the U.S. government covered up the violent killings of more than 15,000 Iraqi civilians -- killings that weren't reported by any Western paper -- or roughly 20 percent of IBC's official count at the time.
Unfortunately, the number of Iraqi souls liberated from their bodies is likely a lot higher than IBC's count. A 2006 study by researchers at John Hopkins University published in the Lancet medical journal found that in just over three years there had been 654,965 "excess Iraqi deaths as a consequence of the war," with Iraq's death rate more than doubling due to gunfire -- the leading cause of mortality -- and a lack of medicine and clean water. A January 2008 analysis by British polling firm Opinion Research Business, meanwhile, estimated "that over 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens have died as a result of the conflict which started in 2003."
4. Lights Still Out
Thirteen years of bombings and sanctions crippled the infrastructure and basic services of what was once a wealthy country. Then came the 2003 invasion, which destroyed electrical plants, sewage systems, water treatment facilities, hospitals and more. Eight years later, the living conditions of Iraqis are worse than under Saddam Hussein, with the country plagued by a continued lack of electricity, clean water, medical care and security. Iraqis wonder how it is, after the most powerful country in the world occupied it and ostensibly spent billions on reconstruction, they are still living in the dark.
5. Millions Flee Their Homes
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, since 2003 "more than 4.7 million Iraqis have fled their homes, many in dire need of humanitarian care" -- hardly an endorsement of life in the "liberated" nation. Many Iraqis fled their homes to seek asylum in Iran, Jordan and Syria, while roughly 1.5 million fled to other parts of Iraq, the majority of which "have found no solutions to their plight," according to the UN. In the aftermath of ethnic cleansing, millions will never be able to return.
6. Women and Girls Forced into Prostitution
Women in Iraq have been particularly hit by the invasion and occupation. The Iraqi government estimates there are up to 3 million widows in Iraq today. Meanwhile, violence against women -- including honor killings, rape and kidnapping -- has soared , forcing many women to remain at home and limiting employment and educational opportunities, according to a new Freedom House report. "A deep feeling of injustice and powerlessness sometimes leads women to believe that the only escape is suicide," the report notes.
Many Iraqi women who fled to neighboring countries have found themselves unable to feed their children. Just to make ends meet, tens of thousands of them -- including girls 13 and under -- have been forced into lives of prostitution, particularly in Syria.
"From what I've seen, 70 percent to 80 percent of the girls working this business in Damascus today are Iraqis," one refugee told the New York Times. "If they go back to Iraq they'll be slaughtered, and this is the only work available."
7. Poisoning Iraqi Society
The U.S. military dropped thousands of bombs across Iraq laced with depleted uranium, the radioactive waste produced from manufacturing nuclear fuel. Valued by the military for its density and ability to ignite upon impact, depleted uranium bombs continue to kill years after they've been dropped. In Fallujah, which was bombarded more than anywhere else in Iraq, British researchers uncovered a massive increase in infant mortality and rates of cancer, with the latter exceeding "those reported by survivors of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki," according to the Independent.
And it's not just Fallujah facing a cancer epidemic. Al Jazeera reports that in the central Iraq province of Babil, reported cancer cases rose from 500 in 2004 to 7,000 in 2008. And in Basrah, the last 15 years have seen the childhood leukemia rate more than double, according to a study published last year in the American Journal of Public Health.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AT LINK:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/medea-benjamin/ten-reasons-the-iraq-war-_b_836910.html
Medea Benjamin (medea@globalexchange.org) is cofounder of CODEPINK: Women for Peace (www.codepinkalert.org) and Global Exchange (www.globalexchange.org). Charles Davis has covered Congress for NPR and Pacifica stations, and freelanced for the international news wire Inter Press Service.March 19 marks the eighth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, a nation that had no... more-
- pinkpanther
- added this
- 11 months ago
- |
- 3 comments
-
-
PayPal Cuts Service to Alleged WikiLeaks Whistle-blower Bradley Manning Support Effort - WE WON!!!
The online payment provider PayPal has frozen the account of Courage to Resist, which in collaboration with the Bradley Manning Support Network is currently raising funds in support of U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning. PayPal was one way people–especially international residents–were able to contribute to the grassroots effort supporting the accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower.
“We’ve been in discussions with PayPal for weeks, and by their own admission there’s no legal obligation for them to close down our account,” noted Loraine Reitman of the Bradley Manning Support Network (Support Network). “This was an internal policy decision by PayPal.”
“We exchanged numerous emails and phone calls with the legal department and the office of executive escalations of PayPal,” explained Jeff Paterson. “They said they would not unrestrict our account unless we authorized PayPal to withdraw funds from our organization’s checking account by default. Our accounting does not allow for this type of direct access by a third party, nor do I trust PayPal as a business entity with this responsibility given their punitive actions against WikiLeaks-an entity not charged with any crime by any government on Earth.”
The Support Network repeatedly requested and was refused formal documentation from PayPal describing their policies in this matter.
PayPal is a private company and thus under no legal obligation to provide Courage to Resist, the Bradley Manning Support Network, or anyone else with services. This was something made very clear to the Support Network by PayPal representatives.
“They opted to apply an exceptional hurdle for us to clear in order to continue as a customer, whereas we have clearly provided the legally required information and verification. I think our dealings with PayPal should be a cautionary tale for any possibly controversial not-for-profit entity with a PayPal account,” Paterson said, “While there may be no legal obligation to provide services, there is an ethical obligation. By shutting out legitimate nonprofit activity, PayPal shows itself to be morally bankrupt.”
Timeline
Courage to Resist registered the PayPal account in 2006. There were no issues with this account until supporters were encouraged to donate via PayPal to help fund the “Stand with Bradley Manning” public statement and petition effort (www.standwithbrad.org ).
In late 2010, PayPal, MasterCard and Visa closed down payment services to WikiLeaks, severely restricting that organization’s ability to accept online donations. Within days, Courage to Resist project director and Support Network steering committee member Jeff Paterson fielded lengthy calls from executives at PayPal regarding website content, the intended use of the funds being solicited in support of Bradley Manning, and accountings of the recent purchases (primarily envelopes, paper, and postage stamps) made with PayPal funds.
The PayPal account was briefly restricted at that time pending organizational “verification.” To meet PayPal’s standard verification requirements, the Support Network opted to open a line of credit with PayPal and provided Social Security numbers and other financial details in doing so. Approximately a month later on January 29, 2011, PayPal decided that these standard protocols did not apply to Bradley Manning related efforts.
Background
Donations made via Visa, MasterCard, and Discover–along with checks and money orders–remain unaffected. Funds donated to Bradley Manning’s defense fund are used for legal defense expenses, public awareness efforts, and minimal administrative costs. Information regarding donations, including a fiscal accounting of funds, is publicly available on the Internet at www.couragetoresist.org/bradley
Manning is an American soldier who has been held in solitary confinement since June 2010. He is currently being held in pre-trial confinement at the Marine brig in Quantico, Virginia, and is not expected to face court martial until at least October 2011. Manning has been convicted of no crime and has a Constitutional right to a fair trial. The Support Network is dedicated to ending Manning’s extreme and illegal pre-trial punishment, ensuring he receives civilian legal representation of his choosing, and thwarting efforts by the U.S. government to hold a secret trial, out of sight of media and supporters. The Support Network has no organizational ties to WikiLeaks.
WE WON!!!
PayPal Backs Down, Reinstates Account for Supporters of Bradley Manning::
http://www.bradleymanning.org/16196/paypal-backs-down-reinstates-account-for-supporters-of-bradley-manning/The online payment provider PayPal has frozen the account of Courage to Resist, which... more-
- toyotabedzrock
- added this
- 12 months ago
- |
- 32 comments
-
