Kiraz was taken hostage by the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front on Tuesday afternoon. The official gained public notoriety leading the case of Berkin Elvan, a 15-year-old protester who suffered injuries during the anti-government demonstrations of 2013.Turkish security forces cut short a standoff with a far-left group that captured prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz, when they launched a storm on an Istanbul court. Local media reported that all hostage takers are dead, and the court official wounded.
Elvan, who fell into a coma and died nine months later in March 2014, has become a symbolic figure for the street opposition movement in the country.
Widespread power outages have struck Turkey, with rail networks and air traffic radars crippled. The nation is facing the worst event of its kind in 15 years. The possibility of a terrorist attack is being investigated.
The outage was confirmed in some 23 provinces, including Ankara and Istanbul, by news agency Anadolu. Later information from Broadcaster NTV put the number at 40. An energy official at the ministry has offered no immediate comment, while the power supplier TEIAS likewise did not respond to questions.
The subway system is at a standstill and flights across the country have also suffered setbacks.
Turkey’s Anadolu agency reports that the outages struck around 10:36am Turkish time, according to officials. Flights in and out of the capital have been grounded.Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says all potential causes are being investigated currently, “including the possibility of a terror attack.”
This is the first outage event of such magnitude in 15 years, according to the daily Hurriyet paper.
China has welcomed the applications of Russia and Finland to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on Monday, one day before the deadline to join the bank as a founding member.
Russia and Finland will become founding members on April 14 and April 12, respectively, should all existing members approve, according to a statement on the Finance Ministry's website. Endi
China's President Xi Jinping (front C) poses for photos with guests at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank launch ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing October 24, 2014.
Reuters/Takaki Yajima/Pool
(Reuters) - Japan remains cautious about signing up to the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), indicating that Tokyo will miss the March 31 deadline for application, but both Taiwan and Norway said they would seek to join the institution.
Finance Minister Taro Aso reiterated Japan's concerns about governance at the AIIB, its debt sustainability and environmental and social safeguards.
"Unless these conditions are secured, Japan has no choice but to be very cautious about joining," Aso told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
Countries are rushing to join the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as the application deadline draws near, but the United States remains conspicuously absent.
Experts attending the annual Boao Forum for Asia in Boao, Hainan province, said the United States should reconsider its stance.
On Saturday alone, Russia, Brazil, the Netherlands and Denmark said they want to join AIIB as founding members. A day earlier, Georgia, Turkey and South Korea filed their applications.
Swedish officials at the Boao Forum also expressed interest, while the possibility grew that other northern European nations would follow.
As of Sunday, 42 countries had joined or applied to join the AIIB as founding members. They must wait two weeks before a final decision is made on April 12, the Finance Ministry said.
Of the world's major economies, only the United States, Japan and Canada have not declared their intention to join the AIIB, though they could apply at the last minute or join later as ordinary members.
As interest in the bank grew in the past week, debate in Boao focused on the chilly reception to the idea by the administration of US President Barack Obama and whether the emerging multilateral lending institution proposed by China amounts to a challenge to the US-led international financial order.
During a panel discussion at the forum, Martin Jacques, a senior fellow in the Department of Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University, called the founding of AIIB an "exciting moment" in history.
"What I want to say is in the past month or so the US has been taking a defensive stance on the issue and become more and more isolated," he said. "The US should review its stance on this issue."
Leo Melamed, chairman emeritus of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, said the US has been too slow in accepting the necessity of the AIIB in the Asian world. Its position contrasts with other Western economies, which actively sought to engage in the architecture and cowrite the rules.
BEIJING: The US today hinted at joining the China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) before the deadline tomorrow saying it is looking forward to cooperating with the new bank which most US allies have joined disregarding its objections.
US can cooperate with the bank as it welcomes and supports proposals that are helpful to infrastructure construction, US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said.
Intelligence regarding the unintended altitude loss with incumbent loss of life related to Lufthansa 9525 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf is coming to light.
The plane may have been downed to end an investigation of massive banking fraud tied to the CIA, Mossad, Crypto AG, Siemans and the Vatican Bank.
This event also gives us need to take a new look at the downing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. In the world of fax machines, Crypto AG had developed a hardware hack that created a backdoor on all encrypted fax communication, giving their “clients” virtual control of not only the world banking system but almost all diplomatic correspondence as well.
Nearly half a dozen investigative “strands” tied to Flight 103 also lead to Crypto AG projects. We are told that today, Crypto AG has developed security protocols that tag all encrypted messages with a built-in hack, redirecting them to the Mossad for evaluation and “valuation.”
The internet has been filled with stories about Crypto AG and Siemens for years. Most are “cover and deception,” pushing attention from their real tasks, manipulating the Federal Reserve System and helping the Rand Corporation rig elections, we are talking America, Britain, France, Germany and even Israel, not Iran or Nigeria.
Crypto AG is defended by a veil of lies. Google them. See who writes about them. You will find that they write about themselves, using “the usual suspects” as their controlled accusators.
Opening a “Bag of Stupid”
Yesterday, a German “blogger” funded by the Jewish Defense League, named Michael Mannheim (a pseudonym) flooded the net and neocon email-o-sphere. The story, too predicable, claimed our copilot, Germanwings 9525, had “just” converted to Islam.
As we noted a week ago, Vladimir Putin’s calls for a Eurasian currency union clearly demonstrate that the Russian President is acutely aware of the fact that the unipolar world of the 1980s is long gone. Putin’s security council also made it clear this week that the Kremlin is well aware that the sole aim of US foreign policy is preserving Western hegemony via an implicit (and sometimes explicit) policy of containment aimed at perpetuating the idea of US exceptionalism. Moscow then took the rhetoric up a notch on Thursday, accusing the US of attempting to take the “mutual” out of “mutually assured destruction” (i.e. Moscow thinks Washington is trying to tip the nuclear power balance).
Given all of this, we weren’t surprised to learn that Putin is now backing a Russian bid for membership in China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (for a summary of AIIB developments, see here). Here’s more via RT:
Russia decided to apply to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Saturday.
“I would like to inform you about the decision to participate in the AIIB,” which was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Shuvalov said at the Boao Forum for Asia.
Shuvalov added that Russia welcomes China’s Silk Road Economic Belt initiative and is happy about stepping up cooperation.
"We are delighted to be able to step up cooperation in the format of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and China...the free movement of goods and capital within the EEU brings economies of Europe and Asia closer. This is intertwined with the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative, launched by the Chinese leadership," he said.
Russia joins China-led Asian Bank March 28, 2015, 5:21 am
File photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping [PPIO]
Beijing’s staunch ally, Russia, on Saturday announced its decision to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the latest in the growing list of countries applying for membership, including US allies in the European Union.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, at the 2015 annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia in the coastal town of China’s southern island province of Hainan, said President Vladimir Putin was keen on Moscow joining the Asian bank.
“I would like to inform you about the decision to participate in the AIIB,” said Shuvalov.
The application deadline to join as a founding member is March 31.
The AIIB is a China-initiated international financial institution aimed at supporting infrastructure projects in Asia. Beijing will host the headquarters of the Bank.
Twenty-one countries, including China, India and Singapore, signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing in October 2014 to build the AIIB.
Six other nations, including Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, joined the body until Feb. 9, 2015.
In March, nine other countries, namely Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Turkey, Austria and South Korea, have so far applied to join the AIIB as founding members.
The authorized capital of the AIIB is $100 billion and the initial subscribed capital is expected to be around $50 billion. The paid-in ratio will be 20 per cent.
Founding members have agreed that GDP will be the basic parameter in determining share allocation among member countries in the Bank.
The AIIB is an open initiative and China welcomes all countries to join the effort, said Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday.
“We will ... advance complementary and coordinated development between the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and such multilateral financial institutions as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank,” Xi said at the Boao Forum.
This post is specifically structured to help readers, who may be unfamiliar with the SDR and how it works, to become more educated on the history of the SDR, and what it’s future characteristics and functions will be. As we move through the year and to the ultimate restructuring of the global monetary system, it will be important for people to understand what they can do, and how they can do it, to protect their wealth and remain viable throughout the multilateral transition.
Many times I have been asked what the average person could do to protect themselves during this transition, and just as many times I’ve given broad statements about diversification. Within the coming weeks there will be an announcement on PoM containing information on what options are available. There has been much going on behind the scenes which has been building on the realities of the multilateral transition, which, based on the events and announcements over recent weeks, can no longer be denied.
Vous avez entendu parler de la Bombe dans le slip de Noël*,
avons-nous maintenant droit au « Plongeur de la pause-pipi ? »
*allusion à Umar
Farouk Abdul Mutallab, qui a essayé de faire exploser le vol Amsterdam-Detroit
à l’aide d’une bombe dissimulée dans ses sous-vêtements. (NdT.)
« J’ai conçu
mon projet de meurtre-suicide en sachant que le commandant de bord allait faire une pause de 30 minutes sur un vol de 2
heures. »
Par Robert Hanson
Par
Gordon Duff avec les Col. Jim Hanke, Lt. Col Steve Avery et l’Agent spécial du
FBI Fred Coward
La
nuit dernière, après avoir consulté les membres de l’équipe, j’ai abordé l’affaire
du vol 9525 (GermanWings) sur Rense Radio Network. Non seulement il ne
s’agissait pas d’un accident, mais ce n’était pas non plus un suicide. Il s’agit
du cas « d’un avion téléguidé ». La
convention internationale Aérienne, impose à cet avion des mesures de
sécurité anti-piratage. L’une d’entre elles, encore compliquée par
l’obstination des Allemands, a permis à un copilote de se retrouver seul dans la
cabine de pilotage, quelque chose qui est illégal aux Etats-Unis.
War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it. –George Orwell
The late United States Marine Corps Major GeneralSmedley D. Butler is perhaps most famous for his post-retirement speech titled “War is a Racket.” In the early 1930s, Butler presented the speech on a nationwide tour. It was so popular that he wrote a longer version as a small book that was published in 1935.
Butler points to a variety of examples, mostly from World War I, where industrialists whose operations were subsidized by public funding were able to generate substantial profits essentially from mass human suffering.
War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people.
Only a small ‘inside’ group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.
In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows.
How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle?
Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few — the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill.
And what is this bill?
This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant miseries. Back-breaking taxation for generations and generations.
For a great many years, as a soldier, I had a suspicion that war was a racket; not until I retired to civil life did I fully realize it. Now that I see the international war clouds gathering, as they are today, I must face it and speak out.
Butler also exposed the Business Plot, an alleged plan to overthrow the U.S. government. In 1933, Butler told a congressional committee that a group of wealthy industrialist businessmen (including individuals from General Motors, Prescott Bush, grandfather of George Bush Jr., J.P. Morgan, and the Rockefeller dynasty) were planning a military coup to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with Butler selected to lead a march of veterans to become dictator, similar to other Fascist regimes at that time. The individuals involved all denied the existence of a plot, and the media ridiculed the allegations, calling them a “gigantic hoax.”
A final report by a special House of Representatives Committee confirmed some of Butler’s testimony.
****
Despite warnings of its existence and imminent expansion, the military-industrial complex (or military-industrial-congressional complex) remains in operation today. It is an iron trianglethat comprises the policy and monetary relationships which exist between legislators, national armed forces, and the arms industry that supports them. These relationships include political contributions, political approval for military spending, lobbying to support bureaucracies, and oversight of the industry.
It is a major reason we are stuck in a perpetual war.
Arms sales, including advisory, planes, vehicles, and weapons, were defined by sales to military customers as well as contracts to government militaries. Also considered were each company’s 2013 total sales and profits, the total number of employees at the company, as well as nation-level military spending, all provided by SIPRI.
From the article:
U.S. companies still dominate the arms market by a large margin, with six among the top 10 arms sellers. In the top 100 arms-producing companies, 39 are based in the United States, and U.S. companies accounted for more than 58% of total arms sales among the top 100. U.S. company arms sales in the top 10 alone made up 35% of total arms sales among the top 100. By contrast, Western European companies, which make up the rest of the top 10 arms producers, accounted for just 28% of the total top 100 arms sales.
Here are the top 10 war-profiteering companies and their political ties.
10. Thales Group (Paris) Arm sales 2013: $10.4 billion, profit: $800 million
Profile for 2014 Election Cycle CONTRIBUTIONS: $0 LOBBYING: $520,000 (2014), $460,000 (2013) (ranks 614 of 4,065 in 2014)
REVOLVING DOOR: 9 out of 10 Thales Group lobbyists in 2013-2014 have previously held government jobs.
For a list of bills Thales Group has lobbied, click here.
Chairman Henri Proglio’s salary is rumored to be $436,128 USD.
CEO Patrice Caine’s salary has not been published.
9. Finmeccanica S.p.A. (Italy) Arm sales 2013: $10.6 billion, profit $100 million
Not only is this company a top war profiteer, it is a huge U.S. political campaign contributor.
Profile for 2014 Election Cycle CONTRIBUTIONS: $446,850 (ranks 696 of 16,793) LOBBYING: $1,754,000 (2014), $1,965,500 (2013) (ranks 303 of 4,065 in 2014) Contributions to candidates: $342,550 (for a list of recipients, click here) Contributions to Leadership PACs: $18,100 Contributions to parties: $86,200 Contributions to 527 committees: $0 Contributions to outside spending groups: $0
For a list of bills Finmeccanica S.p.A. has lobbied, click here.
Here’s some additional information on this company:
The total of contributions to candidates from Finmeccanica SpA PACs is 24 times larger than contributions from individuals.
REVOLVING DOOR: 21 out of 34 Finmeccanica SpA lobbyists in 2013-2014 have previously held government jobs.
CEO Mauro Moretti’s “wage packet” is said to be $1.2 million USD.
8. United Technologies (U.S.) Arm sales 2013: $11.9 billion, profit $5.7 billion
United Technologies might be the lowest ranking of the U.S. companies in this list, but don’t let that fool you.OpenSecrets bestowed the company with the label “heavy hitter”, which means it is “one of the 140 biggest overall donors to federal elections since the 1990 election cycle, as compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.”
Profile for 2014 Election Cycle CONTRIBUTIONS: $2,105,245 (ranks 124 of 16,793) LOBBYING: $15,738,000 (2014), $13,900,373 (2013) (ranks 13 of 4,065 in 2014) Contributions to candidates: $1,769,400 (for a list of recipients, click here) Contributions to Leadership PACs: $199,250 Contributions to parties: $124,470 Contributions to 527 committees: $10,625 Contributions to outside spending groups: $1,500
For a list of bills United Technologies has lobbied, click here.
Here’s some additional information on this company:
The total of contributions to candidates from United Technologies PACs is 19 times larger than contributions from individuals.
REVOLVING DOOR: 52 out of 70 United Technologies lobbyists in 2013-2014 have previously held government jobs.
24 Congressional members own United Technologies shares (for the list, click here).
CEO Gregory J. Hayes has a reported annual salary of $949,583 and an annual bonus of $1,600,00, for a total annual compensation of $2,549,583.
7. Airbus Group (France/Netherlands) Arm sales 2013: $15.7 billion, profit $2 billion
Profile for 2014 Election Cycle CONTRIBUTIONS: $365,752 (ranks 855 of 16,793) LOBBYING: $3,288,178 (2014), $3,749,750 (2013) (ranks 156 of 4,065 in 2014) Contributions to candidates: $259,322 (for a list of recipients, click here) Contributions to Leadership PACs: $83,500 Contributions to parties: $22,930 Contributions to 527 committees: $0 Contributions to outside spending groups: $0
For a list of bills this company has lobbied, click here.
Additional information about Airbus Group:
The total of contributions to candidates from Airbus Group PACs is 4 times largerthan contributions from individuals.
REVOLVING DOOR: 42 out of 57 Airbus Group lobbyists in 2013-2014 have previously held government jobs.
6. General Dynamics (U.S.) Arm sales 2013: $18.7 billion, profit $2.4 billion
OpenSecrets labeled this company a “heavy hitter”, which means it is “one of the 140 biggest overall donors to federal elections since the 1990 election cycle, as compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.”
General Dynamics is one of the nation’s top defense contractors, assembling virtually every type of military machinery engaged in modern combat. The company builds warships, nuclear submarines, tanks and combat jets, not to mention the command and control systems that link all of these technologies together. The company has lobbied hard to encourage lawmakers to step up appropriations for the Navy, one of the company’s biggest clients.
It has fought attempts to shrink the nation’s fleet of submarines and warships, thereby helping block Defense Department attempts to shift that money to other facets of the nation’s land and air defenses.
Details:
Profile for 2014 Election Cycle CONTRIBUTIONS: $1,974,599 (ranks 140 of 16,793) LOBBYING: $10,720,923 (2014), $11,066,974 (2013) (ranks 27 of 4,065 in 2014) Contributions to candidates: $1,405,525 (for a list of recipients, click here) Contributions to Leadership PACs: $401,300 Contributions to parties: $162,974 Contributions to 527 committees: $4,350 Contributions to outside spending groups: $5,450
For a list of bills this company has lobbied, click here.
More information about General Dynamics:
The total of contributions to candidates from General Dynamics PACs is 6 times larger than contributions from individuals.
6 Congressional members own shares in this company (click here for the list).
REVOLVING DOOR: 96 out of 133 General Dynamics lobbyists in 2013-2014 have previously held government jobs.
CEO Phebe Novakovic earned nearly $19 million in total compensation in fiscal 2014.
Northrop Grumman is the fourth largest defense contractor and the world’s largest builder of naval vessels as of 2010. As a member of the miscellaneous defense industry, Northrop Grumman specializes in aerospace systems, electronic systems, information systems, ship building and technical services.
Northrop Grumman focuses much of its efforts securing government defense contracts and earmarks. During the 2008 election cycle, people and political action committees associated with Northrop Grumman contributed more than $2 million to federal candidates and committees, favoring Democrats slightly.
Details:
Profile for 2014 Election Cycle CONTRIBUTIONS $4,050,624 (ranks 45 of 16,793) LOBBYING $10,216,960 (2014), $20,590,000 (2013) (ranks 28 of 4,065 in 2014) Contributions to candidates: $2,613,112 (for a list of recipients, click here) Contributions to Leadership PACs: $1,194,560 Contributions to parties: $231,602 Contributions to 527 committees: $6,000 Contributions to outside spending groups: $5,350
For a list of bills this company has lobbied, click here.
More information about Northrop Grumman:
The total of contributions to candidates from Northrop Grumman PACs is 9 times larger than contributions from individuals.
REVOLVING DOOR: 32 out of 49 Northrop Grumman lobbyists in 2013-2014 have previously held government jobs.
6 Congressional members own shares in this company (for the list, click here).
CEO Wesley G. Bush’s total pay package, including the change in the value of his pension, was $18.6 million in 2013, reports The Washington Post. His salary and stock awards remained steady at about $1.5 million and $8 million, respectively.
OpenSecrets has identified Raytheon as a heavy hitter:
Raytheon is a major American defense contractor that specializes in defense and homeland security technology. As the world’s largest producer of guided missiles, Raytheon specializes in manufacturing defense systems and defense electronics.
A member of the defense electronic industry, Raytheon is most active lobbying on defense, homeland security and federal budget appropriation issues. Until 2008, individuals and political action committees associated with Raytheon had favored Republicans in campaign contribution giving, but after Democrats won both chambers of Congress and the White House, the defense firm favors Democrats, giving 55 percent of campaign contributions to Democrats and 45 percent to Republicans in 2008
Considering that access is needed when securing large government defense contract, it’s of little surprise that Raytheon spends millions of dollars each year lobbying the federal government. Raytheon is the primary manufacturer of Tomahawk cruise missiles, dozens of which have been used by U.S. and British military forces in strikes against targets in Libya during 2011.
Details:
Profile for 2014 Election Cycle: CONTRIBUTIONS: $3,588,668 (ranks 58 of 16,793) LOBBYING: $6,250,000 (2014), $7,650,000 (2013) (ranks 65 of 4,065 in 2014) Contributions to candidates: $2,131,300 (for a list of recipients, click here) Contributions to Leadership PACs: $1,212,783 Contributions to parties: $236,498 Contributions to 527 committees: $6,037 Contributions to outside spending groups: $2,050
For a list of bills Raytheon has lobbied, click here.
More information about this company:
The total of contributions to candidates from Raytheon PACs is 11 times larger than contributions from individuals.
REVOLVING DOOR: 51 out of 67 Raytheon lobbyists in 2013-2014 have previously held government jobs.
8 Congressional members own shares in this company (click here for a list).
CEO Thomas A. Kennedy made $5,324,743 in total compensation for fiscal 2013.
3. BAE Systems (U.S./United Kingdom) Arm sales 2013: $26.8 billion, profit $275 million
Profile for 2014 Election Cycle CONTRIBUTIONS: $1,360,369 (ranks 210 of 16,793) LOBBYING: $3,920,000 (2014), $4,635,000 (2013) (ranks 124 of 4,065 in 2014) Contributions to candidates: $931,389 (for a list of recipients, click here) Contributions to Leadership PACs: $301,750 Contributions to parties: $120,980 Contributions to 527 committees: $5,500 Contributions to outside spending groups: $3,250
For a list of bills BAE Systems has lobbied, click here.
More details:
The total of contributions to candidates from BAE Systems PACs is 9 times largerthan contributions from individuals.
REVOLVING DOOR: 27 out of 36 BAE Systems lobbyists in 2013-2014 have previously held government jobs.
CEO Ian King’s total annual compensation is $3,826,308.
2. Boeing (U.S.) Arm sales 2013: $30.7 billion, profit $4.6 billion
Boeing has been labeled a heavy hitter by OpenSecrets:
Boeing is the world’s top manufacturer of commercial airplanes, including well-known aircraft such as the 787 and the 747. The company is also a leading military supplier, making fighter-bombers, transport planes and the Apache helicopter.
Along with rival Lockheed Martin, the company regularly lobbies Congress to win military contracts and increase defense spending. Boeing is a major supporter of free trade, especially in Asia, where it has focused on selling more planes. The company also lobbies on environmental rules and transportation regulations, among other issues.
Boeing is also a large recipient of government loan-guarantees, primarily coming from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
Details:
Profile for 2014 Election Cycle CONTRIBUTIONS: $3,227,934 (ranks 67 of 16,793) LOBBYING: $16,800,000 (2014), $15,230,000 (2013) (ranks 10 of 4,065 in 2014) Contributions to candidates: $2,536,149 (for a list of recipients, click here) Contributions to Leadership PACs: $398,276 Contributions to parties: $252,685 Contributions to 527 committees: $33,749 Contributions to outside spending groups: $79,325
For a list of bills Boeing has lobbied, click here.
More information on this company:
The total of contributions to candidates from Boeing PACs is 6 times larger than contributions from individuals.
REVOLVING DOOR: 83 out of 115 Boeing Co lobbyists in 2013-2014 have previously held government jobs.
17 Congressional members own Boeing shares (click here for the list).
CEO W. James McNerney Jr. made $23,263,562 in total compensation in 2013. Of this total $1,930,000 was received as a salary, $12,920,972 was received as a bonus, $3,763,503 was received in stock options, $3,763,534 was awarded as stock, and $885,553 came from other types of compensation. He earned $23.5 million total in 2014.
1. Lockheed Martin (U.S.) Arm sales 2013: $35.5 billion, profit $3 billion
As the top war profiteer on this list, it should be no surprise that Lockheed Martin is ranked as a heavy hitter by OpenSecrets:
Lockheed Martin is the nation’s top defense contractor, the brains behind such high-tech military hardware as the F-16 jet fighter and a variety of land and sea missiles. In 2001, the company landed the biggest defense contract in history when it was named the main contractor for the Joint Strike Fighter.
Considering that access is the name of the game when securing such lucrative contracts, it’s no surprise that Lockheed splits its campaign money equally between Democrats and Republicans. All told, NASA and the Defense Department account for roughly 80 percent of the company’s annual sales.
Details:
Profile for 2014 Election Cycle CONTRIBUTIONS: $4,132,497 (ranks 44 of 16,793) LOBBYING: $14,581,800 (2014), $14,516,226 (2013) (ranks 16 of 4,065 in 2014) Contributions to candidates: $3,001,928 (for a list of recipients, click here) Contributions to Leadership PACs: $897,425 Contributions to parties: $219,086 Contributions to 527 committees: $5,585 Contributions to outside spending groups: $10,373
For a list of bills Lockheed Martin has lobbied, click here.
Additional information about this company:
The total of contributions to candidates from Lockheed Martin PACs is 7 times largerthan contributions from individuals.
REVOLVING DOOR: 69 out of 109 Lockheed Martin lobbyists in 2013-2014 have previously held government jobs.
CEO Marillyn Hewson earned $25.16 million in 2014. Of this total, $1.34 million was base salary, $8.16 million was stock awards, $5.98 million was from incentive plan compensation, $9.41 million was in pension earnings, and other compensation was $238,150.
****
As you can see, many companies and individuals – including politicians – stand to profit greatly from perpetual war.
And we, the taxpayers, are footing the bill.
Every hour, taxpayers in the United States are paying $312,500 for cost of military action against ISIS.
Every hour, taxpayers in the United States are paying $10.17 million for cost of war in Afghanistan.
Every hour, taxpayers in the United States are paying $365,297 for cost of war in Iraq.
Every hour, taxpayers in the United States are paying $10.54 million for total cost of wars since 2001.
Every hour, taxpayers in the United States are paying $8.43 million for Homeland Security Since 9/11.
Every hour, taxpayers in the United States are paying $58 million for the Department of Defense.
For a live ticker showing how much we have paid to date in each of the categories above, please visit the National Priorities Project site. You also can use the site’s trade-off tool to see what else those dollars could buy.
****
The full costs of war cannot simply be measured in dollars. It is impossible to place a monetary value on the tremendous loss of life (both military and civilian) caused by perpetual war.
Since 2003, U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan total 2,356. UK military deaths total 453, and there have been 677 coalition military deaths from other countries.
Since 2003, U.S. military deaths in Iraq total 4,489. UK military deaths total 179, and there have been 140 coalition military deaths from other countries.
There have been 136,495 – 154,378 documented civilian deaths that resulted from military intervention in Iraq since 2003.
In Iraq, 1,487 contractor employees have died. 348 journalists have been killed. 448 academics have died.
To view information on 6,840 U.S. service members who have perished in Afghanistan and Iraq, please see Faces of the Fallen.
Deaths don’t only occur in combat. An unusually high percentage of young veterans have died since returning home, many as a result of drug overdose, suicide, and vehicle crashes, reports Costs of War. The suicide rate doubled in the Army during the first decade of the wars among both the deployed and the non-deployed.
In many ways, the people of Afghanistan and Iraq are worse off now than they were before U.S. military invasion. Both countries are considered more authoritarian, more corrupt, and more repressive than they were before.
In the George Orwell classic 1984, there is a state of perpetual war between the nations of Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. The enemy in the conflict is ambiguous, and the battlefield exists in an elusive and distant land. The enemy could be Eurasia one day, and Eastasia the next, but that location is really insignificant.
The mission of perpetual war for these superpowers is to justify psychological and physical control over their populations, to keep their people busy, fearful and hateful towards the enemy. The perpetual war also serves as an excuse for a nation’s failings and shortcomings. The economy, the labor force and industry are all centered around war rather than consumer goods. People live a miserable existence with poverty and no hope of improving their standard of living.
Love points out that there are bigger problems we should be concerned about:
…there are many domestic threats that seem to pose a greater risk to national security, including the U.S. economic system itself.
He concludes with:
If we are to have a perpetual war, it must be a war against injustice and deprivation at home and abroad. We need to get our own house in order, rather than demolish and rebuild other nations that did not invite us there. And as far as the so-called terrorism problem is concerned, maybe we should stay out of other folks’ backyards and it will go away.
Indeed, the authorities would like us to believe that “fighting for our freedoms” in lands thousands of miles away is a necessary evil.
In War is a Racket, Butler suggested the following three steps to smash the war racket:
We must take the profit out of war.
We must permit the youth of the land who would bear arms to decide whether or not there should be war.
We must limit our military forces to home defense purposes.
Butler concluded his speech with the following exclamation:
TO HELL WITH WAR!
That seems like an appropriate conclusion here as well.
At midday on Friday 5 February, 2016 Julian Assange, John Jones QC, Melinda Taylor, Jennifer Robinson and Baltasar Garzon will be speaking at a press conference at the Frontline Club on the decision made by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on the Assange case.
![File photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping [PPIO]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEh75G6EJOI_MKRRU_tR6sdItnhyphenhyphenKTfPQ7lIcWwtWxqV2Xny58KRw3RQMmF9Clizll4OklUY4el8oltTsezZfbCH934vFB55w6k_e0DqYv9XDTd3iP7jBJiZ8XpfN3QzOUmazmeL_966X6lkQ2bk1ryajwpIiOa9931yutzNz1p5wVgLsvKHVPqwMCcf=s0-d-e1-ft)
