as we enter a new year...The Military Industrial Complex

[w8liftinglady]

some stats

http://www.militaryindustrialcomplex.com/

< Value of ALL Contracts Since 10/30/2006 >
$1,114,722,041,410

< Value of Contracts In 2010 >
$240,658,318,861

Since 10/30/2006...

MilitaryIndustrialComplex.com has recorded a total of 14,838 publicly-reported defense contracts. To date, that is an average of $3,586 for each member of the US citizenry (310,839,514 - Census.gov - 12/03/10).

Recent Contracts

There were 15 publicly-reported Defense Contracts listed < TODAY > totaling $1,810,652,851. Up 58% from Yesterday.

Day Prior

There were 25 publicly-reported Defense Contracts listed < YESTERDAY > totaling $1,143,054,716.

This Week

51 publicly-reported Defense Contracts are listed This Week totaling $3,240,076,642. Down 37% from Last Week.

Last Week

80 publicly-reported Defense Contracts were listed Last Week totaling $5,222,750,563.

This Month

259 publicly-reported Defense Contracts are listed This Month totaling $18,192,108,329. Down 35% from Last Month.

Last Month

224 publicly-reported defense contracts were listed in November totaling $28,206,122,771


MOST CONTRACTS / DAY
September 30th, 2009 - 141

MOST CONTRACTS / MONTH
September 2009 - 751

BIGGEST DAY
July 13, 2009 - $56,565,650,948

BIGGEST WEEK
July 12 - 18, 2009 - $59,382,381,913

BIGGEST MONTH
July 2009 - $72,604,664,236

[mdmc]

1. r

[Bigmack]

2. We can't afford to be an Empire any more. nt

[PDJane]

5. No, you can't.

But that's in part because the Empire is being maintained by mercenaries.

[phasma ex machina]

15. Bankster inflation pays for imperial prerogative.

This is the second time that banksters tried to conquer the Pashtun tribes. The first attempt occurred about a century ago using the British Empire.

[Earth_First]

3. Imagine what we could do with just the biggest DAY!

The Military Industrial Complex really makes me very, very sad...

[w8liftinglady]

4. and people are so unaware..and choose to make the poor suffer more

[RKP5637]

10. It's out of sight, out of mind - most people have blinders on and nothing phases them 'till

it smacks them right in their nose and then they wonder WTF. And then it's too late. Our whole society is morphing into something quite unpleasant IMO ... and rather quickly.

[Enthusiast]

16. No shit.

"Our whole society is morphing into something quite unpleasant IMO ... and rather quickly."

And quite unpleasant is going to morph into something extremely unpleasant. There will be many WTFs then. Oh, it's coming. Many will believe it is the "end Times".

[Bigmack]

6. Another thought....

When the austerity measures come out of D.C.... From Pres. Obama and the Congress and the Catfood Commission, watch how much is going to be cut from the "Defense" budget. My best guess is about 10%... spread over 5 years or so. No real cuts at all, of course, they'll just move MIC stuff to other budgets.

This country cannot survive spending a $Trillion every year on the MIC. (That's after you include veterans stuff and nuclear weapons and hidden R&D stuff.)

[w8liftinglady]

7. that's my thought,too...and less will go to troops and vets

all to private contractors.

It is inhumane.

[RKP5637]

8. War is our chief product and export! It's disgusting! n/t

[w8liftinglady]

11. if we could even channel half into our own nation's well-being

bring the troops and contractors home give them decent jobs here,repairing our own infrastructure.But...that would involve ...sharing.

http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/ceou/top100.cfm

[DebJ]

12. Yep......the sharing thing really makes some here in

south central Pa go nuts......they'd rather drive their hummers into a pothole and tear out their axles than be forced to face paying a nickel for pavement that someone else will drive over safely. It's NOT the nickel out of their pockets that drives them nuts....it is the fact that a neighbor might benefit from it.

[Enthusiast]

17. The point is, it will be

going to who THEY want it to go to and not some wasteful left wing 'government welfare program' for lazy people that won't work.

[uponit7771]

9. +1, anyone who raises this fact will be shouted down or ignored.

[Go2Peace]

13. That is only the contracts. Then you have all the money spent by the agencies directly.

[w8liftinglady]

14. it is simply mind-boggling.

I have trouble wrapping my brain around it.

We will not be leaving iraq/Afghanistan any time soon.

[w8liftinglady]

18. more info from corpwatch

http://www.corpwatch.org/section.php?id=176


Afghanistan, Inc.: A CorpWatch Investigative Report (2006)
Fariba Nawa
April 30th, 2010

The recent boom in humanitarian aid has an underbelly largely invisible to charity sector outsiders. “Easy money: the great aid scam," packs a biting critique (Linda Polman, The Sunday Times Online, April 25).

In 2006, CorpWatch’s "Afghanistan, Inc.", cited by Polman, drilled down on reconstruction dollars, in what’s become known as “Afghaniscam.” We bring our report to you again.

(And a lot more)

[w8liftinglady]

19. Again-although some feel this is reactionary -Eisenhower tried to warn us

As these wars perpetuate and we see more troops killed,more vets ignored,and the ever-dwindling middle-class get screwed for the almighty dollar,it's important to identify some causes-especially if they are/were preventable.

We are over 10 years in,folks.