Lobbyists rejoice as US sells more arms in 6 months than in whole of 2017

Well at least one segment of our economy is making money.

I suppose this probably puts the squelch to any “peace on Earth by Christmas’ fantasies I may have had. I doubt there’s going to be a whole lot of peace in many of the places those armaments went.

Lobbyists rejoice as US sells more arms in 6 months than in whole of 2017

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The figures from the last fiscal year, which stood at $41.9 billion, have already been surpassed by $5 billion and were reached in just the first two quarters of 2018, Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper, Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), told Defense News at the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK.

Defense exports are good for our national security, they’re good for our foreign policy. And they’re good for our economic security. And as the administration and our leadership has said, economic security is national security,” Hooper said.

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Defense News also pointed out that this year’s high arms sales weren’t entirely due to the current administration, as a significant part of the sum came from deals that were signed under Obama, but were closed in 2018. The publication also said that defense total figures have a tendency to fluctuate year by year, saying that they stood at $47 billion in the fiscal year 2015 but then dropped to $33.6 billion a year later.

Also on Friday, America’s largest business lobby, the US Chamber of Commerce Defense and Aerospace Export Council (DAEC), voiced its satisfaction over the planned implementation of CAT.

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The Conventional Arms Transfer includes policy changes prioritized by DAEC that will “improve bid timeliness while reducing costs to industries, place emphasis on economic considerations in the federal transfer decision process, and expand trade promotion," Webster said in a statement.

https://www.rt.com/usa/433843-us-arm-sales-farnborough/

Oh look. It’s a group project.. The U. S. Chamber of Commerce has gone ‘rogue’.

U.S. Chamber to Launch Defense and Aerospace Export Council
Friday, March 16, 2018 - 11:00am
Keith Webster Hired to Serve as President

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced today that it will launch a Defense and Aerospace Export Council within its International Affairs Division led by Keith Webster, who has been hired to serve as the council’s president. The Defense and Aerospace Export Council will engage with domestic and international partners to strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. defense and aerospace exporters.

“The U.S. Chamber recognizes the array of opportunities that exist to elevate America’s defense and aerospace exporters as economic growth drivers. We are excited to begin this new endeavor, and we welcome Keith to lead these efforts,” said Myron Brilliant, executive vice president and head of International Affairs for the U.S. Chamber. “We look forward to the vitally important work Keith will do as he applies his expertise to the scope of issues that matter to this sector.”

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Webster joins the U.S. Chamber following a successful 30-year career in the U.S. Department of Defense as a civilian leading international policy formulation and implementation. Prior to joining the Chamber, he was Director of International Cooperation from 2012 to 2017 for the Secretary of Defense. Keith brings to the Chamber years of expertise in foreign sales of military equipment and services, international agreements, and technology security foreign disclosure processes.

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Ben Schwartz, who currently leads the defense and aerospace program for the U.S. Chamber’s U.S.-India Business Council, will serve as executive director of the new council. Schwartz has previously served in a range of positions in the national security community, including with the U.S. Departments of State, Energy, and Defense.

https://www.uschamber.com/press-release/us-chamber-launch-defense-and-ae...

Eisenhower tried to warn us.

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Betty Clermont

Amanda Matthews's picture

@Betty Clermont

Money is ALL that matters. And along with that money comes power.

Thete’s been a minor disagreement over whether or not Gould actually uttered this truism about America, but that doesn’t matter too much when you realize that’s what TPTB are doing now. (And not just in America.)

"I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half."
-- Jay Gould

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

Michigan Chamber of Commerce fights to remove anti-gerrymandering ballot initiative

Protestors chanted “drop the suit” and “let us vote” while railing against the Chamber of Commerce's decision to back a lawsuit that would prohibit an anti-gerrymandering ballot initiative from coming up for a vote this November.

The initiative would rewrite parts of Michigan’s Constitution, which the lawsuit alleges, in this case, can only be done via constitutional convention – not ballot initiative.

When I think about all of the support and money I gave thru my job to the local chamber, I could spit.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

GreyWolf's picture

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detroitmechworks's picture

Because let's be frankly honest, American Weapons systems are like crack. Expensive, don't last too long, and they always push you to buy more.

We already know most of our weapons systems don't work, but we do have a HELL of an advertising budget...

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

GreyWolf's picture

@detroitmechworks I love that analogy - "let's be frankly honest, American Weapons systems are like crack. Expensive, don't last too long, and they always push you to buy more."

And the point of the US buying the weapons systems is to transfer citizens' tax dollars to the MIC. Blowing things and people up is just a convenient excuse to achieve the primary goal of transferring citizens' tax dollars to the coffers of the corporations. Subduing the indigenous populations so as to steal their natural resources and having more wage-slaves is also convenient.

(Anti-war, anti-capitalism, and anti-imperialism, are all unified in reality but are subdivided in practice, resulting in diminished effectiveness for all three movements.)

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Thank you Amanda.

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@OPOL

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

divineorder's picture

@OPOL

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

While the political circus is going we've had the hottest year on record. Trump denies climate change and as a result his brainwashed fanatics deny climate change too. Trump has appointed people like Pruitt and a whole bunch of others who will make the climate crisis much worse. Trump pulled out of the very complex Paris climate treaty and he doesn't solve problems. Him and his supporters only attack and insult others and spew bullshit that has nothing to do with the problems we face. Trump is a traitor and pathological liar. None of that matters if we don't have a planet. It's criminal to know that climate change is real and actively make it worse. Trump is a criminal.

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Beware the bullshit factories.

detroitmechworks's picture

@Timmethy2.0 we end up with President Ryan. (You know, the really hot one where we get to have the whole election invalidated! I'm not going to go with their Insanely optimistic one where the Trump Supreme Court decides that because the election was invalid that Hillary gets her turn NOW.)

So, one guy gets tried... then immediately pardoned. And 40 years later we have this discussion about how the new President's actions aren't NEARLY as bad as Trumps, even with the public beheadings.

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@detroitmechworks @detroitmechworks
as being as much of a threat to the planet as brainwashed Trump fanatics.

Edit: Well, yes, brainwashed Pence fanatics are definitely a threat to the planet in an immediate nuclear war sense, but there's a lot fewer of them and Trump supporters tend not to like Pence or Ryan. They wouldn't like Trump either if they were deprogrammed.

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Beware the bullshit factories.

detroitmechworks's picture

@Timmethy2.0 I mean, are all fanatics brainwashed, or do they have to be fanatics before they are brainwashed?
Let's see, will the fanatics of Trumpa Doom of course abandon their goals, because we know it's a personality cult, since the media's told us it is always, and that if we can just stop him, everything will be better?

Quick, which wars will end immediately after Ryan or Pence is sworn in? Which corporations will be penalized for blatantly manipulating the political process?

I do know if the Dems get their prosecution and removal on the Russia crap that the FIRST thing that either Pence or Ryan will do is attack Russia for "Proven" interference in our elections.

So, yeah, Only Trump Fanatics would think that this whole thing is bullshit drummed up to keep people from paying attention to the fact that Trump is just a wart on the mask of Democracy.

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@detroitmechworks @detroitmechworks @detroitmechworks
Trump has and his supporters are blind to Trump's putting the floodgates against political corruption on the wide open setting.

And maybe if enough of us Americans stop responding to the constant prodding to get us fighting each other, we can come together and pressure Ryan and McConnell and the rest of them to remove Trump and Pence, promote Bernie to a position of presidential succession in the Congress, and per the Constitution, let the most popular politician and person who most deserves it, be President.

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Beware the bullshit factories.

detroitmechworks's picture

@Timmethy2.0 I mean seriously, like every single one.

Wanna throw gun control and abortion in there for good measure?

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Amanda Matthews's picture

@Timmethy2.0

dealing by the federal government and the US Chamber of Commerce into a ride into fantasyland on how we’re gonna ever get a legitimately elected president and his vice minion impeached and magically tossed out on into the cold all-the-while somehow someone talks the Republicans into “doing the right thing” and put Sanders in the ‘’in line’ to White House. WTF does that even mean?

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

detroitmechworks's picture

@Amanda Matthews Shido acknowledged.

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Amanda Matthews's picture

@detroitmechworks

I fully undetstand that in EVERY thread there is a likelihood of something off topic but still relevant getting mentioned and that there will be comments. Like the other day. I posted:

Silicon Valley, from ‘heart’s delight’ to toxic wasteland
https://caucus99percent.com/content/silicon-valley-%E2%80%98heart%E2%80%...

Pricknick made a short post about how area the area has changed so much from the way it was when we were young and going to clean up the world. I myself went even further off topic and posted about recently finding albums from back then, getting depressed, and wondering if there was something wrong with US.

https://caucus99percent.com/comment/357115#comment-357115

DISCLAIMER: I have personally had to abandon posts, some were very good ones (if I do say so myself) because at the last minute I realized I was about to hi-jack the entire thread. I’m not immune to the temptation. If I ever did it, I am sorry.

The difference is those are OT but still relevant. And they don’t completely hijack the thread. They give a little insight into the times and into us.

But I have no fucking clue what weapons sales and the COC has to do with this impeachment insanity or how to nag Ryan/McConnell et al into getting rid of Trump and Pence and putting Sanders in line...

That was a thread killer.

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa