TresSugar

Front Page: Phelps Breaks Gold Record, Russian Convoy Violates Truce, Contractors Cost US $85 Billion

CitizenSugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:00:50 -0700

Phelps Breaks Gold Record:
US swimmer Michael Phelps has broken the record for most Olympic gold won by scoring his 10th and 11th in a double victory in races today. A win in the 200m butterfly gave him his 4th gold for these Olympics, keeping him on track to take home eight golds for these games. The most golds ever won prior to Phelps was nine.

Russian Convoy Violates Truce:
A Russian military convoy has moved deep into Georgia today in violation of a new truce agreement. Georgia's soldiers have retreated following the truce and the new movement by the Russians surprised the few remaining. The new movement came 12 hours after the cease-fire plan supposed to end the fighting that has uprooted an estimated 100,000 people.

Contractors Cost US $85 Billion:
Between 2003 and 2007 the US government spent $85 billion on contractors to support the Iraq war. The figure is likely to top $100 billion by the end of 2008, according to a review by the Congressional Budget Office. There are currently 190,000 employed on a one-to-one ratio with military personnel. Contractors have been used in Iraq at a much larger scale than in any other major conflict.

Shocking: Bad Electrical Work Killing Troops in Iraq

LibertySugar — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:00:00 -0700

The death of a Green Beret in Iraq, electrocuted while showering this past January, finally attracted the attention of the Pentagon and US lawmakers to the issue of shoddy and dangerous electrical work on US bases in Iraq. At one building complex, soldiers have complained of electrical shocks in their living quarters daily.

For millions of dollars, private contractors have upgraded Iraqi buildings, including the electrical systems, that house American troops. The New York Times got its hands on internal Army documents that show the electrical work done by private contractors has caused more deaths and injuries than the Pentagon has acknowledged.

Critics accuse these companies of overbiling, failing to protect female employees from sexual assault, and providing unsafe water to soldiers. Electricians working for KBR, a former subsidiary of Haliburton receiving a bulk of the work, say they warned the company about the danger the unsafe work posed to soldiers; but, their complaints fell on deaf ears. While allegations of overbilling and corruption concern me, it's even worse when the subsequent work puts soldiers in harm's way.

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Private Security Contractors Gone Wild in Afghanistan

TresSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got a letter on Tuesday from Project on Government Oversight (POGO), and I’m sure she didn’t like what she saw. It was reported that private security contractors ArmorGroup North America guarding the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, have been behaving not like professionals responsible for keeping American government workers safe, but like crazed frat boys on a particularly debaucherous Spring break.

What have they been up to? According to the letter, "peeing on people, eating potato chips out of [buttock] cracks, vodka shots out of [buttock] cracks (there is video of that one), broken doors after drunken brawls, threats and intimidation from those leaders participating in this activity."

Apparently, this has been going on under the not-so-watchful eye of supervisors, creating a kind of hazing environment that has caused many incoming guards to leave within a year of arriving. Some guards claimed that they actually had to barricade themselves in their rooms because they were afraid that if they didn’t participate in this depraved bacchanal, they would be physically harmed.

This would be unacceptable behavior coming from adults at a frat house, but not only is ArmorGroup North America funded by taxpayers (to the tune of $189 million a year!), but they're also in charge of safeguarding the lives of hundreds of diplomats and other officials who work in the embassy. A representative for the security contractors testified before Congress and said ArmorGroup has been fully staffed since January 2009, but a POGO rep says that they’re chronically understaffed, overworked, and now that these allegations are out - subject to hazing abuse.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly had this to say about the shocking news and graphic pictures (NSFW): "These are very serious allegations and we are treating them that way," adding that the State Department has "zero tolerance for the type of conduct that is alleged in these documents."

POGO

Iraqi Women Escape With Modern Underground Railroad

TresSugar — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:00:42 -0700

Yesterday I came across an article about an untold consequence of the war in Iraq - the instability is causing harm to unprotected women. The Huffington Post piece explains that until the US invasion, rape was relatively rare in Iraq. Now women are the targets of violence, including rape, perpetrated by members of armed Islamist groups, Iraqi government forces, foreign soldiers, and private military security contractors.

Tragically, there are no laws governing rape in Iraq. Far from seeing justice, a raped woman may even be killed by her family in an "honor killing." One of the only hopes for these vulnerable Iraqi women is to escape the country, and there are two groups - the Organization For Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) and MADRE - who are helping these women do so. The article reports:

Like Harriet Tubman, a former African American slave who escaped the plantation and later helped create the network of underground routes that helped transport other slaves to freedom, OWFI and MADRE have co-founded two important projects that are helping Iraqi women flee violence.

The groups have set up shelters that offer a safe haven for women while also providing workshops, education, and leadership training. The goal is to help women become active participants in the political system so they can then support other women. Let's hope they succeed.

Front Page: Death Toll Rises After Italian Earthquake

CitizenSugar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:15:58 -0700

Italy's prime minister announced that 207 people have been confirmed dead and 15 are still missing, after a 6.3 earthquake hit the city of L'Aquila yesterday. About 100,000 have been left homeless. - Wall Street Journal
The University of North Carolina defeated Michigan State last night to win the national college basketball title. - ESPN
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced sweeping reforms at the Pentagon yesterday, including weapons cuts and the replacement of private contractors with full-time civil servants. - Washington Post
Texas billionaire "Sir" Allen Stanford gave a tearful and sometimes aggressive interview to ABC News, during which he discussed his impending federal fraud charges and flying coach. - ABC News
The jail term for the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George W. Bush has been cut from three years to only one after his appeal. - BBC News

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Front Page: A Chance For Peace in Gaza

LibertySugar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:05:29 -0800

A three-hour cease-fire in Gaza left hope that peace between Hamas and Israel can be reached, but there is no guarantee. - CBS on YouTube
The Red Cross reports it found at least 15 bodies and several children, who were emaciated but alive, in a row of shattered houses in the Gaza Strip. Officials accused the Israeli military of preventing ambulances from reaching the bombed-out site for four days. - Washington Post
President-elect Barack Obama plans to urge Congress to move quickly on his economic aid package (expected to cost $800 billion) today, warning that failure to do so would have devastating long-term effects for the nation. - CNN
The Army mistakenly sent letters addressed "Dear John Doe" to 7,000 family members of soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan, forcing a formal apology from the Army's top general. The letters contained information about private organizations that assist grieving families, but a printing error by a contractor left the letters without specific names and addresses. - Washington Post

Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly said it would restore supplies to Europe through Ukraine, which it cut off after a dispute between Moscow and Kiev, as soon as international monitors are implemented. - Reuters

$23 Billion Could Be the Cost of War Profiteering in Iraq

LibertySugar — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:02 -0700

$23 billion has been lost, stolen, or not properly accounted for in Iraq, according to a BBC News investigation. BBC claims that private contractors have exploited the conflict and reconstruction in a potentially criminal manner. There are 70 pending cases against private US companies for war profiteering, but the details of these cases are being kept mum under a gag order.

The article details that leading up to the war, VP Dick Cheney's former company Halliburton was the only company to bid on a $7 billion contract, which was granted over objections of the most senior Pentagon official on the contracts. The BBC also alleges that Hazem Shalaan, who became Iraq's defense minister, siphoned $1.2 billion out of the ministry by purchasing used Polish weapons but billing them as top class weapons. Shalaan was sentenced to jail but has succeeded in fleeing Iraq.

Estimates suggest that the volume of cash that has been misappropriated could give the Iraq War the worst war profiteering legacy in history. Do you hope that the gag order regarding US companies that may be involved is lifted soon? Does the public deserve some transparency?

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Everyone Has Contact or a Contract With US Military

LibertySugar — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:00:21 -0700

This is a book I will be picking up - The Complex: How the Military Invades Our Everyday Lives, by historian Nick Turse. Apparently it's impossible to own an i-Pod and be a true pacifist.

The Pentagon has significant contracts with companies ranging from Starbucks, to PepsiCo, to Nestle, to Apple, and Google. The book explores the web of corporations and products that are tied to America's mammoth defense budget. It's not just the missile and equipment makers like Lockheed Martin and Boeing that feed the Military Industrial Complex.

I came across a very informative interview with the author in Mother Jones. For some of the highlights concerning yuppies, Hollywood, and the web, read more.

On the yuppie progressive who gets up in the morning and pats himself on the back for not participating in the Complex: "As I mention in the book, unless you're a very committed anarcho-primitivist, it's almost impossible for an American to really unplug from the complex. It's just so invasive. It pops up in so many places - Christian bookstores in Mississippi, or BBQ joints in Louisiana - and these companies don't advertise it. Unless you're combing the Pentagon's list of contractors, it's almost impossible to tell how deep the rabbit hole goes."
On the military and Hollywood: "The military has a very long relationship with Hollywood, that dates back to the silent film era. In recent years they've developed a more sophisticated relationship. It used to be done on an ad hoc basis, and now the military's set up a one-stop shop in Hollywood. This office has liaisons for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. So if you have a script, you bring it into them if you're seeking military hardware like planes and helicopters, or want to film on a base. The military is also a good source for large numbers of movie extras. They'll review your script, and if they like it, they'll let you use their machinery, and their bases, and their people. If they find parts objectionable, they'll note them and give it back to you, and if you make the changes they recommend, they'll give you the equipment you're requesting."
On the military and the web: "The military operates a tremendous number of websites. They have their own sites, but they're also operating sites that look like civilian sites. They have recruiting sites that look like they're designed to give career advice to teenagers, and they mention asking a guidance counselor to take a certain type of test. What they don't tell you is that it's the armed forces entrance exam. They operate some websites for overseas audiences that look like news portals, but are actually DoD [Department of Defense] propaganda sites. You have to search the fine print in one portion of the site to find that it's created by the Pentagon."

Whether or not the pervasion of the military into the private sector is beneficial to American society, I think it is important to get a clearer picture of how the society actually functions.

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