http://bravenewfilms.org/topics/war-profiteers 2008-09-09T18:31:25Z http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/50842-scahill-interviews-democrats-on-blackwater-part-2 2008-09-09T18:31:25Z I Want Democracy Now <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mKUyha2_A2w&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mKUyha2_A2w&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/50842-scahill-interviews-democrats-on-blackwater-part-2"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/61733" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p><p>Congressman Henry Waxman, chair of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee calls on Sen. Barack Obama to cancel the private military firm Blackwater&#39;s Iraq contract if Obama is elected president. Serious questions remain about what Obama will do with this massive private, shadow army in Iraq.</p><p>Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill reports.&nbsp; </p></p> </div> <a href="/blog/50842-scahill-interviews-democrats-on-blackwater-part-2">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/50818-would-obama-ban-blackwater-and-other-mercenary-companies 2008-10-08T05:34:58Z I Want Democracy Now <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/22rQoCfdnDQ&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/22rQoCfdnDQ&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/50818-would-obama-ban-blackwater-and-other-mercenary-companies"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/61705" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p><p>Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill talks with Congressman Henry Waxman, chair of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, about whether Sen. Barack Obama would cancel the private military firm Blackwater&#39;s Iraq contract if Obama is elected president. Serious questions remain about what Obama will do with this massive private, shadow army in Iraq.</p><p><a href="../../blog/50842-scahill-interviews-democrats-on-blackwater-part-2">Watch part 2 of this report here. </a></p><p>And for more on the war profiteers, check out <a href="http://iraqforsale.org/">Iraq for Sale</a>. </p></p> </div> <a href="/blog/50818-would-obama-ban-blackwater-and-other-mercenary-companies">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/49960-obama-s-cult 2008-10-12T12:21:47Z The Rougely Report <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GRqfjuXrxxM&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GRqfjuXrxxM&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/49960-obama-s-cult"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/60652" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p>I hear Obama haters calling Obama supporters cultists. Well, I think they are forgetting about Halliburton, Titan, C.A.C.I. and Blackwater. This war wasn't just a bad idea. It was a way for Republicans to make money through contributions from war profiteers. They gave away billions of tax payer money to these contractors. Much of it was wasteful government spending.</p> </div> <a href="/blog/49960-obama-s-cult">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/49956-the-republicans-are-raping-america 2008-10-12T12:21:47Z The Rougely Report <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sJraidzoWCA&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sJraidzoWCA&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/49956-the-republicans-are-raping-america"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/60648" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p>The Republicans are raping America through contractors in Iraq. Now many misguided people want to blame Obama for all of their suffering. McCain has been bought since 2002. We are staying in war for reasons a majority of Americans disapprove. One candidate is saying he wants to leave Iraq, so you decide to go with the person who supports this type of exploitation of American tax payers. He showed that again with the Keating 5.</p> </div> <a href="/blog/49956-the-republicans-are-raping-america">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/49943-obama-is-the-biggest-flip-flop-part-6-mccain-bush 2008-10-12T12:21:46Z The Rougely Report <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mzdUz9ruUZI&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mzdUz9ruUZI&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/49943-obama-is-the-biggest-flip-flop-part-6-mccain-bush"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/60635" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p>This is a response to idiotwind75 a McCain supporter that argues Barack Obama is the biggest flip flop.lol. He also argues that it is okay for Hillary Clinton and John McCain to be politically expedient. It sounds like a double standard to me.</p> </div> <a href="/blog/49943-obama-is-the-biggest-flip-flop-part-6-mccain-bush">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/47359--war-profiteers-union-squ-pillow-fight-nyc-3-22-08 2008-10-12T12:19:29Z jointheopposition <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jWu2kmKPrq0&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jWu2kmKPrq0&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/47359--war-profiteers-union-squ-pillow-fight-nyc-3-22-08"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/56110" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p>Greg Stewart as the Unknown Soldier brings the Opposition to the streets here performing his protest song "War Profiteers" in Union Square after the United For Peace and Justice River to River March in New York City</p> </div> <a href="/blog/47359--war-profiteers-union-squ-pillow-fight-nyc-3-22-08">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/42349-going-out-of-business-how-much-longer-will-iraq-be-for-sale 2008-09-05T09:29:23Z ZP Heller <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6cJlJudDtVE&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6cJlJudDtVE&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/42349-going-out-of-business-how-much-longer-will-iraq-be-for-sale"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/47807" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p>&quot;Interrogation for Profit.&quot;&nbsp; That was the title of the lead Op-Ed in last Thursday&#39;s <em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/opinion/12thu1.html?scp=1&amp;amp;sq=interrogation+for+profit&amp;amp;st=nyt">New York Times</a></em>.&nbsp; It&#39;s a phrase straight of Brave New Films&rsquo; documentary <em><a href="http://iraqforsale.org/">Iraq for Sale</a></em>, and an issue we&rsquo;ve been calling attention to for the last few years.&nbsp; But while it&rsquo;s gratifying to see a growing dialogue about how the Bush administration has shirked all accountability regarding the detainment and interrogation of Iraqi prisoners by hiring mercenary private contractors, this fight is far from over. &nbsp;<br /><br />It is true, as the Op-Ed pointed out, that Congress is finally pushing to prohibit private contractors and limit the use of security guards in combat areas.&nbsp; <a href="http://public.cq.com/docs/cqt/news110-000002893927.html">According to CQ</a>, the House has already passed such a ban and the Senate is set to consider its own version, which has been tacked onto a $612.5 billion defense authorization bill.&nbsp; Not surprisingly, however, President Bush is already threatening to veto, using the age-old boilerplate that banning private interrogators &ldquo;would unduly limit the United States&rsquo; ability to obtain intelligence needed to protect Americans from attack.&rdquo; &nbsp;<br /><br />Protect Americans from attack?&nbsp; Once again, Bush is painting himself as our concerned father, though he&rsquo;s become an abusive parent.&nbsp; By suggesting that only the father can safeguard his children (us) from the supposedly imminent threat of terrorism, Bush is preying on our collective vulnerabilities in a post-9/11 world.&nbsp; For the last seven years, this has been Bush&rsquo;s chief line of defense and it&rsquo;s a diabolically clever one because it has enabled his administration to run this war with zero accountability. </p> </div> <a href="/blog/42349-going-out-of-business-how-much-longer-will-iraq-be-for-sale">Continue reading</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/40079-cusack-and-scahill-discuss-war-inc 2008-09-14T05:31:08Z I Want Democracy Now <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/45ZK4dlJM0Y&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/45ZK4dlJM0Y&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/40079-cusack-and-scahill-discuss-war-inc"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/45231" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p><p>John Cusack joins us to talk about <a href="http://www.myspace.com/johncusack"><em>War, Inc.</em></a>, his new film taking on issues few in Hollywood today would dare to: war profiteering, mercenaries, political corruption and embedded journalism. A political satire, the film stars Cusack as Brand Hauser, a hit-man for hire who is deployed to the fictional country of Turaqistan to kill a Middle Eastern oil baron. Hauser&#39;s employer is Tamerlane, a secretive for-profit military corporation headed by a former US vice president played by Dan Aykroyd. </p><p>We also speak to <em>Democracy Now!</em> correspondent Jeremy Scahill, author of the bestselling book <a href="http://www.myspace.com/johncusack"><em>Blackwater: The Rise of the World&#39;s Most Powerful Mercenary Army.</em></a></p><p>Watch part 2 of this interview <a href="../../blog/40078-cusack-and-scahill-discuss-war-inc-part-2">here</a>.&nbsp;</p></p> </div> <a href="/blog/40079-cusack-and-scahill-discuss-war-inc">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/40078-cusack-and-scahill-discuss-war-inc-part-2 2008-09-19T07:54:25Z I Want Democracy Now <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/F9yzLjLHkbU&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/F9yzLjLHkbU&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/40078-cusack-and-scahill-discuss-war-inc-part-2"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/45230" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p><p>&quot;War, Inc.&quot;: John Cusack&#39;s New Film Satirizes the Corruption, Profiteering and Hubris Behind the Iraq War John Cusack joins us to talk about War, Inc., his new film taking on issues few in Hollywood today would dare to: war profiteering, mercenaries, political corruption and embedded journalism. </p><p>A political satire, the film stars Cusack as Brand Hauser, a hit-man for hire who is deployed to the fictional country of Turaqistan to kill a Middle Eastern oil baron. Hauser&#39;s employer is Tamerlane, a secretive for-profit military corporation headed by a former US vice president played by Dan Aykroyd. </p><p>We also speak to Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill, author of the bestselling book Blackwater: The Rise of the World&#39;s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. </p></p> </div> <a href="/blog/40078-cusack-and-scahill-discuss-war-inc-part-2">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/32019-kbr-supplied-water-makes-us-troops-in-iraq-sick 2008-09-27T00:43:09Z Paddy <a href="http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/32019-kbr-supplied-water-makes-us-troops-in-iraq-sick"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/thumbnail_pic/34496" style="border: solid 1px black; margin-right: 7px; margin-top: 3px;" align="left" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p><p>If they supported the troops any better, they&#39;d be killing them.</p><blockquote><p><strong><a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_CONTAMINATED_WATER?SITE=AP&amp;amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">WASHINGTON (AP)</a> -- Dozens of U.S. troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using &quot;unmonitored and potentially unsafe&quot; water supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President Dick Cheney&#39;s former company, the Pentagon&#39;s internal watchdog says.</strong></p><p><strong>A report obtained by The Associated Press said soldiers experienced skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses after using discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry at five U.S. military sites in Iraq.</strong></p><p><strong>The Pentagon&#39;s inspector general found water quality problems between March 2004 and February 2006 at three sites run by contractor KBR Inc., and between January 2004 and December 2006 at two military-operated locations.</strong></p><p><strong>It was impossible to link the dirty water definitively to all the illnesses, according to the report. But it said KBR&#39;s water quality &quot;was not maintained in accordance with field water sanitary standards&quot; and the military-run sites &quot;were not performing all required quality control tests.&quot;</strong></p></blockquote></p> </div> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/27544-iraq-veterans-speak-out-3 2008-06-10T21:29:55Z jointheopposition <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iD8QdYcMRGo&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iD8QdYcMRGo&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/27544-iraq-veterans-speak-out-3"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/29599" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p>Greg Stewart at Washington DC Protest 3/17/07 interviews a Veteran recently returned from Iraq who speaks about the War Profiteering and corruption that he witnessed while deployed in Iraq.</p> </div> <a href="/blog/27544-iraq-veterans-speak-out-3">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/27498--war-profiteers-times-square-nyc-11-07-06 2008-06-11T21:31:25Z jointheopposition <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/y_DVV0Mosm8&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/y_DVV0Mosm8&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/27498--war-profiteers-times-square-nyc-11-07-06"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/29553" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p>Greg Stewart takes the Opposition to the streets as he arrives in Times Square and launches into a performance of his anti war anthem "War Profiteers".</p> </div> <a href="/blog/27498--war-profiteers-times-square-nyc-11-07-06">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/27491--war-profiteers-1-new-york-stock-exchange 2008-06-14T09:34:31Z jointheopposition <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7dvJGae1qP8&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7dvJGae1qP8&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/27491--war-profiteers-1-new-york-stock-exchange"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/29546" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p>Greg Stewart takes The Opposition to the streets calling for the Impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney and an end to the War in Iraq. Here he brings his tunes down to the Stock Exchange.</p> </div> <a href="/blog/27491--war-profiteers-1-new-york-stock-exchange">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/27489--one-life-lost-new-york-stock-exchange-h264 2008-09-08T01:42:39Z jointheopposition <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XnxybUe9Aoc&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XnxybUe9Aoc&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/27489--one-life-lost-new-york-stock-exchange-h264"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/29544" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p>Greg Stewart takes his songs of Peace, Love and Justice down to the New York Stock Exchange to protest the War in Iraq and call for the Impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney.</p> </div> <a href="/blog/27489--one-life-lost-new-york-stock-exchange-h264">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/26175-no-recession-for-war-profiteer-general-dynamics 2008-02-16T16:08:20Z John Ehrenfeld <a href="http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/26175-no-recession-for-war-profiteer-general-dynamics"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/thumbnail_pic/28182" style="border: solid 1px black; margin-right: 7px; margin-top: 3px;" align="left" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p><p>If you want yet another example why the corporate powers that be don&rsquo;t want to see an end to the Iraq war anytime soon, all you have to do is <a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080123/new046.html?.v=38">take a look at this.<br /> </a><br /> While working class Americans are wallowing in a recession, losing their homes, and significant portions of their 401K&rsquo;s . . . General Dynamics Corporation, the sixth largest defense contractor in the world and maker of the Abrams tank just reported fourth-quarter profits of $579 million on net sales of $7.51 billion.</p><p>General Dynamics Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Nicholas D. Chabraja said this,<em><br /> </em> </p> <blockquote><em>Highlights of the quarter included significant revenue and earnings growth in the Combat Systems group on strong combat-vehicle sales, including Abrams tank modernization and Stryker production, as well as significant sales and earnings increases in the Aerospace group.</em><br /> </blockquote><p>Oh by the way, in the why am I not surprised category, Bush&#39;s Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England was General Dynamics Executive Vice President in charge of their Combat Systems Group before joing the administration. </p><p>Business Week has this appraisal of General Dynamics:<br /> </p> <blockquote><em>General Dynamics, which makes war supplies ranging from bullets to Abrams tanks, has been well positioned to benefit from the defense spending.<br /> <br /> The company has replaced battle-worn equipment and is part of a partnership to build thousands of mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, known as MRAP, that the military wants to use to protect troops from bombs in Iraq.<br /> <br /> The company&#39;s combat systems division, which makes the military hardware, posted a 46 percent sales increase to $2.6 billion in the fourth quarter.</em>&nbsp;</blockquote> <p>This is why GOP presidential candidate John McCain is such a great threat to peace. McCain has promised to keep the obscenely profitable war machine running at full speed and has said that a greater military commitment now is necessary if we are to achieve long-term success in Iraq. </p><blockquote><em>I don&rsquo;t think Americans are concerned if we&rsquo;re there for one hundred years or a thousand years or ten thousand years.</em><br /> </blockquote> You can just imagine the joy and delirium of the corporate war profiteers like General Dynamics when they hear statements like that. Don&rsquo;t be swayed by talk of spreading democracy and the like; this is really what this war is all about. The economics of crisis.</p> </div> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/24778-the-kucinich-debate-controversy-msnbc-propaganda-nbc-censorship-ge-war-profits-the-killing-of-our-democracy 2008-06-09T09:33:37Z HotPotatoMash <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wzHfVWp_igg&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wzHfVWp_igg&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/24778-the-kucinich-debate-controversy-msnbc-propaganda-nbc-censorship-ge-war-profits-the-killing-of-our-democracy"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/26815" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p>MSNBC is airing ridiculous piece of propaganda in the form of a Chris Matthews commercial where the pundit says that politics at its best is about gutsy people with ideas and "those who watch get to decide who is right".</p> <p>Unfortunately, NBC recently changed its own rules in order to kick Rep. Dennis Kucinich out of the upcoming January 15th debate in Las Vegas. </p> <p>Is NBC's parent company GE afraid that Kucinich's anti-war message could hurt its bottom line? And is Chris Matthews a hypocrite?</p> <p>Ask him at hardball@msnbc.com</p> </div> <a href="/blog/24778-the-kucinich-debate-controversy-msnbc-propaganda-nbc-censorship-ge-war-profits-the-killing-of-our-democracy">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/24765-susan-collins-enabled-blackwater-and-other-war-profiteers 2008-09-27T00:44:50Z cliffschecter <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/O8BWtOV3tAE&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/O8BWtOV3tAE&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/24765-susan-collins-enabled-blackwater-and-other-war-profiteers"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/26801" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p><p>Yes, that&#39;s &quot;moderate&quot; Susan Collins, who lies about self-imposed term limits, wholeheartedly supports Samuel Alito, walks arm in arm with President Bush and, as this video shows, thinks that Blackwater&#39;s stealing your taxpayer money <a href="http://cliffschecter.bravenewfilms.org/blog/24568-blackwater-destroyed-evidence-in-deadly-shooting">so they can kill people and cover it up</a> deserves to be ignored.</p><p>But <a href="http://cliffschecter.bravenewfilms.org/blog/24567-no-bid-contract-led-to-tsa-site-ripe-for-identity-theft">other profiteers</a> shouldn&#39;t get jealous of Blackwater. She&#39;s formed a protectiion racket for them too.&nbsp;</p><p>Watch the video!&nbsp;</p></p> </div> <a href="/blog/24765-susan-collins-enabled-blackwater-and-other-war-profiteers">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/22492--38-billion-in-bonuses-for-wall-streeters-home-foreclosures-for-regular-folks-really 2008-07-09T19:24:40Z cliffschecter <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ld7k_10auwA&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ld7k_10auwA&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/22492--38-billion-in-bonuses-for-wall-streeters-home-foreclosures-for-regular-folks-really"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/24024" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p><p>Yes, really. More sickening greed for you from the <a href="http://www.warongreed.com/">Kravisization</a> of Wall Street <a href="http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/12/20/38-billion-in-bonuses-for-wall-streeters-home-foreclosures-for-regular-folks-really/">via the AFL-CIO</a>:</p><blockquote><p>While executives at the top five Wall Street firms are getting a record $38 billion in bonuses this Christmas season, millions of working families are worrying whether they will lose their homes in the New Year-in the&nbsp;wake of the nation&#39;s mortgage crisis.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>The AFL-CIO called today for major mortgage lenders to impose a one-year moratorium on subprime mortgage foreclosures. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, in a letter to the largest subprime mortgage lenders and underwriters, writes:&nbsp;</p></blockquote><blockquote><p>Wall Street seems to be giving unprecedented cash rewards to the very people whose conduct threatens to strip millions of Americans of their homes and drive our country into recession, while at the same time refusing to take the actions necessary to address the crisis.&nbsp;</p></blockquote><p>Yes, this is the America that has been created by Bush, his Republican cronies and too many corporate Democrats. You want more holiday spirit? Well, <a href="http://www.ohdave.net/2007/12/merry-christmas-ohio-bush-pulls-plug-on.html">our friend Ohdave reminded me of this</a> in the comments:</p><blockquote><p>The Bush administration has thwarted Gov. Ted Strickland&#39;s plan to expand Ohio&#39;s popular children&#39;s health insurance program to cover middle-class youngsters. </p><p>&quot;What this means is that thousands of needy Ohio children will be deprived of access to critical health-care coverage,&quot; Strickland said.</p><p>&quot;I am appalled at the heartless decision of the Bush administration to reject Ohio&#39;s bipartisan plan to provide health-care access to thousands of our children. Sadly, this is an indication that the president and his advisers are totally out of touch with the struggles faced by so many Ohio families.&quot;</p><p>Federal regulators denied the state&#39;s request to expand eligibility to uninsured children in families earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. That&#39;s $51,510 a year for a family of three.</p></blockquote><p>Yes, our fantastic populist governor in Ohio, Ted Strickland,&nbsp;is having his plan to help needy children&nbsp;rejected by our fabulist, pompous &quot;President.&quot; Merry Christmas kids! Just avoid the outdoors, Chinese toys and meat not cooked really, really well!</p><p>Now, in comparison,&nbsp;take a look at what the <a href="http://www.onevote08.org/ontherecord/heal/">One Campaign</a>&nbsp;(people who are&nbsp;actually &quot;compassionate&quot; but thankfully not conservative)&nbsp;is doing. Compare the fight they are leading against global poverty (watch the video)&nbsp;to the perverted morality of the money changers known as the GOP.</p><p>Let&#39;s hope we can get more progressives in government this new year to empower organizations like the One Campaign that much more.</p><p>PS Just to feel that much better about money not going to give kids healthcare or solve global poverty issues, <a href="http://cliffschecter.bravenewfilms.org/blog/22435-blackwater-committed-fraud-and-state-department-knew-in-2005">just look at how long the State Department has known definitively that Blackwater&#39;s been committing fraud</a>, as it kept feeding them no-bid contracts after no-bid contracts for BILLIONS that could be going to kids in need.</p></p> </div> <a href="/blog/22492--38-billion-in-bonuses-for-wall-streeters-home-foreclosures-for-regular-folks-really">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/22187-rape-victim-testifies-before-house-judiciary-committee-about-halliburton-kbr 2008-09-21T06:49:48Z cliffschecter <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/U2WyitSWa0Y&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/U2WyitSWa0Y&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/22187-rape-victim-testifies-before-house-judiciary-committee-about-halliburton-kbr"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/23704" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p><p>Just listen to what Jamie Lee Jones has to say about what happened to her in The Green Zone. Perhaps she would have been safer unarmed on a street in Baghdad than she was around her &quot;co-workers.&quot; </p><p>This is so disgusting, so vile....Not just the incident, but response to it. I don&#39;t even know what to say. Just watch the video...</p></p> </div> <a href="/blog/22187-rape-victim-testifies-before-house-judiciary-committee-about-halliburton-kbr">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/20954-military-lost-track-of-equipment-in-iraq-worth-millions-again 2008-09-27T00:53:18Z cliffschecter <div class="post_content"> <p><p>Don&#39;t worry though, it&#39;s ok, <a href="http://cliffschecter.bravenewfilms.org/blog/20919-military-lost-track-of-equipment-in-iraq-worth-millions-again">because the profiteers will still collect their multi-millions even if more of our brave troops die because of this</a>.</p><p><a href="http://cliffschecter.bravenewfilms.org/blog/20919-military-lost-track-of-equipment-in-iraq-worth-millions-again">For all the dirty details of this story go here.</a> </p></p> </div> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/20121-congressional-candidate-chellie-pingree-s-prescient-advice-for-oversight-of-iraq-contractors 2008-06-14T03:31:29Z cliffschecter <object width="375" height="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VrFt2t2KAcI&border=0&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VrFt2t2KAcI&border=0&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="375" height="308"></embed></object> <a href="/blog/20121-congressional-candidate-chellie-pingree-s-prescient-advice-for-oversight-of-iraq-contractors"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/medium/19824" width="140" height="105" border="0" align="left" style="border: solid 1px black;" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p><p>Full disclosure: I worked for Chellie during her Senate run in 2002 through the Democratic primary. </p><p>More disclosure: I think we&#39;d be lucky to have her representing Maine&#39;s&nbsp;1st Congressional District&nbsp;in The House because of the very trait that is evident she possesses in this video - <strong>Courage</strong>. </p><p>Chellie stood up in 2002, when most Democrats were cowering in a corner, and vocally opposed the War In Iraq. And here she is in 2003 concerned about the deleterious effect that the Halliburtons of the world would have on our mission there. We have learned time and again that being progressive is not enough. Fighting for those values is what matters.</p><p>That is what you call leadership.</p></p> </div> <a href="/blog/20121-congressional-candidate-chellie-pingree-s-prescient-advice-for-oversight-of-iraq-contractors">Watch the video</a> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/19411-u-s-military-to-wounded-soldiers-lose-an-eye-you-owe-us-money 2008-09-27T01:11:54Z cliffschecter <a href="http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/19411-u-s-military-to-wounded-soldiers-lose-an-eye-you-owe-us-money"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/thumbnail_pic/19087" style="border: solid 1px black; margin-right: 7px; margin-top: 3px;" align="left" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p><p>Yeah, as much as I wish it were, this is actually not an exaggeration.</p><p><a href="http://cliffschecter.bravenewfilms.org/blog/19393-u-s-military-to-wounded-soldiers-lose-an-eye-you-owe-us-money">Go here for the story of how cronies can profiteer while injured soldiers owe Uncle Sam for the privilege of getting hurt in a war based on lies.</a></p></p> </div> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/16657-frank-rich-nails-the-war-profiteers-in-his-sunday-column 2008-03-22T21:54:39Z cliffschecter <div class="post_content"> <p><p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/opinion/21rich.html?_r=1&amp;amp;n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists&amp;amp;oref=slogin">This</a> just about sums it up:</p><blockquote><p>The Waxman investigations notwithstanding, the culture of corruption, Iraq war division, remains firmly entrenched. Though some American bribe-takers have been caught - including Gloria Davis, an Army major who <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D06E7DC1339F937A1575AC0A9619C8B63">committed suicide</a> in Kuwait after admitting her crimes last year - we are asked to believe they are isolated incidents. The higher reaches of the chain of command have been spared, much as they were at Abu Ghraib. </p><p>Even a turnover in administrations doesn&#39;t guarantee reform. J. Cofer Black, the longtime C.I.A. hand who is now Blackwater&#39;s vice chairman, has <a href="http://www.mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/Cofer_Black_Joins_Romney_Campaign">signed on</a> as a Mitt Romney adviser. Hillary Clinton&#39;s Karl Rove, Mark Penn, doubles as the chief executive of Burson-Marsteller, the P.R. giant whose subsidiary helped prepare Mr. Prince for his Congressional testimony. Mr. Penn<a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1007/Client_of_the_day_Blackwater.html"> said</a> the Blackwater association was &quot;temporary.&quot;</p><p>War profiteering happens even in &quot;good&quot; wars. Arthur Miller made his name in 1947 with &quot;All My Sons,&quot; which ends with the suicide of a corrupt World War II contractor whose defective airplane parts cost 21 pilots their lives. But in the case of Iraq, this corruption has been at the center of the entire mission, from war-waging to nation-building. As the investigative reporters Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/10/iraq_billions200710">observed</a> in the October Vanity Fair, America has to date &quot;spent twice as much in inflation-adjusted dollars to rebuild Iraq as it did to rebuild Japan - an industrialized country three times Iraq&#39;s size, two of whose cities had been incinerated by atomic bombs.&quot; (And still Iraq lacks reliable electric power.)</p></blockquote><p>For more on Blackwater, that aboveboard paragon of virtue, <a href="http://cliffschecter.bravenewfilms.org/blog/16636-blackwater-for-dummeez-now-with-tax-evasion-berries">our friend Gottalaff has the goods</a>.</p></p> </div> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/15646-republicans-love-the-troops-just-not-as-much-as-the-war-profiteers 2008-01-12T20:27:09Z cliffschecter <a href="http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/15646-republicans-love-the-troops-just-not-as-much-as-the-war-profiteers"><img src="http://bravenewfilms.org/pictures/thumbnail_pic/15466" style="border: solid 1px black; margin-right: 7px; margin-top: 3px;" align="left" /></a> <div class="post_content"> <p><p>This is from one of our commenters, Cynthia:</p><blockquote><p>I don&#39;t know what private contractor was serving my step-daughter&#39;s Marine FOB when she was in Iraq the second time, but I hope whoever it was gets clobbered under this law. <strong>At one point her mess had no food but cranberry sauce (my best friend and I would go on grocery shopping expeditions for the larger than usual care packages her father and I sent out a couple times a week), and she told us that her laundry came back smelling more foul than it did when it went out-just what you need in 125+ degree weather.</strong> I sent essential oils like lavender to try to make that bearable</p></blockquote></p> </div> http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/14467-state-department-officials-threaten-war-profiteer-whistleblowers 2008-01-12T20:24:19Z cliffschecter <div class="post_content"> <p><p>What&#39;s new. Is there anything, I mean anything, that these guys touch that doesn&#39;t instantly resemble Al Capone&#39;s Chicago?</p><p><a href="http://cliffschecter.bravenewfilms.org/blog/14356-state-department-officials-threaten-whistleblowers">More here</a>.</p></p> </div>