War Is Big Buisness.

[Oleg Bach]

You know - the military complex is not that complex, just very industry minded. Looking at Hillary Clinton jabber about more troops seems to be a simple affair conceptually. No one has really explained to the world in a sense filled way what the sense of it all is. In fact there is no sense when it comes to what's going on. What does make sense is that there is a tiny elite world wide that have investments in war supplies and connecting enterprizes..It's clear to me now that it is about maintaining a certain status quo - maintaining a small tiny bunch of chumps to the style of living they are accustomed too. This group think we are all expendable - more troops and more machines mean more money. For them but not for anyone else..when is the world going to wake up to the fact these people feed on us like meat?

[eyeball]

..when is the world going to wake up to the fact these people feed on us like meat?

Evolution takes a long time...I'd guess anywhere from 10 thousand to 50 thousand years.

[Oleg Bach]

Evolution takes a long time...I'd guess anywhere from 10 thousand to 50 thousand years.

That's cold my friend. Why is it that some see the proverbial big picture and others do not? Is it because it takes courage to face the truth? Or is it because some of us feed on others and will deny the fact that we are parasites of the worst kind? There is on evolutionary process any more than there is a peace process. Humanity is very weak in deed. Those dependant on war are weak. Those that get sucked into the vortex of war like meat into a grinder are also weak. The more I look around the more I realize how utterly stupid both ends of the spectrum in these regards are..The so called elite are quite delluded in their justification for continued parasitism...and the lower end boots on the ground people actually trust and believe in the very dellusion that is killing them. Maybe it's hopeless and auto cannibalism on a utlitarian collective scale will always be with us?

[Moonlight Graham]

It's a very difficult problem to solve because 1. The general population doesn't care enough to educate themselves, therefore don't even know this issue even exists, and 2. even if they know about it, do they care enough to raise poop and try to stop.

Once most people realize they are largely just puppets, maybe they'll want that to change.

[naomiglover]

What I find fascinating is the group of diehards who defend the war machine when there is no gain for them. They do their dirty work without any benefits for themselves. They're basically slaves to these big businesses who have created an alternate universe for the sheep who will continue to, loudly, defend their agenda.

[bush_cheney2004]

What I find fascinating is the group of diehards who defend the war machine when there is no gain for them. They do their dirty work without any benefits for themselves. They're basically slaves to these big businesses who have created an alternate universe for the sheep who will continue to, loudly, defend their agenda.

No more than the sheeple peaceniks who are slaves to their own agenda. Peace is even bigger business, with a higher body count.

[Moonlight Graham]

No more than the sheeple peaceniks who are slaves to their own agenda.

I sort of agree. It is ideological in a way.

Peace is even bigger business, with a higher body count.

Really, how so? You are referring to "peace" in what way exactly? War to secure peace? Humanitarian action?

[bush_cheney2004]

...Really, how so? You are referring to "peace" in what way exactly? War to secure peace? Humanitarian action?

All of the above....the absence of war is not really peace at all. The very same human condition metrics apply. Peacemongers remind me of people who eat meat but decry what happens in a slaughterhouse.

[paulfrottawa]

You know - the military complex is not that complex, just very industry minded. Looking at Hillary Clinton jabber about more troops seems to be a simple affair conceptually. No one has really explained to the world in a sense filled way what the sense of it all is. In fact there is no sense when it comes to what's going on. What does make sense is that there is a tiny elite world wide that have investments in war supplies and connecting enterprizes..It's clear to me now that it is about maintaining a certain status quo - maintaining a small tiny bunch of chumps to the style of living they are accustomed too. This group think we are all expendable - more troops and more machines mean more money. For them but not for anyone else..when is the world going to wake up to the fact these people feed on us like meat?

The US army is the US economy and it always has been since the second world war. We should learn from that and build our own economy the same way. I'm not afraid of being prepared or supporting our troops.

[Moonlight Graham]

The US army is the US economy and it always has been since the second world war. We should learn from that and build our own economy the same way. I'm not afraid of being prepared or supporting our troops.

That's a very dangerous plan. It could work if the military build-up would just prepare us to defend ourselves. But people are greedy. They don't just stop at a build-up, they want to start wars in order to produce even more arms. And they make foreign conflicts even worse by selling arms to foreign countries and groups. This has obviously happened in the U.S. at a huge level, i wouldn't want Canada trying to copy it.

[bush_cheney2004]

That's a very dangerous plan. It could work if the military build-up would just prepare us to defend ourselves. But people are greedy. They don't just stop at a build-up, they want to start wars in order to produce even more arms. And they make foreign conflicts even worse by selling arms to foreign countries and groups. This has obviously happened in the U.S. at a huge level, i wouldn't want Canada trying to copy it.

I think you have this backwards....the "wars" are prosecuted to continue the free flow of resources, products, and services. US defense budgets as a percentage of GDP are way down from the "noble" wars of the past.

http://www.truthandpolitics.org/military-relative-size.php

[eyeball]

..the "wars" are prosecuted to continue the free flow of resources, products, and services.

What a nice pile of sweet-smelling rose-coloured hooey.

[bush_cheney2004]

What a nice pile of sweet-smelling rose-coloured hooey.

Your own country is at war.....and you don't even know why. Pathetic.

[Moonlight Graham]

I think you have this backwards....the "wars" are prosecuted to continue the free flow of resources, products, and services. US defense budgets as a percentage of GDP are way down from the "noble" wars of the past.

Obviously defense spending isn't going to be as high during times of relative peace than during times of large-scale war when the draft is brought it. But as you can see on the chart you linked, the GDP spending goes up during each time of major war.

I agree with you on your point though. However, i think it works both ways. Wars are waged and create temporary violence to ensure long-term security & peace. However, it also makes it much easier to start wars & keep them going or escalate them when it can create enormous financial gains to those with political leverage.

And unfortunately, in some cases the financial gains are the main motivator for certain conflicts or arms dealing, not security.

[bush_cheney2004]

Obviously defense spending isn't going to be as high during times of relative peace than during times of large-scale war when the draft is brought it. But as you can see on the chart you linked, the GDP spending goes up during each time of major war.

The highest spending after WW2 was during the "relative peace" of the Cold War, whatever that means. Trillions were spent on strategic and tactical nuclear weapons systems as, ironically, the cheaper alternative to conventional war.

I agree with you on your point though. However, i think it works both ways. Wars are waged and create temporary violence to ensure long-term security & peace. However, it also makes it much easier to start wars & keep them going or escalate them when it can create enormous financial gains to those with political leverage.

The main point is that economics drives policy and decisions, not the other way around. As a percentage of GDP, defense spending lags way behind other sectors such as energy, transportation, health care, education, etc.

And unfortunately, in some cases the financial gains are the main motivator for certain conflicts or arms dealing, not security.

At the "retail" level, yes, but that is very short sighted compared to the foreign policy and collective defense objectives. That's why the USA sells Canada sophisticated war materials.

Edited December 5, 2009 by bush_cheney2004

[eyeball]

Your own country is at war.....and you don't even know why. Pathetic.

My country doesn't even know why its at war. That's REALLY pathetic.

[Wilber]

My country doesn't even know why its at war. That's REALLY pathetic.

Speak for yourself.

[Moonlight Graham]

The highest spending after WW2 was during the "relative peace" of the Cold War, whatever that means. Trillions were spent on strategic and tactical nuclear weapons systems as, ironically, the cheaper alternative to conventional war.

Never said the Cold War was a time of "relative peace". In the link you posted, spending shot up during Korea and Vietnam. yes there was a ton of spending during the entire cold war because of nukes etc. as you said, but the most spending was during actual major military engagements with lots of troops on the ground.

My main point was just that most of the time, major ground war by the U.S. is waged for security reasons, whether physical security, resource security etc. However, the military industrial complex adds fuel to the fire, and adds major incentives to start/continue/escalate these major conflicts. As the topic states, war is big business.

[bush_cheney2004]

Never said the Cold War was a time of "relative peace". In the link you posted, spending shot up during Korea and Vietnam. yes there was a ton of spending during the entire cold war because of nukes etc. as you said, but the most spending was during actual major military engagements with lots of troops on the ground.

The overall trend was still downward, even while US GDP soared. This contradicts the basic premise.

My main point was just that most of the time, major ground war by the U.S. is waged for security reasons, whether physical security, resource security etc. However, the military industrial complex adds fuel to the fire, and adds major incentives to start/continue/escalate these major conflicts. As the topic states, war is big business.

The so called military industrial complex competes for government funding in congressional districts just like any other business sector. However, it does not in and of itself start "wars". Using your logic, we would have thermo-nuclear war long ago.