Like The Snuggie...BUT 1/2 The Price
http://pd.gophercentral.com/u/2449/c/186/a/3289
------------------------------------------------------------
THE PROGRESSIVE REVIEW - February 4, 2010
Obama's Budget Calls for Billions in New Spending for Drones
by: Jason Leopold
truthout|Report
This is how major US defense contractors reacted to the
unveiling of President Barack Obama's fiscal year 2011
spending plan for the Pentagon, part of the president's
overall $3.8 trillion budget proposal.
Shares of General Dynamics, a maker of military aircraft,
submarines and munitions, rose 3.9 percent and closed at
$69.43 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the
uptick due in large part to additional spending on the
war in Afghanistan, according to Sanford Bernstein, a
financial research firm.
Northrop Grumman Corp., which builds unmanned spy planes
and ships, rose 2.3 percent to close at $57.92. Boeing
Co., a manufacturer of aircraft carriers, shares increased
by 1.8 and closed at $61.70. Lockheed Martin's shares rose
37 cents to close at $74.89. Raytheon Co., a missile
supplier, was up by a percentage point to close at $52.96,
while shares of L-3 Communications Holdings, a firm that
supplies intelligence gathering and monitoring equipment,
was up 1.6 percent to close at $84.64. And shares of
Harris Corp soared 4.2 percent to close at $44.74. Harris
manufactures tactical radios utilizes encryption technology.
All in all, it was a good day for the military-industrial
complex.
Indeed, Craig Fraser, an aerospace and defense analyst
with debt ratings firm Fitch Ratings, said the Defense
Department's record $708 billion base budget, up $18.2
billion or 3.4 percent, was "better than we expected,
across the board." The spending covers the fiscal year
which begins October 1, and runs through September 30,
2011. Adjusted for inflation, the defense budget is the
largest since World War II.
The budget was released along with the Pentagon's
Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), which for the first time
in years has done away with the concept that the US must
be prepared to wage two wars at once. The QDR says the US
must be prepared for broader security challenges, which
includes investing in technologies to battle threats from
al-Qaeda.
------------------------------------------------------------
Countdown to Slim
The Electronic Calorie, Carb & Fat Counting System...
List Price: $19.99
DEAL PRICE: $12.99
Get two for $19.98
Countdown to Slim counts your choice of calories, carbs,
fat and more. No matter what diet you choose, Countdown
to Slim will calculate your daily intake.
Set your calorie, carb, fat and other settings for the day
by entering the total number of each that you are allowing
yourself for that day. Each time you eat, subtract that
number from the total you entered. This will help you keep
an eye on your calorie, carb, fat and other intake for the
entire day.
Now you will learn exactly how many calories you can give
yourself for each meal. Whether you are watching your
calories, fat or carbs, Countdown to Slim is your ultimate
guide to a slimmer, healthier body. Unit is stylish purple,
includes clock and doubles as a key chain. Countdown to
Slim is discreet and portable. Stop the yo-yo diet and
start counting your way to a healthier lifestyle!
Grab one at the already low price of $12.99 or get a
better deal and grab two for $19.98.
http://pd.gophercentral.com/u/3097/c/120/a/3289
------------------------------------------------------------
About $159 billion will be used to continue funding the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan identified in the budget as
"overseas contingency operations." The wars have already
topped $1 trillion.
Separately, the Obama administration also asked Congress
to immediately approve a $33 billion emergency supplemental
it included with the budget, which comes on top of $130
billion lawmakers approved late last year, to immediately
pay for the troop surge in Afghanistan. The $33 billion
is not included in the Pentagon's $708 billion spending
package. So that means the Pentagon's actual spending
proposal comes to $741 billion.
On the campaign trail, Obama vowed not to finance the war
using emergency supplmental requests. Rather, he said he
would pay for the wars out of the Pentagon's overall
budget. But this is the second time Obama has asked
Congress to approve emergency funds for the wars. The
Bush administration financed the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars with emergency funding requests that were swiftly
approved by Congress.
Travis Sharp, a defense budget analyst at the Center
for American Security, said the Pentagon's base budget
represents a 40 percent increase since 2001 and when the
costs of the wars are factored in overall defense spending
has increased by 70 percent.
Sharp said the base spending plan for 2011 is 3.5 percent
of gross domestic product. Adding in war costs, it comes
out to 4.6 percent of GDP. Obama has called for a three-
year spending freeze on domestic programs, but the Defense
Department exempt from the proposal.
Aside from the size of the defense budget, another
controversial aspect of it is what it will fund. More
than $2 billion will be used to purchase unmanned aerial
vehicles, or drones, which the Obama administration has
used increasingly over the past year to target suspected
terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The drones,
which the administration wants to double in production,
have been blamed for a significant rise in civilian
casualties.
"The Budget ... bolsters Unmanned Aerial Vehicles,
helicopters, and cyber capabilities and electronic warfare,
which are key components in the ongoing task of rebalancing
the military to focus on current and emerging threats,"
according to a copy of the Defense Department budget.
------------------------------------------------------------
YOUR VIDEO SNACK BAR
Top Viewed Videos...
1. Marine Silent Marching
http://c.gophercentral.com/rO13
2. Man's Best Friend
http://c.gophercentral.com/2TYQ
3. Celebrities: Before and After Make-Up
http://c.gophercentral.com/49A3
4. Amos N´ Andy - In the IRS Office
http://c.gophercentral.com/iZUQ
5. The Muppets
http://c.gophercentral.com/sVqB
6. The Stones
http://c.gophercentral.com/XLr8
------------------------------------------------------------
For the first time, according to The Los Angeles Times,
the Air Force is proposing the purchase of more drones
than combat aircraft and will double the production of
the MQ-9 Reaper, "a bigger, more heavily armed version
of the Predator drone, to 48. The Army will also buy 26
extended-range Predators."
"The expansion will allow the military to increase unmanned
patrols - the number of planes in the air at once - to 65,
up from its current limit of 37," The Los Angeles Times
noted.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters Monday that
the use of drones will continue to increase "even as the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan eventually wind down."
"The more we have used them, the more we have identified
their potential in a broader and broader set of
circumstances," Gates said.
Spending on the Predator and Reaper drones will jump from
$877.5 million in 2010 to $1.4 billion next year.
The budget also says "a major goal of the administration
is to provide the troops with the most effective and
modern equipment possible."
"To accomplish this, the 2011 Budget continues to develop
and procure many advanced weapons systems that support
both today's wars and future conflicts," according to the
budget. "These include: the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a
new family of ground vehicles, new ships such as the next
generation ballistic missile submarine, and the P-8
aircraft."
------------------------------------------------------------
The Cozy-Cuddler: Blanket With The Sleeves
Like The Snuggie But Less
Than 1/2 The Price...
Normal Price: $19.99
OUR PRICE: $9.99
Get two for $15.98
Nap, watch TV or read under the cozy warmth of TheCozy-
Cuddler. This ingeniously designed blanket with oversized
sleeves keeps you warm and comfortable. Large sleeves let
your hands move free while keeping your arms warm.
Made of a thick and warm fleece that feels very soft on
the skin. The Cozy-Cuddler is great on a couch, a chair,
in a hammock, on your bed or anywhere else you care to
take it. Perfect for camping, a ball game and more
FEATURES:
- Ultra-soft fleece
- Non-pilling
- Machine washable
- Extra-Large Blanket Covers Entire Body From Head-to-Toe
- Large sleeves let your hands move free while keeping your
arms warm
- One size fits all
- Machine washable for easy cleaning
- Large built-in storage pocket
Turn down your thermostat and still relax in warmth and
comfort with The Cozy-Cuddler. Grab one for $9.99...
or save an additional $4.00 and get two for $15.98.
http://pd.gophercentral.com/u/2449/c/186/a/3289
------------------------------------------------------------
In a speech at West Point last year announcing his revised
strategy for the Afghanistan, Obama said, "we can't simply
afford to ignore the price of these wars."
But that's exactly what it appears the Obama administration
has done. Spending on the wars for the next two years is
projected to hover around $159 billion, which is only
slightly less than what the Bush administration spent
during its last years in office. The proposed spending for
2011 is three times more than what Obama projected it to
be a year ago and the soaring costs of juggling two wars
has a major impact on new deficit numbers.
While Obama said in his State of the Union address last
week that creating new jobs for Americans is now his
"number one priority for 2010," the massive defense
spending his budget proposes will actually do the opposite,
according to Dean Baker, co-director for the Center for
Economic and Policy Research.
In a report published on Truthout last November, Baker
said, "defense spending means that the government is
pulling away resources from the uses determined by the
market and instead using them to buy weapons and supplies
and to pay for soldiers and other military personnel. In
standard economic models, defense spending is a direct
drain on the economy, reducing efficiency, slowing growth
and costing jobs."
"For some reason, no one has chosen to highlight the job
loss associated with higher defense spending," Baker
wrote at the time. "In fact, the job loss attributable to
defense spending has probably never been mentioned in a
single news story in The New York Times, Washington Post,
National Public Radio, or any other major media outlet.
It is difficult to find a good explanation for this
omission."
Baker would be just as disappointed reading the latest
round of news reports on defense spending. It appears
that the same void exists within mainstream media circles
related to how the Pentagon's budget increase will impact
job growth.
------------------------------------------------------------
ARCHIVES: http://progressivereview.gophercentral.com
Follow Your Favorite GopherCentral Publications on Twitter:
http://www.gophertweets.com/ More Coming Soon!
------------------------------------------------------------