Two from Truthout:

    Wednesday 22 June 2011

The Military as a Jobs Program: There Are More Efficient Ways to Stimulate an Economy
Ellen Brown, Truthout: "The military is the nation's largest and most firmly entrenched entitlement program, one that takes half of every tax dollar. Even if 'national security' is considered our No. 1 priority (a dubious choice when the real unemployment rate is over 16 percent), estimates are that the military budget could be cut in half or more and we would still have the most powerful military machine in the world. Our enemies (if any) are now 'terrorists,' not countries; and what is needed to contain them (if anything) is local policing, not global warfare..... The military is not subject to ordinary market principles, but works on a 'cost-plus' basis, with producers reimbursed for whatever they have spent plus a guaranteed profit.
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The Miracle of Procurement Debunked Again: The Air Force Finally Got Tired of Getting Screwed (Literally)
Dina Rasor, Truthout: "Boeing has just been caught spending $37 dollars for nut and bolt retainers for the Army's CH-47 helicopter, but charging the Army an average of $381.78, according to a recent Department of Defense's (DoD) inspector general's (IG) report. The IG's office won't comment on the report because it is 'For Official Use Only,' but Bloomberg News got a hold of the report and wrote a story on May 24 about how the DoD IG recommends that Boeing refund the government at least $6 million.... This story could be just another illustration to show that the DoD has not gotten its act together on overpriced spare parts and many of you may be flashbacking to the overpriced toilet seats and coffee brewers of the 1980s and 1990s.... But this recent mess is because of a new experimental way of doing the logistics for weapons that was introduced during the Bush administration. It is called Performance Based Logistics (PBL) and it is just another scheme to push DoD money at contractors and then go hands off and let them make all the decisions."
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