Subscribe to Common Dreams News Updates
Most Popular This Week
Popular content
Today's Top News
Published on Monday, December 12, 2011 by RT America
Pentagon Provides Military Grade Weapons to Local Police
Local law enforcement has been getting assistance from the Pentagon. The recent militarization of the police at the Occupy protests has proved this true. The Pentagon program is getting military-grade weapons in the hands of local law enforcement in the US to use on American citizens. The Department of Defense has handed over $500 million worth of weapons this year. Is the government gearing up for mainstream to rise up? Max Blumenthal, writing fellow for The Nation Institute, joins us to answer some of these questions.
© 2011 RT
Comments are closed
25 Comments so far
Show AllIs any more proof needed for Tom Hayden and other liberal establishment hacks who discounted Naomi Wolf's November 25, 2011 UK Guardian article that confirmed this "conspiracy" ?
Too many centrists and center-leftists have been brainwashed to label any issue not spun by the US mainstream media as a "conspiracy theory".
There have been a lot more conspiracies than conspiracy theories during the past fifty years.
You got that right, ray. Agree on all points.
"There have been a lot more conspiracies than conspiracy theories during the past fifty years."
Well said. I'll remember this line when my resolve gets worn down.
Best argument yet for reigning in the military/industrial complex and cutting the defense budget.
A sure sign of the coming end of the US empire is made clear as surplus weapons and surplus warriors are being returned home from overseas for use against Americans.
lets give them all the weapons they need to kill us, only then will peace come.
This may be true shinelight, but then, what type of persons will be left? My worry is that those 1% will still be standing and who wants a world of peace when only they will hold the reins? Well, kind of like they do now!
Is there a solution? How can we be rid of all the financial institutions, military industrial complex, government corruption, corporate entities that are too big to fail, and on and on, without violence?
go local for as much as you can. all states need to be their own countries, if your state doesn't need an army so be it, trade with neighboring states. ENJOY
There is a possibility of getting rid of all the financial institutions, military industrial complex, government corruption, corporate entities that are too big to fail and all the other disasters which with we are confronted. The solution is a change in how you think. We have been voting for the lesser evil for decades. Congress has voted to fund war after war against foreign nations that are no threat to us. Congress voted to remove regulations on the banks. Congress said these banks could use the savings of the people for their gambling. When these bets went bad, Congress voted to give the banks, (with no strings attached) MORE THAN IS OWING ON ALL THE MORTGAGES IN OUR NATION. That is, we, the people paid off these mortgages and yet the banksters, with Congressional approval, are now foreclosing on people all over the nation. Last week Congress voted to allow the military forces of the United States to be used against our citizens in our nation. Congress however, did not vote to approve a health care system for the people of this nation not under the profit making control of the insurance corporations. Congress voted in NAFTA which sent our jobs overseas. They voted in the Patriot Act which strips us of our civil rights.
All the problems we face now are the result of a totally corrupt federal government. Your 'representatives' in the House and the Senate DO NOT REPRESENT YOU. They don't care about you and your family at all. They are in the 1%. They are all millionaires. It is not wise of you to send these people back to do more harm. The solution is to try and get some democracy in our land so that the representatives vote on the advice of their constituents. Get over that 'lesser of two evils' and Kick the Korrupt out of Kongress.
Who's going to consume crap for the big corporations, then? Oh, wait, the corporations are working on establishing a "consumer" base overseas.
Remind me again what happened to Greece. In order for Greece to enter the EU, she had to agree to spend massive amounts on Germanys/USs military asset exports (which it was confirmed that GS provided the Enronesque-accounting fraud for Greece to ratings-agency qualify for those debt purchases in the first place.)
In other words, the US militarization of local police/fire/sheriff/EMTs/etc is BIG GARGANTUAN busine$$ to the MIC, as these soldier/cops are outfitted with thousand$ in assets/armor/uniforms per officer, while also maintaining reams of hardware/software/computers, and maintaining a high level of employment to local law enforcement specifically for these activities. So, while schools/libraries/parks/city/county services/etc all get drastically cut, massive and excessive MIC spending is demanded of local policing outfits, most likely at large deficit spending levels, given funding limitations. (BTW-This is why the police "just do their jobs." It's food on the table, kids to college, wives to doll up, and in many cases, accumulate like teapot collections.)
This is another "Shock Doctrine" bubble spending scheme, except that after this particular bubble bursts, as localities are bled completely dry, the global elites will indeed use all of that local military hardware (see, no need for Federal troops to intervene,) to shut people the F up about the utter depravity that will most certainly escalate beyond what we are seeing now (imagine no public schools, no public utilities, no public parks, no State parks, no public street sweeping, no public services whatsoever, etc, and buh-bye public unions with them.)
I absolutely see this as the Road to Greecedom, as it were, thanks to the ever sound handshake, and high-crime partnership of the Banksters and the MIC (both whom participated in creating the world's current financial crisis' we see today in the EU, the US, Canada, UK, Australia, etc.)
Also, DoD Panetta just proclaimed that Brazil/Venezuela/China/Russia were "enemy number two" on the US hit list, after the still-ongoing Bush Axis of Evils. So, beyond the muslims (Af-Paks/Iranians/Iraqis & N Koreans,) that we seem to think that are the target here, get ready Brazilian-Americans, Venezuelan-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Russian-Americans, as well as any and all "Associates" of such, per the NDAA that just passed--you too are about to be within-scope as well.
It doesn't matter whether Occupy's tactics are peaceful or not. What matters is that Occupy represents a threat to monied interest, and as such, it will be treated violently by the state that protects those interests. In every Third World revolutionary movement, the police have betrayed the people and sided with the authoritarian state.
Yes. Of course the Third World revolutionary movements have the good sense and courage to fight back against the police state, actually fight them. Do we?
Just following orders to laugh while busting fucking heads, and getting paid for it, a pig cops dream. All those surplus weapons? I thought our congress keeps saying we are broke! Now there is a surplus of weapons? What happened did they just want new ones?
The Israeli government developed and used "sound weapons" on Jewish settlements back in 2005. Check it out at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-06-10-israel-soundweapon_x.htm. They can use "frequencies" that could blow out your eardrums!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Activision: ‘Modern Warfare 3′ is the fastest to $1 billion - By Ben Silverman
http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/activision-modern-warfare-3-fastest-1-billion-130949515.html
{"Call of Duty has become that rare entertainment franchise that transcends its own genre" said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. "Core gamers love it, as our stellar reviews show. But every year, new people are drawn into Call of Duty."
Reaching $1 billion in just over two weeks is impressive, but it's not like we didn't see it coming. The game already set new entertainment launch records by earning $400 million in its first 24 hours and $775 million in its first five days.
Modern Warfare 3's spectacular start -- a full 7% ahead of last year's smash hit Call of Duty: Black Ops -- helped November game sales exceed analyst expectations, though on the whole, 2011 has been a down year for the industry.}
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
modern warfare 3 is the fastest selling video game of all time. as our police are training themselves for military combat w/ the general population - our children (at minimum, a lot of folks children) are preparing themselves (oogling and guffawing as they do it) for the battle, either against our police and military SS (fingers crossed) or they will be properly primed for the real battle of all battles - the battle against the evil muslims (armageddon) over there in
i- ran. the biggest video game of all, christians vs muslims battling over the control of the oil, hearts and minds of the earth.
as for the rest of us, the loving hippie peace activist folks - the elderly w/ a sharp tongue - the critical college professor - the pissed off worker, well folks i look forward to sharing a cell w/ any of you decent human beings (bring a few happy stories to share). sadly i don't feel this way about most of the good germans marching around in circles these days.
...peace...
I just want to remind all those who advocate more taxes that taxes are how these weapons & training are paid for.
Cut spending to the pentagon! Tax the wealthy to pay for health care for the four thousand people who die each month from no health care right here in the Koch, Bush, corporate owned United States.
We the People, once citizens of the Constitutional Republic known as the United States of America (now a wholly owned subsidiary of the United Corporations of America Ltd) have become Subjects of the Empire of America.
We are soon to become serfs of the Oligarchy, working whatever hours are demanded for whatever pittance we may receive. This includes women and children as well as husbands and fathers. The precedent may be found in the late 1800's. Kids worked twelve hours or more a day in the mines and mills, for pennies. The died in droves. Women worked in sweatshops under appalling conditions for almost nothing.
The "Captains of Industry" (Robber Barons) rode in their carriages from one party to the next, laughing at the ragged poor in the streets. To them, that was the natural order of things. The Roosevelts curbed them, but they bided their time and now they are back in power.
We are losing the civil rights, the labor protections, that we worked so hard for. The Courts, the Legislative and Executive branches of the government are all owned lock, stock and barrel by the new Robber Barons, and they do what they are told.
Violence begets, and escalates, violence. The more violent oppression and repression is used the greater will be the retaliatory action. In the final analysis, when all hope of a just and equable solution to the (in) differences is realised, then the only option will be, for the U S A, a second civil war. I hope, before that eventuates, saner minds in progressive leaders will prevail..
Raydelcamino nails it, of course. Now, while we're on the subject of more conspiracies than conspiracy theories, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED WITH JFK? WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED WITH RFK? MLK? MALCOLM X? AND WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED ON 11 SEPTEMBER 2001? AND WHY DID THE AMERICAN PEOPLE NOT BURN THE 'SUPREME COURT' TO THE GODDAMN GROUND WHEN THE COUP D'ETAT WAS STAGED IN 2000, RENDERING ILLEGAL THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS AND ALL ACTS BY THAT 'ADMINISTRATION' WITHIN IT?
Precisely when are Americans going to wake the fuck up? Has 'Occupy' done the trick? HAS IT?
More brutality and fascism are coming RIGHT up. Naomi Wolf will one day get her due, when the U.S. is dead and gone.
America has an occupying army ... not police.
http://freedominourtime.blogspot.com/2011/11/support-your-local-police-state.html
So whats with Norcom? I hear they have several divisions dedicated for use in North America.
What the left has seen coming now for decades is HERE!
And it sucks.
Buy a used Japanese car (they last). Cut back on everything. Try not to support GM, EXXON,
AT&T. By local food. Don't buy useless junk. Drive down big business and boycott as much as you can. It is the only real weapon that we have to hurt those that oppress the middle class and the poor.
Even fruit...United Fruit company needs to be taught a lesson. Somehow there needs to be a centralizing of ideas that can be passed out to the people to show them in which direction to go.We need to stop supporting Israel as they are a fascist nation and they are using our tax dollars to fund this activity. Put your money anywhere but in a bank. Build community with your friends and neighbors. Prepare for the problems that are on the way.