The other thread on this issue in the Hangout from a couple days ago was locked (there was no link provided I believe). This article probably belongs in the D&D anyways. War Profiteer Knows How to Party by Sarah Anderson Over the past few months, I’ve gotten all kinds of flak from CEOs who were the subject of a report I co-authored about executive pay among defense contractors. Jack London of CACI International, whose employees interrogated prisoners at Abu Ghraib, denounced what I wrote as “shameful” and “ignorant.” A United Technologies official accused me (falsely) of slander. But the man who got the worst skewering was silent. David H. Brooks, CEO of bulletproof vest maker DHB Industries, earned $70 million in 2004, 13,349 percent more than his pre-9/11 compensation, according to “Executive Excess,” co-published by the Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy. On top of that, Brooks sold company stock worth about $186 million last year, spooking investors who drove DHB’s share price from more than $22 to as low as $6.50. Shareholders were mighty ticked, but what makes Brooks’ $250 million in war windfalls particularly obscene is that the equipment which boosted his fortunes appears not to work very well. In May 2005, the US Marines recalled more than 5,000 DHB armored vests after questions were raised about their effectiveness in stopping 9 mm bullets. In November, the Marines and Army announced a recall of an additional 18,000 DHB vests. Hearing nothing from DHB’s PR team in response to media coverage of the report, I thought Mr. Brooks might be cowering in shame. Instead, I now find out that he was busy planning a party. And not just any party. The New York Daily News estimates that the bat mitzvah Brooks threw for his daughter over the weekend cost an estimated $10 million. Virtually every musician that you might guess would appeal to a 50-something Long Island CEO was flown in by private jet: Aerosmith, Tom Petty, the Eagles' Don Henley and Joe Walsh, who performed with Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks, Kenny G. As a likely concession to his daughter's tastes, Brooks also booked 50 Cent, DJ AM (Nicole Richie's fiancée) and rap diva Ciara. According to Daily News gossip columnist Lloyd Grove, Brooks was so pumped for Aerosmith that he changed his wardrobe for their performance from a “black-leather, metal-studded suit -- accessorized with biker-chic necklace chains and diamonds from Chrome Hearts jewelers -- into a hot-pink suede version of the same lovely outfit.” The CEO then reportedly mounted the stage, clowned with Steven Tyler and insisted that his teenage nephew be permitted to sit in on drums. Gallivanting with celebrities no doubt does wonders to relieve the mind of unpleasant matters. And Brooks has plenty to ponder. Under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for financial wrongdoing, he also faces a number of investor class action lawsuits for fraud and insider trading. On top of the Marine recall, DHB had to settle a lawsuit in April with the New York Police Department and the Southern States Police Benevolent Association by replacing an estimated 2,609 potentially defective pieces of body armor. DHB stock, already in the tank, has slumped even further, to about $4. Grotesque as it may be, Brooks' blowout is merely one of the more visible symbols of rampant war profiteering in the post-9/11 era. Our study showed that defense contractor CEOs received raises on average of 200 percent between 2001 and 2004, compared to only 7 percent for average large company CEOS. Compared to the pay of those on the frontlines of the war, the gap has grown even faster. The ratio between defense CEO pay and that of a military general has doubled during this period, from 12-to-1 to 23-to-1. The defense CEOs make 160 times the pay of an army private in combat. Americans haven’t always been so blasé about war profiteering. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously said: "I don't want to see a single war millionaire created in the United States as a result of this world disaster.” FDR’s strong feelings about war profiteering were shared by his successor, Harry Truman. As a Senator, Truman had traveled around the country going from one defense industry factory to another to investigate charges that executives were reaping unfair rewards. He later formed an investigative committee that saved billions in military costs. Imagine if Truman and FDR were alive today what they might have to say about Brooks’ extravaganza. Two and a half years into this war, the costs are painfully clear. The U.S. death toll alone is more than 2,000 and rising fast. The bill for taxpayers is more than $200 billion and growing. The damage to Americans’ image in the world is immeasurable. But one man has had a helluva party. http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1201-30.htm
Good article. It's so blatantly obvious what is going on, yet nobody (who is in a position of power) does anything about it. It makes me sick.
Sometimes I really wish Hell was real. This guy would go there with all the sick ****s who lied to make this war and all the other sick ****s that got rich off it.
You're confusing me... on the one hand, you're complaining about the use of propaganda by the military on another thread, and here you are defending a conspiracy theory journal on this one? You might need to get your head check bud.
I don't even know what to say to that. Welcome to the board, babydoll. You and giddyup are gonna get along just fine.
My last sentence was probably out of line and I apologize. I just want to say that you should check the source of the material before you argue for it.
No biggie, Bernie. My general rule is that if texxx dismisses a source it's probably a decent source, as he generally argues that anything from the BBS or the NYT should be dismissed out of hand. Maybe this article's wrong. The 10 mil bat mitzvah isn't though. And that's gross. And we all know there's a great deal of war profiteering going on. Gross, too. Anyway, no offense taken. Welcome to the board.
You are, as always, more than correct Biggy. Someone of your stature and precious little valuable time should definitely be getting his news from a place like commonerdreams.org instead
(slaps forehead) Oh, that's why it was locked. I was wondering what happened. I'm not one of those idiots who instantly assumes it's some kind of personal attack and starts a thread in the feedback, but I couldn't figure out why that thread was locked. Damn, I can't believe I pulled such a rookie move.
It's no great surprise to anyone not living in texxx's "ignorance bubble" that this is a war directly influenced and motivated by greed and corporate welfare. After reading this, I could not help but think of the closing lines of F9/11. I think Micheal Moore, for all his faults, had a really good point: Pull the troops out now.
General Butler said it all in a speech he made in the 30's, "War is a Racket". Here's a link to the speech, http://lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm Once the world realizes this we will be on the right path.
I guess if the company in question were making obscene profits you could say this was about war profiteering. But seeing as the stock has slumped, and they're facing investor class action lawsuits I'm guessing the company isn't doing so well. (and rightly so...if their product is being recalled). This is a story about CEO profiteering. $70M salary with $186M proceeds from stock options. (Don't know what his take was from the options, but it's likely not a stretch to suggest it's at least 20%). So this chump fleeces the shareholders for $100M while tanking the company. Business as usual. Maybe he'll lose his job...and get a severance package. Greed. I guess the war angle is all the rage with commondreams.org. But that just happens to be this Co's angle. The game's the same, really. Dot-commie CEO's did it before. And the hangout thread was better
