Friday, October 01, 2010

THE ROVING EYE - An American dream made in Brazil


By Pepe Escobar

SAO PAULO - Brazil is a country the world loves to love. Brazil is a (joyful) riddle wrapped in a (chaotic) enigma, with the added complexity that the riddle and the enigma are ritualistically juggling with football, dancing a samba, ogling a sensual mulata, watching a telenovela and sipping a lethal caipirinha - all at the same time.

The distinctive cultural trace of Brazil is anthropophagy - from culture to technology, the legacy of a former, lazy European monarchy in a tropical country where the aborigines, after banqueting over the odd whitey, were merrily exterminated while Europeans and black slaves copulated freely, with no Catholic guilt involved (there's no sin below the Equator). If this sounds like the plot of a carnival parade, that's because it is.

French general and statesman Charles de Gaulle once quipped that Brazil "is not a serious country". Multi-ethnic, multicultural Brazilians, addicted to tolerance but most of the time drenched in complacency, preferred to believe - and joked about - the eternal promise of "the country of the future" (as Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig coined it over 70 years ago).

Now Brazil is on a roll - and profiting from global goodwill has become a crucial element of its re-turbocharged soft power. It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that Brazilian swing. The country is the "B" in Goldman Sachs-coined BRIC - the new, emerging global powers; less inscrutable and misunderstood than China, less authoritarian than Russia, less shambolic than India (and with no religious problems). And let's face it; much more fun. A new, two-fold national narrative has taken over; Brazil will become "the fifth power" - that is, the fifth-largest global economy (bye-bye Britain and France). And the New American Dream is made in Brazil.

Surfing USA, remixed
No wonder Anglo-American elites of the North tend to fry their brains confronted with so much tropical ebullience. At the Group of 20 (G-20) in London, United States President Barack Obama could not contain himself. "I love this guy," he said of Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, "He's the most popular politician on Earth." Time magazine recently named Lula as "the most influential person in the world". The Economist, never a fan of hyperbole, is convinced Brazil will become the fifth power by 2025.

But was the London Independent hyperbolic when it blared, "The world's most powerful woman will start coming into her own next weekend?" On Sunday, Dilma Rousseff, 63, Lula's former chief of staff, may indeed become the next Brazilian president, even without a run-off on October 31. She may become more powerful than German Chancellor Angela Merkel or US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - but Brazilians would quip, what about celebrities Madonna and Angelina Jolie?

The Financial Times, for its part, preferred to buy lunch last Friday in Sao Paulo for former president (1995-2002) Fernando Henrique Cardoso, colloquially known as FHC. It may have been a matter of the wrong president at the wrong (overrated) restaurant. Never one to shy away from self-promotion, FHC the peacock, multiple honorary PhD sociologist grumbled, "I did the reforms. Lula surfed the wave."

FHC's key reform was to crush hyperinflation by launching the "real" - the new Brazilian currency - plan in the mid-1990s; but it's telling how he still refuses to give Lula credit for responsible fiscal management and for fighting exclusion (but not corruption), and lifting about 30 million Brazilians out of poverty.

Welcome to Brazilian idiosyncrasy; a new poll by the Pew Global Attitudes Project reveals that 79% of Brazilians see political corruption as a "major problem", even while 75% approve of Lula's government, and no less than 80% take Lula personally to the skies.

But even enjoying this stratospheric 80% approval rate Obama can only dream about, Lula is not a god; in eight years in office, he couldn't push a crucial tax reform through an inept, corruption-corroded congress. And without it, the New American Dream - essentially concerning a newly empowered lower-middle class consuming homes, cars, televisions and computers like there's no tomorrow - can't rally take off. As much as the current Brazilian boom - essentially fueled by the non-stop sale of commodities to China - cannot be sustainable forever.

Lula - issued from a very poor family in the poor northeast, and a former metalworker - rattled the nerves of the old-style Brazilian sub-imperialist comprador elite to an extent that is hard to fathom abroad. Historian Jose Honorio Rodrigues has pointed out how these elites have always been "alienated, anti-progressive, anti-nation and anti-contemporary". And they "have never reconciled with the people". The recent, vicious Brazilian corporate media anti-Lula drive can be explained as a war against poor people that are finally emancipating themselves and following a path whose trailblazer was Lula himself. Who said class struggle was dead? One just has to visit Brazil - still the most unequal society in supremely unequal Latin America.

Stella by starlight
Lula once again seems to surf on the right wave of history as the takes a formidable risk by picking as his successor an austere and until recently obscure middle-class apparatchik who has never faced the ballot box. The daughter of a Bulgarian immigrant, Dilma "Iron Lady" Rousseff, or colloquially Dilma, as a kid dreamed of becoming a ballerina, a firefighter or a trapeze artist. But then the Brazilian generals smashed democracy in 1964 and installed their own tropical brand of the war on terror - to defend what they called "national security".

It's fascinating to observe today that Lula essentially did what the Joao Goulart government was trying to do before the military coup in 1964; to empower urban and rural workers. The comprador elites only cared about exports and an upper middle class mired in conspicuous consumption - the auto industry was the axis of the Brazilian economy at the time. The military dictatorship favored corporate - national and international - capitalism; those who profited immensely included Brazilian media groups, controlled by eight families.

Dilma fought against the dictatorship development "model" by joining the clandestine Palmares Armed Revolutionary Vanguard. Her codename was "Stella". Stella, like musician Jim Morrison of the Doors did, wanted to change the world, and change it now. These vanguards, in the 1960s and 1970s, used to kidnap foreign diplomats for ransom and shoot foreign - some American - torture experts training the dictatorship's death squads (hello General David Petraeus; does that ring a bell?) Dilma was tortured by the secret police in Sao Paulo's then Abu Ghraib, given a 25-month sentence for "subversion", and only recovered her freedom three years later. She was ready to try to change the system from within.

How Brazil beat the crisis
Developmentalism will be the name of the game in a Dilma government. It's gonna be a bumpy ride - especially because Brazil's infrastructure is in shambles and education levels are still on the slightly better side of appalling. It's unclear whether Dilma will follow to the letter the mantra among luminaries of her Workers' Party (PT) - that Brazil can keep growing without foreign investment in oil and agriculture, for instance.

Dilma holds on to a key guru - her former economics teacher Luciano Coutinho, now head of the humongous National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES). He may be Brazil's next finance minister. With Sao Paulo functioning as Brazil's Wall Street, no wonder the city's big bankers and financial markets, not to mention rentiers, are not amused.

The key criticism is that the Brazilian Treasury has been showering BNDES with cash, thus ballooning public debt. But this process also explains why and how Brazil won against the 2008 Wall Street-provoked global financial crisis.

When China announced its massive, nearly US$600 billion stimulus package in late 2008, the economists at BNDES knew they would have to, literally, follow the money. There were no lines of credit to anybody, Brazil included. So to fight an inevitable recession approaching, a $60 billion loan from the Treasury to BNDES was designed. This was the absolute opposite of the capital market-crazy FHC years. Coutinho recently insisted to journalist Consuelo Dieguez that countries with strong public banks, such as Brazil, China, India and South Korea, were the ones that really managed to beat the crisis.

Brazil may be allowed to hold a slight grudge against the US that explains why the country did not modernize much earlier.

The steel giant CSN - still in business - was built in 1941 with full American support; the US badly needed Brazilian steel for World War II. The Brazilian government was led to believe that after the war, Washington would keep investing in the country's modernization; Franklin Roosevelt, or FDR, had even organized a committee to study a development plan for Brazil, including massive financial help. But FDR died in April 1945. Harry Truman preferred to rebuild the losers in the war, Germany and Japan. The problem is, the war automatically fostered protectionism. From the 1940s ahead, Brazil was an economy almost as closed as current fellow BRICs Russia and China at the time.

Yet it took only a decade for Brazil to develop a serious industrial base; starting in the early 1960s, Brazil's economy jumped from 50th in the world to eighth. Gross national product at the time was growing at 7% a year. That was the so-called "Brazilian miracle". The problem is, the military only favored businessmen close to the regime with massive BNDES loans. After the 1973 oil shock, reality set in. With no oil and no cash to pay interest on foreign debt, Brazil tanked.

Flash forward to the 1990s. In an irony noted by many a Brazilian economist, the BNDES was reborn from the ashes to run the privatization drive; instead of developing state companies, it was ordered to dismantle them. And yet once again, those who profited handsomely were very close to the government, that is, flashy FHC and his coterie.

Now BNDES is betting on commodities companies to become Brazil's national champions; cellulose, food, meatpacking, petrochemicals, oil, mining. No sign of high-technology companies. A non-governmental organization study claims that mining, steelmaking, ethanol, cellulose, oil, gas, hydroelectric power and agrobusiness received almost half of the nearly $280 billion BNDES funds during the eight years of Lula. JBS, for instance, became the world's biggest meat producer.

Lula policy entails, for instance, borrowing money at a 10,75% interest rate to buy oil giant Petrobras shares. These Treasury loans do not appear on the budget, increasing gross debt but not the net debt. Brazilian gross debt has already reached a staggering 63% of gross domestic product (GDP). No wonder hordes of economists are horrified; there's a hurricane of money to lend, but few good ideas, and no sign of an industrial policy strategy. And why is that? Essentially because the country lacks a solid, well planned project for long-term development. Dilma will be smart enough to notice that China buying loads of commodities cannot drive Brazil's industrial policy.

The name of the game in the complex China-Brazil relationship is "pockets of prosperity". China is now Brazil's top trading partner, ahead of the US for the first time in 2009. China consumed almost 14% of Brazil's exports in 2009, and Brazil consumed almost 13% of Chinese exports. If you're a Brazilian soy exporter, you're a certified multi-millionaire. If you belong to the once-thriving Brazilian shoe industry, you're about to go bankrupt.

Relying on China is not exactly a recipe for sustainable growth. The obvious way out for Brazil is to sell not only commodities but added-value goods; to follow the Samsung way. And here's the supreme catch; Brazil can't do it without urgently updating the decrepit infrastructure in ports, airports and highways (a 2007 study by the Transport Confederation found that 74% of Brazilian roads were in "terrible or bad" condition); it needs to modernize the notoriously Byzantine tax code; and it must smash the nerve-wracking bureaucracy that slows down businesses in Brazil, the so-called "Brazil cost" (the country is 129th out of 183 in terms of ease of doing business, according to a 2009 World Bank report).

Dilma has vowed to invest more than $550 billion between 2011 and 2014 to improve Brazil's agricultural export drive and to prepare for the 2014 football World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. But not much has been discussed about the tax code reform and the bureaucratic machine. The tax burden is at 34.4%, much higher than fellow BRICs and even developed countries such as Japan (17.6%) and the US (26.9%), according to a recent study by the Brookings Institution.

Last Friday, when Lula opened the Sao Paulo stock exchange, the Bovespa index jumped in market value to become the world's second-biggest because of Petrobras selling a whopping $68 billion worth of shares in the biggest share issue in corporate history. Excited investors from Brazil and abroad had asked for double that amount.

The capitalization of Petrobras - now the second-biggest oil company in the world just behind Exxon - took the state participation to 48% and in fact graphically reverted the FHC years, when control of Brazil's most strategic company was broken up and pulverized. Now come the customary market doubts over efficiency and productivity at Petrobras. The company is launching a monster $224 billion investment program for 2010 to 2014. For those like the PT staunchly defending Brazilian sovereignty, this Petrobras on steroids will be essential in the exploitation of pre-salt oil and its probable 50 billion barrels lying at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Another Brazilian giant is miner Vale, which the Boston Consulting Group says has created more value over the past decade than any other large firm in the world. Once again, thank China; with a market capitalization of $147 billion, Vale is now the world's second-largest miner behind BHP Billiton.

The new Kuwait
Inevitably, the Brazilian boom would generate its share of megabillionnaires. Such as Jorge Paulo Lemann, Brazil's second-richest man worth $11.5 billion, who engineered the $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch Cos., founded Brazil's largest investment bank and recently conducted the $3.3 billion takeover of Burger King, the biggest restaurant acquisition of the past 10 years.

But the top dog is undoubtedly EBX Group owner Eike Batista. Excited investors are placing a value of about $5 a barrel on Batista's subsidiary OGX's estimated seven billion barrels of shallow water oil reserves. No wonder China's Sinopec Group and CNOOC are about to buy into OGX assets. Just as a comparison, if someone invested $100 in OGX in September 2009, now that would be worth $180, compared with a meager $80 in Petrobras and $113 in the Bovespa stock index. OGX, a start-up, has a market capitalization of about $38 billion and is not generating any revenue - yet.

Batista predicted in an already notorious interview on Charlie Rose that Brazil would be producing 5 to 6 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) by 2020, with OGX itself betting on 730,000 bpd by 2015 and 1.4 million bpd by 2019. Batista could have a net worth of $100 billion by 2020; not accidentally his dream is to become the world's top multibillionaire.

He's also fond of repeating the mantra that "we are today the United States of the 1950s". So foreign investment is more than welcome; "Come! It's the time to make your bets on a country with 200 million consumers and the perfect demographics for the next 10 years. This oil story is a 30-year growth story." And what's good for him is good for Brazil. Inevitably, Batista also predicted that Brazil should become the "fifth power" by 2015-2020, behind Germany, Japan, China and the US.

No wonder American economists are raving. Last week, at a seminar on global governance in Brasilia, American economist James Galbraith stressed, "Social inequality in Brazil is being reduced in the last few years because the country spends less money to help the financial sector and more money to help Brazil." And he took no time to once again smash neo-liberal dogma; "There can be sustainable social and economic growth side-by-side with a functional democratic process."

Brazil entertains high hopes of entering Standard Chartered's recently coined "7% club" - that is, countries with annual GDP growth of 7% or more for an extended period. Based on the 10 years up to 2008, club members are China (9.7% average), followed by India, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Uganda and Mozambique. Several countries are not far behind the BRICs and could hit the top four before 2030. In this case, Russia might "fall" - or even Brazil. Thus, the future of BRIC may be to become BRICI (with Indonesia), BRICK (with South Korea) or even BASIC (Russia replaced by South Africa, or Afrique du Sud).

University of Missouri's Michael Hudson, who's also recently been to Brazil, insists the main task of the BRICs is to build an alternative for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. And Brazil must create "its own development strategy" - which, as we have seen, is still non-existent. Hudson ominously predicts that Washington will do everything in its power to oppose this independence - referring to what happened to Iran in the 1950s when it wanted to control its own oil, and to Afghanistan when a secular government took over in the late 1970s.

A new social contract?
Amid so much ballyhoo, it's always healthy to find dissenting voices. Marxist historian Paulo Alves de Lima stresses how Brazil is now living the construction of a new national mythology:

It's the formulation of a project for the monopolistic capitalism created by the military dictatorship. A new ideology for the future has been born; universalization of the middle class, the end of poverty with the exploitation of pre-salt reserves, stable democracy, strength of the industrial-military complex ... They are promising paradise while Obama must declare to the world that American poverty is increasing. Top universities are embracing the myth and the concept of 'superior society' - neither capitalist nor socialist, and even less defined as subordinate capitalism. Our future is to march to this new paradise.
Undoubtedly, shades of FDR are everywhere. Mainstream media are obsessed with the notion that Brazil is now a middle-class society. It's true that tens of millions now can afford their own house. Their self-esteem has ballooned; and most people live "an admittedly decent material life". But wait a minute; that's American economist Paul Krugman describing the US in the 1950s and 1960s. Is there at least a psychological parallel - like in an overwhelming feeling of optimism, the "future is in your hands" style?

These new individualistic Brazilians indeed resemble the Americans of the 1950s and 1960s. Essentially, their priorities are family, stability and professional success, no matter their social class and the region from which they come. With poverty in Brazil falling 41% from 2003 to 2008, technically almost half of the Brazilian population is now "new middle class". But this is not the traditional American middle class. Families with a maximum per capita income of $2,500 monthly, qualified as the "C" class, make up 40% of Brazil's overall income. The "B" and "C" classes, together, make up for almost 70%. For a country always defined by inequality (third place in the world until recently, only behind Bolivia and Haiti, according to the United Nations Development Program, and now 11th), that's a lot.

In developing countries, the so-called "global middle class" groups around 400 million people; and 2 billion others may join them before 2030. Social mobility in Brazil is only beginning. But millions do indeed feel that Brazil today feels like the US in the 1960s in terms of jobs on offer, rising income, and unlimited opportunities. Yet essentially this is still a very poor middle class - reflecting the extreme inequality that still prevails.

Dilma anyway inherits a unique historical conjuncture generated by Lula; for the first time inequality, injustice and social exclusion in Brazil actually decreased. It's imperative to know in relation to what; that happened in relation to the overwhelming inequality of the model privileged by two decades of military dictatorship. Leftist sociologist Emir Sader insists the process is only beginning, and still has to break the monopolies of financial capital, powerful landowners and the power of monopolistic media.
He could be referring to a struggle now going on all over South America. With a fearful Europe increasingly turning to the right and extreme-right and a dejected New Great Depression US at the mercy of wacko populists of the Tea Party variety, it is South America - and parts of Asia and Africa - that now seem to be on the right side of history. The American television series Mad Men celebrates the (now dying) American dream. Maybe now the time has come for the Mad Men from the tropics.


Pepe Escobar is the author of Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War (Nimble Books, 2007) and Red Zone Blues: a snapshot of Baghdad during the surge. His new book, just out, is Obama does Globalistan (Nimble Books, 2009).

He may be reached at pepeasia@yahoo.com.

The Anti-Empire Report - The secret to understanding US foreign policy

by William Blum

In one of his regular "Reflections" essays, Fidel Castro recently discussed United States hostility towards Venezuela. "What they really want is Venezuela's oil," wrote the Cuban leader. 9 This is a commonly-held viewpoint within the international left. The point is put forth, for example, in Oliver Stone's recent film "South of the Border". I must, however, take exception.

In the post-World War Two period, in Latin America alone, the US has had a similar hostile policy toward progressive governments and movements in Guatemala, Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Grenada, Dominican Republic, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, and Bolivia. What these governments and movements all had in common was that they were/are leftist; nothing to do with oil. For more than half a century Washington has been trying to block the rise of any government in Latin America that threatens to offer a viable alternative to the capitalist model. Venezuela of course fits perfectly into that scenario; oil or no oil.

This ideology was the essence of the Cold War all over the world.

The secret to understanding US foreign policy is that there is no secret. Principally, one must come to the realization that the United States strives to dominate the world. Once one understands that, much of the apparent confusion, contradiction, and ambiguity surrounding Washington's policies fades away. To express this striving for dominance numerically, one can consider that since the end of World War Two the United States has:

  • Endeavored to overthrow more than 50 foreign governments, most of which were democratically-elected.
  • Grossly interfered in democratic elections in at least 30 countries.
  • Waged war/military action, either directly or in conjunction with a proxy army, in some 30 countries.
  • Attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders.
  • Dropped bombs on the people of some 30 countries.
  • Suppressed dozens of populist/nationalist movements in every corner of the world. 10

The United States institutional war machine has long been, and remains, on automatic pilot.


Notes

9 Reflections by Comrade Fidel, "What they want is Venezuela's oil", September 27, 2010

10 A link to any of the first five lists can be obtained by writing to William Blum at bblum6@aol.com. The sixth list has not yet been uploaded to the Internet.


The Anti-Empire Report - In struggle with the American mind


by William Blum

Since The Great Flood hit Pakistan in July ...

  • many millions have been displaced, evacuated, stranded or lost their homes; numerous roads, schools and health clinics destroyed
  • hundreds of villages washed away
  • millions of livestock have perished; for the rural poor something akin to a Western stock market crash that wipes out years of savings
  • countless farms decimated, including critical crops like corn; officials say the damage is in the hundreds of millions of dollars and it does not appear that Pakistan will recover within the next few years
  • infectious diseases are rising sharply
  • airplanes of the United States of America have flown over Pakistan and dropped bombs on dozens of occasions 1

I direct these remarks to readers who have to deal with Americans who turn into a stone wall upon hearing the United States accused of acting immorally; America, they are convinced, means well; our motives are noble. And if we do do something that looks bad, and the badness can't easily be covered up or explained away ... well, great powers have always done things like that, we're no worse than the other great powers of history, and a lot better than most. God bless America.

A certain percentage of such people do change eventually and stop rationalizing; this happens usually after being confronted X-number of times with evidence of the less-than-beautiful behavior of their government around the world. The value of X of course varies with the individual; so don't give up trying to educate the hardened Americans you come in contact with. You never know when your enlightening them about a particular wickedness of their favorite country will be the straw that breaks their imperialist-loving back. (But remember the warning from Friedrich Schiller of Germany: Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens. — "With stupidity even the gods struggle in vain.")

Here's a recent revelation of wickedness that might serve to move certain of the unenlightened: New evidence has recently come to light that reinforces the view of a CIA role in the murder of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of The Congo following its independence from Belgium in 1960. The United States didn't pull the trigger, but it did just about everything else, including giving the green light to the Congolese officials who had kidnaped Lumumba. CIA Station Chief Larry Devlin, we now know, was consulted by these officials about the transfer of Lumumba to his sworn enemies. Devlin signaled them that he had no objection to it. Lumumba's fate was sealed. 2

It was a classic Cold War example of anti-communism carried to absurd and cruel lengths. Years later, Under Secretary of State C. Douglas Dillon told a Senate investigating committee that the National Security Council and President Eisenhower had believed in 1960 that Lumumba was a "very difficult if not impossible person to deal with, and was dangerous to the peace and safety of the world." 3 This statement moved author Jonathan Kwitny to observe:

How far beyond the dreams of a barefoot jungle postal clerk in 1956, that in a few short years he would be dangerous to the peace and safety of the world! The perception seems insane, particularly coming from the National Security Council, which really does have the power to end all human life within hours. 4

President Eisenhower personally gave the order to kill the progressive African leader. 5

We can't know for sure what life for the Congolese people would have been like had Lumumba been allowed to remain in office. But we do know what followed his assassination — one vicious dictator after another presiding over 50 years of mass murder, rape, and destruction as competing national forces and neighboring states fought endlessly over the vast mineral wealth in the country. The Congo would not hold another democratic election for 46 years.

Overthrowing a country's last great hope, with disastrous consequences, is an historical pattern found throughout the long chronicle of American imperialist interventions, from Iran and Guatemala in the 1950s to Haiti and Afghanistan in the 1990s, with many examples in between. Washington has been working on Hugo Chávez in Venezuela for a decade.

Just like the commercials that warn you "Don't try this at home", I urge you not to waste your time trying to educate the likes of Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, who not long ago referred to "the men and women of the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps" as "the most important peacekeepers in the world for the last century." 6 What can you say to such a man? And this is the leading foreign policy columnist for America's "newspaper of record". God help us. The man could use some adult supervision.

Notes

  1. Wikipedia, Drone attacks in Pakistan
  2. AllAfrica.com, New Evidence Shows U.S. Role in Congo's Decision to Send Patrice Lumumba to His Death, August 1st 2010
  3. The Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities (US Senate: The Church Committee), Interim Report: Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders, November 20, 1975, p.58
  4. Jonathan Kwitny, Endless Enemies: The Making of an Unfriendly World (1984), p.57
  5. New York Times, February 22, 1976, p.55
  6. New York Times, October 11, 2009

More on the Coup attempt in Ecuador by Sabina Becker

Wow. Was today exciting or what?

correa-gasmask.jpg

Even in a gasmask, yowza.

Holy fucking moly. Just when I thought nothing was going on in the world, a fascist coup decided to go down (and fuck up) in Ecuador. The federal police took the president prisoner in the military hospital where he'd recently had knee surgery, and tear-gassed rioting ensued. So far, the Red Cross reports two dead (both police) and 88 injured. (Sadly, we can expect these tolls to rise.)

President Correa finally made it out of the hospital, with the help of a hefty contingent of loyal soldiers and citizens who fought it out barrel-to-barrel with the police in an intense firefight; he was spirited out from an underground parking garage in a grey truck. His rescuers pulled him out in a wheelchair with a gasmask on his face to protect him against the tear gas which the cops were shooting with no regard for the other patients at the hospital (including at least 20 newborn babies, so's you know. Yeah, those fascists value human life so much!)

I ended up spending the night hunched over a hot (and often balky) tweeter, RTing and translating headlines from Spanish to English. And biting my nails for President Correa, and vowing to kill anyone who harmed one hair on that fine head of his. And cursing the crappy reporting from all the Anglo sources, including the usual shitty suspects (Chicken Noodle Network; the fucking Torygraph, with its creative use of quotation marks) and the otherwise excellent (Al-Jazeera, HOW COULD YOU?) They all wrongly reported that Correa had cut police salaries; in fact, he has doubled them. And there is ample evidence that the CIA was behind this one, too...where is it ever not?

Anyhow, other than my own frenetic tweetlings, there was Otto, keeping score here, here, here and here. He was awesome in his own right, and I was thankful he was still tweeting when my birdie temporarily lost its cheep.

And how about those UNASUR leaders? In spite of tremendous political differences, they were unanimous in condemning the coup. They are meeting in Buenos Aires as I write this. Chavecito was first and loudest in condemning the coup; Fidel predicted it would fall apart quickly, and it did. Evo even suggested, in a ballsy move, that they all fly to Quito to make clear to the police that Correa was to be freed at once, no fucking around. (Just when I thought I couldn't possibly love those guys any more than I already did. That'll teach me.)

Needless to say, tomorrow's FLFB entry is all sewn up, and I won't be left scrounging for material as I'd feared I might. If anything, I'll have a surplus. Can you guess what I'll be blogging, kiddies? (Hint: Diabetics, please have your insulin syringes handy. You're gonna need 'em.)

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Obama administration fingerprints on Ecuador coup attempt

Using the standard CIA playbook on toppling democratically-elected governments in Latin America, the Obama administration, which was not happy with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa's moves to increase state control over oil companies in the nation and his decision to oust the United States military from its airbase at Manta, appears to have suffered a major defeat in the failed coup attempt in Ecuador by police officers and Air Force personnel who were backed by rightist elements in the National Assembly and business community. Correa was re-elected with an overwhelming majority last year after he gave the U.S. military its walking papers from the Manta airbase. The Pentagon and CIA have been working to topple Correa ever since by pumping money into opposition political parties and other groups through NGOs funded by the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy.

In a statement from Correa after his rescue from the Police Hospital in Quito by a military special operations team, the president warned of a larger conspiracy launched against him by his political opposition, saying the "attempt at destabilization is the result of a strategy that has been brewing for quite some time. A barrage of messages and misinformation have been given to the National Police, which today has been realized through violent actions from a conspiracy attempt."

Correa's predecessor, the pro-U.S. Lucio Gutierrez, who is wedded to foreign oil company interests in the country, was accused by the government of covertly supporting the police and Air Force mutineers.

Although Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a weak statement saying the United States backed Correa, it came one day after Clinton heaped praise on former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the person who helped to craft the September 11, 1973 coup in Chile and the assassination of its progressive president Salvador Allende. In fact, Clinton and Obama had given military and political support to the right-wing junta that ousted democratically-elected progressive President Manuel Zelaya in Honduras in June 2009 and has fought against allowing the ousted democratically-elected president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to return to his country from exile in South Africa after the CIA-engineered coup against him in 2004.

Clinton's tepid response to the attempted coup against Correa was in marked contrast to the strong denunciations of the attempted coup and messages of support for Correa that came from Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, Bolivia, Cuba, and Spain.

And the fact that Correa, like Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who was briefly ousted in an April 2002 coup organized by the CIA, was held as a virtual hostage at the Police Hospital in Quito for the greater part of a day provided a grim reminder of an old CIA tactic in staging coups in Latin America. Chavez was briefly held hostage on a Venezuelan island in the Caribbean while a U.S.-registered plane stood by to fly him into exile. In an emergency Latin American summit meeting in Argentina, Chavez saw the U.S. behind the events in Ecuador. He said, "The Yankee extreme right is trying right now, through arms and violence, to retake control of the continent." Chavez's own experience with a CIA backed coup and the June 2009 coup, supported by the Pentagon, CIA, and Mossad against his ally Zelaya in Honduras, makes him an expert on CIA and Mossad tactics in the region. Informed sources have told WMR that Correa and Chavez are currently comparing notes on the coups launched against them.

Ecuadorian intelligence will be looking closely at the wereabouts of key CIA personnel stationed at the CIA station at the US embassy in Quito and a smaller CIA station within the US Agency for International Development (USAID) mission in Guayaquil. In the 2002 coup attempt against Chavez, the US embassy's top CIA and DIA officers were discovered to be helping to direct the coup from Venezuelan military installations.

Clinton's State Department has been casting Ecuador in a bad light throughout the past two years, calling the country "difficult to do business in," the only real priority that the Obama administration cares about due to its total subservience to Wall Street and the fat cat bankers. The State Department's "Investment Climate Statement" for Ecuador states: "Ecuador can be a difficult place in which to do business. . . There are restrictions or limitations on private investment in many sectors that apply equally to domestic and foreign investors . . . A 2006 hydrocarbons law imposed new conditions in the petroleum sector that have been problematic for many companies, complicated by a 2007 decree that imposed additional restrictions. A 2008 mining mandate stalled mining activity, and a new Mining Law is expected in early 2009. Negotiations for a free trade agreement between the United State and Ecuador, which would have included investment provisions, stopped in April 2006. The current Government of Ecuador has not expressed interest in restarting negotiations." Correa's financial policies, as well as his foreign policy that saw him order out the American base at Manta and establish close ties with Venezuela, Iran, and other countries inimical to American and Israeli hegemony, placed a huge CIA and Mossad target on Correa's back. In June, Ecuador sponsored a resolution at the Organization of American State (OAS) summit in Lima condemning Israel's attack on the Turkish aid flotilla transporting humanitarian aid to Gaza. Ten nations voted with Ecuador in support of the resolution.

The uprising among Ecuadorian Air Force ranks, with Air Force personnel taking over and shutting down Quito's international airport, will have Ecuadorian counter-intellligence personnel looking closely at the possible role of Israeli technicians and trainers who support the Air Force's 26 Israeli-made Kfir combat planes. Israel also reportedly sold Python-3 air-to-air missile to the Ecuadorian Air Force in 1997.

Mossad also has its hooks into the Ecuadorian National Police, where the main coup plotters received support/ Mossad is chiefly tasked with spying on Ecuador's large Ecuadorian-Arab community. The activities of the Mossad station at the Israeli embassy in Quito before and during the coup attempt will also draw the attention of counter-intelligence officers. Last year, Tel Aviv-based On Track Innovations received a contract to provide an electronic biometric-based electronic identification card system to Ecuador's Central Registry Office.

Obama’s 2nd Latin American Coup attempt is in progress in Ecuador


Están tratando de tumbar al Presidente Correa. ¡Alerta los pueblos de la Alianza Bolivariana! ¡Alerta los pueblos de UNASUR! ¡¡Viva Correa!!

Ecuatorianos se dirigen en masa al hospital para rescatar a Correa

Por Cubadebate

Cientos de personas se congregaron hoy frente al palacio presidencial de Carondelet en Quito, para respaldar al jefe de Estado Rafael Correa frente a las protestas de policías y militares por la retirada de incentivos profesionales.

Funcionarios del Gobierno han llamado a dirigirse al Hospital donde se encuentra recluido el presidente ecuatoriano para “rescatarlo”, ya que el mismo Correa ha denunciado que se encuentra atrapado y que policías y manifestantes en su contra intentan ingresar a su habitación.

Gritando “¡Vamos Quito, Quito no se agueva carajo!”, los ecuatorianos a favor del Presidente han acudido a su ayuda.

Los manifestantes agredieron a unos cinco agentes policiales que no protestaban, sino que llegaban a Carondelet como protección de unas autoridades gubernamentales, según pudo constatar una periodista de Efe.

La manifestación de personas afines al presidente se realizó en reacción a las protestas por parte de centenares de policías y militares que ocuparon hoy un regimiento en Quito y obligaron al cierre del aeropuerto de la capital.

Los agentes huyeron corriendo mientras explotaba una bomba lacrimógena, que no está claro quién lanzó.

Al grito de “Correa, amigo, el pueblo está contigo”, cientos de personas expresaron su apoyo al jefe de Estado que previamente en el regimiento Quito, donde comenzó la protesta de los policías, advirtió que no cederá ante los reclamos.

La protesta de los policías y militares estalló después de que la Asamblea Nacional aprobase ayer la eliminación de incentivos en los ascensos y se extendiese el plazo para los mismos.

Según constató Efe, el palacio de Gobierno, situado en el centro colonial de Quito, no tiene resguardo policial en la parte exterior, en tanto que una veintena de militares dan seguridad en el interior.

Con información de Agencias

Yonatan Shapira’s testimony from the Jewish Boat to Gaza


Journal of a voyage, by Yonatan Shapira
26 September 2010

The course is 120. Another 200 miles to the port in Cyprus and the automatic pilot in the boat, which is supposed to maintain the course, refuses to work and leaves me with the unending task of maintaining the course on a turbulent sea with no sign of land from horizon to horizon. In another half hour, Itamar, my brother, who is also a “refusenik,” will relieve me at the wheel, after him Bruce and then Glyn will take their shifts. If everything goes according to plan, we will reach Famagusta at midday on Saturday, and there we will pick up the rest of the passengers, who together with us, as strange as it may seem, will try to break the blockade of Gaza.

For some weeks already we have been making our way east, from the Greek island on which the yacht was bought, from north of the Peloponnese through the Corinthian Canal, the Cycladic islands. Already we have experienced just about every kind of mishap in the book: the engines overheated on us and died, the wheel suddenly became detached, the anchor got stuck, the sail tore, a storm, and more. What we have not yet experienced is the uniqueness, the wondrousness and the strong arm of the IDF – the most moral army in the world, for those who forgot.

Warships have not yet intercepted us, they have not lowered commandos on us from helicopters and snipers have not yet shot at us. Those challenges are still before us and we will experience them together with the passengers, among them Holocaust survivors, a bereaved father [1] and others.

The southwest wind is getting a little stronger and the compass is vacillating between 120 and 130. I glance at the GPS and see that I am veering slightly to the left. Well, if the automatic pilot were working I could simply sit, watch the waves and write undisturbed.

Seven years ago on the eve of Rosh Hashana we published what the media called “the pilots’ letter.” In that declaration we announced to the whole nation (yes, we wore flight-suits and were interviewed in the press and on television) that we would refuse to take part in the crimes of the Occupation.

Ten days after that, on the eve of Yom Kippur, we were invited for a talk with the Commander of the Air Force. After he outlined to me his racial theory (in the form of a scale of value of blood, from the Israelis on the top down to the Palestinians at the bottom) he informed me that I was dismissed and that I was no longer a pilot in the Israeli Air Force. Many things have happened since then. Many boats have crossed the Corinthian Canal, many demonstrations and arrests, but mainly, many children have been murdered in Gaza. I remember Arik, a close childhood friend and a combat pilot, who hesitated over whether to sign and to refuse but in the end sincerely informed me that he did not want to give up his wonderful toy, the F-16. At first he still had a little shame about the comfortable choice he had made. Secretly he supported me and admitted that he did not have courage. Seven years passed and today he is still an operational pilot in the reserves, a leader of attack formations in his combat wing and on his hands or wings is the boiling blood of tens of innocent Palestinians and Lebanese, maybe more. The traces of morality that he had are gone now and today Arik will bomb any place at any time, wherever they tell him. That is the beauty of routine. In the end everything looks normal to you: an ordinary man, kind and polite and a good father to his daughters, turns into a mass murderer. I was not a bomber pilot. I flew Blackhawks that are used mainly for rescue missions and to transport personnel. One argument we heard from those who disagreed with us, and especially people from my wing, three members of which signed the letter, was that none of us was asked personally to shoot or to bomb or to assassinate. We replied to that argument by saying that it was not necessary to commit murder in order to say that it is forbidden to commit murder, and that it is easy to say “I just held the stick while the other pilot launched the missile.”

Years passed and the events of the flotilla and the murderous attack on the Mavi Marmara came and proved that the connection between my wing and the murder of civilians is in fact a lot more direct. It was the unit in which I served and the helicopters that I flew that carried out the pirate operation and lowered the commandos onto the deck. It is quite likely that the very people who flew on that night had been pupils of mine or pilots who flew with me in the past.

What does a Blackhawk pilot think and feel when he is hovering over a civilian ship far from the Israel’s territorial waters? What is he thinking when he instructs the soldiers to descend in the middle of the night onto a ship that is transporting supplies of humanitarian aid, bags of cement and dozens of journalists?

Mainly he is thinking about how to maintain a stable hover and not to lose visual contact with the other helicopters and the ship below him. He listens and gives orders on the helicopter’s internal communication system and maybe he also feels a little fear; after all, hovering over a vessel on the open sea, and at night, is no simple task of aviation.

And maybe he thinks about a few other things. Maybe he has a certain political outlook and maybe not, but what is certain is what he is not thinking about … a pilot who is hovering over a civilian aid ship on the open sea is not thinking that somebody among the people below him is intending to shoot him or that they are in possession of firearms – otherwise he would not have approached the spot! If he is not conducting a necessary rescue operation, it is absolutely counter to army regulations; that means that they knew beyond any doubt that nobody on the Mavi Marmara was armed. He knows that they are civilians who were set on expressing protest and identification with the million and a half civilians of besieged Gaza; but he apparently does not think about the fact that when masked armed pirates pounce on you in the middle of the night it is legitimate for you to resist the hijacking (even if it is tactically and strategically pointless).

To all who have doubts about the issue, I warmly recommend that you try to imagine that you are in the middle of the sea on a dark night and suddenly giant black helicopters are hovering low over you with a deafening noise and from them, like masked burglars wearing black, descend armed hoodlums, and warships are approaching you from every direction, and they are all shooting stun grenades at you and other things that you cannot identify, due to the noise and the darkness.

The sun has just set on the horizon. It is 18:52 hours.

I am trying to think about what will happen to us in a few more days near the coast of Gaza, within or outside the territorial waters. It apparently makes no difference when you are above the law and can shoot, hijack, rob, occupy and humiliate without anyone imposing any limits.

We are in the small boat of Jews for Justice for Palestinians.

We do not intend to fight the IDF, even though we have every right to do so. We chose non-violence as a tactic and as a strategy but we do not intend to give up easily until the moment they arrest and handcuff a Holocaust survivor and the bereaved father, right down to the last passenger on the boat.

The colours of the sunset are getting more and more dark and deep. Gold, pink and orange with light-blue stripes between the burning clouds. Now Bruce, on the wheel, is continuing to maintain a course of 120 with the two engines along with the mainsail and the foresail which add another half-knot to the speed. Itamar is practicing his guitar and Glyn is preparing supper. It seems like the clouds of fried onion are not only filling the yacht (and making it a little hard to breathe) but the whole Mediterranean Sea. Looks like I’ll skip supper.

Chief of Staff Ashkenazi told the Israeli commission of inquiry that investigated the flotilla events, that his conclusion from the events is – “more snipers” … yes – yes, that’s his conclusion from the murder on the Mavi Marmara, more snipers!

My conclusion was a bit different from that of a person who in the foreseeable future will be put on trial at the international court for war crimes. My conclusion was I had to join the next boat that set out for Gaza, and what could be more fitting than a Jewish organization from Europe that is struggling for human rights and peace.

I contacted the organizers and offered my services as skipper. Apparently seamanship was the most fitting of all the trades I learned in high school, and now I have the opportunity to implement what I learned, not only for pleasure but for an important and symbolic action with an organization that decided to invest a great deal of money, hours of deliberation, planning and endless preparations for one objective, to break the blockade of Gaza.

Yesterday evening on the island of Kastelorizo, during last-minute preparation of the boat, we opened the foresail on a large space near the pier and wrote on it in black in Arabic and Hebrew: “Yahud min ajl al-‘adala lil-filastiniyin” – the name of the organization – Jews for Justice for Palestinians.

The Arabic course I took in the summer helped me not get confused in writing the curved letters and Itamar, who stood above me and by the light by the public pier guided me up, down, left and right, so that the writing will look good and clear when we raise the sail upon our departure from Cyprus and as we approach the shores of Gaza.

Another long night-watch on the wheel followed. The sea was relatively calm, but a moderate tailwind insisted on bringing the exhaust from the engines directly to the cockpit, which strengthened my determination to skip supper and to contend with the feeling of light nausea by watching the horizon, maintaining a course of 125 and mainly by singing, again and again, the songs that sound most beautiful when one is on a boat in the middle of the sea: “if the darkness has fallen and I have no star … light a rose of fire on the mast of my boat, mother …” [2]

At 6:12 in the morning, as we approach Cyprus, with the first rays of light, Itamar at the wheel, Bruce and Glyn are sleeping and I am on the prow trying to breathe air clean of the smoke of the engines and trying to snooze, suddenly a medium-sized boat passes us. It passed quite close to us and looked strange. It circled us from the north and moved off to the west and looked like a small warship. Maybe we are already a little paranoid and maybe not and maybe it was just a vessel of the Turkish coast guard; in any case, we began to think and to imagine to ourselves what our encounter with the Israeli navy will be like when we approach the coast of Gaza, what each of us will do, how we will take care of the passengers and how we will react if the navy’s Dabur patrol boat (as in previous incidents) attacks us and rams our little boat. We decided to write in Hebrew and English a declaration that we will read on the radio on the nautical emergency channel when elements of the navy or the air force approach us. This is what we wrote:

We are a boat of the European Jewish organization Jews for Justice for Palestinians

We are on our way to Gaza

We are not armed and we believe in non-violence

And we are determined to proceed to the port of Gaza

You are imposing an illegal blockade on occupied Gaza

These are international waters and we do not recognize your authority here

There are activists of all ages on this boat

Among us are Holocaust survivors, bereaved parents and Israelis who refuse to reconcile themselves to the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories

We are unarmed peace activists who believe in non-violence and we are determined to proceed on our way to the port of Gaza

We appeal to you, officers and soldiers of the IDF, to refuse and not to obey your commanders’ illegal orders

For your information, the blockade of Gaza is illegal under international law and therefore you are running the risk of being put on trial at the international court for war crimes

The blockade and the occupation are inhumane and counter to universal morality and the values of Judaism

Use your consciences!

Do not say “I was only following orders”!

Remember the painful history of our people!

Refuse to enforce the blockade!

Refuse the Occupation!

1. In this context, “bereaved” is understood to refer to an Israeli who has lost a loved one as a result of war or terrorism in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict – trans.

2. From the Israeli song “Zemer ahava la-yam” – “Love song for the sea.” Lyrics: Raphael Eliaz, music: Sasha Argov – trans.

Translated from Hebrew by George Malent

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Blackwater/XE corporate phone directory yields chain of subsidiary firms

WMR has obtained an internal Blackwater phone directory listing the names, office phones, and cell phone for 419 Blackwater officials and employees worldwide. After consulting with our editorial advisers, WMR has decided not to publish the list in its entirety since many of the Blackwater employees are deployed overseas their personal safety could be placed in jeopardy. While Blackwater, now known as Xe Services, has been responsible for heinous crimes against humanity in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen, the publication of names and cell phone numbers would serve no useful purpose except to place them at potential risk and there is no way to separate human rights violators from those who are acting in administrative and support positions who may have been forces to accept employment with the firm as the result of the poor economic situation in the United States. In addition, Blackwater changed its name to Xe Security in February 2009 and many of those on the phone list may no longer be working for the private military firm.

WMR has edited the list to provide non-personally identifiable phone numbers and offices. The Blackwater Main USA offices are located at the firm's Moyock, North Carolina main training facility. Phone numbers are also found for Blackwater's subsidiaries, including Paravant, Blackwater Airships, Greystone Ltd. (Barbados), PMA International, ARES Manufacturing, AIRR International, Raven, and its operating locations in northern Illinois and Blackwater West in California.

Blackwater Worldwide Phone List

BW Main USA Building OPS 2488 435-2488
Front Gate OPS 1996 435-1996 207-5325 (after hours)
Range Control Randy- 1709 Billy- 1326 455-0374 (after hours)
Medical Department 1855 435-1855 RADIO
Mail Room USA Building OPS 2046 435-2046
Chow Hall New Chow Hall OPS 2007 435-2007 384-3545
ProShop Old Lodge/Chow OPS OO23 435-0023
ProShop Hgwy 168 OPS 435-2271
ProShop Manager Old Lodge/Chow OPS 2033 435-2033
Black Bear Inn Lodge OPS 1950 435-1950 202-1210
VBPD Building Moyock 435-6201
Warehouse Logistics 1839 435-1839 384-3422
Prince Group McLean, VA Corporate 571-633-9530
Prince Group fax McLean, VA Corporate 571-633-9535
Paravent USA Building 435-0400
Blackwater North Illinois PUBLIC NUMBER 815-244-2900
Blackwater North NON-PUBLIC NUMBER 815-244-2901
Blackwater West California 619-671-0183
ON CALLSCHEDULER DSS 384-3439
TRAVEL ON CALL 384-3303
Blackwater Main Fax USA Mailroom OPS 435-6388
24 VP Fax USA Building OPS 435-1790
Black Bear Inn Fax Lodge OPS 435-1953
OSU Fax USA Building 435-1993
Medical Department Fax Medical Building 435-1791
ProShop Fax Old Lodge/Chow 435-1732
Aviation Main Fax Hanger 435-0800
Aviation OPS Fax Hanger 435-1909
Aviation Maintenance Hanger 435-1910
Aviation Purchasing Hanger 435-1926
Training Fax Range Control Building 435-2051
Driving Fax Track Building 435-0042
Airships Fax Elizabeth City 335-0226
Manufacturing Fax 435-1930
Facilities Fax USA Building 435-1861
Blackwater North Fax Illinois 815-244-2815
Blackwater West Fax California (619) 671-7081
DSS Fax USA Building 435-2539
Training Sales Fax USA Building 435-0043
Warehouse / Brenda Fax Warehouse 435-1942
Procurement USA Building 435-1918
Board Room USA Building 1770 435-1770
Conference Room 142 USA Building 1841 435-1841
Conference Room 168 USA Building 1844 435-1844
Conference Room 229 USA Building 1785 435-1785
Conference Room 230 USA Building 1795 435-1795
Conference Room 250 USA Building 1842 435-1842
International OPS Room (269) USA Building 1858 435-1858
DSS Room USA Building 1783 435-1783
Receptionist/ USA Building OPS 1702 435-1702 252-305-6603
Receptionist/ USA Building OPS 1762 435-1762 *
Receptionist/ Hanger Aviation O701 435-0701 *
Mail Clerk/USA Building OPS 2046 435-2046
Proposal Writer Contracts O231 435-0231 *
Director of Budgeting & Analyst Finance 2053 435-2053 *
Cost Reimbursement Specialist International Training 1806 435-1806 *
Armorer Armory 1814 435-1814 *
V.P of Airships Airships 1850 435-1850 384-3465
PMA Paravant 1777 435-1777 384-3392
Travel Coordinator Travel 1889 435-1889 *
Admin Assistant International Training 1778 435-1778 384-3456
File Clerk / DSS Payroll DSS 1812 435-1812 *
Cost Analyst/ Training Finance O016 435-0016 *
VP Logistics & Procurement Logistics 2000 435-2000 207-3089
General Counsel Legal/HR 1319 435-1319 384-3243
Guard Compliance Officer Training 1774 435-1774 384-3246
Director of Finance Finance 1318 435-1318 384-3561
Deputy Director of WPPS Training DSS/WPPS 1324 435-1324 384-3402
Exec. Assistant Logistics 1840 435-1840 384-3041
Sales Admin Assistant Contracts O223 435-0223 384-3350
Cost Reimbursement Specialist Finance 1834 435-1834 *
ARMORY Armory Supervisor Logistics 1814 435-1814 RADIO
HR Generalist Legal/HR 1836 435-1836 *
Accounts Receivable Finance 1847 435-1847 *
IT Tech IT 1820 435-1820 384-3418
Instructor Training 1902 435-1902 *
Manufacturing Engineer Facilities 1916 435-1916
Exec. Assistant Aviation O739 435-0739 *
Marketing Specialist Business Dev. 1863 435-1863 *
Electrical Supervisor Manufacturing 1341 435-1341 202-2430
Firearms Instructor Supervisor/ Navy PM BW West * 619-671-0183 619-464-4192
Armory Supervisor Logistics 1814 435-1814 *
Executive Vice President OPS 2030 435-2030 548-1058
Training & Fire Arms Inst. Training 1800 435-1800 *
Admin Assistant DDS/WPPS 1727 435-1727 384-3468
Driving Instructor Training 1346 435-1346 *
Range Master II Training 1326 435-1326 455-0374
Navy Instructor Training 2013 435-2013 *
Greystone OPS Manager Greystone 1327 435-1327 548-7302
Program Manager International Training 1328 435-1328 384-3427
Range Master Training 1715 435-1715 RADIO
PM Select 1825 435-1825 384-3397
K-9 Trainer K--9 * * 384-3457
Director of Business Development Manufacturing 1923 435-1923 384-3353
Admin Assistant OSU 1347 435-1347 *
Scheduler DSS 1877 435-1877 *
Inventory Control Clerk Logistics 1330 435-1330 384-3464
BBI Front Desk Clerk Housekeeping/OPS 1950 435-1950 384-3425
Staff Accountant Finance 1764 435-1764 *
Range Maintenance Sup. Facilities * * 599-1000
Controller Finance 1944 435-1944 *
VP of BW West BW West 2038 619-671-9910 455-0039
VP of Paravant Paravant O030 435-0030 384-3282
F&T Instructor Training O205 435-0205 RADIO
VP of Risk Management Legal/HR 1320 435-1320 571-212-6473
Navy Instructor Training 1905 435-1905 RADIO
Program Assistant DSS/WPPS O047 435-0047 384-3307
Director of Graphics Productions Business Dev. 2015 435-2015 384-3441
Financial Analyst Finance 1769 435-1769 *
Accounts Receivable/ Security Finance 2009 435-2009 *
HR Manager Legal/HR 1864 435-1864 *
Travel Manager Travel 2044 435-2044 455-0863
Driver Fleet./OPS * * 384-3374
IT Tech IT O054 435-0054 384-3224
Fleet Manager OPS 1879 435-1879 384-3395
Instructor Training 1823 435-1823 757-651-1911
Deputy Director of OSU OSU O031 435-0031 455-0861
VP Greystone Greystone O051 435-0051 548-0026
Fire Arms & Tactics Instructor Training 1883 435-1883 757-615-8601
Graphic Designer Business Dev. 1331 435-1331 *
Training Site Manager Training 1851 435-1851 *
Export Clerk Logistics 1964 435-1964 384-3330
BBI Manager Housekeeping/OPS 1713 435-1713 202-1210
Medical Admin Medical 1855 435-1855 *
Program Manager International Training 1736 435-1736 548-7984
Curriculum Developer Training O077 435-0077 *
PMA International Training 1934 435-1934 384-3300
Senior Cost Analyst, WPPS Finance 1719 435-1719 *
Recruiter OSU 1945 435-1945
Admin Pool Legal/HR 1714 435-1714 *
Driving Instructor Training 1899 435-1899 *
Armorer Logistics 1814 435-1814 *
Construction Supervisor Facilities 1339 435-1339 533-0140
Corporate Safety Officer OPS O743 435-0743 548-7473
Corporate Communications Cord. Business Dev. 2010 435-2010 384-3391
Analyst CNTPO O218 435-0218 *
VP of Quality Assurance QA 6993 435-6993 *
Lead Supervising Instructor Training (WPPS) 1903 435-1903 384-3313
Warehouse Manager Logistics O058 435-0058 384-3422
Driving Instructor Training 1335 435-1335 *
Program Director International Training O211 435-0211 384-3452
Project Manager Facilities 1794 435-1794 384-3220
Program Director, CNTPO International OPS 2025 435-2025 599-2863
Instructor Training 1336 435-1336 *
PM (DSS & Select) DSS/WPPS O082 435-0082 *
Director Aviation OPS Greystone O074 435-0074 548-9038
Driving Instructor Training O018 435-0018 *
Sales Coordinator/Military Contracts 2016 435-2016 384-3407
Associate Counsel Legal/HR 1966 435-1966 384-3550
Compliance Officer Legal/HR 1334 435-1334 384-3434
Purchasing Agent Manufacturing 1984 435-1984 *
Payroll Specialist Finance 1891 435-1891 *
Admin Assistant Maritime 1742 435-1742 384-3446
Accounts Receivable, Training Finance 1806 435-1806 *
Navy Instructor Training 1970 435-1970 *
Director BW Tampa BW Tampa 1949 435-1949 384-3294
Clearance Coordinator OSU 1837 435-1837 *
Admin Assistant International Training 1922 435-1922 599-0136
Cost Analyst Finance 1830 435-1830 *
Benefits Administrator Legal/HR 1843 435-1843 *
Accountant Airships 1743 435-1749 *
Buyer Procurement/Logistics O045 435-0045 *
Construction Supervisor Facilities 1723 435-1723 207-6282
Director of Flight OPS, Senior Test Pilot Airships 1943 435-1943 384-3394
Cost Receivable Specialist Finance 1807 435-1807 *
Procurement Specialist Logistics O209 435-0209 384-3257
Travel Coordinator Travel 2031 435-2031 455-0867
Database Admin Logistics 1865 435-1865 *
Travel Coordinator Travel 2047 435-2047 207-6386
HR Director Legal/HR 1871 435-1871 384-3533
Service Writer Fleet./OPS 2049 435-2049 384-3276
Deputy Director BW North BW North 1880 815-244-2900 384-3463
ARES Manufacturing 2012 435-2012 202-344-5562
Recruiter OSU 2023 435-2023 384-3539
Instructor Training 1824 435-1824 *
Navy Lead Instructor BW West * * 619-671-0183
Procurement Specialist Logistics O049 435-0049 *
Company Chaplain OPS 1921 435-1921 384-3609
Instructor Training / K-9 1342 435-1342 *
Fleet Drivers OPS 1878 435-1878 *
Fire Arms & Tactics Instructor Training 1343 435-1343 384-3280
Office Manager Greystone 1344 435-1344
Director of Domestic Training Training 1345 435-1345 384-3375
VP of Contracting Contracts/OPS O019 435-0019 455-0857
President Damocles Solutions LLC Training O022 435-0022 207-6502
VP of Acquisition & Development OPS 2001 435-2001 202-4559
President OPS O011 435-0011 548-0584
On-Site Doctor Medical 1963 435-1963 384-3354
Driving Program Manager Training O057 435-0057 384-3273
Hazmat Manager Logistics 1746 435-1746 384-3438
Training Coordinator/Scheduler Select 1752 435-1752 384-3399
Navy Instructor Training 1969 435-1969 *
Detailer OSU O033 435-0033 599-0149
Driving Instructor Training 1333 435-1333 *
Assistant Procurement Manager Procurement/Logistics O100 435-0100 384-3252
Director of Legislative Affairs OPS OO96 435-0096 384-3244
Information Systems Security Officer Select 1826 435-1826 384-3503
International Logistics Manager Logistics 1959 435-1959 *
MC Corporate Master Chief OPS 1767 435-1767 384-3431
Vehicle Coordinator Fleet./OPS 1781 435-1781 384-3276
Director of International Training International Training 1348 435-1348 548-0707
Facility Security Officer OSU 1816 435-1816 455-0858
IT Project Manager IT 1349 435-1349 *
Cost & Budget Analyst Greystone O219 435-0219 *
Instructor DSS/WPPS 1758 435-1758 RADIO
Scheduler Select O035 435-0035 384-3384
HVAC Supervisor Facilities 1779 435-1779 RADIO
Technical Trainer Training 1815 435-1815 RADIO
Videographer Business Dev. 1897 435-1897 *
Fire Arms & Tactics Instructor Training 1336 435-1336 RADIO
PM Training 1753 435-1753 *
AP Clerk Finance 1983 435-1983 *
Contract Manager Greystone 1857 435-1857 *
Navy Program Assistant Manager Training 1353 435-1353 384-3534
VP International Training International Training O107 435-0107 548-0851
AP Supervisor Finance 2036 435-2036 *
Corporate Comm. Coordinator Business Dev. 1775 435-1775 *
Admin. Assistant Training 1876 435-1876 *
Accountant II Finance 1875 435-1875 *
Pro Shop Manager Business Dev. 2033 435-2033 *
Export Compliance Officer Legal/HR 1849 435-1849 384-3368
IC Payroll Finance 1893 435-1893 *
Exec. Assistant OPS 1888 435-1888 384-3538
Facilities & Maint. Director K-9 * 540-687-8242 703-994-1562
Lead Cost Analyst Finance 1917 435-1917 455-0867
Program Manager International OPS 1956 435-1956 384-3381
Facilities Service Coordinator Facilities 1745 435-1745 384-3309
Logistics Administrator DSS/WPPS 1954 435-1954 *
Manager, OFC Training 1747 435-1747 384-3291
VP of Facilities Facilities O012 435-0012 202-2562
Export Compliance Officer Legal/HR 1783 435-1783 384-3461
VP of Training Training O014 435-0014 202-2564
Dog Handler Training/K-9 2042 435-2042 202-4579
Ammo & Explosives Tech Logistics 1873 435-1873 RADIO
Exec. Assistant Airships 1355 435-1355 384-3222
Joanne Harris Senior Cost Analyst Finance 1995 435-1995 *
Director of ATAP OPS International OPS 1751 435-1751 384-3331
PGM CNTPO International OPS 1771 435-1771 384-3678
Accounting Supervisor Finance 1978 435-1978 *
Grounds Supervisor Facilities * * 202-8025
Fire Arms & Tactics Instructor Training O208 435-0208 *
VP of Budgeting & Analyst Finance 1351 435-1351 384-3411
Navy Instructor Training 1971 435-1971 *
Airship Assembly & Maintenance Supervisor Airships 1725 435-1725 384-3260
Program Director Airships 1730 435-1730 384-3415
Director Strategic Initiatives Business Dev. 2037 435-2037 384-3448
Auditor QA O056 435-0056 *
Financial Systems Director Finance O028 435-0028 384-3443
PM Paravant 1886 435-1886 *
Dir.Corporate Comm. for Global Initiatives Business Dev. 1792 435-1792 207-3087
Fire Arms & Tactics Instructor Training 1332 435-1332 *
Associate Counsel Legal/HR 1972 435-1972 384-3283
Senior Accountant Finance 1977 435-1977 *
Director of Events Business Dev. * * 757-343-4596
Accountant Finance 1784 435-1784 *
International OPS PM International OPS O034 435-0034 384-3414
Scheduler Select 1884 435-1884 384-3242
VP of Export Compliance Legal/HR 1822 435-1822 384-3332
Budget Analyst Finance 1822 435-1822 *
Clearance Coordinator OSU O046 435-0046 *
Assistant Legal Counsel Legal/HR 1868 435-1868 384-3336
Scheduler Select 1322 435-1322 *
Proposal Writer Contracts 1358 435-1358 *
Accountant Finance 1924 435-1324 *
Project Manager Select 2014 435-2014 599-1605
OSU 1735 435-1735 207-6051
Admin Assistant DSS/WPPS 1869 435-1869 *
Curriculum Developer Training 1853 435-1853 *
Payroll Specialist Finance 1818 435-1818 *
Paralegal/Claims Administrator Legal/HR 1743 435-1743 384-3451
Instructor Training 1701 435-1701 RADIO
Warehouse Worker Logistics 1896 435-1896 384-3548
Program Director International Training 1799 435-1799 384-3346
Office Manager DSS/WPPS 1811 435-1811 384-3430
File Clerk OSU 1739 435-1739 *
Corporate Recruiter Legal/HR 1986 435-1986 384-3435
Manager of Financial Reporting Finance 1838 435-1838 *
Recruiter OSU 1882 435-1882
Armorer Logistics 1814 435-1814 RADIO
Fleet Worker Fleet./OPS 1870 435-1870 *
Admin Assistant International Training O232 435-0232
Accounts Payable Finance 1942 435-1942 *
Accounts Receivable Finance 1872 435-1872 *
Title Proposal Manager Contracts O084 435-0084 384-3233
Sub Contract Manager Contracts 1765 435-1765 384-3256
Scheduler DSS/WPPS 1828 435-1828 *
Travel Coordinator Travel 1852 435-1852 *
Procurement Specialist Logistics O065 435-0065 *
Project Manager CNTPO 1908 435-1908 384-3469
Inventory Control Clerk Logistics 1881 435-1881 *
Admin for NSW/NSO AIRR International Training 1960 435-1960 *
Contract Specialist Contracts 2029 435-2029
F&T Instructor Training O201 435-0201 *
Latin American Affairs, Operations and Business Analyst International Training 1965 435-1965 *
Travel Coordinator Travel O090 435-0090 384-3390
VP Marketing & Communications Business Dev. 2008 435-2008 599-1603
Navy PMA Training 1703 435-1703 384-3420
Supervising Lead Instructor DSS/WPPS 1832 435-1832 384-3364
Electrician Facilities * * 202-3056
Installation Manager Manufacturing O026 435-0026 202-8023
Business Analyst Business Dev. 1733 435-1733 384-3304
Aviation Manager Greystone O108 435-0108 384-3419
ProShop Clerk OPS O023 435-0023 *
Detailer Select 1329 435-1329 384-3239
Schedules & Logistics Select 1776 435-1776 384-3542
Training Coordinator/Scheduler Contracts 2056 435-2056 *
Deputy Director International Training 1957 435-1957 548-1733
CNTPO Project Director International Training O222 435-0222
Asst. Director of Risk Management Legal/HR 1364 435-1364 *
Director of Retail Sales Contracts O227 435-0227 384-3266
Export Compliance Officer Legal/HR O203 435-0203 384-3480
Accounts Payable Finance OO39 435-0039 *
Director of Business Development Airships 1705 435-1705 384-3371
Deputy Director Special Security Services Select 1359 435-1359 384-3541
Driving Instructor Training 1898 435-1898 *
VP Business Development Business Dev. 1768 435-1768 384-3513
Instructor Training 1706 435-1706 *
Chief Financial Officer Finance 2034 435-2034 384-3520
Scheduler Select 1854 435-1854 384-3445
Employment Screener OSU O032 435-0032 *
PM of NSW International Training 1763 435-1763 548-7599
Driver Fleet./OPS 2027 435-2027 599-0142
Compliance Officer Training * * 384-3440
Sales Assistant Contracts 1866 435-1866 384-3540
Accounts Receivable Finance 1845 435-1845 *
Logistics Support DSS/WPPS 1985 435-1985 *
Export Compliance Administrator Legal/HR 1793 435-1793 *
Medical PMA/ EMT Medical 2021 435-2021 599-0146 Radio
Accountant Greystone O060 435-0060 *
Logistics Coordinator International Training 1892 435-1892 *
Accountant Greystone 1708 435-1708 *
Detailer OSU 2048 435-2048 455-0860
Dir. Business Development (EMEA) Business Dev. * * *
Travel Coordinator Travel 1712 435-1712 *
Graphic Designer Business Dev. 1835 435-1835 *
Avionics & Electrical Eng. Airships 1728 435-1728 *
Range Master Training 1709 435-1709 455-0374
Director WPPS Programs DSS/WPPS O062 435-0062 384-3223
Director of OSU OSU 1710 435-1710 384-3417
Admin Assistant Legal/HR 1979 435-1979 *
Fire Arms & Tactics Instructor Training 1356 435-1356 *
Cost Analyst Finance 1750 435-1750 *
Paralegal Legal/HR 1973 435-1973
Contract Specialist Contracts O098 435-0098 599-0143
Director of International OPS International OPS O068 435-0068 455-0869
Procurement Manager Procurement/Logistics O055 435-0055 384-3410
Director of Engineering Airships 1729 435-1729 384-3447
Navy Instructor Training 1967 435-1967 *
Driving Instructor Training 1346 435-1346 *
Navy Program Manager Training O071 435-0071 384-3271
QA Inspector Manufacturing 1939 435-1939 *
Driving Instructor Training 1898 435-1898 *
Armorer Logistics 1814 435-1814 RADIO
PM Fire Arms & Tactics Training 1711 435-1711 384-3423
Building Maintenance Supervisor Facilities * * 455-0871
PGM Specialist Logistics O225 435-0225 384-3112
Range Master Training * * RADIO
Training Coordinator/Scheduler Contracts 2035 435-2035
IT Tech IT 1974 435-1974 384-3335
Instructor Training O109 435-0109 *
Accounts Payable Finance 1787 435-1787 *
Admin Assistant DSS/WPPS O099 435-0099 384-3435
Exec Assistant Training O091 435-0091 384-3328
Contract Specialist Contracts 1813 435-1813 *
Range Master Training 1802 435-1802 RADIO
Director Business Dev. BW Tampa * * 267-6524.
Instructor Training 1760 435-1760 *
Fire Arms & Tactics Instructor Training 1798 435-1798 RADIO
PGM CNTPO 1946 435-1946
Director of Contracts Contracts 1317 435-1317 384-3401
Accounting Clerk Finance 1958 435-1958 *
Select Payroll & Travel Claims Finance 3077 435-3077 384-3436
Lead Clearance Coordinator OSU 2028 435-2028 *
Admin Assistant International Training O083 435-0083 384-3144
Food and Bev Manager OPS 2007 435-2007 384-3545
Project Administrator International Training * * *
Shop Foreman Fleet./OPS 1878 435-1878 384-3400
PGMA/Role Players DSS/WPPS 1714 435-1714 *
Manager CNTPO International OPS 1716 435-1716 384-3234
Civil Engineer Raven 1941 435-1941 384-3363
Director of WPPS DSS/WPPS 1704 435-1704 384-3570
Deputy Director Airships * * 384-3453
Driver Fleet./OPS * * 384-3263
Director Special Security Services Select 1717 435-1717 384-3241
Cost Analyst Finance 1961 435-1961 *
Title Clerk Fleet./OPS 1782 435-1782 384-3219
Director of OPS OPS 2052 435-2052 455-0638
Director International Training OPS International Training 2020 435-2020 548-7305
Assistant Controller Finance 1338 435-1338 *
Admin Assistant Greystone 1761 435-1761 *
Scheduler DSS/WPPS 1846 435-1846 *
Recruiter OSU 1821 435-1821 *
Supervisor, Targets Manufacturing 1726 435-1726 202-8021
Fire Arms & Tactics Instructor Training 1825 435-1825
Captain Maritime 1862 435-1862 548-0704
Inventory Clerk Airships 1987 435-1987 252-312-9002
Internet Sales rep ProShop 1738 435-1738 *
Instructor Training OO53 435-0053
Ancillary Services Director Facilities O029 435-0029 202-8022
Contract Specialist Contracts 2029 435-2029 *
Procurement Specialist Logistics 1847 435-1847 *
Accountant II Finance OO24 435-002 *
Admin Pool Legal/HR O080 435-0080 384-3015
Iraq Regional Coordinator DSS/WPPS O073 435-0073 384-3225
IT Director IT 2018 435-2018 455-0918
Accountant, DSS Finance 1940 435-1940 *
Electrical Technician Airships 1885 435-1885 384-3352
QA Supervisor Manufacturing 1850 435-1850 *
IC payroll specialist, DSS Finance 1720 435-1720 *
Supervising Lead Instructor Training 1754 435-1754 384-3408
Analyst International OPS 1789 435-1789 384-3450
Lead Auditor QA 1980 435-1980 384-3349
Director of QA QA 2055 435-2055 384-3308
Driving Instructor Training O018 435-0018 *
Sales Coordinator Contracts O075 435-0075 384-3432
Instructor DSS/WPPS 1756 435-1756 *
File Clerk Finance 1901 435-1901 *