THE ECONOMIC AND DEFENSE CONSEQUENCES OF UNBRIDLED ELECTRONIC ...
This one is a rather interesting article, and we can expect more of the same. Brazil, it seems, has cancelled a fighter-jet contract with the USA's Boeing, in favor of a deal with Sweden for the Swedish Gripin fighter jet(thanks to Mr. VT for bring this to our attention):
'NSA ruined it!' Brazil ditches Boeing jets, grants $4.5 bln contract to Saab
You'll note that this bit of news didn't make any major American media, except perhaps only in passing, but a four and a half billion dollar defense contract being lost to a foreign competitor that is the technological equal of Boeing(in this case, Saab), to an up-and-coming military and economic power, Brazil, should be major news, especially given the fact that the loss of the contract is due quite simply to a loss of trust and confidence in the American firm in the wake of the Snowden-NSA scandal. The article, or rather, Brazil's President Rousseff, puts it country simple:
" Rousseff lambasted US spying on her country during the UN General Assembly in September, calling it a “breach of international law.” She further warned that the NSA surveillance, revealed since June, threatened freedom of speech and democracy.
“'Meddling in such a manner in the lives and affairs of other countries is a breach of international law and as such it is an affront to the principles that should otherwise govern relations among countries, especially among friendly nations,' Rousseff said.
"Just before her address at the UN summit, Rousseff canceled a state visit to Washington, scheduled to take place in October, because of indignation over spying revelations. Rousseff has stated she wants an apology from US President Barack Obama."
If you'll recall, when the Snowden affair first came out, I maintained the position that the NSA spying was ultimately about economics and finance - and preserving an American advantage in "markets" increasingly driven by the exchange of information and timely advantage. I still maintain that position, for I also implied in some blogs that there would be an inevitable geopolitical, financial, and even security backlash from the revelations, and now Brazil has signaled what the cost of "security" really is:
It's less security, increased suspicion among allies, a formula that will inevitably translate into loss of trade, loss of production, loss of industry, as potential foreign markets - in this case in the crucial area of defense, and we'll get back to that in a moment - seek other companies to fill their requirements. American defense-related exports form one of the few remaining areas of actual manufacture in the country, and a loss of contracts to a major buyer like Brazil is sending a serious signal, folks, one that cannot be ignored: foreign nations will be increasingly reluctant to trust American manufactuers precisely because to do so would imperil their own security. No one wants fighter jets, submarines, or tanks from a nation now revealed to sneak back doors into all manner products. Remember the "Farewell" spy case in Russia, and the computer program with a backdoor that blew up a Russian gas pipeline and was visible from space? Maybe not, but it happened, and Russia now knows the long arm of American cyber attacks. Remember the INSLAW affair and Bill Hamilton, and stolen software and backdoor modifications? Maybe not, but it happened. And remember, too, Israel has lately been buying its cruise-missile launching submarines, not from the USA, but from Germany.
The lesson is now producing another long term problem for the Anglo-American oligarchy(I say that, for rest assured, the NSA spying scandal is also a British GCHQ spying scandal). The problem is, how to maintain the electronic security, and restore trust and a loss of confidence?
In the meantime, watch for increasing loss of defense contracts to nations and regions that were formerly US preserves, and watch for the Europeans, Russians, and Chinese, to move into the vacuum.
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lol, affirmative action has reached the head of the beast.
bon appetite
Ya think they’ve got Marduk bugged as well?
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/12/22/secret-space-war-xii-marduk-is-crowned-in-africa/
So one said the business of America is business. Well I hope the businessmen who run America will be prepared when the USA has to file for chapter 11.
Just wait until the Repo-Man shows up in the middle of the night with a tow-truck. In this case, it’s the defaulting Kingdom to be towed away, and the tow-truck will be an armored tank brigade.
It does seem to me that if you have a vast store of wealth that can be moved around at electronic velocities, what you really have is infinite money.
Also on rt.com Max Keiser & Stacy tackle the issue of the Brazil Saab contracts.
http://rt.com/shows/keiser-report/episode-539-max-keiser-566/
For those interestred in Bitcoins, the 2nd half of the Max Keiser Report(above) discuuses the issue of krypto currencies.
I love Max’s searing analogies and metaphors! Good thing Stacy is there to reign him in a bit.
I check RT and Youtube daily for any new info concerning Bitcoin, specifically from Max.
The only time I switch RT off is when Larry King appears.
Seeing that Larry King got that RT spot just about made me physically sick. I wouldn’t dare take a looksie; even to see the illusion of his spots changing magically.
King Rat!
(any rat lover please except my apoligies for the disparaging that animal’s character).
it is not generally well-known, but the Saab defense aerospace technology is actually very good. also mentioned in the article, the company was willing to share the intellectual-property embedded in that technology with the Brazilians. I believe it was this willingness to share the intellectual-property, along with the fact that there was at least a 40% discount to Brazil provided by Saab, sealed the deal. But there. but there is no doubt that a lack of trust on the part of the Brazilians for technology produced in America, is an important factor. I mean it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that those devices also have backdoors.
The problem of course, is that the elite in the US continue to live in a bubble of their own creation, and little accurate information about the perception of them in the world seems to get through this bubble. An independent nation acting independently, as it should be.
re: the corporate entity known as Saab-
I used to be a die-hard owner/driver of Saab cars here in Germany during the 80’s/early 90’s when they were still affordable to us peons (one got the equivalent of a BMW at approx. 1/3rd the price- plus the safety features that put BMW/Mercedes in the dust compared to Saab or Volvo)- but since then Saab cars were financially supposedly bought-up by General Motors then subsequently sold to varios bidders-
so it wouldn’t surprise me in the least that the controllers behind Saab (not yet noticed the newer ‘Saab-Fairchild’ labeling connection?) are into something else and cars have become their least concern-
“neutral” () Sweden is yet another completely different topic sort of on the level of beloved Switzerland-
be well all-
Larry in Germany
At times,
All roads do lead to Rome.
The question now is
“where” is Rome?
Saab cars not the same company as Saab aircraft, perhaps in the 1950s but it’s been a very long time.
Good point Sir.
db
Certainly all possible, but the NSA spying can’t really have been unknown to various authorities in Brazil.
Then: The FA-18 is probably less advanced than the Saab plane. The first F18 shipped in the mid 1980s and they were aircraft carrier jets. Just saying it looks like there’d be other reasons for giving serious consideration to the Saab planes. (It’s not like Brazil is going to fight in some air war–at least with fighter jets anyhow.)
As one of the comments on that RT article says: Forcing down the plane of a south American president did the USA no favors in the area; I guess that’s tangentially related to the NSA spying.