GET YOUR WAR ON, PART 2

only 1% of global spending on weapons would be needed to provide every child in the world with basic education

according to an advertisement by the leading u.s. defense contractor, lockheed martin, that ran in 2002, "the perception of peace means less jobs for americans"

number of lockheed martin's F16 fighters built by american workers last year: 0 (lockheed martin's F16 manufacturing plants are located in turkey, and no americans are employed in the building of the jets)

every minute, someone is killed by a gun (most are women and children)

number one global manufacturer and exporter of small arms, including hand guns: the u.s.

the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - france, the u.s., russia, china, and the u.k.- account for 88% of the world's arms exports

in 2005, the pentagon removed a reference to article 3 of the geneva conventions from new editions of the army field manual on interrogation... article 3 specifically bans torture and cruel treatment including "outrages on personal dignity"

since the attacks of september 11, 2001 the u.s. has imprisoned 80,000 people around the world that it claims have links to terrorism. the vast majority have not been charged with any crime and have not been granted access to an attorney

global military spending equals about $173 per person and accounts for 2.5% of world GDP (gross domestic product)

u.s. military spending accounts for nearly half of the world total (48% or $530 billion per year- expected to rise to $650 billion by the end of 2007)

u.s. military spending is 7 times greater than the second largest spender, china

u.s. military spending is 29 times that of the six "rogue" nations (cuba, iran, libya, north korea, sudan and syria)

u.s. military spending figures do not include nuclear weapons spending since this is now counted under the department of energy

percent of your federal income tax dollar spent on war: 41% (percent spent on education: 6.5%, on health care: 6.1%)

number of the 26 countries that the u.s. has provided military assistance to (training, funding or weapons) since 2001 that use child soldiers: 22

percent of female veterans returning from service who report attempted or completed rape at the hands of a male u.s. armed services member: 30%

ratio of the price of a barrel of oil in march 2003 to the price of a body bag from the u.s. military's supplier: 1:1

number of national guard from louisianna serving in iraq during hurricane katrina: 1 in 3

chances that a member of the new york state national guard was serving in iraq: 1 in 4

chances that a member of the texas national guard was serving in iraq: 1 in 31

members of the bush administration with combat experience: 0

members of the bush administration with ties to the oil industry: 41

percent of israel's weaponry purchased from u.s. companies: 70% (money used to make these purchases comes from u.s. taxpayers in the form of military aid given to israel by the federal government, which accounts for 20% of israel's total military budget or $3 billion annually)

amount spent by the u.s. per month on the war in iraq in 2006: $9.1 billion (up from $4.3 billion in the previous year, but about $1 billion a month less than is projected for 2007)

title of a pentagon memo leaked to the media describing a u.s. propaganda campaign aimed at americans to make abu muab al-zarqawi (the possible leader of al qaeda in iraq) appear to be more dangerous and powerful than he really was: "villainize zarqawi/leverage xenophobic response" (april 10, 2006)

on june 21, 2006 the pentagon classified homosexuality as a mental defect akin to retardation (the most army discharges for arabic translators since 2002 have been on the grounds that they violated "don't ask, don't tell" policy)

amount the pentagon spends on viagara each year: $500,000 (down from a record high of $5 million in the first two years the drug was introduced)

number of homeless people in the united states who are veterans: 1 in 3

amount spent by the u.s. military to replace service members discharged for admitting to being gay: $365 million

estimated number of americans who get degrees from non-accredited "diploma mills" each year: 100,000

number of pentagon employees who had such degrees on their resumes in a report released last year: 257

percent of troops assigned to the front line in the gulf war who were persons of color: 50%

percent increase in the number of terrorist attacks committed around the world since president bush declared in 2004 that "the world is a safer place": 600%

estimated number of americans who last year refused to pay part or all of their federal income tax as a protest of military spending: 2,000

number of u.s. troops who have gone awol since that start of the war in iraq: 8,000

number of army recruiters who have gone awol between october 2002 and march 2005: 37

percent of army recruiters who did not volunteer for that job: 70%

on december 15, 2005 it was revealed in a pentagon memo leaked to the media that the government is collecting data on antiwar groups without their knowledge or consent and compiling this information into a database

average age of soldiers serving in iraq: 20

percent of the iraqi population under age 16 at the start of war in 2003: 68%

percent of soldiers returning from service in iraq who receive medical or mental health treatment: 30%

estimated number of returning soldiers who need mental health treatment for trauma and depression: 65%

global spending priorities (all amounts are in u.s. dollars):
--military spending: $780 billion
--alcoholic beverages in europe: $105 billion
--cigarettes in europe: $50 billion
--business entertainment in japan: $35 billion
--pet food in europe and north america: $17 billion
--basic health and nutrition: $13 billion
--perfumes in europe and the u.s.: $12 billion
--reproductive health for all women: $12 billion
--ice cream in europe: $11 billion
--water and sanitation for all: $9 billion
--cosmetics in the u.s.: $8 billion
--basic education for all: $6 billion