Fwd: 50 Cent, the War Profiteer and the $10 million Bat Mitzvah

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50 Cent, the War Profiteer and the $10 million Bat Mitzvah

Why the world's best 13th birthday party has Iraq vets' blood boiling

 

Guerilla News Network/Anthony Lappé | November 30 2005

 

On the day the President told the American people to prepare for the long

haul in Iraq, here's a story that seems to perfectly sum up our priorities

as a nation. They're calling it Mitzvahpalooza. It may go down in history as

the world's most obscene birthday party (eat your heart out Dennis

Kozlowski). David H. Brooks, CEO of bulletproof vest maker DHB Industries,

spared no expense for his 13-year old daughter's entry into adulthood. The

girl and 300 of her closest BFFs were entertained recently in New York's

Rainbow Room by Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Kenny G, Aerosmith and, believe it

or not, 50 Cent (I guess 500 large can make you forget all about street

cred). It was hosted by Tom Petty. The reported cost: $10 million. See the

absurd pics here.

 

First off, what 13-year old is a fan of Don Henley, Fleetwood Mac and, for

God's sake, Kenny G? Who was this party really for? Second, and more

importantly, where does a guy get $10 million to blow on a Bat Mitzvah?

Well, it appears, from you, the American taxpayer. According to United for a

Fair Economy, Brooks and Co. have made a tidy profit outfitting our nation's

fighting men and women in body armor that allegedly can't take a hit from a

9mm round:

 

David H. Brooks, CEO of bulletproof vest maker DHB Industries, earned $70

million in 2004, 13,349% more than his 2001 compensation of $525,000. Brooks

also 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

[DHB was trading at $4.20 today]. In May 2005, the U.S. Marines recalled

more than 5,000 DHB armored vests after questions were raised about their

effectiveness. By that time, Brooks had pocketed over $250 million in war

windfalls.

 

Read UFE's full report Executive Excess 2005 (PDF, 3.81 MB).

 

" It's shocking to see a guy who has no shame like this. He may be the world

champion war profiteer, " said the Institute for Policy Studies' Sarah

Anderson, who co-authored the report. " The shareholders are up in arms over

the defective equipment, the military is up and arms, and he's out

partying. "

 

Indeed, Iraq war veterans are not pleased. Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq war

veteran and founder of Operation Truth (and my frequent radio partner), told

me, " It is already disturbing that anyone can live the high-life as a result

of the booming war business, but it is particularly disheartening to hear

about someone having their own private Lollapalooza, in part from the sale

of defective equipment that put our troops in harm's way. America must take

a long, hard look at the idea of profit on the battlefield. "

 

Another OpTruth Iraq vet, Bobby Yen, had a darker take, " I guess it just

goes to show the state of affairs and the state of mind of this tired, old

(of mind) veteran that when this story came up it didn't even make me blink.

So some rich guy somewhere who made tons of money selling defective

bulletproof vests to the military has a filthy rich party for his daughter's

Bat Mitzvah. 'Oh, wow, someone wants to endanger my life for a few bucks?'

Sounds like the entire war. So the soldiers get paid poorly, on occasion

shell out there own few bucks to buy gear, lose a year of their life, lose

their sanity, lose their limbs, lose their lives, and a very few, very

select group closely connected to our government get very, very rich. OK, if

that's what the American people want. If that's what they voted for. "

 

GNN contacted the public relations firm representing DHB Industries and will

publish their response when, and if, we get one.