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If someone came here from outer space and studied the earth to see if we earthlings were worth having a relationship with, they would soon decide that we are not. The number one industry in the entire world is the making of weapons with which we can destroy each other. And to justify that, we lie incessantly, accuse other countries of the evil things that we do, and make certain there is no way we can work together for the betterment of mankind.
Korean defense firms get record orders amid Ukraine war
By Kim Hae-wook & Kim Tae-gyu,
UPI News Korea
saw their order log reach a record-high level in the first quarter of this year. Photo courtesy of Hanwha Aerospace
SEOUL, April 3 (UPI) -- South Korean defense corporations are experiencing a massive backlog in orders in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Hanwha Aerospace, the country's largest defense contractor, said Monday its backlog of orders amounted to a record-high $40 billion as of Friday, made up of K9 self-propelled howitzers, K10 ammunition resupply vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles.
This is an aerospace industry?
Meanwhile, the backlog for Korea Aerospace Industries, a top Korean manufacturer of fighter jets, stood at $19 billion due in part to its export contract signed last year for the delivery of 48 FA-50 fighter jets to Poland.
LIG Nex1 and Hyundai Rotem also have backlogs of $9.3 billion and $4 billion, respectively. The former is an aerospace manufacturer, while the latter is a manufacturer of military tanks, including K2 Black Panther.
The backlog of the four companies amounts to more than $72 billion, and industry experts forecast the figure could continue to rise as the Ukraine war drags on.
"Over the next decade, the weapons budget for governments worldwide is expected rise an extra $600 billion as response to the Ukraine war," Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade researcher Jang Won-joon told UPI News Korea.
This, of course, is why there is a war in Ukraine, and why neither NATO nor America is interested in stopping it. Ukraine can be bombed back a thousand years and arms merchants will smile all the way to the bank.
"That's also in part due to Russia losing ground in the global defense market, another aspect that could help South Korean corporations raising their market share," Jang said.
Jang also expected South Korea to make it into the Top 5 in the international defense market by 2027.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, South Korea's market share in the world's defense market was 2.4% between 2018 and 2022, ranking 9th globally.
By market share, the United States was a distant leader at 40% with Russia at 16%, France at 11%, China at 5.2% and Germany at 4.2%. Russia's market share has shrunk from 22% to 16% between 2018 and 2022.
So, who has the most to gain from the war continuing?
NATO's madness has infected almost every country in Europe. Pushing a nuclear country into a corner is absolutely insane, and it's all about money.
Finland joins NATO, growing alliance border with Russia
By Jesse O’Neill and Samuel Chamberlain
April 4, 2023 9:21am Updated
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has a new Nordic member.
Finland formally joined the military alliance Tuesday, expanding the bloc’s border with Russia by more than 800 miles and becoming the 31st member since its founding 74 years ago.
“On this very day, in 1949, the Washington Treaty, NATO’s founding treaty, was signed in Washington and it is hard to imagine a better way of celebrating our anniversary than to have Finland becoming a full member of the Alliance,” a jubilant NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.
Finland had adopted neutrality since its defeat by the Soviet Union during World War II, but it moved to join the alliance after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
The move is a strategic and political blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long complained about NATO’s expansion toward his country and partly used that as a justification for the Ukraine invasion.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (left) shakes hands with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
AP
Russia warned that it would be forced to take “retaliatory measures” to address what it called security threats created by Finland’s membership. It had also warned it would bolster forces near Finland if NATO sends any additional troops or equipment.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Finland’s membership reflects the alliance’s anti-Russian course and warned that Moscow will respond depending on what weapons NATO allies place there.
But Peskov also sought to play down the impact, noting that Russia currently has no territorial disputes with Finland.
Of course, that would change depending on where and if NATO places weapons near the Finland-Russia border.
Finland shares an 832-mile border with Russia.
AFP via Getty Images
It’s not clear what additional military resources Russia could send to the Finnish frontier. Moscow has deployed the bulk of its most capable military units to Ukraine.
The alliance has insisted it poses no threat to Russia.
“There will be no NATO troops in Finland without the consent of Finland,” said Stoltenberg, while refusing to rule out the possibility of holding more military exercises there.
“We are constantly assessing our posture, our presence. We have more exercises, we have more presence, also in the Nordic area,” Stoltenberg added.
With its accession to membership, Finland is now protected by what Stoltenberg called NATO’s “iron-clad security guarantee,” under which all member countries vow to come to the defense of any ally that comes under attack.
President Biden issued a statement hailing the expansion of NATO, saying: “When Putin launched his brutal war of aggression against the people of Ukraine, he thought he could divide Europe and NATO. He was wrong. Today, we are more united than ever. And together—strengthened by our newest Ally Finland—we will continue to preserve transatlantic security, defend every inch of NATO territory, and meet any and all challenges we face.”
“I’m tempted to say this is maybe the one thing that we can thank Mr. Putin for because he once again here precipitated something he claims to want to prevent by Russia’s aggression, causing many countries to believe that they have to do more to look out for their own defense and to make sure that they can deter possible Russian aggression going forward,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said just before accepting the documents that made Finland’s membership official.
Neighboring Sweden, which has avoided military alliances for more than 200 years, has also applied for membership, though objections from Turkey and Hungary have delayed the process.
In his statement, Biden called on the governments in Ankara and Budapest to ratify Stockholm as the 32nd NATO member “without delay.”
Meanwhile, Finland’s Parliament said its website was hit with a so-called denial-of-service attack, which made the site hard to use, with many pages not loading and some functions not available.
A pro-Russian hacker group known as NoName057 (16) claimed responsibility, saying the attack was in retaliation for Finland joining NATO. The claim could not be immediately verified.
The hacker group, which has reportedly acted on Moscow’s orders, has taken part in a slew of cyberattacks on the US and its allies in the past.
Finnish public broadcaster YLE said the same group hit the Parliament’s site last year.
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