Do You Want the Military Industrial Complex Counting Your Votes?

[Joanne98]

For the last two years United Technologies has been seeking to purchase the Diebold Corporation. Diebold’s main business is ATM machines but, it is the manufacturer of election equipment under the name Premier Election Solutions. Its software is responsible for counting votes throughout the United States.

Business Week, in its report on the attempted purchase, wonders why United Technologies would want to acquire Diebold, writing “Some analysts are wondering how United Technologies would benefit from acquiring Diebold, which generates more than two-thirds of its revenue from ATMs — a business that United Technologies is not in.” Perhaps it’s not the ATM business that United Technolgies is interested in; maybe it is the election business?

Just what does United Technologies do and who is behind it? United Technologies, a major multinational conglomerate with a range of technology interests, receives approximately $5 billion in military contracts from the United States annually. Among United Technologies products is the Black Hawk Helicopter, a tactical transport and assault helicopter which costs $5.9 million each of which 2,600 have been built. Their businesses include Sikorsky Aircraft which makes helicopters, Hamilton Sunstrand which produces aircraft engines and rockets, UTC power which creates fuel cells for defense and aerospace systems as well as Otis Elevator and security systems.

United Technologies is also a major donor to political campaigns — the sixth largest defense industry donor in the 2004 election with two-thirds of their donations going to Republicans. In 2008, they are the fifth largest defense industry contractor and have given $485,000, with 57% going to Democrats. They have had numerous government officials on their board, including a former secretary of defense and undersecretary of the air force.

The corporation they are trying to by is Diebold, infamous for producing electronic voting machines that have serious security and performance problems. Their election division became so problematic that they created a veil of separation between their ATM business and their election products in August 2007. They renamed the division Premier Election Solutions and this February gave it a separate board of directors (three out of five of the board were Diebold officials). Diebold tried to sell the troubled election system in 2007 but was unable to find a buyer.

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/03/do-you-want-the-military-industrial-complex-counting-your-votes/

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[Kitty Herder]

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Scary stuff.