Senator Durbin did not call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Walt Zlotow 6 Nov 23 , West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL
My senator Dick Durbin got lots of press over being the first senator to call for ceasefire in Gaza. But unlike his 13 colleagues in the House calling for immediate ceasefire, Durbin simply followed standard US policy…give us everything we want before we give you anything.
His direct quote refutes any attempt to achieve an immediate ceasefire to end the relentless destruction and ethnic cleansing of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza:
“At least in the context of both sides agreeing. For example, the release of those kidnapped should be part of this — immediate release. That should be the beginning of it.”
Just like with US policy toward Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Syria and others, Durbin is simply pushing America’s Zero Sum Game…We win, you lose. Should the hostages be released, Israel will have an even freer hand in turning all of Gaza into rubble.
That policy has failed in every US diplomatic initiative worldwide. It will fail in Gaza, possibly ending with all 2.3 million Palestinians, all but those not dead, ending up in the Sinai Desert.
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Defense Department announces $425M aid package for Ukraine, cleaning out USA’s long-term assistance fund
By Tony Bertuca / November 3, 2023 https://insidedefense.com/insider/dod-announces-425m-aid-package-ukraine-cleaning-out-long-term-assistance-fund
The Pentagon today announced a $425 million military aid package for Ukraine, with $125 million accounting for immediate weapons transfers from U.S. stocks and the remaining $300 million exhausting what is left of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative meant for long-term defense needs.
The weapons transfer package funded via presidential “drawdown” authority includes:
- Additional munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS);
- Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
- 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds;
- Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
- Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
- More than 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades;
- Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing;
- M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel munitions;
- 12 trucks to transport heavy equipment;
- Cold weather gear; and
- Spare parts, maintenance, and other field equipment.
The USAI portion of the package, which includes contracts for “additional laser-guided munitions to counter Unmanned Aerial Systems,” makes use of $300 million provided under a continuing resolution that Congress recently passed and “exhausts the remaining USAI funds currently available to support Ukraine,” according to the Pentagon.
Senior defense officials said the department’s weapons transfer authority is also nearly spent.
“The administration continues to call on Congress to meet its commitment to the people of Ukraine by passing additional funding to ensure Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself against Russia’s brutal war of choice,” the Pentagon said.
Congress, meanwhile, has not yet approved additional aid for Ukraine as some House Republicans oppose it. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes #Israel #Palestine
US nuclear submarine has arrived at the Middle East – The Pentagon
By HAIM ISROVITCH/MAARIV ONLINENOVEMBER 6, 2023 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-771860
The US issued an unusual announcement that an Ohio-type nuclear submarine had arrived in the operational area of the US Central Command, and the command published a photo of it passing through the Suez Canal, on Monday.
The identity of the submarine was not disclosed and it is not known whether it is one of the four submarines that carry Tomahawk cruise missiles or of the 14 submarines that carry the Trident-II ballistic missiles, but it is still a significant addition to the American deterrence force in the region, and the ability to attack if necessary.
Meanwhile, in the New York Times, it was reported earlier that following the announcement of the visit that was supposed to take place this week – the head of the CIA William Burns has already arrived in Israel. Burns is expected to hold talks on the continuation of the fighting against Hamas and the issue of the abductees. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes #Israel #Palestine
Business complications for SMR companies X-energy and NuScale – 6 November last day of trading in public shares
NEI Magazine, 3 November 2023
US-based X-Energy Reactor Company and publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company Ares Acquisition Corporation (AAC), have mutually agreed to terminate their previously announced business combination agreement with immediate effect. ……. X-energy and AAC agreed not to proceed with the transaction citing “challenging market conditions, peer-company trading performance and a balancing of the benefits and drawbacks”.
……………………………………….Neither party is required to pay the other a termination fee as a result of the mutual decision to terminate the agreement. AAC determined that it will not be able to consummate an initial business combination within the time period required by its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and intends to dissolve and liquidate. AAC anticipates that the last day of trading in the public shares will be 6 November…………………….
NuScale is also facing difficulties after a lengthy report by Iceberg Research entitled “Nuscale Power ($SMR): A fake customer and a major contract in peril cast doubt on NuScale’s viability”. Iceberg alleged that NuScale had sold 24 reactors to a “fake customer”. This referenced a deal NuScale announced in October to supply Standard Power with 1,848 MWe of power provided by 24 SMRs to power two US data centre sites. Iceberg predicts Standard Power will be unable to support the contract.
……………………………….. The Standard Power deal is bigger than NuScale’s other contract, with the government-backed Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) to provide Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) with 462 MWe. Iceberg said NuScale has “around 15 months before its cash runs out” and that the UAMPS contract is reaching a crucial stage. Overall shares in NuScale have fallen around 75% since their peak in late 2022, from around $14 to around $3.5……………………………………………………………………………… https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsbusiness-complications-for-smr-companies-x-energy-and-nuscale-11268599. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes #smr
Nuclear Bomb Map Shows Impact if Biden’s New Weapon Dropped on Russia
NewsWeek, Nov 03, 2023 By Giulia Carbonaro, US News Reporter
nuclear bomb being developed by the Biden administration could wreak havoc in Moscow, according to a simulation analyzed by Newsweek.
The creation of a new U.S. bomb, a variation of the B61 gravity bomb developed in the 1960s during the Cold War, was announced by the Department of Defense (DoD) last week. A news release by the Pentagon said that the B61-13 is intended to “strengthen deterrence of adversaries and assurance of allies” by providing President Joe Biden “with additional options against certain harder and large-area military targets.”
While the Pentagon has not yet revealed exactly how powerful the bomb will be, officials said it would be capable of an explosive yield similar to an older model, the B61-7. That nuclear bomb had a maximum yield equivalent to 360 kilotons of TNT, roughly 24 times the explosive power of the 15-kiloton bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II.
A visual representation was created using Nukemap, an online tool created by historian of science and nuclear technology Alex Wellerstein. It shows that a B61-13 bomb exploding over Moscow at an estimated maximum yield of 360 kilotons of TNT would cause significant devastation and kill more than 300,000 people.
Anything within roughly a half-mile radius from the bomb’s detonation site would be vaporized by a fireball, while heavy damage would demolish buildings and likely kill everyone else within a mile.
Anyone within about 2 miles from the detonation site would suffer levels of radiation exposure so high that they would be dead within a month, while 15 percent of survivors would die of cancer later in life.
Some 2 miles out from the point of the bomb’s explosion, buildings would collapse, chances of a fire starting would be high, fatalities would be widespread and injuries “universal,” according to Nukemap. Several people would suffer life-altering burns. Additional radiation-related deaths would likely occur in the larger region.
The simulation shows that fatalities in Moscow would be estimated around 311,480, while the number of those injured would be as high as 868,860. The Russian capital’s population is estimated at over 12.6 million.
If launched on St. Petersburg, the B61-13 bomb could be even more devastating, killing an estimated 360,150 and injuring another 685,930, according to the simulation created by Nukemap…………………………………………….. more https://www.newsweek.com/nuclear-bomb-map-shows-impact-if-b61-13-dropped-russia-1840606 #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Environmental Advocates fear New Hampshire “clean” nuclear energy proposal would pit nuclear against solar, wind
If not designed carefully, critics say a clean energy standard that includes nuclear power could undercut the market for renewable energy credits.
Energy News Network, by Sarah Shemkus, November 2, 2023
Climate and clean energy advocates in New Hampshire say a pending proposal to define nuclear power as clean energy could undercut solar and wind power in the state.
Though the details are still in the works, state Rep. Michael Vose, chair of the legislature’s science, technology, and energy committee, is drafting a bill that would allow nuclear power generators, such as New Hampshire’s Seabrook Station, to receive payments for contributing clean energy to the grid.
Some environmental advocates, however, worry that the proposal would provide unnecessary subsidies to nuclear power while making it harder for solar projects to attract investors.
“It’s just another way to reduce support for solar,” said Meredith Hatfield, associate director for policy and government relations at the Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire. …………………………………………………………………………….
The details of Vose’s clean energy standard bill have not yet been finalized. A clean energy standard is broadly different from a renewable energy standard in that it includes nuclear power, which does not emit carbon dioxide, but which uses a nonrenewable fuel source. Those writing the legislation, however, will have to decide whether it will propose incorporating the new standard into the existing renewable portfolio standard or operating the two systems alongside each other……………………………………………………………….. https://energynews.us/2023/11/02/advocates-fear-n-h-clean-energy-proposal-would-pit-nuclear-against-solar-wind/ #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
US Congress Passes $14.3 Billion in Military Aid for Israel
The White House has threatened to veto the GOP version since it cuts from the IRS to pay for Israel’s war.
SCHEERPOST, By Dave DeCamp / Antiwar.com, 3 Nov 23
The House on Thursday passed a bill to provide Israel with $14.3 billion in military aid, a strong show of support for the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has killed over 9,000 people so far.
The Republican-authored bill would cut funds from the Internal Revenue Service to pay for Israel’s aid, drawing opposition from Democrats. The bill passed in a vote of 226-196, with only 12 Democrats voting in favor. Two Republicans voted against the bill: Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
Due to the IRS cuts, the White House has threatened to veto the bill, and the Democrat-controlled Senate is working on its own version. Democrats expressed frustration at the GOP bill, saying it will only delay getting more weapons to Israel, which already receives $3.8 billion in military aid from the US each year…………………………..
New House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-FL), who vowed to prioritize backing Israel when elected, said the GOP version of the bill helps Israel in its bombardment of Gaza “while we also work to ensure responsible spending and reduce the size of the federal government.”
Explaining his opposition to the bill, Rep. Massie said the US couldn’t afford it. “Soaring inflation and high interest rates are due to overspending. We can’t afford more foreign aid. I voted against the billions for Ukraine, and I am voting against $14+ billion of foreign aid for Israel tonight,” he wrote on X. https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/03/house-passes-14-3-billion-in-military-aid-for-israel/— #Israel #Palestine
Civilian casualties in Gaza don’t matter – top US senator
Lindsey Graham insists no amount of Palestinian deaths should make the Washington put the brakes on Israel
https://www.rt.com/news/586356-senator-graham-no-limit-civilian-casualties-gaza/ 1 Nov 23
The US should stand by Israel in its campaign against Hamas no matter how heavy a toll it takes on the civilian population in Gaza, Senator Lindsey Graham has argued. He likened Israel’s military operation against the militants to the allies’ struggle against Nazi Germany and Japan during World War II.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Graham was asked if there was a “threshold” for him, after which he would start questioning Israel’s tactics. The Republican replied in the negative, saying there is no limit as to “what Israel should do to the people who are trying to slaughter the Jews.”
“This idea that Israel has to apologize for attacking Hamas, who’s embedded with their own population, needs to stop,” the senator insisted, adding that it is Hamas that is “creating these casualties – not Israel.”
Graham noted that Israel does need to “be smart” by trying to “limit civilian casualties.” The lawmaker also called for the delivery of humanitarian aid to “areas that protect the innocent.”
During his visit to Israel last month, US President Joe Biden assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “as long as the United States stands, and we will stand forever, we will not let you ever be alone.”
Soon after Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel last month, Washington scrambled to provide its long-standing ally with additional defense aid worth billions of dollars.
The US has also deployed two aircraft carrier groups and other naval assets, a squadron of F-16 fighter jets, air-defense systems, and 900 troops to the Middle East, saying this increased military presence should serve as a deterrent to other states tempted to join the conflict.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the director of the UN’s human rights office (OHCHR) in New York, Craig Mokhiber, described Israel’s actions in Gaza as a “text-book case of genocide” and the “wholesale slaughter of the Palestinian people, rooted in an ethno-nationalist settler colonial ideology.”
The official handed in his resignation, arguing that the UN had failed in its duty to prevent the killing of Palestinian civilians. He claimed that the international organization had “surrendered to the power of the US” and given in to the “Israeli lobby.”
Mokhiber also accused European nations of being “complicit in the horrific assault” on Gaza and “giving political and diplomatic cover for Israel’s atrocities.”
Echoing Mokhiber’s assessment on Tuesday in Geneva, a spokesman for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), James Elder, claimed that “Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children,” and a “living hell for everyone else.” He called for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
The conflict has so far left more than 1,400 Israelis and over 8,000 Palestinians dead, with thousands more injured. #Israel #Palestine
Deb Katz: There’s no end in sight to the crisis in nuclear waste
Clean water, clean air, clean land, and a safe place to live are our right. We must fight for the cleanup of all communities and stop the targeting of Black, brown and white communities alike to nuclear contamination.
November 1, 2023, by Deb Katz, executive director of the Citizen Awareness Network, based in Shelburne, Mass. https://vtdigger.org/2023/11/01/deb-katz-theres-no-end-in-sight-to-the-crisis-in-nuclear-waste/
What remains at the site of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant? Millions of curies of high-level waste on the banks of the Connecticut River with no destination, no solution.
The NorthStar plan? To ship its problem 2,000 miles away to Andrews County in Texas for “temporary storage.” The 5th Circuit shot down NorthStar’s plans to shuffle its toxic waste problem off on a working poor Hispanic community. This waste will be dangerous for a million years.
This is the colossal failure of nuclear power. There is no present solution to deal with the legacy of Vermont Yankee or any other reactor. This is the abject failure of the nuclear industry and the federal government.
The nuclear industry promised a solution by the time reactors shuttered. Sixty years later, there is no solution and no permanent solution forthcoming. There is waste with nowhere to go.
The industry routinely engages in environmental racism to deal with its waste problems. It is reprehensible. The industry targets working poor, people of color, and Indigenous tribes for its nuclear fuel chain. It pits reactor and targeted communities against each other over who will suffer nuclear power’s final solution.
Citizens Awareness Network opposes these false solutions. Without a permanent repository, any establishment of centralized interim storage is merely a way to make the industry’s waste problem disappear. Potentially it will de facto become the industry’s “permanent” solution.
We can’t accept that another community will suffer to clean our community up. We accept that the waste must remain onsite until the government does its job. This isn’t easy.
Dangers remain, whether from acts of malice or climate disruption. Vermont Yankee’s canisters sit in the open on a pad on the banks of the river.
The National Governors’ Council stated that the high-level nuclear waste at reactor sites were pre-deployed weapons of mass destruction. It urged Congress to take action to protect these sites. Congress has yet to act.
Then there is climate change. The National Academy of Science in February began a study to address what it calls “probability of maximum precipitation” events. The study focuses on infrastructure, dams and energy generation including nuclear sites. It addresses their vulnerability to PMP events. Included in the study are representatives from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Both acknowledged that there is no guidance in place to direct their actions to address these events and the vulnerability of these sites.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Geological Survey acknowledged that they were 20 years behind the curve in addressing these issues. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission acknowledged that the agency concerns were raised in response to the Fukushima accident.
For all its claims, nuclear power is neither clean nor green. It is a dirty, toxic technology. It relies on its invisibility to keep its lies going.
Clean water, clean air, clean land, and a safe place to live are our right. We must fight for the cleanup of all communities and stop the targeting of Black, brown and white communities alike to nuclear contamination.
Small modular nuclear reactor merger plan falls through
X-energy, Ares drop merger plan, 31 October 2023
Small modular reactor (SMR) and advanced fuel technology developer X-Energy Reactor Company – known as X-energy – and Ares Acquisition Corporation (AAC) have “mutually agreed to terminate their previously announced business combination agreement, effective immediately”.
In December last year, X-energy and AAC – a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company affiliated with global alternative investment manager Ares Management Corporation – entered into a definitive business combination agreement. The combination was set to establish X-energy as a publicly traded company, a move that was expected to accelerate the company’s growth strategy.
………………………………….., given challenging market conditions, peer-company trading performance and a balancing of the benefits and drawbacks of becoming a publicly traded company under current circumstances, X-energy and AAC jointly determined that it was the best course of action at this time not to proceed with their previously announced transaction.”
……………………….”In view of the termination of the Business Combination Agreement, AAC determined that it will not be able to consummate an initial business combination within the time period required by its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association,” the statement said. “As such, AAC intends to dissolve and liquidate in accordance with the provisions of the articles.”
X-energy is the developer of the Xe-100 pebble bed high-temperature gas reactor…………………… https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/X-energy,-Ares-drop-merger-plan #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
U.S. QUIETLY EXPANDS SECRET MILITARY BASE IN ISRAEL
Government documents pointing to construction at a classified U.S. base offer rare hints about a little noted U.S. military presence near Gaza
The Intercept, Ken Klippenstein, Daniel Boguslaw, October 27 2023,
TWO MONTHS BEFORE Hamas attacked Israel, the Pentagon awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to build U.S. troop facilities for a secret base it maintains deep within Israel’s Negev desert, just 20 miles from Gaza. Code-named “Site 512,” the longstanding U.S. base is a radar facility that monitors the skies for missile attacks on Israel. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
On October 7, however, when thousands of Hamas rockets were launched, Site 512 saw nothing — because it is focused on Iran, more than 700 miles away.
The U.S. Army is quietly moving ahead with construction at Site 512, a classified base perched atop Mt. Har Qeren in the Negev, to include what government records describe as a “life support facility”: military speak for barracks-like structures for personnel.
Though President Joe Biden and the White House insist that there are no plans to send U.S. troops to Israel amid its war on Hamas, a secret U.S. military presence in Israel already exists. And the government contracts and budget documents show it is evidently growing.
The $35.8 million U.S. troop facility, not publicly announced or previously reported, was obliquely referenced in an August 2 contract announcement by the Pentagon. Though the Defense Department has taken pains to obscure the site’s true nature — describing it in other records merely as a “classified worldwide” project — budget documents reviewed by The Intercept reveal that it is part of Site 512. (The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)…………………….
Rare acknowledgment of the U.S. military presence in Israel came in 2017, when the two countries inaugurated a military site that the U.S. government-funded Voice of America deemed “the first American military base on Israeli soil.” Israeli Air Force’s Brig. Gen. Tzvika Haimovitch called it “historic.” He said, “We established an American base in the State of Israel, in the Israel Defense Forces, for the first time.”
A day later, the U.S. military denied that it was an American base, insisting that it was merely a “living facility” for U.S. service members working at an Israeli base
The U.S. military employs similar euphemistic language to characterize the new facility in Israel, which its procurement records describe as a “life support area.” Such obfuscation is typical of U.S. military sites the Pentagon wants to conceal. Site 512 has previously been referred to as a “cooperative security location”: a designation that is intended to confer a low-cost, light footprint presence but has been applied to bases that, as The Intercept has previously reported, can house as many as 1,000 troops.
Site 512, however, wasn’t established to contend with a threat to Israel from Palestinian militants but the danger posed by Iranian mid-range missiles.
The overwhelming focus on Iran continues to play out in the U.S. government’s response to the Hamas attack. In an attempt to counter Iran — which aids both Hamas and Israel’s rival to the north, Hezbollah, a Lebanese political group with a robust military wing, both of which are considered terror groups by the U.S. — the Pentagon has vastly expanded its presence in the Middle East. Following the attack, the U.S. doubled the number of fighter jets in the region and deployed two aircraft carriers off the coast of Israel…………………………………………………. more https://theintercept.com/2023/10/27/secret-military-base-israel-gaza-site-512/
US announces deadly new nuclear weapon days after China announced warhead expansion
msn.com by Sarah Hooper , 1 Nov 23
The United States has proposed plans for a new nuclear weapon 24 times stronger than the ones dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The proposed B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb will cost £569 million to produce and could kill a city of one million almost instantly with a 3.5 mile blast radius.
With a range of 6,000 miles and a 360 kiloton blast, the radioactive fallout would be significantly more devastating than that in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The bombs dropped in Japan had a yield of only 15 kilotons, and still killed nearly 200,000 people.
The new weapon has yet to be signed by Congress but is expected to have backing from the Republican party.
The Pentagon said: ‘The B61-13 will strengthen deterrence of adversaries and assurance of allies and partners by providing the President with additional options against certain harder and large-area military targets.’
America’s new nuclear bomb would be delivered by the high tech B-21 Raider stealth bomber and could destroy underground targets with higher accuracy.
The announcement came only days after China announced it would double its nuclear arsenal to nearly 1,000 warheads.
Washington currently has about 1,400 nuclear warheads, while Russia has around 1,500 – but China said it plans to double its current stockpile of 500 warheads within a decade.
China also announced it is developing a new intercontinental ballistic missile system that could allow it to strike the continental US……………………………………..
The announcement from both China and the US comes just a few weeks before Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden are set to meet face-to-face at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in mid-November. https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/us-announces-deadly-new-nuclear-weapon-days-after-china-announced-warhead-expansion/ar-AA1j8RQI #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Newbie US Speaker Johnson kisses war party’s ring
Walt Zlotow, , West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL 1 Nov 23
That didn’t take long. Within a week of his surprise election as GOP House Speaker, Mike Johnson bent down before the US war party and exclaimed, ‘I’m here to help.’
$61 billion for Ukraine’s continued destruction from the war party’s refusal to negotiate that war’s end? Check
14 billion for Israel to complete the ethnic cleansing of 2.3 million Gazans into the Saini Desert? Check
Billions more for US involvement with China over Taiwan that may go nuclear. Check
But the checks dancing around in Johnson’s mind are the avalanche of ‘Do-Re-Mi’ checks from the weapons industry sure to come his way.
Johnson’s supported his obeisance to perpetual war by channeling George W. Bush’s Axis of Evil. He simply replaced North Korea and Iraq with Russia and China. Iran not so lucky…remains on America’s ‘Most Regime Change Worthy’ list
Johnson’s warning about his new Axis of Evil would be hilarious if it didn’t risk nuclear war.
“Big priorities in this moment right now. We have Israel being attacked, we have unrest, we have the Ukraine situation we’ve got to deal with, we have China being aggressive, we have Iran with all the meddling, and China, Russia, and Iran working together. This is a dangerous time.”
It’s a dangerous time all right. US meddling in the Far East, Europe and now Middle East, all risk wider warfare, possibly even nuclear. Meanwhile, millions are dying, injured, suffering debilitated health, starving or being ethnically cleansed, all enabled by US involvement.
If there’s an Axis of Evil in foreign affairs, It’s President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and newbie House Speaker Johnson. All 3 are putting the Homelands’ needs aside to spend well over trillion next year on America’s perpetual warfare state. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
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Reports Expose US Billionaires and Corporate Profiteers Enabling Israel’s War on Gaza
“As the Biden administration attempts to deny the death toll of Israel’s campaign of mass murder in Gaza and sell genocide as a stimulus for the U.S. economy, these are the death merchants profiting from the war machine.”
By Jessica Corbett / Common Dreams, October 29, 2023
With more than 7,300 Palestinians killed so far in Israel’s three-week bombardment of Gaza, a series of reports this week have exposed how U.S. weapon-makers and billionaire donors are enabling what legal scholars say could amount to genocide.
After Israel declared war in response to Hamas killing over 1,400 Israelis and taking around 200 hostages, the stocks of major American and European war profiteers soared. A Thursday report from Eyes on the Ties—the news site of LittleSis and Public Accountability Initiative—targets five U.S. firms with a record of providing weaponry to Israel.
The outlet stressed that while announcing a supplemental funding request that includes $14.3 billion for Israel, U.S. President Joe Biden last week “invoked ‘patriotic American workers’ who are ‘building the arsenal of democracy and serving the cause of freedom,’ but it’s the defense company CEOs who rake in tens of millions a year, and Wall Street shareholders, who are the real beneficiaries of warmongering.”
The five targeted industry giants collectively recorded $196.5 billion in military-related revenue last year, Eyes on the Tiesreported. They are Boeing ($30.8 billion), General Dynamics ($30.4 billion), Lockheed Martin ($63.3 billion), Northrop Grumman ($32.4 billion), and RTX, formerlyRaytheon ($39.6 billion).
“The top shareholders in these five defense companies largely consist of big asset managers, or big banks with asset management wings, that include BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, Fidelity, Capital Group, Wellington, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Newport Trust Company, Longview Asset Management, Massachusetts Financial Services Company, Geode Capital, and Bank of America,” the news outlet noted.
Eyes on the Ties also highlighted how chief executives are handsomely compensated—and the CEOs’ ties to Big Pharma, the fossil fuel industry, Wall Street, and foreign policy think tanks such as the Council on Foreign Relations and Center for Strategic and International Studies.
According to the report:
- Boeing CEO David Calhoun took in over $64 million in total compensation from 2020-22 and as of February held 193,247 shares;
- General Dynamics CEO Phebe N. Novakovic took in over $64 millionin total compensation from 202-22 and as of March held 1,616,279shares;
- Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet took in over $66 million in total compensation from 2020-22 and as of February held 56,054 shares;
- Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy J. Warden took in over $61 million in total compensation from 2020-22 and as of March held 161,231shares; and
- RTX CEO Gregory J. Hayes took in over $63 million in total compensation from 2020-22 and as of February held 801,339 shares.
Other reporting this week has taken aim at those CEOs for their suggestions that Israel’s assault on Gaza is good for business.
During Lockheed Martin’s latest earnings call, Taiclet correctly predicted Biden’s request last week, saying that “there continues to be the option… for supplemental requests related to support Ukraine, Israel, and potentially Taiwan.”
In addition to the request for Israel—which already gets nearly $4 billion in annual U.S. military aid—Biden asked for $4 billion to counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region and $61.4 billion more for Ukraine, which is battling a Russian invasion. …………………………………………………
It’s not just defense executives enabling Israel’s mass slaughter of civilians in Gaza. As Eyes on the Ties reported, “Lobbying groups including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Democratic Majority for Israel have been active in Washington, calling on lawmakers to send money and weapons to Israel.”
The report names some billionaire donors to the lobbying groups, including New England Patriots and the Kraft Group CEO Robert Kraft, private equity investor Marc Rowan, venture capitalist Gary Lauder, hedge fund managers Daniel Loeb and Paul Singer, and Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus, who is also the founding president of the Israel Democracy Institute.
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) said Wednesday that Americans “know that funneling billions more dollars into arms dealers’ pockets won’t keep our children safe from weapons of war at home or across the world. It won’t keep our loved ones safe from toxins in our air and drinking water. They know that lining the pockets of weapons manufacturers won’t help families struggling to afford housing, medicine, or grocery costs. They know defense contractors won’t safeguard Medicare and Social Security or shield our communities against the climate crisis.”
Unlike the CEOs of firms like Lockheed Martin and RTX, “moms who can’t afford childcare, young folks who can’t pay off their debt, veterans who can’t keep up with housing costs, and children who go to school hungry don’t have million-dollar lobbying budgets,” added Lee, one of the few members of Congress pushing for a cease-fire in Gaza. “So it’s up to us to stand up for their needs.” https://scheerpost.com/2023/10/29/reports-expose-us-billionaires-and-corporate-profiteers-enabling-israels-war-on-gaza/ #Israel #Palestine
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