The United States is funding the Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people, and here is the proof. The Israelis fly American fighter jets, their tanks fire American cartridges, their mortars fire American rounds, and it is all carted around in American military cargo vehicles. Over 40,000 Palestinians, largely women, children, and the elderly have died as a result of these American weapons. Why are we doing this? I don’t understand President Biden’s thinking, and will be glad to see him leave office, but I do understand that all of this is mind-booglingly profitable for the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned us about.
Credit: Agence France-Presse
The sale comes as Biden has pressed Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire after 10 months of bloodshed, although the weapons would take years to reach Israel.
In a notification to Congress, the State Department said it had approved a sale of 50 F-15 fighter jets to Israel for $18.82 billion.
Israel will also buy nearly 33,000 tank cartridges, up to 50,000 explosive mortar cartridges and new military cargo vehicles.
The F-15 aircraft, which will begin to be delivered in 2029, will upgrade Israel’s current fleet and include radar and secure communications equipment.
“The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability,” the State Department said in its notice on the F-15s, which are made by Boeing.
On the tank cartridges, the United States said the sale “will improve Israel’s capability to meet current and future enemy threats, strengthen […]
Medea Benjamin, Co-founder of Global Exchange and CODEPINK: Women for Peace. - Common Dreams
Stephan:
We are not only sending weapons to Israel, now we are sending them again to Saudi Arabia. Basically, the U.S. military-industrial complex and the oligarchs who control it are now funding both sides of a regional conflict to their great profit. Biden should be ashamed of himself, and I am so glad Kamala Harris will replace him, becauses I do not think, based on her past, they she will continue to kneel down as Biden has and kiss the feet of the oligarchs who run this evil industry. Really, funding both sides of a potential war.
U.S. President Joe Biden greets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with a fist-bump at the Al Salam Royal Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on July 15, 2022. Credit: Saudi Press Agency
One issue that has slipped beneath the radar in terms of news coverage is the recent decision by the Biden administration to resume the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia. For starters, the U.S. will be sending a shipment of bombs worth $750 million in the coming months.
These weapons were cut off by the Biden administration in 2021 because the Saudis were using them in Yemen in their war against the Houthis, killing thousands of civilians.
The resumption of the sale of offensive weapons is part of U.S. efforts to push the Saudis to normalize relations with Israel. In 2020, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed normalization agreements that are collectively known as the Abraham Accords. These deals were brokered primarily by the Trump administration. […]
It gets even worse, as this report describes. We have poured billions of dollars of military aid into Lebanon, to the immense profit of the U.S. oligarchs and the military-industrial complex of industries they control. Basically we are now providing the weapons used by all sides in these the Middle East conflicts. What do you think would happen if we told all of them that the United States is not sending another dime’s worth of military aid to anyone in the Middle East, and all promises of such aid are now rescinded?
Attacks between Israel and Hezbollah, the militia and political party based just across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, are fueling fears that a wider regional conflict may erupt any day.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shia group loosely allied with Hamas, has been in a low-level war with Israel since the conflict in Gaza began last October. Hezbollah, which is believed to have an arsenal of more than 150,000 rockets and missiles, has repeatedly emphasized that attacks will continue as long as the war persists.
Over the weekend, a rocket attack that the U.S. and Israel said originated in Lebanon killed at least 12 civilians in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights. The Israeli foreign minister said that the attack “crossed all red lines,” and said “the moment of all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon” is approaching. Hezbollah denied responsibility for the strike.
On Monday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken cautioned Israeli President Isaac Herzog about ramping up its war with Hezbollah in response on a […]
Jessica Ho and Penn State, Researchers - Study Finds
Stephan:
The United States is now ranked as one of the poorest democracies and Americans have the shortest lifespans amongst all the English speaking democracies. and part of the reason for the short lifespan data is that people in Red States have notably shorter lifespans than people in Blue states. Here are the facts about our length of life compared to other English-speaking democracies.
UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA — In a race nobody wants to lose, the United States has found itself in last place. A recent study in BMJ Open reveals that Americans have the shortest life expectancy among six high-income English-speaking countries. This startling finding raises urgent questions about the state of health and healthcare in the world’s largest economy.
What separates Americans from their longer-lived Australian cousins? The study points to several key factors:
Gun violence: Australia’s strict gun laws have resulted in significantly lower rates of firearm-related deaths.
Drug and alcohol use: The U.S. continues to grapple with a severe opioid epidemic, while Australia has managed to keep drug-related mortality relatively low.
Traffic safety: Australia has implemented measures like more roundabouts and stricter driving regulations, resulting in fewer road fatalities.
Healthcare system: Australia’s healthcare system outperforms the U.S. in several key areas, including accessibility and preventive care.
Lifestyle factors: Higher rates of obesity, sedentary lifestyles, and unhealthy diets contribute to America’s higher cardiovascular disease mortality.
The research, led by Jessica Ho, an associate professor at Penn State, examined
BENJAMIN STORROW, Staff Writer E&E News - Scientific American | E&E News
Stephan:
I am happy to publish this good news. It is happening in spite the hundreds of millions of dollars the oligarchs whose money is based on the carbon powered technologies and corporation are pouring into the MAGAt (formerly Republican) Party. The party that doesn’t believe in climate change, and doesn’t support non-polluting energy. But one must also keep in mind that the United States despite this good news is still far behind other developed nations in the transition out of the carbon-power era.
CLIMATEWIRE — Wind and solar generated more power than coal through the first seven months of the year, federal data shows, in a first for renewable resources.
The milestone had been long expected due to a steady stream of coal plant retirements and the rapid growth of wind and solar. Last year, wind and solar outpaced coal through May before the fossil fuel eventually overtook the pair when power demand surged in the summer.
But the most recent statistics showed why wind and solar are on track in 2024 to exceed coal generation for an entire calendar year — with the renewable resources maintaining their lead through the heat of July. Coal generation usually declines in the spring months, due to falling power demand and seasonal plant maintenance, and picks up when electricity demand rises in the summer.
Renewables’ growth has been driven by a surge in solar production over the last year. The 118 terawatt-hours generated by utility-scale solar facilities through the end of July represented a 36 percent increase from the same time period last year, according […]
