Tag: World Food Programme

World Spending On Nukes Explodes To More Than $90 Billion

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World Spending On Nukes Explodes To More Than $90 Billion

Honeywell International, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, and General Dynamics topped the list of companies profiting from nuclear weapons expenditures.

That flood of public funds to private contractors was coupled by significant spending by these companies on efforts to shape the debate around government spending. The companies spent $118 million lobbying governments in the U.S. and France in 2023 and donated more than $6 million to think tanks researching and writing about nuclear weapons.

Lockheed Martin contributed to the most think tanks, including: Atlantic Council, Brookings Institution, Chatham House, Center for a New American Security, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Hudson Institute, and Observer Research Foundation.

$320 million US pier collapses in Gaza, drifts to Ashdod (Video)

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Strong waves have swept away a section of the American floating pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip, heading towards the shores of Ashdod, as per Israeli media.

$320 million US pier collapses in Gaza, drifts to Ashdod (Video)

Related:

U.S. ‘Floating Pier’ for Gaza Damaged by Choppy Seas

Four boats stabilizing the $320 million structure detached, U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for military operations in the Middle East, said Saturday. Two of them floated northward, eventually landing on the beach in Ashdod, Israel, it said. Two others are now anchored on the beach near the pier, the military said, adding that the dock is still operational despite the damage. It said that no U.S. military personnel would enter Gaza.

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The damage to the dock is only the latest setback in the U.S.’s attempt to deliver aid via the sea for the first time since the war began in October. Shipments at the floating pier began this month and are expected to scale up. Roughly 820 tons of aid were delivered through the floating dock in its first week, the U.S. government’s official international development arm USAID said, a number that is about 20% below the Pentagon’s initial target.


Separately, three U.S. troops were injured on the pier this week in accidents, the Pentagon said, including one seriously. No U.S. troops were injured during Saturday’s incident, the U.S. military said.

As US Aid Shipments Begin, Gaza Pier Denounced as ‘PR Move’

Ms. Cat

As US Aid Shipments Begin, Gaza Pier Denounced as ‘PR Move’

Related:

Hamas rejects US floating pier for Gaza aid as publicity stunt

The Gaza Maritime Route Was Netanyahu’s Idea, Maritime Aid Corridor Will Advance the Overthrow of Hamas, & When Will US boots be on the Ground in Gaza?

Ms. Cat

Diplomatic source to ‘Post’: Gaza maritime route was Netanyahu’s idea

According to the source, on October 22, two weeks following the war’s outbreak, Netanyahu discussed with President Biden the concept of “delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza via the sea, contingent on an Israeli inspection in Cyprus.”

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Years before the Gaza war, Israel Katz, now the Foreign Minister, had drawn up plans for a maritime route via Cyprus involving a floating island.

The project was never executed. But he revived it after the war began on October 7. 

Related:

Gallant: Maritime Aid Corridor Will Advance Overthrow of Hamas

“The process is designed to facilitate aid directly to civilians and in this way, it advances [our goal] of overthrowing Hamas’ rule in Gaza,” the minister said.

“We will facilitate aid via the maritime route that is coordinated with the United States (security and humanitarian aspects), with the assistance of the United Arab Emirates on the civilian side,” he said. “It will include the appropriate inspections in Cyprus, and the goods will be brought by international organizations with American assistance.”

Air, sea, and land: When will US boots be on the ground in Gaza? Authored by Yonah Jeremy Bob*

Then suddenly, last Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced that the US would also supply maritime aid to Gaza, including building a makeshift artificial port off the coast.

This already imposes a long-term US military footprint in Israeli-Gaza territorial waters rather than a “mere” series of fly-throughs.

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How hard would it be for a small complement of US Marines accompanying the aid deliveries to travel a kilometer or so into Gaza and to place themselves squarely in the middle of where Israel does not want them?

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Moreover, US forces have been and are already on the ground.

US generals and counter-terror experts have been in and out of Israel since the start of the war, including visits to Gaza.

There are also a variety of US military personnel regularly in Israel on military and intelligence exchange programs.

US attempts to reform the PA

Speaking of intelligence, multiple times when a decision was made to try to improve and reform the Palestinian Authority security forces, it was the CIA and US special forces who came to the West Bank and Gaza to help train and prepare these forces.

It seems quite likely that the Jewish state, at some point, will ask Washington to perform the same service again in Gaza.

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A broader version could involve a US-led peacekeeping force handling internal Gaza security for an indefinite period until enough Gazan Palestinians disconnected from Hamas can be convinced that taking on this role will not lead to them being slaughtered later by a resurgent Hamas.

From this perspective, the question about US forces on the ground in Gaza seems less of an if than it does a when, how many, and under more or less coordinated circumstances with Israel.

*Yonah Jeremy Bob was raised in Baltimore and graduated from Columbia University and Boston University Law School, respectively. He previously worked for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israeli Military International Law Division, and the Israeli Justice Ministry. – Wikipedia

Can’t make this up 🤦🏼‍♀️

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“The Imperial March” plays over the loudspeaker of a US Army vessel departing on a mission to construct a temporary port for aid deliveries to Gaza

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2. THE EMPIRE WAS NAZI GERMANY 

From stormtroopers to Imperial officers’ uniforms and even Darth Vader’s helmet, which resembles those worn by the Wehrmacht during WWII, the analogies between Nazi Germany and the Galactic Empire are not exactly subtle. 

The gradual rise of Hitler from German chancellor to Nazi dictator is further mirrored in the rise of Darth Sidious, or Sheev Palpatine, from chancellor to world’s most horrific-looking emperor.  

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU: HOW WWII INSPIRED ‘STAR WARS’

The Real History That Inspired ‘Star Wars’

PFLP Warns of Suspicious US Plan for Gaza Pier, ‘Humanitarian Aid’

Ms. Cat

PFLP Warns of Suspicious US Plan for Gaza Pier, ‘Humanitarian Aid’

The movement emphasized that the US plan is “suspicious and dubious” and goes beyond the goal of aiding the Palestinian people, opening the door to executing other alarming objectives, such as forced displacement plans under humanitarian and other pretexts.

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“No US boots will be on the ground,” Biden claimed. [He’s lying]

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Five Palestinians, including two children, were killed on Friday due to an aid airdrop mishap, where at least one parachute malfunctioned, causing a package to fall on them. The tragic incident occurred in the al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza at approximately 11:30 am local time.

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According to Politico, the airdrops expose Biden’s very limited approach with “Israel” since the US usually delivers airdrops to areas that are occupied by “terrorist groups or hostile regimes, not allies.”

Related:

U.S. Says Building Gaza Pier ‘Likely’ to Take Up to 60 Days

Although the massive U.S. military operation will involve both soldiers and sailors, the U.S. military will not be deploying troops ashore — even temporarily to anchor the dock to the beach, said Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder. [He’s lying, as well]

Video: Gaza Pier Pressure | How the US Military Builds a Pier | Joint Logistics Over the Sea (JLOTS)

US Merchant Marine Sailors Were Target Of Houthi Attack + World War II Combat Tactics Return To The Red Sea

Ms. Cat

BREAKING Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the Iranian-backed militants fired a large number of ballistic and naval missiles and drones at a U.S. flagged ship manned by US Merchant Marine sailors who were “providing support” to Israel. No update yet from the head of the US Merchant Marine, DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

US Merchant Marine Sailors Were Target Of Houthi Attack

H/T: What is Going on With Shipping?

Related:

Greyhound Day: World War II Combat Tactics Return To The Red Sea

What is clear is that the US military has repeatedly warned ship owners and officers against sharing information with journalists, Wall Street analysts, and supply chain experts. While journalists and supply chains may be under-reporting the issue, ship owners are sharing more alarming stories among themselves. This information asymmetry could lead to more ships avoiding the region, while freight forwarders, cargo brokers, and other professionals further down the supply chain may be unprepared for the full extent of the delays.