bnbn
2019: Trump impeachment started with his extortion operation against President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on a phone call 25 Jul 2019. Trump pressured Zelenskyy to do him a favor in exchange for releasing foreign aid to Ukraine. Trump used his office, in the 2020 election, to solicit interference from a foreign country. It is illegal to ask foreign entities for help in winning a US election.
2025: Trump disgraced himself again in the Oval Office with another shakedown of President Zelenskyy in a mineral rights for a peace deal with Putin. On Friday, 28 Feb 2025 Trump clashed with Zelenskyy in a meeting, on live TV. The mistreatment of our foreign ally was disrespectful. Trump acted like a thug in the Oval Office exercising brutal leverage on our ally.
after 3 years of war, Trump halted military aid to Ukraine after a spat with Zelenskyy at the White House in the Oval Office Fri 28 Feb 2025.
the comparison to any president is degrading. A consolidated Europe, plus the $350 billion in seized Russian assets, can do alot of good.
global population
global population is 8.2 billion. As the global population grows to 9 billion by midcentury will there be enough food and water?
| 2022 | 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 1.4B | India | 1.428B |
| India | 1.3B | China | 1.425B |
| US | 331M | US | 339M |
| global human population | |||
expenditures in the US federal budget
$4.1T FY2018, the United States federal govt spent $4.1 trillion, up $127 billion. Spending increased for all major categories and was mainly driven by higher spending for Social Security, net interest on the debt, and defense a.k.a. military spending.
attempts to return to the same approach would align with the popular definition of insanity.
war by Israel in Gaza
Israel's genocidal war hello _
the 57-year occupation of Palestine and the collective punishment by Israel makes the case against Israel for genocide in Gaza. The goal of the Israeli aggression is to expel Palestinians from Palestine. [ 2023-2024 ] Israel's indiscrimate bombing is a clear violation of international law.
send no bombs to the bomber
Israel's illegal settlements
Breaking News: 071924 ICJ, the United Nation's highest court says that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there are illegal and should be withdrawn asap.
US foreign aid to Israel $3.8B
Israel has long been the leading recipient of US foreign aid, including military support. That aid is under scrutiny amid Israel's monthslong war to eliminate Hamas. The US has agreed via a MOU to provide Israel with $3.8 billion per year through 2028.
Pres. Biden paused the shipment of 1,800 2,000lb bombs to Israel in a bid to stop Rafah offensive.
Israel hits Rafah after Hamas accepts a truce deal. Jordan warns of a massacre in Rafah. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says the group has accepted a Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
Iraq
US sent a drone into Iraq to kill a Hezbollah general, Wed 7 Feb 2024. see Israel, Lebanon, and Iran.
war Putin war in Ukraine
total US aid to Ukraine is $119B to date. And the last round of aid was in Dec 2023. 2024 the bill in Congress is for $61B to Ukraine and $14B to Israel.
UN to suspend Russia 2022
UN votes to suspend Russia from its Human Rights Council. UN resolutions are non-binding, but a diplomatic victory for Ukraine as the UN General Assembly condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 07 Apr 2022
UN says "bad Russia" 2022
UN General Assembly vote, 141 of 193 nations reprimand Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, demand withdrawal of forces. Resolution deplores Russia's aggression and condems Putin, increasing international isolation. 02 Mar 2022
30-round mag
in a civil society people don't shoot people. The AR-15 is a combat rifle. If u have an AR-15 with a 30-round mag then u r hunting people.
"I've hunted for 60 years and I've never had to shoot 17 deer at once."
global peace
it is urgent to rebuild a global peace movement opposed to all military alliances and the ongoing massive increases in defense budgets.
Council on Foreign Relations. anti-muslim hate is surging in America.
Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"It is now highly feasible to take care of everybody on Earth at a higher standard of living than any have ever known. It no longer has to be you or me. Selfishness in unnecessary. War is obsolete. It is a matter of converting our high technology from weaponry to livingry." Buckminster Fuller
US border patrol
it is not clear to the little girl...
policy of US military spending vs public transportation, affordable housing, and universal healthcare.
US Defense budget
FY fiscal year 2024 Defense budget of $825B in total funding. FY 2025 budget request of $849B provides 4.5% raise for service members.
FY 2022 the NDAA authorized $768B in defense spending. Compare a 1 year budget vs. over a 10 year span for Biden's Build Back Better $2trillion.
US armored vehicles around the world
when it comes to national security policy, the US has been on a steady hypermilitarized arc for decades.
US is the best military brand in the world. US armored vehicles, tanks and Javelin anti-tank missiles, aircraft and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, artillery like howitzers, and tactical Switchblade drones, as well as ammunition. see US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
F-35 is an $80M fighter jet with 2 $1M JASSM cruise missiles (joint air to surface standoff missiles) this missile has a 450kg/1000lb armor piercing warhead, and 2 LRASM long range anti-ship missiles, and 2 AIM-9X air-to-air combat missiles on its wings, and a 25mm gun for enhanced air-to-ground capabilities: close-range, high-rate-of-fire weapon.
Iran
Iran State oppression and civil unrest and protests. Iran security forces are targeting schoolgirls to put an end to the mass anti-regime protests.
Afghanistan
7 Oct 2001, in retaliation to the 9/11 terror attacks in America 1300 U.S. troops were deployed to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan and Iraq war costs are estimated to be $2 trillion. See chart pgpf.org Peter G. Peterson Foundation
good luck trying to get translators for your next war if you cannot be trusted to keep your promises to local allies.
American conservatives assumed that military power would enable the U.S. to accomplish a radical idealogical agenda, particularly in the Middle East. neocon neoconservatism described the thinking of aggressive foreign policy through military might, and made the strident case for U.S. global military dominance, and open-ended wars. That effort to force liberal democracies on other cultures and countries proved to be a costly failure. see Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, President George W. Bush.
ISIL vs. affiliates, al-Qaeda vs. Taliban
Sunni-Shia conflict as well as the intra-Sunni conflict.
ISIL was formed by defectors from al-Qaeda in 2014 in Syria who then attacked their parent organisation and its Syrian affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra. ISKP was formed primarily by defectors from the Taliban in both Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2015, who then went on to attack the Afghan branch. In both cases, the defectors considered their former organisations not extreme enough or not committed enough to attack fellow Sunnis, who they considered deviants, or Shia Muslims.
the threat of ISKP in Afghanistan Aljazeera Aug 2021
Taliban Afghanistan
Taliban before U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: open-bed Toyota trucks, primary weapon: AK-47, that the Russians left behind.
Taliban after U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: brand-new .50 Cal turret mounted Humvee armored vehicles: high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV), primary weapon: M4, that the U.S. left behind.
NATO
NATO map select NATO MEMBERS in left nav or Active layers in lower right.
Michael McFaul, fmr. US Ambassador to Russia. see article in journalofdemocracy.org
read Peter Strzok, Compromised
no gun left behind
the US M4/M4A1 5.56mm carbine service rifle, is a lightweight, gas-operated, direct impingement, shoulder fired weapon and a 30 Rd mag capacity. The short barrel, 14.5 inch barrel length with built-in accessory rail, and telescoping stock, provides soldiers operating in close quarters with improved handling and the capability to rapidly and accurately engage targets at extended range, day or night. The M4 has a maximum range of 600 m, rate of fire of 700-950 rpm, muzzle velocity of 2,900 fps. The trigger unit of the M4A1 is modified to fire full-auto instead of the 3-round burst in the M4.
Noam Chomsky chomsky.info
terrorism in the United States
there is an escalating domestic terrorism problem in the United States.
virtual border wall
we have the technology for a sophisticated virtual border wall. autonomous surveillance towers the Intercept
US democracy
it seems the Republican platform is against a multiracial democracy.