Members of the governing coalition say the results of the election reflect the will of the people, but so do the demonstrations. Moreover, since their inception demonstrations have had a place in the political imagination of democracy. According to political philosopher Hannah Arendt, demonstrations are “spaces of appearance” that serve as the antithesis to displays of power by totalitarian regimes.
Daily Archives: 15. Juli 2023
Netanyahu Seeks to Advance Key Judicial Overhaul Bill Despite Protests, Likud Sources Say
Those who have spoken with Netanyahu over the past few days admit there is a „red line“ beyond which Netanyahu would decide to pause the legislation, though they aren‘t sure exactly where it is.
„Let‘s see where things go from here,“ one Likud official told Haaretz, „It‘s impossible to predict what will happen in the country over the next few days, how intense the flames will be and how that will affect [Netanyahu].“
JCPOA: A New Gold Standard for Non-Proliferation Agreements
(June 7, 2017)
The established pattern of constraints on Iran’s nuclear program could be held as the gold standard for the rest of the international community. This option is readily available to the United States and the partners with which it negotiated the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA): China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the European Union. The international community should draw on that agreement and turn its standards into general, global ones, applying them to all countries seeking to enrich uranium or attempting to use plutonium for any purpose.
‚Sensitive‘ Israeli Intelligence on Iranian Nuke Program Shifting the Tide, Israeli Official Says
(12.09.2022)
According to a diplomatic source, Prime Minister Yair Lapid presented the Germans with intelligence that ‚proves the Iranians are cheating as we speak,‘ claiming the Americans‘ hardened their stance in response to the information
Normalization for Proliferation? The Saudi Nuclear Strategy and the Price of Peace with Israel
(March 19, 2023)
In general, the Saudis wish to present themselves as Iran’s equals, and if Iran can enrich uranium, say the Saudis, then so can we. In addition, the Saudis want to keep all their nuclear options open, even if they are not intending to work on the development of nuclear weapons immediately.
US reveals secret Saudi nuclear deal
(28.03.2019)
The Donald Trump administration has granted permission to unspecified US companies to sell nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia and provide technical assistance, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
The companies have asked the administration to keep the approvals secret.
The oil-rich kingdom is set to build at least two nuclear power plants, with several countries, including the US, South Korea, and Russia, all vying for the project. However, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also stated that his country would also seek to develop nuclear weapons if its Iranian rivals obtained it.
Sie wissen von der Bundeswehr-Beteiligung an der Kriegsflotte im Persischen Golf, oder?
(3. August 2021)
24. Juni 2019: Der damalige U.S.-Außenminister Mike Pompeo fordert eine „globale Koalition“ gegen den Iran. passenderweise vorgetragen bei einem Blitzbesuch Pompeos in Saudi-Arabien.
4. August 2019: Ich lege mich fest und prognostiziere, dass „Bundeswehr-Marine .. noch vor Weihnachten unter Oberbefehl einer ausländischen Macht in den Persischen Golf entsandt“ wird.
(…)
20. Januar 2020: Monate vor der Ausrufung des bis heute andauernden Ausnahmezustands und bereits im Windschatten von SARS II („Coronavirus“), beschließen die Staatsführungen von Frankreich, Deutschland, Griechenland, Italien, der Niederlande, Belgien, Dänemark und Portugal in einer gemeinsamen Erklärung die „European-led maritime surveillance mission in the Strait of Hormuz“ (E.M.A.S.O.H.), von der Sie und 80 Millionen Andere bis heute nie gehört haben.
US sending F-16 fighter jets to protect ships from Iranian seizures in Gulf region
(July 14, 2023)
Speaking to Pentagon reporters, the official said the U.S. will send F-16 fighter jets to the Gulf region this weekend to augment the A-10 attack aircraft that have been patrolling there for more than a week. The move comes after Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strait last week, opening fire on one of them.
Israeli, U.S. air forces hold joint exercise to practice attacking strategic targets
(14.07.2023)
According to the IDF spokesperson, the exercise includes several scenarios such as attacking strategic depth targets, achieving air superiority in space, and cyber defense against a variety of threats
Pocan Derides Nearly $1 Trillion NDAA
“It’s time to say ‘enough.’ Year after year, we spend more and more on our national defense – it’s too much with too little accountability. We have troops on food stamps while at the same time, price-gouging defense contractors are getting richer by the day.
House Narrowly Passes Defense Bill, Setting Up Showdown Over Social Issues
At stake is an $886 billion bill that would grant a 5.2 percent raise to military personnel, include programs to counter aggressive moves by China and Russia, and establish a special inspector general to oversee U.S. aid to Ukraine.
It’s the inequality, stupid
(June 15, 2023)
Economic inequality has exploded in the US since Bill Clinton took office. (It started to tick up after Clinton’s predecessor Ronald Reagan came on the scene, but Clinton’s tenure witnessed a continuation of this trend.) Today, there are 735 billionaires in the US, three of whom – Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, and Jeff Bezos – hold wealth more than 1 million times (!) the median American household wealth. Meanwhile, nearly 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, 1/3 of workers make less than $15 an hour, and roughly 38 million Americans live below the poverty line.
Millionaires Are Begging Governments to Tax Them More
(Jun 23, 2023)
On both sides of the Atlantic, the Patriotic Millionaires are notable for being unusually public and unusually frank—US chair Morris Pearl, a former MD at investment firm BlackRock, has described how the Covid-19 pandemic made him personally wealthier, and how he doesn’t check his bank balance because he doesn’t need to. (…)
The richest 1 percent of Brits hold more wealth than the poorest 70 percent combined. “I see it as a problem if you’ve got so much money that you no longer need a functioning society,” she says.
Deficit Hits $1.4 Trillion in First 9 Months of Fiscal Year: CBO
(July 11, 2023)
The federal budget deficit totaled nearly $1.4 trillion in the first three quarters of the 2023 fiscal year, according to the latest monthly budget review from the Congressional Budget Office released Tuesday.
The deficit was $875 billion larger from October 2022 to June 2023 compared to a year earlier, with revenues 11% lower and outlays 10% higher.