You know, I bet the U.S. will restart underground testing.  

 

From: Friam <friam-boun...@redfish.com> On Behalf Of steve smith
Sent: Saturday, November 9, 2024 9:06 AM
To: friam@redfish.com
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] How democracies die

 

 

On 11/9/24 7:42 AM, Marcus Daniels wrote:

Trump’s reads the room.  If he feels his people would tolerate Russia using 
chemical weapons at a massive scale in Ukraine, then he’d be fine with that.   
Remember he was fine separating immigrant children from their parents.   This 
property may well cause some deals to be made because they are afraid of the 
consequences.   That’s not a skill in negotiation, that’s just the kind of 
terror that an organized crime boss might elicit.   

And some would conflate the two.   I resist.



 

The U.S. doesn’t have a boundless number of Tomahawk missiles to give Ukraine, 
even if we authorized firing into Russia.   They run a couple million U.S. 
dollars each.

Most of which flows into US arms-manufacturer's corporate pockets and a little 
into the communities where they are manufactured (e.g. good jobs).


1. Tomahawk Missiles


*       Raytheon Missiles & Defense manufactures Tomahawk missiles primarily in 
Tucson, Arizona. This facility focuses on producing a variety of 
precision-guided missiles, including the Tomahawk.


2. Javelin Anti-Tank Missiles


*       The Javelin Joint Venture, a partnership between Raytheon and Lockheed 
Martin, manufactures Javelin missiles. The main production occurs at Lockheed 
Martin’s facility in Troy, Alabama, and Raytheon’s production support in 
Tucson, Arizona.


3. HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System)


*       Lockheed Martin manufactures HIMARS at its facilities in Camden, 
Arkansas. This location is dedicated to the production of various missile and 
artillery systems, including HIMARS and its associated rockets.


4. Patriot Missiles


*       Patriot missile systems, which have been promised to Ukraine, are 
manufactured by Raytheon primarily at facilities in Andover, Massachusetts, and 
Tucson, Arizona.


5. Switchblade Drones


*       AeroVironment Inc., the manufacturer of Switchblade drones, produces 
these loitering munitions in Simi Valley, California.


6. Other Small Arms and Ammunition


*       Several small arms and types of ammunition come from multiple 
facilities in the U.S., especially those associated with General Dynamics 
Ordnance and Tactical Systems (with locations in Marion, Illinois, and St. 
Petersburg, Florida), and Winchester Ammunition in Oxford, Mississippi.





   We aren’t even keeping up with Russia’s artillery manufacturing.   Putin 
knows all this.  

Not too long ago, a dark-spirited friend of mine used the phrase "an 
atmospheric river of drones and missiles".   I don't know what the material 
comparison is in the Ukraine war to past regional/global conflicts but the 
amount of Lead, Depleted Uranium, Nitro Compounds and Oxidizers must be 
significant.

Vietnam scholars might remember the AC-47 (Puff the Magic Dragon) which could 
lay down a "carpet of lead" (nominally one round per square foot?) followed by 
napalm if desired.   And the "bomb trains" moving Napalm across the US from 
manufacturing locations (rust belt?) to Pacific shipping ports (CA/OR/WA)?

While I would love to see an opportunity for the cessation of warfare/death in 
Ukraine, I don't know what to do about the inhumanity that Putin (and his boys 
and girls) were allowed to impose on the Ukrainians.  Geopolitics of "NATO and 
Western encroachment) aside, I don't know how that translates into the 
wickedness wrought against the people.  And how was/is any of this particularly 
good for Russians?   I was prepared to leave my country (for good) when I 
turned 18 to avoid being made into a killer (murderer in some cases) against my 
will.  What is to become of those Russian soldiers who survived being foddered 
into the Ukrainian front lines and will return "shattered heroes" at best (see. 
Tom Cruise in Born on the 4th of July).   At least the Ukrainian dead and 
surviving soldiers will have a somewhat clear sense of what they were fighting 
(and dying) for?

And need I even reference Israel/Palestine?

Similar to the inhumanity of our flawed "gated community" immigration policies 
and our own (US/W. Europe) expansionaism/exploitation/empire only baldly more 
brutal?  Trump aleady did the kids-in-cages thing and has proposed (shoot them 
in the legs) to deter border crossings...  Two "kids" I went to high school 
with (1 and 3 years older) were tried/sentenced for torturing (binding, 
branding and forcing them to walk naked back to the border) young men seeking 
employment on their ranch within a few miles of the border.   And this was in 
the 70s before the current MAGA style rhetoric was afoot.

It would seem we are "wicked turtles all the way down"?

(I'll go back to drinking my own acidic liberal tears of rage and grief now and 
try not to spill too many over here).  And btw, it isn't clear that "the other 
side" would actually have resolved all or much of this nonsense we are about, 
so maybe the "in your face" version has it's own charms?

- Ack!

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