Author: cynical but optimistic

Airstrip One

 

Britain once again becomes Airstrip One.



‘For the first time since at least 2008, U.S. nuclear weapons have reportedly returned to British soil, with multiple sources indicating that a number of B61-12 thermonuclear gravity bombs were transferred this week to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.

The weapons are believed to have been flown from the U.S. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico to a newly constructed secure storage facility at the UK site.

The U.S. Department of Defense has not publicly confirmed the movement, and the Ministry of Defence typically does not comment on the presence or absence of nuclear weapons at specific locations.

The B61-12 is a modernised low-yield tactical nuclear bomb capable of variable explosive power and precision guidance. It is designed to be compatible with a range of delivery platforms, including the F-35A Lightning II. The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath operates both the 493rd and 495th Fighter Squadrons, which fly the F-35A and are among the first in Europe to do so.

RAF Lakenheath previously hosted U.S. nuclear weapons during the Cold War, but the last known removal took place in 2008 following years of disarmament-related reductions across Europe. The reported return of such weapons would represent a significant shift in the nuclear posture of NATO in the European theatre amid deteriorating relations with Russia and increased emphasis on deterrence.

The re-establishment of nuclear storage capability at Lakenheath was first signalled in 2022 through U.S. budget documents, which listed infrastructure upgrades consistent with nuclear mission readiness.

Neither the U.S. Air Force nor UK officials have issued comment on this week’s reported deployment.’

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/us-nukes-deployed-to-england-for-first-time-in-over-a-decade/


Not just food

 


Most people will be aware of food banks, which provide food to those too impoverished to buy enough for themselves and their family. Nearly three million food parcels were distributed in the UK in the last year by the Trussell Trust alone.

But it’s not just food, for there are also multibanks, which supply other goods as well. One example (ironically, it was founded by the former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown) supplies clothes, bedding, hygiene products, toys and furniture – ‘surplus’ goods that companies cannot sell.

This is capitalism in one of the most developed countries on Earth. Many cannot afford life’s essentials, and have to rely on charities to provide them



https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/

French struggling to fund war

 

A report highlights the budgetary plans of the French Prime Minister to try and ameliorate the dire financial straits the French government finds itself in.

Note that the report says that defence, by which it means war, spending will increase and that workers should give up two of their holidays to increase productivity, i.e. more surplus value for the capitalist class.

‘French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has announced plans for a new tax on the country’s wealthiest citizens as part of a sweeping austerity package designed to rein in public debt and cut the budget deficit.

The measures include a “solidarity contribution” aimed at high earners to help bridge a €43.8 billion ($47.5 billion) budget shortfall. A levy already in place targeting individuals making over €250,000 ($270,000) will now likely be expanded.

“The effort of the nation must be equitable. We must ask little of those who have little, and more of those who can do more,” Bayrou said.

France’s budget deficit hit 5.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) last year, nearly double the official EU limit of 3% of GDP.

Among Bayrou’s more contentious proposals is scrapping two national public holidays — Easter Monday and Victory Day on May 8 — to boost productivity. Right-wing leader Jordan Bardella condemned the proposal as “a direct attack on our history and roots.”

Other cost-cutting measures in Bayrou’s plan include capping healthcare expenditures and freezing pensions and social benefits at their 2025 levels.

Defence spending, however, will increase.

France’s military budget is slated to rise to €64 billion ($69 billion) in 2027, double what the country paid in 2017. President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled an additional €6.5 billion ($7 billion) in defence funding over the next two years, citing heightened threats to European security.

A new defence review has warned of a potential “major war” in Europe by 2030, listing Moscow among the top threats. The Kremlin has dismissed claims that it is planning to attack the West, and has accused the NATO states of using Russia as a pretext for military expansion. ‘

France’s public debt has reached €3.3 trillion ($3.6 trillion), equivalent to around 114% of GDP. The left-wing parties have accused the government of prioritising military spending over social welfare, fearing that essential public needs are being sacrificed under the guise of security. Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of La France Insoumise party, has called for Bayrou’s resignation, saying
“these injustices cannot be tolerated any longer.” 



Bayrou must secure parliamentary backing for his proposals before presenting the full budget plan in October.’


Labour – the problems pile up


What a mess the Labour government is in. The problems just pile up – proposed welfare cuts followed by a humiliating U-turn, a lot of its active supporters hacked off by its outlawing of Palestinian Action, the court system bursting at the seams, the small boats that keep coming, and now doctors threatening to strike over pay. They just can’t do right for doing wrong.

But that’s the fate of all governments of capitalism. True, it’s happening sooner than most for this one. But getting a system riven with contradictions and at the mercy of ‘market forces’ to work in a way that keeps them popular with the electorate is doomed to failure, and usually ends in electoral defeat.



https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/



Francesca Albanese upsets USA Capitalists

 

The tensions inherent in capitalism mean that the condemnation of individuals by one state toward the leaders, population or others of another competing state are a ‘normal’ activity.

The demonisation of the individual listed below appear to us to be taking things to an entirely different level.

‘The basis for the action instigated by the American State department appears to be the perceived threat to the economic interests of the American state

From an internet search:

‘On July 2, 2025, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, presented her report titledFrom economy of occupation to economy of genocide” during the 59th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The report highlights the deep entanglement of corporate, academic, and financial entities in sustaining Israel’s occupation and alleged genocide in Gaza. It calls for international criminal responsibility for companies and their executives involved in enabling these actions.

Key Findings: The report identifies major corporations such as Elbit Systems, Lockheed Martin, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon as complicit in providing tools, technologies, and logistical support that have fuelled the use of force against the Palestinian civilian population. It also criticises universities for their role in perpetuating the apartheid regime through research and collaborations with Israeli military and tech firms.

Corporate Involvement: The report emphasises the role of the military-industrial complex, technology sector, financial system, and academic institutions in supporting the Israeli occupation. It specifically mentions companies like Palantir, Caterpillar, and Volvo for their alleged contributions to the conflict.

Academic Complicity: Universities, including MIT and the Technical University of Munich (TUM), are highlighted for their partnerships with Israeli institutions, which the report claims contribute to the development of surveillance, crowd control, and military technologies used against Palestinians.

Financial Support: The report also points to international financial institutions and banks, such as BNP Paribas and Barclays, which have underwritten Israeli treasury bonds, thereby supporting the war effort.

Calls for Accountability: Albanese urges the international community to hold corporations, universities, and financial institutions accountable for their roles in enabling the occupation and genocide. She emphasises that international law imposes obligations to prevent and disengage from activities that fuel serious crimes, including genocide.’

‘Francesca P. Albanese 1977) is an Italian legal scholar and expert on human rights.

On 1 May 2022, she was appointed United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories for a three-year term, which was then renewed for another three years. She is the first woman to hold the position.’ Wiki

.Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide  Convention defines genocide as:

… any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group On 9 July Marco Rubio, American Secretary of State issued the following: ‘Today, I am imposing sanctions on Francesca Paola Albanese, the United Nations Human Rights Council “Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967,” pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order 14203, “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court.” Albanese has directly engaged with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries. Neither the United States nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute, making this action a gross infringement on the sovereignty of both countries.

‘The United States has repeatedly condemned and objected to the biased and malicious activities of Albanese that have long made her unfit for service as a Special Rapporteur. Albanese has spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West. That bias has been apparent across the span of her career, including recommending that the ICC, without a legitimate basis, issue arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

She has recently escalated this effort by writing threatening letters to dozens of entities worldwide, including major American companies across finance, technology, defence, energy, and hospitality, making extreme and unfounded accusations and recommending the ICC pursue investigations and prosecutions of these companies and their executives. We will not tolerate these campaigns of political and economic warfare, which threaten our national interests and sovereignty.

The United States will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to respond to lawfare, to check and prevent illegitimate ICC overreach and abuse of power, and to protect our sovereignty and that of our allies.

Albanese is being designated pursuant to Section 1(a)(ii)(A) of Executive Order (E.O.) 1420’

https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/07/sanctioning-lawfare-that-targets-u-s-and-israeli-persons/




World Socialist Radio – Farage – Opportunist Supreme

 


pod.link/1819552886

With characteristic opportunism, Nigel Farage, sniffing political power, is seeking to present himself as the leader of a kind of neo-Labour Party who will fix everything Labour has always promised to fix for workers but never has. In the end however, he is only an extreme example of the opportunism inherent in all capitalist political leaders as they seek to control a system that breeds economic chaos, poses the constant threat of war and environmental degradation and can only ever offer workers at best a few crumbs from the table of the rich.Adapted from an article from the July 2025 edition of The Socialist Standard.World Socialist Radio is the official podcast of The Socialist Party of Great Britain. We have one single aim: the establishment of a society in which all productive resources – land, water, factories, transport, etc. – are taken into common ownership, and in which the sole motive for production is the fulfilment of human needs and wants.To read more news, views, and analysis please visit: worldsocialism.org/spgbor, for a free three-issue subscription to The Socialist Standard: 

Worldsocialistradio.com

Sea monsters

 ‘If you’re feeling fearful right now, possibly because Labour wants to cut your welfare to pay for fighter planes, you won’t be consoled to learn that superyachts are getting bigger. One yacht owner helpfully explains why, for example, these floating 5-star hotels need huge kitchens to provide gourmet fare: “If you are used to eating well, not everywhere [in the world] are there restaurants good enough.”’

How tiresome for the poor lambs. Globally, 733 million are not used to eating much at all, and 9 million a year starve to death. Yet when you point to capitalism’s monstrous inequality, caused entirely by the rich exploiting the poor, the rich are the first to accuse you of the politics of envy.’



https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/