To the dismay of many sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice workers in the U.S., many movement organizations had to be pushed to call for a ceasefire in Gaza or otherwise voice support for Palestinians who are being murdered en masse by the Israeli military. This includes Israel’s recent assault on Rafah, a supposed “safe zone” that was shelled by Israeli forces, killing dozens of people who were sheltering in a displacement camp.
While some recent demands from pro-Palestine protestors may seem to have nothing to do with the repro movement—namely the call for institutions to divest from arms manufacturers that aid the ongoing genocide in Gaza—Prism exclusively reports that connections to weapons companies do exist in the repro field. In fact, the nation’s leading provider of sexual and reproductive health care contracts directly with one of the world’s largest weapons manufacturers.
“According to a 2019 tax return that extends through the organization’s fiscal year ending in June 2020, Planned Parenthood Federation of America paid more than $3.3 million to Raytheon Foreground Security for “IT Services.” Raytheon Foreground Security is a subsidiary of RTX, one of the world’s largest defense companies. According to Crunchbase, Raytheon Foreground Security provides cyber security services, including security engineering, assessment, customized security training, and advanced incident response and forensics services.”
Granted that industry is mostly grift, but it doesn’t sound directly military.
https://www.rtx.com/who-we-are/we-are-rtx
This tells you they are direct military.
They are not military, but they have had many huge military contracts over the years and work closely with the military. They also invented the microwave oven and many other commercial non-military electronics.
You’re wrong.
https://raytheon.mediaroom.com/2024-04-25-RTX-awarded-344-million-contract-to-modernize-electronics-unit-for-missile-development-program
https://www.rtx.com/raytheon/what-we-do/sea/aim-9x-sidewinder-missile
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/rtx-secures-$80.3m-contract-to-boost-aim-9x-missile-production
RTX approved to sell AIM 9X Sidewinder missiles to Romania and Italy
Have you ever used Netflix, Airbnb or watched a Disney program. I know you have to have something made by Johnson & Johnson or Unilever. It is impossible not to.
All these companies along with many, many more use AWS for web services. AWS also is a large provider of web services to U.S. Defense Department.
No one is denying Raytheon makes things for the military, that can only be used by the military, and test those things in conjunction with the military in military bases, and get special dispensation to sell them to allied militaries, but they are not part of the military and also make many things that are sold commercially. And, some of the things they invented and used to be sold only to the military have resulted in civilian applications and are sold to normal people.
An example: they spun off their air conditioning business to a separate company years back, it was huge news. Maybe you have heard of them: Amana? Later owned by Maytag and now Whirlpool? Are those part of the military? You can’t enlist to be a Raytheon employee just like you can’t enlist to be an Amana employee.
You know who else makes many things for the military? Lighthouse for the Blind, an organization that employs and trains many vision- and hearing-impaired people. But they’re also not part of the military. And same thing with many other companies that bid for and win military contracts to provide many different items that are also sold to civilians.
By this logic Grumman is delivering mail.