National Defense Authorization Act

• MCLEAN, Va., April 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Chesapeake Technology International, Corp. (CTI), a leader in the development and integration of government-open solutions for the invisible battlespaces, announced today that it has acquired Asymmetric Technologies LLC (Asymmetric).
• CTI, a Portfolio Company of Bluestone Investment Partners, Acquires Asymmetric Technologies LLC.
• Founded in 2011, Asymmetric specializes in the development of open-source technology tailored to mission-specific needs, complementing CTI's technology approach to Sense, Evaluate, and deliver Effects to the invisible battlespaces.
• Its technology includes National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) compliant, cyber-secure flight controllers, and innovative waveform technologies.

• However, the two-state solution is now further away than it has ever been, with some even proclaiming it “dead”.
• But what actually is the two-state solution and why do so many see this as the only resolution to the conflict?

What is the two-state solution?

• The first attempt at creating side-by-side states occurred before the independence of Israel in 1948.
• More than 700,000 Palestinians were displaced from the new state of Israel, fleeing to the West Bank, Gaza and surrounding Arab states.
• This would mean the new Palestinian state would consist of the West Bank prior to Israeli settlement, and Gaza.
• How Jerusalem would be split, if at all, has been a significant point of contention in this plan.

Why is statehood so important?

• The kind of statehood referred to in the two-state solution, known as state sovereignty in international politics, is the authority given to the government of a nation within and over its borders.
• The vast majority of people on Earth live in or legally fall under the jurisdiction of a sovereign state.
• More than 160 members of the UN now recognise Israel; those who do not include Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Indonesia.
• As such, the self-determination of Palestinians through the creation of a sovereign state has been a cornerstone of Palestinian political action for decades.

The closest the two sides got – the Oslo Accords

• Negotiations began largely as a result of Palestinian uprisings across the West Bank and Gaza.
• In 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the head of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) Yasser Arafat met in Oslo and signed the first of two agreements called the Oslo Accords.
• The Oslo II Accord was signed in 1995, detailing the subdivision of administrative areas in the occupied territories.
• And over the next few decades, the two-state solution has only become harder to achieve for various reasons, including:

the rise of conservative governments in Israel and lack of effective political pressure from the US
the shrinking political influence of the Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas and the rise of Hamas in Gaza, which caused a political split between the two Palestinian territories
Hamas’ vows to annihilate Israel and refusal to recognise the Israeli state as legitimate
the continued growth of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which has turned the territory into an ever-shrinking series of small enclaves connected by military checkpoints
dwindling support among both Israelis and Palestinians for the model
continued political violence on both sides.
And of course there is Netanyahu – no individual has done more to undermine the two-state solution than the current Israeli leader and his party. In 2010, a leaked recording from 2001 came to light where Netanyahu claimed to have “de facto put an end to the Oslo accords”.

What alternatives are there?

• There aren’t many alternatives and all of them have significant problems.
• Although Arabs already make up around 20% of Israel’s current population, the one-state solution would not be politically feasible.
• According to Zionist ideology, Israel must always remain a majority Jewish state and granting Palestinians citizenship in the occupied territories would undermine this.

Andrew Thomas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• HESPERIA, Calif., Feb. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 5E Advanced Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq: FEAM) (ASX: 5EA) (“5E” or the “Company”), a boron and lithium company with U.S. government Critical Infrastructure designation for its 5E Boron Americas (Fort Cady) Complex, articulated its support for the bipartisan effort in Congress to include boron in the U.S. Geologic Survey’s (USGS) 2025 Critical Mineral List.
• The letter recognizes the significance of boron and its derivatives across multiple industries, including energy and defense systems, and the importance of boron in meeting U.S. clean energy goals.
• “As one of the most versatile materials in the world, boron is used in over 300 applications that enable our way of life.
• Including boron in the USGS Critical Minerals List would help ensure that the U.S. is not dependent on China for boron and would safeguard its utilization as a critical material.

• Utilizing abundantly available and low-cost sulfur, the lithium-sulfur chemistry has the potential to deliver greater than twice the energy density of lithium-ion NMC (nickel, manganese, cobalt) chemistries.
• For this grant, Lyten is working with Stanford University, the University of Texas-Austin, and industrial partner Arcadium Lithium (formed via merger of Livent and Allkem).
• Separately, Lyten is a subrecipient on a DoE grant awarded to Purdue University to improve modeling capabilities for lithium-sulfur cells.
• Lyten investors include a broad range of industry leaders, including Stellantis (third-largest auto manufacturer in the world), FedEx, Honeywell, and Walbridge.