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Thu
15
Jul

Underage 'martyrs': Recruiting child soldiers in Yemen

Photo: Flickr Creative Commons

In Yemen, families send their children to so-called summer camps. There, adolescents are given combat training and taught why they should fight for God. Both government forces and Houthi rebels use child soldiers.

The recruitment of child soldiers is without a doubt one of the most upsetting of the many human rights violations that have been documented during Yemen's civil war.

In their annual report on Children and Armed Conflict, published in May this year, United Nations researchers counted 211 cases of children being recruited to fight in Yemen in 2020. Of these, 134 were boys and 29 were girls recruited by the Houthis.

Tue
23
Feb

Supreme Court asked to review Constitutionality of current male-only draft registration requirement

Edward Hasbrouck / Resisters.info - On January 8, 2021 the National Coalition For Men, a men’s rights organization represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, petitioned the U.S.

Sun
31
Jan
gdghirardi's picture

The MAGA Face of JROTC

January 18 2021 / Gary Ghirardi / Op-ed / NNOMY - With the violence  witnessed in the beginning of 2021 at the nation's capital,  we have been forced to acknowledge the culture war that exists in the United States in full expression. We also witnessed in the subtext of that event, and the emerging crisis that will follow it, the government's promise of increasing securitization as a reaction to it. That process did not start at the "surge on the capital"  but has been in a steady progression of growth for many years. This latest event only provides an additional justification for the need to  increase the militarization of our "democracy."

Wed
27
Jan

Poll: Most women oppose registering for draft

Rasmussen women and the draft

Rasmussen Reports -

Most women said they are opposed to having to register for the draft in a new Rasmussen Reports poll.

In contrast, a majority of men said they would support having women register, according to the poll released Wednesday.

The poll found that 52 percent of women oppose requiring women to register, while 38 percent favor it and 10 percent are undecided.

Sixty-one percent of male respondents favored requiring that women register.

Overall, the split was more even, with 49 percent supporting and 44 percent opposing.

Most Republicans, 53 percent, said they oppose making women register for the draft, while 49 percent of Democrats said they favor it.

Thu
07
Jan

60 High School Seniors Refuse to Serve in the Israeli Army Because of the Occupation

A demonstration outside an IDF enlistment center in 2018.Credit: Dror Mizrahi

Or Kashti -

The group's members say in a letter their stance comes from 'taking responsibility for our actions and their implications,' and accuse the education system of ignoring the Palestinian narrative

Sixty Israelis of eligible draft age have signed a letter declaring their refusal to serve in the military because of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Departing from previous letters of this kind, the signatories call out the country’s education system for various issues, such as encouraging enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces and emphasizing the Jewish narrative in Bible and history classes.

They also draw attention to issues they say the curriculum ignores, such as the expulsion of Arabs in 1948 and the current violation of human rights in the occupied territories.

Mon
04
Jan
gdghirardi's picture

How Woodrow Wilson Persecuted Hutterites Who Refused to Support His War

Woodrow Wilson had no qualms about jailing people he disagreed with. His persecution of the Hutterites can attest to that.

Lawrence W. Reed -

Campaigning for President of the United States in September 1912, “progressive” icon Woodrow Wilson said something that would gladden the heart of any libertarian:

Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of the government. The history of liberty is a history of resistance. The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of governmental power, not the increase of it.

That was two months before the election that Wilson won. He garnered slightly less than 42 percent of the popular vote in a four-way contest. Over the next eight years, he proved to be the most repressive, anti-liberty president to ever occupy the White House.

Fri
01
Jan
gdghirardi's picture

Defence forces survey: Appetite for national defence and conscription has declined

 The Finnish Constitution stipulates every male Finnish citizen is obligated to participate in national defence. Image: Niko Mannonen / Yle

Uutiset -

    Finns’ support for conscription and national defence has decreased, according to a survey by The Advisory Board of Defence Information (MTS).

Just over half (52 percent) of respondents believe Finland’s defence system should be based on mandatory conscription for men, and voluntary conscription for women. The figure is considerably lower than in previous years.

The Finnish Constitution stipulates that every male Finnish citizen is obligated to participate in national defence. All Finnish men aged between 18 and 60 are liable to complete military service, and women can opt to do it on a voluntary basis.

Military service has to be completed as armed or unarmed military service, or non-military (civil) service.

Almost a quarter of respondents preferred a conscription that would apply to both men and women. The idea of voluntary conscription for both sexes, or a professional army got much less support.

Tue
11
Aug
gdghirardi's picture

The US Military Is Using Online Gaming to Recruit Teens

Gamers with the Army, Navy, and Air Force are spending hours on Twitch with children as young as 13.

Jordan Uhl  -

Have a nice time getting banned, my dude,” Army recruiter and gamer Joshua “Strotnium” David told me right before he booted me from the US Army’s Twitch channel. I had just reminded viewers of the United States’ history of atrocities around the globe, and helpfully provided a link to the Wikipedia page for US war crimes.
Was I undiplomatic? Sure. But if the military is going to use one of the world’s most popular platforms to recruit kids, then it shouldn’t be able to do so without some pushback. Right now, with the support of Twitch, gamers with the US military are spending hours with children as young as 13, trying to convince them to enlist.

Sun
14
Jun
gdghirardi's picture

Tough Times for Military Recruiting

How COVID-19 is impacting the Delayed Entry Program and threatening the health of recruits.

By Pat Elder / National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth, NNOMY - June 8, 2020 

 

COVID-19 has profoundly impacted the way the military finds new soldiers. The recruiting command was caught unprepared to face the pandemic and is facing a challenging new reality.

Thu
07
Nov

New Publication: Counter-Recruitment Campaigns Internationally

WRI's new booklet, Countering Military Recruitment: Learning the lessons of counter-recruitment campaigns internationally, is out now. The booklet includes examples of campaigning against youth militarisation across different countries with the contribution of grassroot activists.

You can order a paperback version here.

‘Countering the militarisation of youth’ is one of WRI’s major areas of work. In making this booklet, we set out to investigate one part of this activism: campaigns to counter the recruitment of young people by armed forces and armed groups.

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