All articles

Tue
15
Dec

US Soldiers Forced To Retire After Refusing Orders to Ignore Children Being Raped by Police Officers

By M. David and M.A. Hussein, Counter Current News

Imagine that you witnessed child sexual abuse while on the job, but your boss told you not to do anything to stop it. Now imagine that your boss was the United States government.

That’s exactly what happened to Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley Jr.

In his last phone call, he told his father about what had been happening in Southern Afghanistan. He said he could hear Afghan police officers raping and sexually abusing boys brought to the base.

“At night we can hear them screaming, but we’re not allowed to do anything about it,” the Marine’s father, Gregory Buckley Sr., said his son told him before being shot and killed a the base.

Mon
14
Dec

A conscientious objector reflects on receiving cards on Prisoners for Peace day

International Prisoners for Peace Day has been celebrated on December 1st for years. The purpose of the day is to provoke conversation and commemorate peace prisoners with different expressions of support and solidarity.

This year we commemorated especially conscientious objectors in South Korea. In South Korea t no alternatives to military service exist, nor a right to conscientious objection. Therefore about 700 peace prisoners are serving time - just for their views. The sentence for objection in South Korea is very long; 18 months in prison.

On Prisoners for Peace Day it is common to send support messages from all around the world for prisoners. Antimilitaristic organizations, communities and private individuals organize these message deliveries.

Sat
12
Dec

AFSC & Bay Peace Presents Youth Manifesto

American Friends Service Committee and its San Francisco Wage Peace Program staff in partnership with BAY-Peace of Oakland California,  have been supporting Oakland Youth in taking a bold step to demilitarize their schools.

The San Francisco Wage Peace program challenges the militarization of U.S. society, changing the narrative of military efficacy by:

AFSC & Bay Peace Presents Youth Manifesto
Fri
04
Dec

Myanmar army releases 53 more child soldiers: UN

By Joshua Carroll, Anadolu Agency

(YANGON) Myanmar released another 53 child soldiers from its notorious armed forces Monday, according to the United Nations' children's agency.

The 53 are the latest to be discharged under a deal signed in 2012 between the former pariah state and the UN to end the recruitment and use of children by the military.

Renata Lok-Dessallien, UN resident coordinator, said in a statement that Monday's release "is the result of continued efforts of the Government of Myanmar and the Tatmadaw [army] to put an end to the harmful practice of recruiting and using children."

Lok-Dessallien, who also serves as co-chair of the UN task force for monitoring and reporting violations against children, said she was "delighted to see these children and young people returning to their homes and families," The Irrawaddy news service reported.

Thu
03
Dec

Everyday violence on Facebook: the Israeli Example

By Robin Jones

Digital Militarism: Israel’s Occupation in the Social Media Age by Adi Kuntsman and Rebecca L. Stein (Stanford University Press)

Any social media user following Israel’s assault on the besieged Gaza Strip last summer may have encountered the slew of cartoons published on the Israeli army spokesperson’s Twitter account.

Intended to justify indiscriminate bombing by portraying Palestinian civilian buildings as legitimate targets, these slickly designed pictures were just one iteration of Israel’s online efforts to stem the PR backlash against its attack on Gaza.

Fri
27
Nov

Report from the International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth

The 2nd International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth was held between 14-20 November with many activists taking actions and organising events across the world. The week followed the first ever week of action took place last year and a day of action held in 2013.

Throughout the week this year, antimilitarists from different countries organised street actions and protests; held meetings, talks and workshops; and run social media campaigns all of which challenging the many ways militaries engage with young people via the use of public spaces.

Thu
26
Nov

DoD Starbase Militarizes Education for Disadvantaged Children in the USA

2014 DoD Starbase Annual Report

The U.S. Department of Defense recently released their 2014 DoD Starbase Annual Report covering this program's impact on 10 to 14 year old children in U.S. public schools. One of the Starbase organizers is Major General  Lee Tafanelli, of the Kansas National Guard, and his comments reveal how normalized and commonplace has become the language of militarization inside U.S. Schools. As part of the "community covenant " strategy of the Pentagon to "own" townships and school districts to support and participate in military focused science and math programs, children are now openly given science education directly related to defense issues. Starbase proponents focus their outreach in poorer districts , where children are at greater risk to conditions of poverty or lack opportunities afforded to youth living in more affluent areas and attending better funded schools.

Mon
23
Nov

Tel Aviv-Ramallah-Kigali: a peace-building journey

"Forgiving is not forgetting, but moving forward and being stronger."

Tel Aviv-Ramallah-Kigali: a peace-building journey
Thu
19
Nov

Youth Resistance in the Mariana Islands: Protecting sacred sites from the United States Military

By Sylvia C. Frain, the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago

The United States Department of Defence (DOD) currently utilizes over 30 million acres of land at more than 5,000 different locations around the world. These military bases and colony units are often-overlooked aspects of the United States (U.S.) global military footprint.

Mon
16
Nov

Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth: Events Happening This Week

This week is the 2nd International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth. Join us with your nonviolent actions this week and stand against the many ways young people are engaged in wars all around the world. 

Share your word using #YouthAgainstWar hashtag on social media and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for further updates.

Here is the list of events happening this week:

10th November: Subash Kattel from Nepal gives a talk on countering youth militarisation in Nepal in an event jointly organised by The Community Self Reliance Center and National Land Rights Forum in Kathmandu.

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