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#soldier

libramoon@diaspora.glasswings.com
libramoon

https://whitecatgrove.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/of-freedom-guns-and-war/

OF #FREEDOM, #GUNS AND #WAR
Posted on January 12, 2013 by #whitecatgrove

..."Interestingly, the concept of #soldier is essentially tied to that of #capitalism. It derives from Latin, meaning “one who is paid,” i.e., an employee — distinguishing a soldier from a #warrior who, in some senses, fights for honor or pride. Warriors are, at the root of it, people who engage in war. And what does war mean? According to the handy online etymological dictionary, there was no common Germanic root for the word, and thus no Proto-Indo-European one. “Cognates suggest the original sense was ‘to bring into confusion,'” Douglas Harper writes.

Ah. In the root, we find the truth. War is a mass of confusion. It rips the sense out of the world. Just as a gun does when turned on a classroom of first-graders, or an English language class in a local immigrant center, or any other episode of casual or organized violence you care to cite.

And why, then, is having a weapon freedom? And what is freedom, anyway?
...
Freedom is not force; it is not the ability to take the choices of others away so you can exercise your whim and will. Freedom is joyful, willing obligation and responsibility.

Those who are free are not the soldiers or the warriors. I am reminded of Gandhi on his hunger strikes, the many women and men who were beaten for the right to sit at the lunch counter, or the front of the bus, or to vote. I am reminded of Martin Luther King Jr. at the end of a gun-barrel. Those who give their lives to extend the community of care to all involved are the truly free, because you cannot chain them with force. You can beat, threaten, shoot, kill, but they remain essentially free. "...

Of freedom, guns and war

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” — Nelson MandelaGuns are freedom. It’s …

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theaitetos@diaspora.psyco.fr
theaitetos

They Won’t Fight for Israel

So why should anyone else? Neither #BenShapiro nor #YairNetanyahu, the son of the Prime Minister, have any interest in #defending their fellow #Israelis against #Hamas, #Hezbollah, or any other enemies who might harm them.

The #son of #Israel’s Prime Minister #BenjaminNetanyahu has been blasted for staying in #Miami while #reservists returned home to #fight against Hamas. Yair Netanyahu, 32, has been in #Florida since at least April, after his father told him to stop making inflammatory posts on social media, which saw him sued for defamation multiple times.

Meanwhile an unprecedented 360,000 #reservists have been called up – many of them dropping everything to fly back to Israel, even abandoning #honeymoons. But #Yair has remained in Miami, to the #irritation of some of the #troops. ‘Yair is enjoying his life at #MiamiBeach while I’m on the #front lines,’ one #soldier, a volunteer serving on Israel’s northern front, told The Times.

‘It’s us who are leaving our work, our families, our kids, to protect our families back home and the country, not the people who are responsible for this situation. Our brothers, our fathers, sons, are all going to the front line, but Yair is still not here. It does not help build trust in the leadership of the country.’

Israeli soldiers blast Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair, 32, for ‘abandoning’ them by staying in Miami while 360,000 reservists are called up to fight against Hamas, 24 October 2023

There should not be any discussion of one single #American soldier being sent to the #MiddleEast until every single #Jew #resident in the #USA between the ages of 18 and 40 has been sent there first. There is absolutely no reason to defend a #nation that literally refuses to defend itself.

And the fact that #Netanyahu’s own son is living the #high-life in Miami while his father #screeches about Hamas and Hezbollah should be sufficient cause to ignore all of the non-stop #propaganda. If it’s not their problem, it certainly isn’t ours.

They Won't Fight for Israel - Vox Popoli

So why should anyone else? Neither Ben Shapiro nor Yair Netanyahu, the son of the Prime Minister, have any interest in defending their fellow Israelis against Hamas, Hezbollah, or any other enemies who might harm them. The son of Israel’s Prime...

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brainwavelost@nerdpol.ch
brainwavelost

#history and #power

Carthago delenda est – “Carthage must be destroyed” – was a Roman strategic aim 2,200 years ago. It was regularly repeated in his public speeches by Marcus Porcius Cato in his advocacy of putting an end to the Punic Wars by destroying the Carthaginian adversary entirely, not just militarily, so that it could never rise again to challenge Roman power. The opposition slogan was Carthago servanda est – “Carthage must be saved”. Its author, Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum, meant don’t rule by force if it can be avoided; instead conserve lives, resources, power.

Cato was a #politician; Corculum was a #soldier. The political strategy of doing what you can because you can, and as a warning to everyone else, won out; Cato is remembered even now; Corculum is forgotten. This is not because imperial history repeats itself, but because the history is always written by people aiming to stay on the winning side: they don’t know any better until the empire has been lost and their retainers with it.

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anonymiss@despora.de
anonymiss

Details of '120,000 Russian soldiers' leaked by Ukrainian #media

source: https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/02/russian_soldier_leaks/

#Rumors swirled on the internet that activists were behind the disclosure. The Ukrainian news agency said the personnel records were obtained from "reliable sources." Whether or not the #database's contents is real, the impact on Russian military #morale – knowing that your country's enemies have your personal details and can contact your family if you're captured, killed, or even still alive – won't be insignificant.

#leak #cyberwar #war #internet #news #Ukraine #Russia #military #privacy #enemy #soldier

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steelnomad@diasp.org
steelnomad

Excellent article on legal status of conscientious objection in Israel

Here is a short quote:

In 2002, the #Israeli High Court of Justice clarified #ConscientiousObjector status. While #refusal to serve based on one’s #conscience is legal, it is very difficult to prove. What is not legal is “selective refusal,” which is based on #opposition to government policy regarding specific #military or #political actions (e.g., #occupation). Other disallowed categories include “absence from service without permission,” with a maximum #punishment of three years, and desertion, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison and a permanent criminal record. There is no statute of limitation. Being out of the country is not an acceptable excuse. Citizens can be arrested upon return.

The procedure for declaring #ConscientiousObjection status goes through military channels. It is handled as that of a #soldier refusing to obey orders. On the scheduled day of military induction, a person declares that s/he refuses to enter the military compound based on conscience. The person is sent immediately to the Military Conscience Committee. Usually, the panel is not convinced of the conscientious objector argument and the young person goes to military #prison for 10 to 15 days. Afterwards, they reappear in front of the committee. The process repeats itself and the young man or woman is returned to prison to work and think further about their decision. This process repeats over and over, with some spending months in prison. Finally, those who do not change their minds are commonly referred to the Medical Corps to be declared mentally unfit. Some agree to military service in noncombat positions. Those who prefer to quietly avoid this prison process entirely will find a doctor or psychiatrist who is willing to have them diagnosed as mentally or physically unfit previous to the induction process.

Draft Resisters

#HumanRights #antiwar #peace #pacifist #pacifism

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