Showing posts with label military-industrial complex. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

"What’s “extremist” about Ben Gvir is that he says out loud what Israel’s mainstream political establishment prefers to do quietly under the false pretense of “fighting terrorism.” At the height of the genocide, Israel was murdering a far greater daily number of children " Omar Baddar

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine] FOLLOW THEM

Jewish Voice for Peace

@jvplive

Ben-Gvir has been making genocidal threats for years. And, as the Israeli National Security Minister and part of Netanyahu’s government, he’s been able to act on them.

The Israeli government has always worked towards the same goal—maximum land with minimum Palestinians. And now Israeli officials are saying all the quiet parts out loud. The question is, when will our elected officials actually do something?

https://x.com/jvplive/status/2089403921391349950

Omar Baddar عمر بدّار

@OmarBaddar

Aug 16

What’s “extremist” about Ben Gvir is that he says out loud what Israel’s mainstream political establishment prefers to do quietly under the false pretense of “fighting terrorism.”

At the height of the genocide, Israel was murdering a far greater daily number of children

https://x.com/OmarBaddar/status/2089085650410553584

https://x.com/jvplive/status/2089403921391349950

* Jewish Voice for Peace

@jvplive

Over the weekend, Itamar Ben-Gvir said the Israeli military should “kill 30 or 40” people in Gaza every night.”⁣ He also called for the targeted killing of Palestinians, declaring, “Not just those who pose an immediate threat. There are people there who don’t deserve to live… They are not even people.” This is genocidal speech, dehumanizing hate speech. But for Ben-Gvir, it’s just another day advocating mass death and suffering.

Ben-Gvir isn’t a random individual—he’s a senior Israeli minister openly calling for the daily killing of Palestinians. He controls Israel’s police and prison services, giving him jurisdiction over Palestinian detainees in the occupied West Bank. He spearheaded legislation imposing the mandatory death penalty by hanging on Palestinians, which the Knesset approved earlier this year. Ben Gvir is also a follower of Kahanism, an extremist Jewish political ideology stemming from Zionism; Baruch Goldstein, who killed 29 Palestinians at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron in 1994, was also a Kahanist.

Ben-Gvir’s words are grounded in Jewish supremacy and Zionism, the intertwined ideologies that are the foundation for the Israeli state, and used to justify an apartheid regime run on land stolen from massacred and forcibly exiled Palestinians.

Instead of being held to account for its countless war crimes, the US government continues to provide support, weapons and funds to the Israeli government. We demand a complete end to US backing to Israeli oppression of Palestinians. Join us: Call Congress today and tell them to stop arming Israel

Tell Congress: Vote NO to funding war.

https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/resource/tell-congress-vote-no-to-funding-war/

Monday, August 3, 2026

Dear America- WE THE PEOPLE are being forced to fund weapons, escalating war, hate, and hypocrisy everywhere.

A popular 2026 WE CAN DO IT American MEME that honors all workers- including those who helped win World World II & end the Nazi Holocaust

Dear America,

Why are our elected leaders, influencers, institutions, and mainstream media so willing to empower (and/or hid) the injustice of Israel and the moral corruption of IDF troops and citizens?

WAKE UP: Israelis are human beings being led farther and farther away from the rule of fair and just laws.

Funding Israeli wars and illegal settlements in the occupied territories harms every aspect of civilization we are supposed to be protecting: Homes, families, farms, infrastructures, and jobs are all being destroyed by sovereign Israeli violence.

Refusing to respect Universal Human Rights since 1948, Israeli violence and injustice has most obviously aimed to displace and destroy the native non-Jewish men, women, and children of historic Palestine AND TO SILENCE DISSENT!

Children are being tormented as they see their parents maimed, wounded and killed. Parents are traumatized as beloved children are killed. How would you react in that situation?

PLEASE NOTE: Israeli hostilities do not stop at the borders of Palestine, it spills out through the world in many cruel ways.

Modern man-made Israel is an astronomically expensive arms race & Ponzi Scheme that enriches a few at the top while impoverishing and harming the vast majority of Americans in multiple ways: WE THE PEOPLE are being forced to fund weapons, escalating war, hate, and hypocrisy everywhere.

AI and massive Data Centers are only making matters worse everywhere in every way. AI is a bunch of empty promises made so that a handful of people can make more big money before the bubble pops- and people realize that human intelligence and real jobs are the best investment to help build a vibrant democratic society with a strong economy and honorable future.

What would Hitler have done with AI data centers... hmm just look at how we've been pushed to do all things online and realize how vulnerable we are to greedy tyrants, hate mongers, and hackers.

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

NOTES https://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes

"An incompetent and gullible Trump is plainly responsible for yielding to Israeli pressure and dragging the US into the latest war." The pro-Israel lobby has swayed US presidents since Truman. It must end with Trump

How much is your support for Israel worth? Try $1 billion [that we know of]... Israel is spending wads of cash on public diplomacy in a desperate attempt to reverse waning American support for the country after it stands accused of genocide in Gaza and pushing the U.S. into the Iran war.

For 2,000 years, Christians have called the Holy Land home. CNN’s Clarissa Ward travels from Jerusalem to the occupied West Bank to examine how Israeli ultranationalist extremism is reshaping that reality.

"People talk about post-traumatic stress, but for us, there is no post-era; the trauma is ongoing. Keeping our people safe in such a context is incredably difficlut, especially when you see your mother in pieces, your father under rubble, and your friends gone. Such experiences profoundly affect your brain and emotions, and we must help our people to be resilient in this harsh reality." -Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb of Palestine

From 400 hives to 35: the Gaza beekeeper refusing to let war end his life’s work - Ibrahim al-Dabba continues to care for his colonies despite losing his home and most of his hives and equipment. Story by Lina Abu Zayed, photographs by Omar Ashtawy

".... diplomacy, multilateralism and global standards are a better choice than a race for the bomb."

“The power of the Universal Declaration [of Human Rights] is the power of ideas to change the world. It inspires us to continue working to ensure all people can gain freedom, equality and dignity." #StandUp4HumanRights

Common Words with Arabic Roots

Rights groups call for help stopping Israeli 'pogrom' against Palestinians in West Bank: B’Tselem and Rabbis for Human Rights among others urge action after four Palestinians are killed by settlers near Nablus

The number of registered orphans in the territory [GAZA, Palestine] has risen to 65,279, including 54,468 children who it said lost one or both parents during the war.

"Bombing the infrastructure people rely on will not make Iranians [or Palestinians] embrace those carrying out the attacks." .... ‘It’s truly hell here’: airstrikes, repression and water shortages become ‘new normal’ for Iranians

"At the very moment that the Israeli regime, with the support of the United States, is pursuing the dismantlement of UNRWA in violation of international law, there can be no accommodation of political projects designed to facilitate its replacement. UNRWA was established by General Assembly Resolution 302 because the international community failed to implement Palestinian refugees' rights under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194. Its mandate therefore remains exclusively under the authority of the General Assembly until those rights—including return, restitution, compensation, and reparation—are fulfilled. It cannot be transferred, conditioned, or terminated through political arrangements." Statement by BADIL and GPRN “Dismantling UNRWA: “The Board of Peace” Agenda”

DEAR AMERICA

ICE and Israel should both be de-funded and de-fanged.

Jobs created by the weapons industry bring temporary economic relief to some- while inflicting immense pain and suffering on many many many more.

Pushing all commerce online to "Save A Tree" ends up decimating numerous forests and fields for energy and water hungry Data Centers. CEOs and our elected leaders take huge profits while taxpayers are left with escalating losses, including the surging loss of land and water for hyperscale Data Centers.

Anti-immigrant legislation and excessive funding for ICE are more about protecting wealthy people and corporations, who can hire illegals knowing that the workers and their families will be too afraid to complain about dangerous working conditions, low pay, long hours, and slum landlord housing.

You can't win a modern war. You can destroy homes & families, you can usurp land & resources from the rightful owners, and you can undermine & destroy a free press and the fourth estate- but people worldwide have memories, as well as a sense of right and wrong that cannot be bombed into oblivion.

STOP THE BOMBS and the bigotry, and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop accepting bribes & propaganda & bad advice from a very foreign country that seeks to destroy support for UNIVERSAL human rights and the rule of fair and just laws.

Along the way we learned that slavery is wrong. We learned that domestic violence is wrong. We learned that racist hate is wrong. SO WHY are we funding Israel and why are we bombing Iran for Israel!!!

Violence is a problem- not the answer

"Attacks on critical infrastructure are not only about what is destroyed, but also about the people left without what they need to live. Even wars have limits and they must be respected." ICRC Red Cross

The power of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the power of ideas to change the world. It inspires us to continue working to ensure all people can gain freedom, equality and dignity...

In 1945, 50 nations came together in San Francisco to create a new organization for peace, prosperity & human rights- the United Nations

"The United Nations is the only place on Earth where all the world's nations come together to discuss common problems and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity. This intergovernmental organization born out of the ashes of the Second World War remains indispensable to the pursuit of world peace, justice, equality and sustainable development" https://www.un.org/en/

The right of refugees to return to homes and lands they were expelled from is an individual right and cannot be unilaterally abrogated by third parties. https://imeu.org/resources/resources/fact-sheet-palestinian-refugees-the-right-of-return-under-international-law/441

"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..." https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

Monday, July 27, 2026

".... diplomacy, multilateralism and global standards are a better choice than a race for the bomb."

The Guardian view on a US-Saudi nuclear agreement: an offer that further erodes international safeguards

Editorial

Even if no reactors are built, Donald Trump’s announcement of a double-standards deal with Riyadh has wrought further damage in a new era of proliferation

Sun 26 Jul 2026 12.29 EDT

Even as he threatened to escalate an unlawful war sold in part as preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon, Donald Trump opened the door to proliferation in the region on Wednesday. The US announced that it had signed a deal with Saudi Arabia which would potentially allow the kingdom to enrich uranium in future and to avoid the fullest inspection rights for the international watchdog.

Experts have long warned that a civilian nuclear programme could create a path towards a nuclear-armed Riyadh. Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince and de facto leader, has said that if Tehran gets a nuclear weapon, “we will have to get one”. Concerns are magnified by the agreement’s terms. Washington previously argued that the “gold standard” was the United Arab Emirates’ agreement to permanently forgo enrichment and accept full monitoring by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency. Weakening it sets a precedent that Russia or China could also cite in nuclear deals in future.

The turmoil that Mr Trump has created in the Middle East is encouraging governments both to hedge their bets and to tool up. The US paused attacks on Iran at the weekend, after 13 successive days of strikes, amid reports that it is concerned about declining interceptor stockpiles, but no exit is in sight. As António Guterres, the UN secretary general, said on Thursday, the region “is teetering on the edge of [the] unimaginable … One crisis feeds another. One escalation triggers the next.” ... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/26/the-guardian-view-on-a-us-saudi-nuclear-agreement-an-offer-that-further-erodes-international-safeguards

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

"Bombing the infrastructure people rely on will not make Iranians [or Palestinians] embrace those carrying out the attacks." .... ‘It’s truly hell here’: airstrikes, repression and water shortages become ‘new normal’ for Iranians

Iranians describe how daily life is becoming ever harder as conflict continues and human rights crisis worsens

Three boys play in the shallow waters of the strait of Hormuz as a plume of smoke rises from an explosion in the background, off Bandar Abbas, Iran Photograph: Razieh Poudat/AP

As US airstrikes hit port and inland cities in Iran, and Tehran strikes at the US’s Middle East allies, the escalating conflict has left many Iranians fearing that, amid war and a worsening human rights crisis, they remain trapped in a cycle of violence and repression with no way out.

Bandar Abbas, on the strait of Hormuz and the headquarters of the Iranian navy, has been hit by strikes every night since the latest escalation began nearly two weeks ago. Soroush*, a writer based in the city who secretly publishes a newsletter documenting human rights violations in Iran, described a “new normal” for its residents.

“We need to accept this could just be our new reality now and it’s worked because we are less afraid as each day goes on,” the 37-year-old said. “We are less afraid of the future because we are now forced to accept this is the new normal. There’s no one coming to save us from the bombs or the regime’s bullets. Our brains have tricked us into making peace with this new reality.”

For those living near the port, loud explosions followed by prolonged power cuts have become the norm over the past week.

Mehnaz*, 39, depends on the internet for her work and says she was already struggling with the government-imposed internet shutdown, which has severely affected her earnings.

“We always had power cuts, but the hours have now extended and I fear I can’t rely on my online work any more. The war is far from the end and daily life is becoming harder under the bombs, power cuts and internet shutdowns. It’s truly hell here,” she said.

Another port city reportedly struck by the US this week was Jask. State media claimed US strikes hit 100 civilian vessels and that an attack on the Bonji desalination plant left 20 villages without drinking water... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/22/its-truly-hell-here-airstrikes-repression-and-water-shortages-become-new-normal-for-iranians

Saturday, July 11, 2026

RED CROSS ICRC: In armed conflicts, AI systems can fail, be manipulated or produce unreliable results. That is why decisions involving the use of force must remain under meaningful human control. Machines may support judgement. They must never replace human responsibility.

https://www.icrc.org/en/article/faq-artificial-intelligence-in-military-domain

Frequently asked questions: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the military domain

An arms race is underway in the development and deployment of new technologies in warfare, including artificial intelligence (AI). Rather than making battlefields safer for civilians, these technologies often increase risks and cause significant harm.

What is AI in the military domain?

AI in the military domain refers to the use of artificial intelligence in military systems and operations, including autonomous weapon systems, military decision-support systems, cyber operations and capabilities, logistics, surveillance and intelligence analysis.

Does international humanitarian law apply to AI in warfare?

Yes. IHL applies to all means and methods of warfare, including the use of AI technologies. Any use of force must comply with IHL principles and rules, such as distinction (between civilians and civilian objects on the one hand, and combatants and military objectives on the other), proportionality and precautions.

Why is the ICRC concerned about the use of AI in the military domain?

The ICRC is concerned that the use of AI in the military could accelerate the pace and scale of warfare, increase unpredictability and reduce human control over the use of force, creating serious risks for civilians.

AI systems are particularly vulnerable to failure in adversarial environments, where opponents may deliberately try to deceive or manipulate the systems, such as by tampering with data or exploiting weaknesses.

The ICRC emphasizes a human-centred approach because humans – not machines – remain legally responsible for decisions involving the use of force. Human judgement is essential to ensuring compliance with IHL and protecting civilians. AI systems should support human decision-making, rather than impair or replace it.

What are the main applications of AI in the military domain which raise particular concern?

The ICRC has identified three applications of AI in the military domain that pose significant risks:

Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS): these systems, once activated, can autonomously select and engage targets without further human intervention.
AI Decision-Support Systems: these systems process vast amounts of data to assist military decision-making, but they carry risks related to inherent unreliability and unpredictability, as well as human over-reliance on the system’s outputs.
AI in Information and Communication Technologies: AI is increasingly being used in cyber operations and integrated in cyber capabilities, with the potential to increase the scale of cyber-attacks, while also changing their nature and severity, especially in terms of adverse impact on civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Can technology companies become military targets if they support military operations?

Under IHL, technology companies and their employees are, prima facie, civilian objects and are protected against attack. Such protection can, however, be lost if the company’s personnel carry out certain activities or if the company’s property is used in certain ways. For instance, where specific tech company infrastructure or services are used by a warring party to make an effective contribution to military action and its total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage to the adversary, it becomes a military objective.

The ICRC therefore encourages technology companies to carefully assess how their products and services might be used in armed conflict. Companies should also take steps to avoid contributing to violations of IHL and to mitigate the risks their technologies may pose to civilians.... READ MORE https://www.icrc.org/en/article/faq-artificial-intelligence-in-military-domain

ICRC

@ICRC

In armed conflicts, AI systems can fail, be manipulated or produce unreliable results. That is why decisions involving the use of force must remain under meaningful human control.

Machines may support judgement. They must never replace human responsibility.

Learn more: ms.spr.ly/6012vIxvq

https://x.com/ICRC/status/2075565708369334651/photo/1

Thursday, June 18, 2026

NPR: June 16, 2026 Israeli ambassador to U.S. says Israel is 'not going to withdraw from South Lebanon' .... June 15, 2026 U.S. and Iran announce an initial deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz

June 16, 2026

Heard on Morning Edition

Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel (Michael) Leiter, told Morning Edition that Israel does not plan to withdraw from southern Lebanon, reinforcing a position Israeli officials have already staked out and exposing a potential fault line in a U.S.-brokered agreement with Iran.

"We're not going to withdraw from South Lebanon, and the madmen of Tehran have no business poking their nose into this," Leiter said in an interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Leiter's comments echoed remarks from Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who said this week that Israel would not retreat from Lebanon, Syria or Gaza "despite all the existing pressures and those that may yet come."

The position clashes with statements from Iranian officials, who have said Lebanon is part of a broader understanding reached with Washington. Iran's deputy foreign minister said the cessation of fighting would apply "on all fronts," including Lebanon.... READ MORE https://www.npr.org/2026/06/16/nx-s1-5858937/israels-ambassador-to-the-u-s-talks-about-u-s-iran-deal-to-end-war

Listen to the full interview by clicking on the blue play button above.

The digital version of this interview was written by Majd Al-Waheidi and edited by Treye Green.

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

U.S. and Iran announce an initial deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz