Government-Military
From WikiDemocracy
Russia has been working on creating drones that ‘call home’, go undercover and start fires. Here’s how they work
by Marcel Plichta 4/6/25 THE CONVERSATION
Russia launched its largest single drone attack of the war against Ukraine’s cities on June 1. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that they faced 472 unmanned one-way attack (OWA) drones overnight.
Opinion: As darkness descends on Gaza, I yearn for the world to see us, too
An explosive roar shakes my home and my laptop goes flying, landing amid shattered glass and debris. Looking at its flickering screen, I sigh and brace myself to pronounce the death of another computer — and this essay. I collect it gently from the floor and coax it back to life. I keep writing.
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“They Are Making Us into Slaves, Not Educating Us”
Since the border war with Ethiopia in the late 1990s, Eritrea’s President Isaias Afewerki and the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) have used indefinite national service to control the Eritrean population. Human Rights Watch research finds that many Eritreans have spent their entire working lives at the service of the government in either a military or civilian capacity.
Mexico: Militarization of public security will lead to more human rights violations and perpetuate impunity
by Marco Rodríguez 9/9/22 AMNESTY INTERNATRIONAL
“We deeply regret the Senate’s decision. We have already seen the disastrous results of the militarization of public security forces in Mexico over the last 16 years. Instead of continuing along this path, we call on the executive branch to design a plan for the progressive withdrawal of the armed forces from the streets, prioritizing the strengthening of civilian police forces and the development of public prevention policies aimed at guaranteeing public safety. Enough of human rights violations and impunity!” said Edith Olivares Ferreto, executive director of Amnesty International Mexico.
“I couldn’t wear a uniform that symbolizes killing and oppression” – Israeli activist who refuses to serve in the Israeli army
by Itamar Greenberg 20/3/25 AMNESTITY INTERNATIONAL
Itamar Greenberg is an 18-year-old Israeli conscientious objector who has been repeatedly jailed, and has served five consecutive sentences at Neve Tzedek military prison in Central Israel, for refusing to enlist in the Israeli army after being summoned for compulsory military service. Here he describes why he refuses to serve in the Israeli army.
Justice Department Finds Tulsa Massacre Was a “Coordinated, Military-Style Attack”
by Equal Justice Initiative 13/1/25
The Justice Department issued a report Friday on the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921, when as many as 10,000 white Tulsans murdered hundreds of Black residents and burned businesses and homes to the ground in an attack that federal investigators found “was so systematic and coordinated that it transcended mere mob violence.”
50 years of Israeli Occupation: Four Outrageous Facts about Military Order 101
by AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 25/8/17
27 August marks 50 years since Israel issued Military Order 101, a law that punishes Palestinians for peaceful political expression. Anyone breaching the order faces imprisonment for up to 10 years and/or a hefty fine. 50 years on, Military Order 101, which is almost as old as Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, continues to apply to Palestinians in the West Bank, and may be enforced at any time.
Niger: Authorities failing to uphold their commitment to respect human rights since military coup
by AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 18/3/25
The report, “Niger: Threatened and Brought to Heel: Human Rights and Civic Space under pressure since the 26 July Coup”, sheds light on the deterioration of civic space and violations of civil and political rights since the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum.
Military courts: The front line of Uganda’s war on dissent
by AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 18/4/25
Uganda is gearing up for general elections in January 2026 – the seventh since President Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986. As in the lead-up to previous polls, repression is on the rise. This time, however, it has extended beyond Uganda’s own borders.
Nixon Adviser Admits War on Drugs Was Designed to Criminalize Black People
by Equal Justice Initiative 25.3.16
After President Richard Nixon declared a “war on drugs” in 1971, the number of people incarcerated in American jails and prisons escalated from 300,000 to 2.3 million. Half of those in federal prison are incarcerated for a drug offense, and two-thirds of those in prison for drug offenses are people of color. Disproportionate arrest, conviction, and sentencing rates for drug offenses have devastated communities of color in America.
The Civil War and emancipation
On November 6, 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States -- an event that outraged southern states. The Republican party had run on an anti-slavery platform, and many southerners felt that there was no longer a place for them in the Union. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded. By Febrary 1, 1861, six more states -- Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas -- had split from the Union. The seceded states created the Confederate States of America and elected Jefferson Davis, a Mississippi Senator, as their provisional president.
REPORTING AMERICA AT WAR
During the Gulf War, when this draconian new philosophy of censorship came in, suddenly we found ourselves in these pools. Now, I had been covering the whole buildup, ever since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait [in 1990], so I really hoped to be able to cover the war as well. Instead, like in roulette, we were picked and put into pools.
Mobile, Alabama
More than 15,000 people from Mobile served in the armed forces; 300 died in action. Women would hold nearly a quarter of defense-related jobs in Alabama during the war years. A $26-million defense contract transformed the municipal airport into Brookley Field, a major Army Air Force supply depot and bomber modification center that provided 17,000 civilian jobs.To relieve the desperate overcrowding in Mobile, the National Housing Agency provided 14,000 units for white workers– but fewer than 1,000 for blacks.
African Americans
The all-African-American 332nd Fighter Group, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, never lost an escorted bomber to enemy fighters. They would be requested by numerous bomber crews. With the 51st Defense Battalion, the Marines became the last branch of the military to accept a segregated unit. The Red Ball Express was organized in August 1944 to move supplies 24 hours a day to the front.
Winning the war
Eighty years after the Allied victory, Kansas City PBS examines the enduring legacy of World War II through the lens of Harry S. Truman of Independence, Missouri, and Dwight D. Eisenhower of Abilene, Kansas, whose leadership played decisive roles in ending the war. The film will include interviews with experts and veterans, as well as Eisenhower’s granddaughter and Truman’s grandson.
Why is it that journalists aren't heroes anymore?
The public is not on our side, and I think that in the news media, one of the things is you have to have the public on your side. This is what the biggest difference is now for me. When we ended up going against the Black Panthers -- and in that period, the people used to be happy to see us coming as reporters, because they actually believe that we were going to be a part of telling some truth; that there were situations where I'd see us come onto a scene and people would actually applaud us. We were hero figures. You might say it's part of the last great time to be a reporter, especially a newspaperman, in America. But that is what's different. We don't have that kind of trust now. People don't hold us in that high regard. ...
War Comes Home
All across the country, heavily armed SWAT teams are raiding people’s homes in the middle of the night, often just to search for drugs. It should enrage us that people have needlessly died during these raids, that pets have been shot, and that homes have been ravaged.
Ukraine’s religious community perseveres through the horrors of war
by Nick Schifrin 12/5/22 PBS NEWS
The transcript for this segment has been corrected to use “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” to refer to the independent church in Ukraine. It has also been updated to reflect that while the informal meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill broke years of absence between the Roman and Russian Orthodox Churches, the schism remains. The NewsHour regrets the errors.
Explosive investigative report says U.S. government misled public on war in Afghanistan
by Judy Woodruff 9/12/19 PBS NEWS
In a blockbuster story representing the culmination of several years of investigation and pursuit of government documents, The Washington Post reports that U.S. officials have been misleading the American public about the war in Afghanistan for the past 18 years. John Yang talks to The Washington Post’s Craig Whitlock, lead reporter on the story, about what the classified document trove revealed.
50-year war on drugs imprisoned millions of Black Americans
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/50-year-war-on-drugs-imprisoned-millions-of-black-americans by Aaron Morrison 26/7/21 PBS NEWS]
As a teenager, Alton Lucas believed basketball or music would pluck him out of North Carolina and take him around the world. In the late 1980s, he was the right-hand man to his musical best friend, Youtha Anthony Fowler, who many hip hop and R&B heads know as DJ Nabs.
Watch the Civil War
The Civil War was fought in 10,000 places. 2% of the general population died in the war and it changed forever the lives of all who lived through it.
Is Obama’s War in Afghanistan Just?
by Michael Walzer 3/12/09 DISSENT
WELL, IT was a just war in the beginning, and it is worth remembering why. It wasn’t because the Taliban regime was “harboring” al Qaeda, as President Obama said on Tuesday night. Lots of countries harbor terrorists, and we are not going to war (and should not) with all of them. Afghanistan was different: the Taliban and al Qaeda were full partners, and because of that partnership, al Qaeda enjoyed all the benefits of sovereignty—most important, a territorial base. A military attack aimed at eliminating that base, and its political basis, was therefore justified.
Report: The War on Marijuana in Black and White
Over-Policing: Between 2001 and 2010, there were over 8 million pot arrests in the U.S. That’s one bust every 37 seconds and hundreds of thousands ensnared in the criminal justice system.
Watch The Vietnam War | Full Documentary
After a long and brutal war, Vietnamese revolutionaries led by Ho Chi Minh end nearly a century of French colonial occupation. With the Cold War intensifying, Vietnam is divided in two at Geneva. Communists in the north aim to reunify the country, while America supports Ngo Dinh Diem's untested regime in the south.
The FBI’s War on Black America
by ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT 1990
The FBI’s War on Black America is a documentary exploration of the lives and deaths of people targeted by the U.S. government’s COINTELPRO program, an FBI launched program aimed against organized efforts by African-Americans to gain rights guaranteed by our constitution. Includes both archival footage and contemporary interviews with people involved in the movement.
Republicans demand US lead a new war to 'eradicate Isis' after Paris attacks
by Dan Roberts 15/11/15 The Guardian
Following a Democratic television debate on Saturday that was dominated by calls for a tougher response to Islamic State radicals, leading Republicans joined the fray on Sunday in a series of political interviews that also saw linked attacks on immigration and calls for more intelligence surveillance.
Cambodia: Abusive “war on drugs”, rife with torture and corruption, must be overhauled
by AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 13/5/20
The Cambodian government’s three-year long “war on drugs” campaign has fuelled a rising tide of human rights abuses, dangerously overfilled detention facilities and led to an alarming public health situation – even more so as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds – while failing in its stated objective of curbing drug use, a new investigative report by Amnesty International published today reveals.
What Do Americans Think About War?
by Monica Potts 3/3/22 FIVETHIRTYEIGHT
Merely a week after Sept. 11, then-president George W. Bush signed a joint resolution from Congress authorizing the use of force against those responsible, and the U.S. and British, with international support, began bombing Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces Oct. 7. The American public almost universally approved this rush to war: A Gallup poll conducted soon after found that 90 percent supported the war and only 5 percent opposed it.
Russia Criminalizes Independent War Reporting, Anti-War Protests
Update (March 23, 2022): In the three days after the law’s adoption on March 4, Russian authorities opened at least 60 cases on the administrative offense of “discrediting Russian armed forces,” the vast majority against peaceful anti-war protesters. By March 23, at least six criminal cases had been opened for “false information” about Russian armed forces’ actions, at least three of which involved aggravated charges. Reports in the media estimate that at least 150 journalists fled Russia within two weeks of the start of this war on February 24.
The Drug War and “National Security”
by Jefferson Morley and Malcolm Byrne 1989 DISSENT
The war on drugs is entering its twentieth year. On October 24, 1969, President Richard Nixon called a press conference to issue the initial declaration of war. Every president since has escalated the hostilities. President-elect Bush promises to do the same. Yet there is still no prospect of success.
Poll Results on American Attitudes Toward War on Drugs
As the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s declaration of a “War on Drugs” approaches, the vast
majority of American voters believe the policy has been a failure. The majority of voters believe that current drug policies have made the problem of drug use and addiction worse and only served to overcrowd the nation’s jails. As a result, nearly two-thirds of the country believes we need a new approach based in public health, not law enforcement. Moreover, 66%, including majorities of Independents and Democrats, would support eliminating all criminal penalties for drug possession and reinvesting saved resources into treatment and addiction services
“License to Kill”
This report examines 24 incidents, resulting in 32 deaths, involving Philippine National Police personnel between October 2016 and January 2017.
House Passes Authority for Worldwide War
The House just passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including a provision to authorize worldwide war, which has no expiration date and will allow this president — and any future president — to go to war anywhere in the world, at any time, without further congressional authorization. The new authorization wouldn’t even require the president to show any threat to the national security of the United States. The American military could become the world’s cop, and could be sent into harm’s way almost anywhere and everywhere around the globe.
April 17, 1965: Largest Anti-War Protest
by ZINN EDUCATION PROJECT 1961
April 17, 1965 was the largest anti-war protest to have been held in Washington, D.C. up to that time.
Racial Violence after the Civil War, 1865-1876
In 1865, after two and a half centuries of brutal enslavement, Black Americans had great hope that emancipation would finally mean real freedom and opportunity. Most formerly enslaved people in the United States were remarkably willing to live peacefully with those who had held them in bondage despite the violence they had suffered and the degradation they had endured.
Netanyahu Had Ceasefire Deal in April 2024 But Kept Gaza War Going to Stay in Power: NY Times
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected ceasefire deals and other chances to deescalate the devastating war in Gaza and beyond, all to remain in power and avoid corruption charges, according to a new investigation in The New York Times Magazine. “Netanyahu put the integrity of the coalition, the safety of his continuous rule of the government and the state … as a first priority ahead of any other priority,” says Ronen Bergman, Pulitzer Prize-winning Israeli investigative reporter.
REPORTING AMERICA AT WAR
I had a jeep in Da Nang, and the afternoon before, I went out and did a little tour of some of the marine corps units to find out what was happening, to see if anybody was going on operations the next day, because the operations usually began very early in the morning, four-thirty, five o'clock. I came to this unit and they said, "Yes, we're going on a search-and-destroy in the morning. You want to come along? Please come along."
Israel and the Palestinians: History of the conflict explained
There have been a series of wars between Israel and Arab nations. Uprisings - called intifadas - against Israeli occupation, and reprisals and crackdowns by Israel have also taken place.
I'm a Ukrainian journalist. I never expected to be a war reporter in my own country
by Polina Lytvynova 25/2/24 npr
KYIV, Ukraine — I've never dreamed of covering any war. And I never could imagine that the first war I would cover would be in my own country. And this war has now become not only my job but also my life.
Russia Criminalizes Independent War Reporting, Anti-War Protests
The amendments expand the laws on “false information” and “discreditation” to include government bodies such as the Russian Guard (currently taking part in the hostilities in Ukraine), embassies, consulates, and emergency services. The penalties are similar to those set out in the initial law criminalizing “false information” and “discrediting” the Russian armed forces.
The Risks And Rewards Of Reporting In A War Zone
There are lots of jobs in journalism that don't involve risking your life, especially when these days any man or woman with a mobile phone can send news to millions of people. When a tornado strikes or a bomb explodes, people on the scene now bring word of it in words, images, and sounds before professional reporters can even reach for their shoes.
=====YELLOW JOURNALISM] by PBS
William Randolph Hearst, son of wealthy U.S. Senator George Hearst and Phoebe Apperson Hearst, was born in San Francisco in 1863. Hearst's passion for journalism began when he was a young man. As a student at Harvard, Hearst worked on the Harvard Lampoon and later apprenticed with New York World owner Joseph Pulitzer.
Even In 'The War To End All Wars,' There Was Art Coming From The Trenches
The Americans didn't arrive until three years into the war and fought for less than a year. They joined French, Russian, British and other troops fighting Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. World War I was the first "modern" industrial war with large numbers of tanks, heavy artillery and planes. Tragically, it was also a war of trenches.
REPORTING AMERICA AT WAR
Because of what I knew of the Buddhist tradition in Vietnam, I realized that it had to be taken seriously. So while other correspondents got tired of the endless Buddhist street demonstrations that were going on all that summer, I stuck with them, because I had the sense that sooner or later something would happen. I became a familiar presence at the main pagoda in Saigon. The monks knew that I appreciated their cuisine. We were friendly. One of them was a Yale graduate, as a matter of fact. And I was sincerely interested in what they were doing, quite aside from the news value of it.
REPORTING AMERICA AT WAR
I suppose emotions here in the Pacific are the same as they were among the Allies all over the world. First a shouting of the good news with such joyous surprise that you would think the shouter himself had brought it about.
Ukraine war: Is impartiality always key to quality journalism?
by Zahera Harb 9/3/22 ALJAZEERA
Since the very first Russian troops made their way into Ukraine in the early hours of February 24, the Anglo-American coverage of Europe’s latest war has been full of emotion and patriotic sentiment. Western correspondents on the ground in Ukraine and in newsrooms across Europe and America not only demonstrated high levels of empathy for Ukrainian civilians suffering from Russia’s unprovoked aggression, but also significant sympathy for those taking up arms to protect their country against the invader.
Hemingway, Journalism and War
In this virtual event series, filmmakers and special guests explore the writer’s art and legacy. Conversations on Hemingway: Hemingway, Journalism and War was presented by The Kansas City Star and Kansas City PBS, and features Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, Alex Vernon and Melinda Henneberger.
Michael Herr, Whose Vietnam War Reporting Became Iconic, Dies At 76
When Herr left to cover the Vietnam War for Esquire, he didn't bring a great amount of journalistic experience. At 27, he'd been an amateur film critic, written some travel pieces and had worked on Syracuse University's literary magazine. But by the time his book Dispatches came out 10 years later, none of that mattered.
How the siege of Sarajevo changed war reporting
by Kenneth Morrison 19/4/21 ALJAZEERA
The siege lasted 1,425 days, making it the longest siege in modern history, and killed more than 11,000 people. Many of the city’s most important cultural institutions, historical monuments, sporting venues and the wider social and economic infrastructure were destroyed or seriously damaged. Ordinary citizens, already suffering the privations caused by the cutting-off of gas, electricity and water supplies, were not only caught in the crossfire but deliberately targeted by shell and sniper fire.
=====REPORTRING AMERICA AT WAR] by RICHARD HARDING DAVIS PBS
I am going to try to describe some kits and outfits I have seen used in different parts of the world by travellers and explorers, and in different campaigns by army officers and war correspondents. Among the articles, the reader may learn of some new thing which, when next he goes hunting, fishing, or exploring, he can adapt to his own uses. That is my hope, but I am sceptical.
=====REPORTING AMERICA AT WAR] by PBS
In humans the sense of sight is by far the most dominant of the five senses. Scientists who study the brain have determined that about one-quarter of the human cerebral cortex is involved in the sense of sight. Today's media environment reflects our strong reliance on sight as a way of taking in information. It is an environment filled with a vast array of visual images, some moving, some still. Although video and film occupy most of our attention when it comes to the visual media, the photograph or still image provides valuable lessons in understanding the techniques used to convey information visually.
Millennials fear catastrophic war: it’s time for the world to act on their concerns
by Peter Maurer 20/1/20 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) survey found that most respondents – 54% – believe it’s likely a nuclear attack will occur in the next decade. And even more millennials think it’s more likely than not that there will be a third world war in their lifetime.
Reporting On The War In Syria, Despite The Obstacles To Being There
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. My guests are reporting on the war in Syria in spite of the fact that they can no longer enter the country. Anne Barnard is the Beirut bureau chief for The New York Times. Thanassis Cambanis is a journalist and Middle East expert who writes a column for The Boston Globe and is a fellow at The Century Foundation.
