#Defence policy

[very-lost-hobbit]

"US proxy war in Ukraine" Beating u with lead pipes

#Ukraine. is. fighting. a. genocide. Yes USA foreign policy has a lot to be critisized but a TINY SLIVER of a defence budget #being sent to Ukraine is NOT one of them (except the fucking. lack of actual teeth and backing but that's not unique to the US) #UKRAINE. WOULD FIGHT. ANYWAYS. YOU GODDAMN DINGDONGS. #And the more information that comes out from liberated territories the more I'm pissed off that people piss and moan #about arming Ukraine (WHICH THE US ISN'T EVEN DOING RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID INTERNAL POLITICS!!!!) #rusbots fuck off it'll be block on sight I'm not arguing about this lmfao #I'm taking a break from internet I've seen too much of this shit lately peace gang see you in a few days ✌ #current events #kat gets personal #me #ukraine

[afieldinengland]

now ollie did do a shit job at mission: fuck the tory information girl for tory information, but that was surely in part due to being a bit useless generally. did emma, hardworking young woman and horse-loving posh weekend-at-daddy’s vacuous nothing that she was, get any worthwhile information from ollie? or was she hampered by the fact that he was himself 75% out of the loop on a good day. could she not have taken her concerning but upward political motivations and hairstyle to the bedroom of someone in the ministry of defence

#world’s worst governmental catamite hamstringed by knowing fuck all: #‘i asked her about their policy on emissions and she just rolled over and went to sleep’ said man smoking fag out of kitchen window in flat #i know she’s in defence in 2x01. love that they’re like You can’t possibly fuck your opposite number as if they suddenly have principles #i’m just trying to puzzle out what use he could have been. because surely her party would have also pressed her to wring him for anything he #had. which was ultimately fuck all i don’t think he had state secrets kicking around with his film magazines and his tie collection #maybe just information on malcolm? lying in bed after ten minutes of missionary where he asked her to bite him and cried when she said no #and she has to be like So. malcolm biting you again? #the thick of it

[finnlongman]

I'm not sure if everyone at S&S has just given up on trying to wrest commas out of my goblinous little hands or what, but I got my copyedits for TBA3 and they haven't touched a single comma, except for one that was a typo anyway. Which is delightful, because usually we end up fighting over those for ages 😂

#i have worn them down with my emphatic defences of my comma policies #tba3 process

[prabodhjamwal]

Rising Discontent in Pakistan-Administered Kashmir: A Call for Economic Reforms

“Pakistan’s government must heed the calls for economic relief and political fairness to restore peace and ensure the well-being of the people in AJK” Maria Iqbal Tarana* The once relatively peaceful region of Pakistan-Administered Kashmir, also known as Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK), was recently engulfed in unrest. The catalyst for this turmoil was the skyrocketing prices of essential goods such as…

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#AJK #Crisis in Pak-Administered Kashmir #Defence matters #Electricity #Foreign Policy #Indian Kashmir #Islamabad #JAAC #Rising Inflation #Semi-autonomous character #Stability #Unrest #Violence in Pak-administered Kashmir #Wheat Flour

[head-post]

US Defense Secretary Austin diagnosed with prostate cancer

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin was taken to hospital on New Year’s Eve as a result of complications from prostate cancer, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement said the cancer was discovered in early December. On Dec. 22, he underwent a “minimally invasive surgical procedure” called a prostatectomy to treat the cancer. The statement read:

He was under general anesthesia during this procedure. Secretary Austin recovered uneventfully from his surgery and returned home the next morning. His prostate cancer was detected early, and his prognosis is excellent.

Read more HERE

#world news #world politics #news #us foreign policy #us news #us politics #usa news #usa politics #usa today #america #united states #americans #united states of america #lloyd austin #cancer #physical health #health care #health #defence minister

[green2stayecomarketing]

#Sustainability♻️ #IndependentMedia🗞️🎙️🖥️ #🇺🇲🇬🇧ColdWar 🐂💩 #SWD🕸️ #G2S 🌿 Thankyou (Under 2 Min Video) #Australian🇦🇺 #Defence 🪖 #Policy 📝 2023 Explained? #WorkingDogProductions - "The Absolute #Stupidity🤪 Of #AUKUS !" https://youtu.be/sgspkxfkS4k?si=bNcBErFMKb9FS4BW

#Sustainability♻️ IndependentMedia🗞️🎙️🖥️ 🇺🇲🇬🇧ColdWar 🐂💩 SWD🕸️ G2S 🌿 Australian Defence Policy 📝 WorkingDogProductions #Youtube

[kp777]

#systemic racism #u.s. military #u.s. department of defence #racism #u.s. foreign policy

[theculturedmarxist]

In 2020, Robert Kuciemba, a woodworker in San Francisco was infected with covid by a co-worker after his Nevada-based Victory Woodworks transferred a number of sick workers to the San Francisco site for a few months. 

Through the proceedings of the case it turns out that the employer knew some employees might be sick but they transferred them anyway and ignored a San Francisco ordinance in place at the time to quarantine suspected covid cases.

Kuciemba was subsequently infected and he then infected his wife, who ended up in ICU on a ventilator.

The California Supreme Court just ruled against Kuciemba on the basis that a victory, while, in the court's words, "morally" the right thing to do, would create "dire financial consequences for employers" and cause a "dramatic expansion of liability" to stop the spread of covid.

There’s a few stunning details to note in this case. First, the court agreed that there is no doubt the company had ignored the San Francisco health ordinance. In other words, they accepted the company had broken the law. And then concluded “yeah, but, capitalism.”

Secondly, the case was so obviously important to the struggle between capitalism and mass infection that the US Chamber of Commerce, the largest business lobbying organisation got involved and helped the company with its defence. Remember, this is a tiny company in a niche industry. The involvement of the biggest business lobbyists in the country tells us a lot about the importance of the principle they knew was at stake.

Thirdly, the defence of the company is very telling. They said “There is simply no limit to how wide the net will be cast: the wife who claims her husband caught COVID-19 from the supermarket checker, the husband who claims his wife caught it while visiting an elder care home." 

Well, exactly. Capitalism couldn’t survive if employers were liable for covid infections contracted in the workplace, and the ripple effect of those infections. And they know it. 

This case is something of a covid smoking gun, revealing what we always suspected but had never seen confirmed in so many words: the public health imperative of controlling a pandemic virus by making employers liable for some of that control is, and always must be, secondary to capitalist profit. 

This ruling is also saying out loud what has been obvious to anyone paying attention for the last two years: employers don’t have a responsibility to keep your family safe from covid. You have that responsibility. And if you give a family member covid that you caught at work and they get sick or die – even if it was a result of law-breaking by your employer – that’s on you buddy.

It is the same old capitalist story: the shunting of responsibility for ills that should be shared across society, including employers in that society, onto individuals.

This ruling essentially helps codify workplace mass infection and justifies it as necessary for the smooth functioning of capitalism.

This is not new. This is where the ‘just a cold’ and the ‘mild' narrative came from. It came from doctors and healthcare experts whose first loyalty was to capitalism. Not to public health. To money, not to lives. Abetted by media who uncritically platformed them.

While this ruling tells us little that we couldn’t already see from the public policy approach of the last two years, it is revealing (and to some extent validating) to see it confirmed by the highest law of the land in the United States. 

#covid 19 #capitalism #eugenics #class war

[duncangabi]

Opinion: US-PNG Defence Co-operation Agreement and Ship-Riders Agreement- Navigating Geopolitical Challenges

As an engaged observer of the US-PNG Defence Co-operation Agreement and Ship-Riders Agreement, I have delved into the subject matter, conducted extensive research, and formed an informed opinion on these agreements. Contrary to the recent social media frenzy, my concerns are rooted in geopolitical implications rather than leaked documents. While I recognize the benefits of these agreements, I…

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#China #Geopolitics #James Marape #Papua New Guinea #PNG Foreign Policy #Ship-Rider Agreement #United States of America #US-PNG Defence Co-operation Agreement

[heritageposts]

Secret South African documents reveal that Israel offered to sell nuclear warheads to the apartheid regime, providing the first official documentary evidence of the state's possession of nuclear weapons. The "top secret" minutes of meetings between senior officials from the two countries in 1975 show that South Africa's defence minister, PW Botha, asked for the warheads and Shimon Peres, then Israel's defence minister and now its president, responded by offering them "in three sizes". The two men also signed a broad-ranging agreement governing military ties between the two countries that included a clause declaring that "the very existence of this agreement" was to remain secret. The documents, uncovered by an American academic, Sasha Polakow-Suransky, in research for a book on the close relationship between the two countries, provide evidence that Israel has nuclear weapons despite its policy of "ambiguity" in neither confirming nor denying their existence.

. . . continues at the guardian (24th of may, 2010)

here's also a research paper published in 2004, which, looking at declassified south african documents, lays out apartheid south africa's rational for acquiring nuclear weapons (bombing, or 'deterring,' black liberation groups):

#palestine #israel #gaza #south africa #just thought i'd bring this back up with the ICJ hearings #the relationship between israel and apartheid south african was interesting to say the least #and yes israel has nukes; this is an open secret that the western world has collectively decided to turn a blind eye to

[tikkunolamresistance]

Zionism has taught Jews that we are ontologically different from the rest of humanity and collective community. Instilled within us that our only claim to safety, the only true way we can be undoubtedly safe, was through the existence of a quasi-Religious, ethno-nationalist state strictly dictated by the Zionist project. That the self-determination of Jews can only, exclusively, be achieved through the establishment of this colony of forced-assimilation. The equation of Zionism equals Judaism, no matter the disastrous consequences of which, has raised millions of Jewish people around the world.

And trust, it has not only been by the hands of Jewish Zionism. For Christian Zionism plays a major, glaring role in this indoctrination. With there being more Christian Zionists than there are Jews in the world (with much of the Republican and Democratic parties being Christian Zionists) the ideology of The Rapture, second coming of Jesus, with establishment of Jerusalem as the World’s new Capital following; Jews and Palestinians are just canon-fodder; pawns to summon Jesus. We implore that you do further reading on this matter and it’s instrumental role in Zionist ideology.

And one can only wonder, one can only assume, that has this not since opened an irrefutable Pandora’s Box of a new kind of capitalist nationalism onto the global Jewish community? To appoint a group as above another is a complexity of supremacy that we’ve seen through history. If we look at Imperialist history, we see what ideology has forced its way through epochs to excuse brutal expansionist policy.

What’s worst, and what’s most enraging, is that Shoah has been weaponised not only from the Holocaust industry— the billions made from displaying Jewish generational trauma and the cinematic brutalisation of our people— to ensure the West can constantly remind us that their role in the war was for Jewish liberation, and certainly not due to fearing Nazi imperial domination as a threat to Western imperial interests… but to merit the Israeli States’ “right to self determination” and “self-defence” against inevitable Native Palestinian uprising.

Zionism is a right-wing, ethnonationalist idology that has been used to control and influence Jewish communities for decades, to justify imperialist expansion. It’s an insult, a disgrace, to Jewish history, identity and peoplehood.

Anti-Zionism is the radical rejection and desire to dismantle the very systems that harm not only us, Jews, but our brothers and sisters in this fight against capitalist regime. We seek unity, liberation, equity, justice. We seek love where there has been unprecedented hatred. We seek grace where there has been insolence. Anti-Zionism is integral in the fight for true global liberation.

There is pain upon the Holy Land, Palestine, and we must admit that we can do something about it.

#free palestine #palestine #anti capitalism #anti imperialism #jumblr #judaism #israel #jewish thought #jewish #antizionism #jewish antizionists #antizionists unite #christian hegemony #christian zionism

[j-august]

Short-termism has been the distinguishing intellectual vice of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. For the first time in recorded history, there has been a widespread assumption that the experience of all previous generations is irrelevant to present policy. Institutions, like individuals, however, diminish their effectiveness if they fail to reflect on past successes and failures. The most senior MI5 officer to write some of its history was Anthony Simkins, who after his retirement collaborated with Sir Harry Hinsley in writing the official history of security and intelligence in the Second World War. "I would have been a better DDG," Simkins said afterwards, "if I had written my history first.

Christopher Andrew, The Defence of the Realm

#quote #quotation #Christopher Andrew #The Defence of the Realm #short-termism #institutions #policy #experience #irrelevant #effectiveness #success #failure #Anthony Simkins #Sir Harry Hinsley #history #historians #the plea of the historian: listen to me!

[taxadvisory1234]

#audit #taxes #tax service #tax settlement #GST #advisory firm #business owners policy #accounting #accountant #business #financial planning #businessowner #services #news #industry news #ITR files #audit defence #experts

[zvaigzdelasas]

The International Court of Justice has issued a ground-breaking decision in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, ordering Israel to comply with six provisional measures to safeguard the right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from genocidal violence.

The court’s order is binding on Israel and formalizes the international legal obligations of other countries that are parties to the UN Genocide Convention.

Properly understood, the order should dramatically alter both the foreign and domestic policy decisions of Israel’s allies, including Canada and the United States.

Israel and its allies cannot dismiss or minimize the importance of this decision. In granting interim relief, the court concluded that South Africa’s allegations of genocide are, at a minimum, legally and factually plausible.

Crucially, the court expressly concluded, by an overwhelming majority, that Palestinians in Gaza face a “real and imminent risk” of genocide. This puts other countries on notice that they have an international legal duty to take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza in accordance with the court’s order.

As the court stated in a 2007 ruling when Bosnia accused Serbia of genocide, countries that are parties to the Genocide Convention have an obligation to prevent and a corresponding duty to act “the instant that the state learns of, or should normally have learned of, the existence of a serious risk that genocide will be committed.”

Both Canada and the U.S. have construed the court’s decision narrowly, suggesting it merely reiterates Israel’s right of self-defence and obligation to comply with international humanitarian law.

This is a legally indefensible reading of the court’s ruling.[...]

Statements of political support by the U.S. and Canada that Israel is abiding by the laws of war — contrary to the facts — cannot shield Israel or its allies from their legal obligations under the Genocide Convention. Those obligations — including to prevent genocide — are created via treaty and are interpreted by courts, the highest of which is the International Court of Justice.

The obligation to prevent genocide, combined with the court’s finding of a serious risk of genocide, means that all parties to the Genocide Convention must refrain from taking steps that would actively frustrate the effective implementation of the court’s order.[...]

But just hours after the court’s ruling, the U.S. announced it was suspending funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.[...]

The U.S. is the biggest financial contributor to UNRWA. Several other key donor countries, including Canada, quickly followed suit.

UNRWA is the largest aid provider in Gaza and a trusted lifeline to civilians in the territory. Even if the allegations are true, defunding the entire organization openly defies the court’s order and amounts to collective punishment of the civilian population in Gaza

Disturbingly, moves to defund UNRWA appear to help implement Israeli government plans to undermine the organization’s capacity to deliver aid to Palestinians in Gaza. Earlier this month, policy experts told the Knesset that UNRWA “must be dismantled and thrown in the dustbin of history” and that “no country that is a friend of Israel should provide them any money.”

The ICJ found that “the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is at serious risk of deteriorating further,” plausibly inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza.

Accordingly, any country’s action knowingly contributing to further deterioration would violate the obligation to prevent genocide and could amount to complicity in genocide.[...]

In 2022, Canada sent more than $21 million worth of military exports to Israel. The Export and Import Permits Act forbids arms permits to be issued if there’s a “substantial risk” that the goods could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law.

Because the ICJ found a serious risk of genocide in Gaza, continuing to export arms to Israel would be illegal. It would also be flagrantly inconsistent with Canada’s obligation to prevent genocide, and could expose Canada and Canadian officials to liability for participation in genocide.

We must reject the politics of deliberate indifference to atrocity currently on display in the Canadian government’s reactions to the ICJ ruling.

28 Jan 24

[head-post]

US, Denmark reach defence agreement

Denmark and the US have concluded a defence cooperation agreement that will give Washington access to military bases in the Scandinavian country, marking a historic breakthrough in Danish defence policy, Bloomberg reports.

The US will permanently station soldiers at the Karup, Skridstrup and Aalborg military bases and store weapons and equipment on Danish territory, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at a press conference in Copenhagen on Tuesday. The agreement, which is expected to be signed later this week, will also facilitate closer cooperation in military activities, including training and logistics.

With this agreement, the US completes a network of defence partnerships covering the Nordic region, having signed similar agreements with Finland and Sweden this month. Agreements with Norway and Iceland have been in place for several years.

Read more HERE

#world news #world politics #news #europe #european news #european union #eu politics #eu news #denmark #military bases #military #defence #defense #us foreign policy #us politics #us news #us army #united states #politics #usa news #usa 2023 #usa politics #usa today #united states of america #america

[seat-safety-switch]

Have you been to a teppanyaki restaurant lately? It's a fancy Japanese word that means, essentially, "fried on a metal plate." You go in there, you pay your money, and some dude does a bunch of corny jokes while frying your food right in front of you. Whole thing is a lot of fun, and you leave smelling like a barbecue just happened in your lap.

This sort of interaction between worker and customer is missing from many of our Western businesses. Things are just not fun. Nobody at McDonalds will flip a shrimp into her hat while cracking a joke about the stock market. When you get your car fixed, the team of mechanics doesn't build a flaming PB Blaster volcano to loosen the busted lower ball joint for your entertainment. And when you get someone to do your taxes, the lady they have working there takes one look at your box full of greasy parts-store receipts and just cries a whole lot, over and over, until the manager comes out and asks you to leave.

I figured it was time to change things up. Rather than ask already-overworked and heavily-underpaid workers to add an additional piece of unnecessary and annoying customer interaction to their plate, I wisely decided it would be best to ease everyone into it. Luckily for me, my general geographic area contains a very popular clown college. Thanks to recent maybe-errors in immigration policy, this school has over three thousand students at the moment, all learning the ins and outs of clownery and begging for a job, any job. And – unlike actual comedians – they don't get all froggy if you throw two dozen of them into a car and go driving around town, dropping them off at every business who won't pay our very reasonable "dismissal fee."

Friends, I'll be the first to admit that I fucked this one up, big time. I had absolutely no idea that clown makeup was flammable, or that their extensive bozo education did not include knowledge on safe food prep. That's just what happened at the A&W, which would have been bad enough if not for all the other stuff that happened. You've heard the rest of the defence from my team of attorneys, but I wanted you to hear it from me personally. If anyone has learned his lesson about employing clowns to blow up and then pop a balloon animal for laughs while standing next to the police bomb squad, it's me.