It’s now over 2 years since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th of February 2022. A service was held at Edinburgh Castle in memory of those who have died during the conflict attended by the First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf. A wreath was laid at the ceremony which included Mr Andrii Kuslii, Consulate of Ukraine in Edinburgh and members of the Ukrainian communities living in Scotland.
First Minister Humza Yousaf said:
“On the second anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine, I want to make it clear that the people of Scotland remain steadfast in support of the country and its brave citizens.
“Ukrainians are fighting for freedom, the rule of law, and the right of countries across Europe to coexist in peace and security.
“As we mourn the sacrifices of the Ukrainian people, we also look ahead positively, hoping for a day soon when Ukraine can live in peace as a free, sovereign, European nation.”
Concern is rising in Europe over the future funding support for the war in Ukraine from the US, already now committing billions to funding Israel in its bombardment of Gaza. The winners, of course, in the ongoing bombardment in Gaza are the arms manufacturers with a vast boost in sales.
Revenues from sales of arms and military services by the 100 largest companies in the industry totalled $597 billion in 2022, 3.5% less than 2021 in real terms, even as demand rose sharply, according to data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), available at www.sipri.org. This was due to issues of labour and material supplies. The arms revenues of the seven companies in the United Kingdom listed in the Top 100 grew by 2.6 % to reach $41.8 billion, or 7 % of the total. The Israeli bombardment of Gaza has come at the right time for arms manufacturers in terms of increased sales and orders.
The US supports Israel with the supply of military equipment, contributing $3bn annually in military aid. The US Senate has approved a bill committing $14bn to support Israel’s war on Gaza. Many other countries provide military support to Israel via arms sales. Some MPs in the UK Parliament have raised concerns about UK arms exports to Israel, citing a risk that they could be used to violate international humanitarian law.
Experts at the United Nations said that any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law and must cease immediately.
“All States must ‘ensure respect’ for international humanitarian law by parties to an armed conflict, as required by 1949 Geneva Conventions and customary international law.
“States must accordingly refrain from transferring any weapon or ammunition – or parts for them – if it is expected, given the facts or past patterns of behaviour, that they would be used to violate international law.”
“Such transfers are prohibited even if the exporting State does not intend the arms to be used in violation of the law – or does not know with certainty that they would be used in such a way – as long as there is a clear risk,” they said.
Islanders again gathered for a vigil in Orkney on Saturday 24th February calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a return of all hostages.
In the US, the Jewish Voice for Peace Every hosts Power Half-Hours for Gaza every day. On February 17th activists from the Palestinian Youth Movement and Jewish Voice for Peace unfurled banners reading ‘Let Gaza live” and “Ceasefire Now” at the NBA All-Star Game.
Thousands of Jews and allies, including rabbis and descendants of Holocaust survivors, shut down the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) headquarters in New York City on Thursday, protesting the organization’s involvement in U.S. politics that threatens to undermine democracy by funnelling millions of dollars into swaying members of Congress to oppose a ceasefire in Gaza.
Protesters with Jewish Voice for Peace shut down traffic outside of AIPAC’s headquarters while chanting “Let Gaza Live.” They held held massive cardboard letters that read “Dump AIPAC” and piled up red trash bags emblazoned with that same message in the street, next to a massive mural that said “AIPAC funds genocide.”
Sarah Koshar of Jewish Voice for Peace said:
“We refuse to let AIPAC speak in our name as Jews. As the number of Palestinians murdered by Israel eclipses 30,000, we call on our government to listen to the will of the people and reject AIPAC as the extremist warmongers they have always been.”
In Orkney, unless there is a ceasefire, islanders will again gather on the steps of St Magnus Cathedral on Saturday between 1 and 2pm.
Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities War’ – Mark Twain
Fiona Grahame
Categories: Uncategorized
I have started to picture mankind as rats in a cage. Fighting for territory, for dwindling resources, for power and so forth… unable to cope in a fair and civilised manner with crises that have disproportionate effects on some whilst others remain somewhat shielded or even try to exploit the very same crises for their own benefit.
Since this “rats in a cage” scenario feels so plausible, and so palpable when one considers for example the effects of climate change that causes havoc in many regions from which people then desperately try to migrate only to be faced with drawbridges that are pulled up… so palpable when stronger players deprive others from rights, possessions, even life… I googled the following: “mankind like rats in a cage.”
Up came (amongst other results): A 2015 article in the Smithsonian Magazine titled ‘How 1960s Mouse Utopias Led to Grim Predictions for Future of Humanity’ (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-mouse-utopias-1960s-led-grim-predictions-humans-180954423/).
It is an interesting read… and it can probably be interpreted from different perspectives. My take on it is that – from whichever viewpoint you look at it – mankind and rats (or mice as in the original experiment) in a cage are equally at risk to lose any moral compass that protects the social fabric needed to safeguard their communities or even their species…
Even genuine refugees are nowadays typically deemed ‘fake’ or economic refugees, especially on social media. Yet, many are rightfully despondent, perhaps enough so to work very hard in cashless exchange for basic food and shelter. It seems the death of true Christianity commenced the moment Jesus ascended.
Refugees and migrants in general don’t willfully and contently become permanent financial/resource burdens on their host nation(s). Quite likely they desire to pull their own weight via employment, even if only to prove their critics wrong. I know I’d very much want to if I was in their shoes.
I see many migrants [a.k.a. ‘illegals’] new and old in my home city, which comes close to bordering Washington State. I know that growing numbers of people, regardless of their origin, requiring housing only increases the market-value pressure on the rent rate I pay for my old one-bedroom apartment unit. I also know there’s greater pressure on the publicly-funded health services here that are already stretched thin.
Still, it would be wrong, if not hypocritical, of me to criticize often-desperate people for doing what I [and many others] likely would do in their dreadful position and if brave enough. But, of course, all of that no longer matters when they die in their attempt at arriving. …
As for war crimes, while some peoples have been brutally victimized throughout history a disproportionately large number of times, the victims of one place and time can and sometimes do become the victimizers of another place and time. People should avoid believing, let alone claiming, that they/we are not capable of committing an atrocity, even if relentlessly pushed.
Contrary to what is claimed or felt by many of us, deep down there’s a potential monster in each of us that, under the just-right circumstances, can be unleashed; and maybe even more so when convinced that God is on our side.
The world is on fire, literally and figuratively. And I, too, have been inexplicably angrier over the last couple of years and sometimes dread that I may someday leave this world that way.
Collectively and maybe even individually, we humans seem hopelessly prone to the politics of scale and differences, both real and perceived, especially those involving color, nationality, race and religion.
It’s quite plausible that if the world’s population was somehow reduced to just a few city blocks of seemingly similar residents, there’d sooner or later be some form of notable inter-neighborhood hostilities.
Still, from within ourselves we, as individuals, can resist flawed yet normalized human/societal nature thus behavior.
Perhaps somewhat relevant to this are the words of the long-deceased [1984] American sociologist Stanley Milgram, of Obedience Experiments fame/infamy: “It may be that we are puppets — puppets controlled by the strings of society. But at least we are puppets with perception, with awareness. And perhaps our awareness is the first step to our liberation.”