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Americans serving in IDF should lose US citizenship
Americans serving in IDF should lose US citizenship

Express Tribune

time6 days ago

  • Politics
  • Express Tribune

Americans serving in IDF should lose US citizenship

Listen to article This would not be an extreme position but rather doing quite a simple thing, which is stating things as they are. Soldiers serving in national armies fighting for a cause are different from sports players playing for their league, where they keep shifting their loyalties based on whichever leagues they keep popping in and out of. Even soldiers in a mercenary army actually have one cause they fight for — money. American citizens travel to Israel and enlist in the Israeli army where they fight for Israel. Yet, somehow, this extremely bizarre thing is almost never frowned upon and not much discussed either. I remember the Obama administration revoked the US passport of Edward Snowden when he blew the whistle on the corrupt and unconstitutional workings of Obama's intelligence apparatus. Snowden basically leaked the fact that the dragnet styled bulk collection of the Obama administration meant active spying on American citizens, collecting every aspect of their digital lives and storing it in a database, violating countless constitutionally protected liberties of the American citizens. Snowden did not share intelligence collection methods and other details, which could have jeopardised foreign assets, yet President Obama revoked his US passport. The rationale cited was that Snowden harmed American national security. Let us look at the American citizens enlisting in the Israel (so called) Defense Forces. We know this much that one of the main reasons why Bin Laden turned against his former sponsor, Uncle Sam, was because of the blind American support given to Israel. The 9/11 attacks were nothing but an extreme case of blowback. American citizens actively fighting with the Israelis and killing innocent children in Gaza and elsewhere in Palestine will drive home further the fact that America is supporting the aggression against the Palestinians. That narrative didn't fail before in recruiting young men to sacrifice their lives for the sake of attacking America. There is no reason to believe it will fail this time around. In fact, now the cruelty by the Israelis is a lot more than before. And American citizens in bed with such a cruel force that kills children will only shift the target of that anger more toward America than toward Israel. Now, that is a much stronger case of harming and jeopardising American national security. Citing the same rationale that the Obama administration had employed in revoking Snowden's passport, it would only be reasonable to revoke the US passports of all those American citizens, born or naturalised, who go abroad and serve in Israeli or Ukrainian armies. Israel and Ukraine are merely names of countries that happen to be foreign. That is literally textbook practice of treason. I do not know why it shouldn't be called that. Unless the word treason is supposed to act silent in pronunciation, as many letters act in various English language words, the most reasonable and honest way one can describe an act of keeping one passport and serving in another national army is treason. Many in the US lifafa punditry would argue that Israel is a US ally and serving Israeli interests only means serving American interests. Nothing can be further from the truth than that white man made nonsense. Israel has on various occasions directly and indirectly acted as extremely harmful to US national security. Israel attacked USS Liberty in 1967, killing 34 sailors. It also shared sensitive US intelligence with the Soviets in order to gain the release of Ashkenazi Jews from Russia. Israel has also transferred military technology to China harming US interests. Israel sold weapons to Iran despite US support for Iraq against Iran in the 1980s. There are unconfirmed, yet, strong indications that Jeffrey Epstein was working for Mossad in compromising and influencing American politicians to compel them to steer US foreign policy in favour of Israel, even if it meant hurting American interests and credibility. Israel is not an American ally. You cannot even find that phrase in mainstream American commentary. Yet, Americans keep serving in that enemy state's army. For a free Palestine, we need a free America first.

Snowden hoping Canterbury meeting a final midweek outing for promising pair
Snowden hoping Canterbury meeting a final midweek outing for promising pair

Sydney Morning Herald

time22-07-2025

  • Sport
  • Sydney Morning Herald

Snowden hoping Canterbury meeting a final midweek outing for promising pair

Trainer Peter Snowden says there's potential in lightly raced fillies Amreekiyah and La Roja as they kick off fresh campaigns at Canterbury today and would like to think it's the last time they'll appear at a midweek meeting. Amreekiyah is unbeaten in two provincial starts and makes her city debut in the Broadsiding @ Darley Handicap (1250m) on the back of a barrier trial win at Hawkesbury. Snowden said he's seen a good level of improvement in the Justify filly since her all-the-way win at Newcastle back in March. 'She's grown, bigger and stronger all over,' he said. 'She changed a lot last prep, but she's grown up again. She did need to furnish a bit. I'm glad we stopped when we did because she's certainly benefited.' While Snowden is confident Amreekiyah has taken the steps he wanted to see since her first campaign, he's a little cautious ahead of a first-up run. That has nothing to do with her potential, given she's by Justify and a half-sister to 2000m group 2 winner Yaletown he says there's scope for her to reach a middle distance. 'She's a quality filly, and she'll be better again when she gets out over a mile and probably further,' he said. 'It could be a little short for her, but she's still very fresh and early in her prep. We have a good draw there, so I'd be expecting her to run well.'

Snowden hoping Canterbury meeting a final midweek outing for promising pair
Snowden hoping Canterbury meeting a final midweek outing for promising pair

The Age

time22-07-2025

  • Sport
  • The Age

Snowden hoping Canterbury meeting a final midweek outing for promising pair

Trainer Peter Snowden says there's potential in lightly raced fillies Amreekiyah and La Roja as they kick off fresh campaigns at Canterbury today and would like to think it's the last time they'll appear at a midweek meeting. Amreekiyah is unbeaten in two provincial starts and makes her city debut in the Broadsiding @ Darley Handicap (1250m) on the back of a barrier trial win at Hawkesbury. Snowden said he's seen a good level of improvement in the Justify filly since her all-the-way win at Newcastle back in March. 'She's grown, bigger and stronger all over,' he said. 'She changed a lot last prep, but she's grown up again. She did need to furnish a bit. I'm glad we stopped when we did because she's certainly benefited.' While Snowden is confident Amreekiyah has taken the steps he wanted to see since her first campaign, he's a little cautious ahead of a first-up run. That has nothing to do with her potential, given she's by Justify and a half-sister to 2000m group 2 winner Yaletown he says there's scope for her to reach a middle distance. 'She's a quality filly, and she'll be better again when she gets out over a mile and probably further,' he said. 'It could be a little short for her, but she's still very fresh and early in her prep. We have a good draw there, so I'd be expecting her to run well.'

We hit 49 in our Raiders countdown to kickoff. Who wore it best and who's wearing it now
We hit 49 in our Raiders countdown to kickoff. Who wore it best and who's wearing it now

USA Today

time20-07-2025

  • Sport
  • USA Today

We hit 49 in our Raiders countdown to kickoff. Who wore it best and who's wearing it now

We've reached 49 days until the Raiders season opener at Foxboro against the Patriots, With our countdown at 49 days we take a look at who currently dons the number in Silver & Black and who has brought it the most distinction. No. 49 Who's wearing it now: DE Charles Snowden Last season was a breakout year for Snowden. The former undrafted free agent out of Virginia had bounced around for three years before finally getting his shot with the Raiders last season. With the injury to Malcolm Koonce to start the year, Snowden would appear in 16 games with nine starts. He would put up decent numbers with 39 tackles, three for a loss, 1.5 sacks, seven QB hits, and four pass breakups. Who wore it best: WR Mike Siani Siani was a first round pick for the Raiders in the 1972 NFL Draft. He would play six seasons for the Raiders, getting a ring as part of the 1976 Super Bowl squad. Though he didn't have any catches that postseason, he had put up good numbers in two previous trips to the playoffs in 1973 and 1975 with a combined 16 catches fro 228 yards and three touchdowns in four playoff games. Honorary Mention: LB Carl Weathers Yes, you read that right. I said Honorary Mention. In much the same way as famous people receive honorary degrees from universities, Weathers gets this nod. Weathers only appeared in eight games over two seasons for the Raiders. But what he did after his NFL career earns him this distinction. He is one of the most famous actors in Hollywood, having starred in such huge blockbusters as Rocky I-IV, Predator, Action Jackson, Happy Gilmore, and Toy Story 4. He passed away last year at the age of 76.

This data omnishambles is merely the high water mark of MoD ineptitude
This data omnishambles is merely the high water mark of MoD ineptitude

Telegraph

time17-07-2025

  • Politics
  • Telegraph

This data omnishambles is merely the high water mark of MoD ineptitude

If Britain retains one superpower, it is its talent for building useless bureaucracies. No government department epitomises this quite like the Ministry of Defence. Once among the nation's most reputed institutions, inheriting the prestige of the victorious British Armed Forces when it was formed after the Second World War, the MoD has grown bloated and unaccountable. What senior politicians now regard as the most opaque of all departments seemingly holds public accountability in contempt. The UK defence 'blob' has reached a point where it is imperiling national security. There must be a reckoning. The MoD's omnishambles embodies everything wrong with the British state. It has abused both the legal system and its position as the guardian of national security to conceal an extraordinary error. The marine who leaked the list in question was working out of the headquarters of the elaborately covert Directorate of Special Forces. And yet its protocols for email security apparently fall short of those enforced at British blue-chip firms. One insider tells me it would be 'shockingly easy to be a Snowden in the Ministry of Defence'. The blunder is not a freak occurrence, but rather the high water mark of the MoD's institutional failure. This is not the first major Afghan-related data leak. From laptop thefts to unclassified documents being left at bus stops, breaches have been all too common. The MoD's dysfunction extends beyond the cybersphere. It is grotesquely overstaffed: Finland, which commands a larger wartime force than Britain, has just 150 defence civil servants, yet the MoD has almost 38,000 on its payroll. Bureaucratic judgment has become pathological, swinging between 'indecision, decision by default, and terrible decisions'. It is not just in the realm of cyber technology that the MoD excels at building elaborate but inept administrative units. The department is a Frankenstein's monster, possessing the worst attributes of both the military and civil service. The British Armed Forces seldom punish failure, in contrast with American forces, which routinely remove commanding officers who fall short. 'In Britain you are more likely to be removed from post for having romantic relations with a subordinate than presiding over a blunder that endangers lives,' one former Navy officer tells me. The MoD is equally imbued with the patrician impulses of the civil service. As the historian David Vincent tells me, the civil service's ethos of 'honourable secrecy' goes back to the 19th century, summed up by the mantra: 'A secret may be sometimes best kept by keeping the secret of its being secret.' It won't be easy to bring an end to the chaos at the Ministry of Defence. Perhaps more than any other department, it has proved impervious to reform. The Tories failed miserably at the task – and may have made things more toxic. Insiders wonder whether a tacit arrangement set in, whereby politicians went along with officialdom's strategy for dealing with administrative blunders, while civil servants and senior military officers became 'spinmeisters' for a cash-strapped government in crisis, 'bigging up' its achievements, even as it allowed military capacity to be dangerously run down. The chilling culture shift under the Conservatives is even said to be reflected in the changes to the design of the MoD's headquarters, which used to be open-plan but has, over the last few years, morphed into a 'kind of souk, with certain floors hived off for niche things and enclaves locked off'. Labour came to office vowing to get a grip on the MoD behemoth – but it has achieved little. Much of the dead-weight that Defence Minister John Healey tried to get rid of when he first got the brief were placed in lucrative holding posts – and are now being brought back in. The 'blob' has allegedly already neutered the consultants Healey has hired to drive reform; officials have manoeuvred to ensure that these disruptors will now merely 'manage' the reform process. Top military brass nonetheless hope that Healey can get a grip. One adviser told me that they are encouraged by the contents of his reform strategy and the leadership team that he is bedding in. The incoming Chief of Defence Staff, Rich Knighton, is held in high esteem. Labour needs to get its act together and drive root-and-branch reform. Nobody has yet been held accountable for the Afghan blunder. All those implicated in a cover up must answer for their conduct. Super-injunctions need to be abolished so that it is no longer possible for officials to use them to shield themselves from basic levels of scrutiny. Healey must reverse the incredible disintegration of professional standards within the MoD. One former employee recalls that even 20 years ago, sending an intelligence document with a single wrong digit was a sackable offence. Apparently today, a mistake that costs taxpayers billions of pounds and puts national security and fragile social cohesion at risk only warrants a shift in posts. It's bad enough that intelligence services of hostile countries are dedicating ever-greater resources to penetrate this country's security, without our inept bureaucracy giving our secrets away for free. It is bad enough that public trust in the political class is at an all-time low, without officialdom resorting to celebrity-style gagging orders to cover up its errors. Put simply, it is fundamentally unacceptable that those who are charged with minimising the dangers facing the realm should show such an impressive capacity to simultaneously aggravate all of the country's pressing problems. Keir Starmer is being sucked into a civil war with his party's far-Left as he seeks to re-establish discipline after the welfare reform fiasco. But he needs to turn his attention to the insubordination and chaos at the MoD. It is time for the Prime Minister to show some mettle and take drastic action.

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