- published: 22 Dec 2010
- views: 2209
- author: fatboyd112
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- A. J. Cronin
- Addiopizzo
- Admiralty
- Ahimsa
- Air Commodore
- Alfred Salter
- Ambulance Service
- American Civil War
- Amish
- An Act of Conscience
- Andy Barrie
- Anglesey
- Anti-Poll Tax Unions
- Antimilitarist
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- Arndt Pekurinen
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- Austrians
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- Bona fide
- Boston Tea Party
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- Christian anarchism
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- Christianity
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- Cold War
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Anglesey
Anglesey /ˈæŋɡəlsi/ (Welsh: Ynys Môn) [ˈənɨs ˈmoːn], is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales. Two bridges, spanning the Menai Strait, connect it to the mainland: the original Menai Suspension Bridge (carrying the A5), designed by Thomas Telford in 1826; and the more recently rebuilt Britannia Bridge (replacing the original designed by Robert Stephenson), which carries the A55 and the North Wales Coast Railway Line. Historian and author John Davies argues that it was during the tumultuous 10th century that the Norse name for Môn, Anglesey, came into existence; the name was later adopted into English after Anglo-Norman occupiers arrived to conquer the island during the Norman invasions of Gwynedd.
The name Anglesey was later used in the English language as a county name which included Holy Island and other nearby small islands. About half of the inhabitants can speak, read and write Welsh as well as English, and 70% have a knowledge of Welsh. Once the Welsh language was granted equal status in government with the Welsh Language Act of 1993, the representative constituency names for the island were changed to the Welsh name of the island, Ynys Môn (UK Parliament constituency) in the UK parliament, and Ynys Môn (Assembly constituency) in the National Assembly for Wales. With an area of 714 square kilometres (276 sq mi), Anglesey is the largest Welsh island, the sixth largest surrounding the island of Great Britain, and the largest island in the Irish Sea ahead of the Isle of Man.
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Armenia
Armenia
i/ɑrˈmiːniə/ (Armenian: Հայաստան Hayastan [hɑjɑsˈtɑn]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun, [hɑjɑstɑˈni hɑnɾɑpɛtuˈtʰjun]), is a landlocked, mountainous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.
A former republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia is a unitary, multiparty, democratic nation-state with an ancient and historic cultural heritage. The Kingdom of Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its religion, in the early years of the 4th century (the traditional date is 301 AD). The modern Republic of Armenia recognizes the Armenian Apostolic Church, the world's oldest national church, as the country's primary religious establishment. Armenians have their own unique alphabet invented by Mesrob Mashtots in 406 AD.
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Austria
Austria (i/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] (
listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: 
Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.
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Beit Sahour
Beit Sahour (Arabic: بيت ساحور pronounced Bayt Saahoor (help·info)) (lit. Place of the Night Watch) is a Palestinian town east of Bethlehem under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority. The population of 12,367, is Christian and Muslim.
There are two enclosures in the eastern part of Beit Sahour which are claimed by different Christian denominations to be the actual 'Shepherds Field': one belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church and the other, the Catholic site, to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.
The name Beit Sahur belongs to two places in the vicinity: Beit Sahur al-Atiqah ("ancient Beit Sahur") and Beit Sahur an-Nasara ("Beit Sahur of the Christians"). 16th century Arab geographer Mujir al-Din mentions the former in a biography of a Muslim scholar Sha'ban bin Salim bin Sha'ban, who died in the town in 1483 at the age of 105. The former was noted by French geographer Guerin as being 40 minutes away from Jerusalem, a short distance south of the Qidron Valley.
Beit Sahur al-Atiqah surrounded the tomb of Sheikh Ahmad al-Sahuri, a local saint to whom the local Arab tribe of al-Sawahirah attribute their name. The Sawahirah originate from the Hejaz and entered Palestine through al-Karak. The Survey of Western Palestine describes the town as "Ruins of a village with wells and a mukam." The modern Beit Sahur was described by the same survey as "sort of a suburb of Bethlehem, situated on the same ridge, with the broad plateau east of it known as the 'shepherd's plain'".
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Belgium
Belgium (i/ˈbɛldʒəm/ BEL-jəm), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and it has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups, the Dutch-speakers, mostly Flemish (about 60%), and the French-speakers, mostly Walloons (about 40%), plus a small group of German-speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.
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British Columbia
British Columbiai/ˌbrɪtɪʃ kəˈlʌmbiə/ (B.C. or BC) (French: la Colombie-Britannique, C.-B.) is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ("Splendour without Diminishment"). Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858. In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.
As well as being the westernmost province of Western Canada, British Columbia is also a component of the Pacific Northwest, along with the US states of Oregon and Washington. The province has strong cultural and personal ties to the Prairie Provinces and Ontario as well as to the West Coast of the United States and to Alaska and the Yukon.
The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada. The largest city is Vancouver, the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, the largest in Western Canada, and the second largest in the Pacific Northwest. In 2009, British Columbia had an estimated population of 4,419,974 (about two and a half million of whom were in Greater Vancouver). The province is currently governed by the BC Liberal Party, led by Premier Christy Clark, who became leader as a result of the party election on February 26, 2011.
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British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-fifth of the world's population at the time, and covered more than 33,700,000 km2 (13,012,000 sq mi), almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous territories.
During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia. A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left England (and then, following union between England and Scotland in 1707, Great Britain) the dominant colonial power in North America and India. The loss of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after a war of independence deprived Britain of some of its oldest and most populous colonies.
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Canada
Canada ( /ˈkænədə/) is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Spanning over 9,900,000 km2 (3,800,000 sq mi), Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the longest land border in the world.
The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, along the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy; the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on Britain.
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Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (French: Conseil de l'Europe) is an international organization promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation. It was founded in 1949, has 47 member states with some 800 million citizens, and is an entirely separate body from the European Union (EU), which has only 27 member states. Unlike the EU, the Council of Europe cannot make binding laws. The two do however share certain symbols such as the flag of Europe. The Council of Europe has nothing to do with either the Council of the European Union or the European Council, which are both EU bodies.
The best known bodies of the Council of Europe are the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights, and the European Pharmacopoeia Commission, which sets the quality standards for pharmaceutical products in Europe. The Council of Europe's work has resulted in standards, charters and conventions to facilitate cooperation between European countries.
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Czech Republic
The Czech Republic (i/ˈtʃɛk/ CHEK;Czech: Česká republika, pronounced [ˈtʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka] ( listen), short form Česko Czech pronunciation: [ˈtʃɛskɔ]) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the north, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. Its capital and largest city, with 1.3 million inhabitants, is Prague.
It is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy, a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group.
The Czech state, formerly known as Bohemia, was formed in the late 9th century as a small duchy around Prague, at that time under dominance of the powerful Great Moravian Empire (which reached its greatest territorial extent during the reign of Svatopluk I from the House of Mojmír). After the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power was transferred from Moravia to Bohemia, under the Přemyslids. During the rule of Přemyslid dukes/kings and their successors, the Luxembourgs, the country reached its greatest territorial extent (13th–14th century). Life in the country was significantly affected by the Hussite wars, during which it faced economic embargo and crusades from all over Europe. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg monarchy as one of its three principal parts alongside the Archduchy of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Bohemian Revolt (1618–20) led to the further centralization of the monarchy including forced recatholization and Germanization. During radical reforms in the 18th century the Bohemian Crown was even de facto abolished (1749). In the 19th century the Czech lands became the industrial powerhouse of the monarchy and the core of the Republic of Czechoslovakia which was formed in 1918, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I.
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Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia (Czech and Slovak: Československo, Česko-Slovensko) was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992. From 1939 to 1945, the state did not de facto exist because of its forced division and partial incorporation into Nazi Germany, but the Czechoslovak government-in-exile nevertheless continued to exist during this period. In 1945, the eastern part of Carpathian Ruthenia was taken over by the Soviet Union. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Form of state:
Neighbours:
Topography:
The country was of generally irregular terrain. The western area was part of north-central European uplands. The eastern region was composed of northern reaches of Carpathian Mountains and Danube River basin lands.
Climate:
The weather was predominantly continental, but varied from the moderate temperature of Western Europe in the west, to more severe weather of Eastern Europe and the western Soviet Union in the east.
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Finland
Coordinates: 65°N 27°E / 65°N 027°E / 65; 027
Finlandi/ˈfɪnlənd/ ( Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info)), officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.
Around 5.4 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern region. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in Helsinki and local governments in 336 municipalities, and an autonomous region of the Åland Islands. About one million residents live in the Greater Helsinki area, which consists of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa, and a third of the country's GDP is produced there. Other larger cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lahti and Kuopio.
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Germany
Germany (i/ˈdʒɜrməni/), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant] ( listen)), is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.
A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, was documented before AD 100. During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward, and established successor kingdoms throughout much of Europe. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation while southern and western parts remained dominated by Roman Catholic denominations, with the two factions clashing in the Thirty Years' War, marking the beginning of the Catholic–Protestant divide that has characterized German society ever since. Occupied during the Napoleonic Wars, the rise of Pan-Germanism inside the German Confederation resulted in the unification of most of the German states into the German Empire in 1871 which was Prussian dominated. After the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the subsequent military surrender in World War I, the Empire was replaced by the Weimar Republic in 1918, and partitioned in the Treaty of Versailles. Amidst the Great Depression, the Third Reich was proclaimed in 1933. The latter period was marked by Fascism and World War II. After 1945, Germany was divided by allied occupation, and evolved into two states, East Germany and West Germany. In 1990 Germany was reunified.
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Greece
Greecei/ˈɡriːs/ (Greek: Ελλάδα, Ellada, IPA: [eˈlaða] ( listen) historically in Katharevousa and Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellas, IPA: [eˈlas] and [helːás] respectively), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Elliniki Dimokratia, IPA: [eliniˈci ðimokraˈtia]), is a country in Southern Europe, politically considered part of Western Europe.Athens is the capital and the largest city in the country (its urban area also including Piraeus). The population of the country is around 11 million.
Greece has land borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of mainland Greece, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring a vast number of islands (approximately 1,400, of which 227 are inhabited), including Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, and the Ionian Islands among others. Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 2,917 m (9,570 ft).
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Ireland
Coordinates: 53°20′N 08°00′W / 53.333°N 8°W / 53.333; -8
Ireland (pronounced [ˈaɪrlənd] ( listen); Irish: Éire [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen); Ulster Scots: Airlann or Airlan) is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth. To its east is the larger island of Great Britain, from which it is separated by the Irish Sea.
Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers just under five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the remainder and is located in the northeast of the island. The population of Ireland is approximately 6.4 million. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just under 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.
Relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain epitomise Ireland's geography with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild but changeable oceanic climate, which avoids extremes in temperature. Thick woodlands covered the island until the 17th century. Today, it is one of the most deforested areas in Europe. There are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland.
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Irish Free State
The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) (6 December 1922–1937) was the state established as a dominion under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand. On the day the Irish Free State was established, it comprised the entire island of Ireland, but Northern Ireland almost immediately exercised its right under the treaty to remove itself from the new state. The Irish Free State effectively replaced both the self-proclaimed Irish Republic (founded 21 January 1919) and the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland. W. T. Cosgrave, the first President of the Irish Free State had led both of these "governments" since August 1922.
The Irish Free State came to an end in 1937, when the citizens voted by referendum to replace the 1922 constitution. It was succeeded by the sovereign, modern state of the Republic of Ireland.
The Easter Rising of 1916, and in particular the decision of the British military authorities to execute many of its leaders after courts martial, generated sympathy for the republican cause in Ireland. Republicans and some independent Nationalists who led opposition to the idea of compulsory military service for Irish men in the conscription crisis of early 1918. The Irish Parliamentary Party, who supported the Allied cause in World War I in response to the passing of the Third Home Rule Bill in 1914 was discredited by the crisis. In the December 1918 general election, a large majority of Irish seats in the Westminster parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland were won by Sinn Féin, with 73 of 105 constituencies returning Sinn Féin members. Sinn Féin was a previously non-violent separatist party founded by Arthur Griffith in 1905. Under Éamon de Valera's leadership from 1917, it had campaigned aggressively for an Irish republic.
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Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Israel, officially the State of Israel ( /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [me̞diˈnät jisʁäˈʔe̞l] ( listen); Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine. Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.[neutrality is disputed] Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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Moscow
Moscow (
/ˈmɒskaʊ/ or /ˈmɒskoʊ/; Russian: Москва́, tr. Moskva; IPA: [mɐˈskva] (
listen)) is the capital and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural and scientific center of Russia and the continent. Moscow is the northernmost megacity on Earth, the most populous city in Europe, and the 6th largest city proper in the world. Its population, according to the results of the 2010 Census, is 11,503,501. Based on Forbes 2011, Moscow has the largest community of billionaires in the world.
Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia. In the course of its history the city has served as the capital of a progression of states, from the medieval Grand Duchy of Moscow and the subsequent Tsardom of Russia to the Soviet Union. Moscow is the site of the Moscow Kremlin, an ancient fortress that is today the residence of the Russian President and of the executive branch of the Government of Russia. The Kremlin is also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament (the State Duma and the Federation Council) also sit in Moscow.
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Navarre
Navarre (English /nəˈvɑr/; Spanish: Navarra; Basque: Nafarroa), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre (Spanish: Comunidad Foral de Navarra [komuniˈðað foˈɾal de naˈβara]; Basque: Nafarroako Foru Erkidegoa [nafaroako foɾu erkidegoa]), is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France. The capital is the city of Pamplona (or Iruña in Basque).
During the time of the Roman Empire, the territory of the province was inhabited by the Vascones, a pre-Roman tribe who populated the southern slopes of the Pyrenees. In the northern, mountaineous areas the Vascones escaped large-scale Roman settlement but not so in the flatter areas to the south which were amenable to large-scale Roman farming.
The area was never fully subjugated either by the Visigoths or by the Moors. In AD 778, the Basques defeated a Frankish army in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. Two generations later, in 824, the chieftain Iñigo Arista was chosen King of Pamplona, laying a foundation for the later Kingdom of Navarre. That kingdom reached its zenith during the reign of Sancho III of Navarre and covered the area of the present-day Navarre, Basque country, and La Rioja, together with parts of modern Cantabria, Castile and León, and Aragon.
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Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland (Irish: Tuaisceart Éireann pronounced [ˈt̪ˠuəʃcəɾˠt̪ˠ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ] ( listen), Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann or Norlin Airlan) is a part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. As of 2001, its population was 1,685,000, constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the population of the United Kingdom. Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, Northern Ireland is largely self-governing. According to the agreement, Northern Ireland co-operates with the rest of Ireland – from which it was partitioned in 1921 — on some policy areas, while other areas are reserved for the Government of the United Kingdom, though the Republic of Ireland "may put forward views and proposals".
Northern Ireland was for many years the site of a violent and bitter inter-communal conflict — the Troubles — which was caused by divisions between nationalists, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and unionists, who are predominantly Protestant. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain as a part of the United Kingdom, and generally see themselves as British, while nationalists wish for it to be politically reunited with the rest of Ireland, independent of British rule, and generally see themselves as Irish. Additionally, people from both sides of the community may describe themselves as Northern Irish. Since 1998, most of the paramilitary groups involved in the Troubles have ceased their armed campaigns.
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Nuremberg Trials
Coordinates: 49°27.2603′N 11°02.9103′E / 49.4543383°N 11.048505°E / 49.4543383; 11.048505 The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany. The trials were held in the city of Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany, in 1945–46, at the Palace of Justice. The first and best known of these trials was the Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal (IMT), which tried 25 of the most important captured leaders of the Third Reich, though several key architects of the war (such as Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Joseph Goebbels) had committed suicide before the trials began.
The initial trials were held from November 20, 1945 to October 1, 1946. The second set of trials of lesser war criminals was conducted under Control Council Law No. 10 at the US Nuremberg Military Tribunals (NMT); among them included the Doctors' Trial and the Judges' Trial. This article primarily deals with the IMT; see the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials for details on those trials.
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Ontario
Ontario /ɒnˈtɛərioʊ/ is one of the provinces of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province or territory and fourth largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa.
Ontario is bordered by the province of Manitoba to the west, Hudson Bay to the north, Quebec to the east, and to the south by the U.S. states of Minnesota, Michigan (portions to the west), New York (portions to the east), Ohio and Pennsylvania. All but a small part of Ontario's 2,700 km (1,677 mi) border with the United States follow inland waterways: from the west at Lake of the Woods, eastward along the major rivers and lakes of the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River drainage system. These are the Rainy River, the Pigeon River, Lake Superior, the St. Mary's River, Lake Huron, the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and along the St. Lawrence River from Kingston, Ontario to the Quebec boundary just east of Cornwall, Ontario.
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Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada (French: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and organization. The governor general summons and appoints each of the 105 members of the upper house on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada, while the 308 members of the lower house are directly elected by eligible voters in the Canadian populace, with each Member of Parliament representing a single electoral district, commonly referred to as a riding.
By constitutional convention, the House of Commons is the dominant branch of parliament, the Senate and Crown rarely opposing its will. The Senate, thus, reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint, and the monarch and viceroy provide the necessary Royal Assent to make bills into law and summon, prorogue, and dissolve parliament in order to call an election, as well as reading the Throne Speech. The current parliament, summoned by Governor General David Johnston on 2 June 2011, is the 41st since Confederation.
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Russian Empire
The Russian Empire (Pre-reform Russian orthography: Россійская Имперія, Modern Russian: Российская Империя, translit: Rossiyskaya Imperiya) was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the short-lived Russian Republic, which was succeeded by the Soviet Union. It was one of the largest empires in world history, surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires: at one point in 1866, it stretched from eastern Europe across Asia and into North America.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire extended from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea on the south, from the Baltic Sea on the west to the Pacific Ocean and into North America on the east. With 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third largest population of the world at the time, after Qing China and the British Empire. Like all empires, it represented a large disparity in economic, ethnic and religious positions. Its government, ruled by the Emperor, was the last absolute monarchy in Europe at the time of its demise.
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Slovakia
The Slovak Republic (short form: Slovakiai/sloʊˈvɑːkiə/ or /sləˈvækiə/; Slovak: Slovensko (help·info), long form Slovenská republika (help·info)) is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi). Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is the capital, Bratislava, and the second largest is Košice. Slovakia is a member state of the European Union, NATO, United Nations, OECD and WTO among others. The official language is Slovak, a member of the Slavic language family.
The Slavs arrived in the territory of present day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries during the migration period. In the course of history, various parts of today's Slovakia belonged to Samo's Empire (the first known political unit of Slavs), Principality of Nitra (as independent polity, as part of Great Moravia and as part of Hungarian Kingdom), Great Moravia, Kingdom of Hungary, the Austro-Hungarian Empire or Habsburg Empire, and Czechoslovakia. A separate Slovak state briefly existed during World War II, during which Slovakia was a dependency of Nazi Germany between 1939 and 1944. From 1945 Slovakia once again became a part of Czechoslovakia. The present-day Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
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Soviet Union
The Soviet Union (Russian: Советский Союз, tr. Sovetsky Soyuz), officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR; Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик, tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik; IPA: [sɐˈjus sɐˈvʲetskʲɪx sətsɨəlʲɪˈstʲitɕɪskʲɪx rʲɪsˈpublʲɪk] ( listen); abbreviated СССР, SSSR), was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.
The Soviet Union was a single-party state ruled by the Communist Party from its foundation until 1990. A union of 15 subnational Soviet republics, the Soviet state was structured under a highly centralized government and economy.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 caused the downfall of the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution, there was a struggle for power between the Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin, and the anti-communist White movement. In December 1922, the Bolsheviks won the civil war, and the Soviet Union was formed with the merger of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
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Switzerland
Switzerland (German: die Schweiz[ˈʃvaɪts]; French: Suisse [sɥis(ə)]; Italian: Svizzera [ˈzvit͡sːɛra]; Romansh: Svizra [ˈʒviːtsrɐ] or [ˈʒviːtsʁːɐ]), in its full name the Swiss Confederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH), is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western Europe, where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.
Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8 million people is concentrated mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found. Among them are the two global cities and economic centres of Zurich and Geneva.
The Swiss Confederation has a long history of armed neutrality—it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815—and did not join the United Nations until 2002. It pursues, however, an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. Switzerland is also the birthplace of the Red Cross and home to a large number of international organizations, including the second largest UN office. On the European level, it is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association and is part of the Schengen Area – although it is notably not a member of the European Union, nor the European Economic Area.
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Tavistock Square
Tavistock Square is a public square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden.
The centre-piece of the gardens is a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, which was installed in 1968.
There is also a memorial to conscientious objectors (unveiled in 1995), busts of Virginia Woolf and Dame Louisa Aldrich-Blake as well as a cherry tree planted in 1967 in memory of the victims of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima.
The square is part of an estate owned by the Dukes of Bedford, and takes its name from the courtesy title given to the eldest sons of the Dukes of Bedford, Marquess of Tavistock. It was developed in the 1820s by the builder Thomas Cubitt.
The following buildings are on Tavistock Square:
On the BMA building is a blue plaque commemorating that Charles Dickens once lived in Tavistock House on the site.
Tavistock Square was the scene of one of the four suicide bombings on 7 July 2005. The bomb was detonated by 18-year-old terrorist Hasib Hussain on a double-decker bus bearing number 30 opposite the BMA building. The explosion killed 13 commuters, plus Hussain himself.
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Toronto
Toronto (/təˈrɒntoʊ/, colloquially /ˈtrɒnoʊ/) is the largest city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from the Mississaugas of the New Credit. The settlement was later established as the Town of York and proclaimed as the new capital of Upper Canada by its lieutenant-governor, John Graves Simcoe. In 1834, York was incorporated as a city and renamed to its present name. The city was ransacked in the Battle of York during the War of 1812 and damaged in two great fires in 1849 and in 1904. Since its incorporation, Toronto has repeatedly expanded its borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities, most recently in 1998.
With over 2.6 million residents, it is the fifth most populous city in North America. Its metropolitan area has over 5.5 million residents. Toronto is at the heart of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and is part of a densely populated region in Southern Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe, which has a population of nearly 9 million people as of 2011. The census metropolitan area (CMA) had a population of 5,583,064, and the Greater Toronto Area had a population of 6,054,191 in the 2011 Census. Its cosmopolitan and international population reflects its role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada. Toronto is one of the world's most diverse cities by percentage of non-native-born residents, with about 49% of the population born outside Canada. Toronto is also consistently rated as one of the world's most livable cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Mercer Quality of Living Survey.
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Turkey
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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Vancouver
Vancouver (/vænˈkuːvər/) is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. The 2011 census recorded more than 603,000 people in the city, making it the eighth largest among Canadian cities. The metropolitan area, with more than 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country and the most populous in Western Canada. With 5,249 people per square kilometre (13,590 per sq mile), the City of Vancouver is the most densely populated Canadian municipality among those with 5,000 residents or more. Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada, with 52% for whom English is not their first language.
The original settlement, named Gastown, grew around the Hastings Mill logging sawmill and a nearby tavern, both established in 1867. Enlarging to become the townsite of Granville, with the announcement that the railhead would reach the site it was renamed "Vancouver" and incorporated as a city in 1886. By 1887, the transcontinental railway was extended to the city to take advantage of its large natural seaport, which soon became a vital link in a trade route between the Orient, Eastern Canada, and London. As of 2009, Port Metro Vancouver is the busiest and largest port in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America. While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making tourism its second-largest industry. Major film production studios in Vancouver and Burnaby have turned Metro Vancouver into the third-largest film production centre in North America after Los Angeles and New York City, earning it the film industry nickname, Hollywood North.
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Virginia
Virginia (i/vərˈdʒɪnjə/), officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state located in the South Atlantic region of the United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, which provide habitat for much of its flora and fauna. The capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond; Virginia Beach is the most populous city and Fairfax County the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealth's population is over eight million.
The area's history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony. Slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colony's early politics and plantation economy. Virginia was one of the 13 Colonies in the American Revolution and joined the Confederacy in the American Civil War, during which Richmond was made the Confederate capital and Virginia's northwestern counties separated to form the state of West Virginia. Although the Commonwealth was under conservative single-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, both major national parties are competitive in modern Virginia.
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Wales
Walesi/ˈweɪlz/ (Welsh: Cymru;Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkəm.rɨ] ( listen)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain,bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,200 km (750 mi) of coastline, including its offshore islands; the largest, Anglesey (Ynys Môn), is also the largest island in the Irish Sea. Wales is largely mountainous, with its highest peaks in the north and central areas, especially in Snowdonia (Eryri), which contains Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit.
During the Iron Age and early medieval period, Wales was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. A distinct Welsh national identity emerged in the centuries after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales is regarded as one of the modern Celtic nations today. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was recognised as King of Wales in 1057. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd's death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of England's conquest of Wales. The castles and town walls erected to ensure its permanence are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to what was to become modern Wales, in the early 15th century. Wales was subsequently annexed by England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 since when, excluding those matters now devolved to Wales, English law has been the legal system of Wales and England. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century; Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and The Welsh Language Society in 1962. The National Assembly for Wales, created in 1999 following a referendum, holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters.
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14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama (religious name: Tenzin Gyatso, shortened from Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, born Lhamo Dondrub, 6 July 1935) is the 14th and current Dalai Lama, as well as the longest lived incumbent. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, and is also well known for his lifelong advocacy for Tibetans inside and outside Tibet. Tibetans traditionally believe him to be the reincarnation of his predecessors and a manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
The Dalai Lama was born in Taktser, Qinghai (also known to Tibetans as Amdo), and was selected as the rebirth of the 13th Dalai Lama two years later, although he was only formally recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama on 17 November 1950, at the age of 15. He inherited control over a government controlling an area roughly corresponding to the Tibet Autonomous Region just as the nascent People's Republic of China wished to assert central control over it. There is a dispute over whether the respective governments reached an agreement for a joint Chinese-Tibetan administration.
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Alfred Salter
Dr Alfred Salter (16 June 1873 – 24 August 1945) was a British medical practitioner and Labour Party politician.
Salter was born in Greenwich in 1873, the son of W H Salter. Following education at John Roan School, Greenwich, he went on to study medicine at Guy's Hospital, London. He qualified in 1896 and in the following year was awarded the Golding-Bird gold medal and scholarship in public health, and the Gull research scholarship in pathology. He was made house physician and resident obstetric physician at Guy's and was appointed as bacteriologist to the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine.
In 1898 he was employed as a doctor at the Methodist Bermondsey Settlement, which had been established by Rev. John Scott Lidgett. While at the Settlement he established mutual health insurance schemes and adult education classes on health matters. In 1900 he married Ada Brown, who shared his political and social views. In the year of his marriage he established his medical practice in Bermondsey and the couple worked together in trying to alleviate the effects of poverty in the largely working class area. He chose to offer services free to those who could not pay. This work was to lead the establishment of a pioneering comprehensive health service in the area. (See the background to the formation of the NHS. The major source of employment in Bermondsey during the 20th century until the 1970s was the Port of London. Until the docks were nationalised after World War II, most of the men working in the docks were employed on a casual daily basis. For most of them the casual nature of the work made it difficult to make a decent living.[citation needed]
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Amish
The Amish ( /ˈɑːmɪʃ/ AH-mish; Pennsylvania Dutch: Amisch, German: Amische), sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology. The history of the Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann. Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish.
In the early 18th century, many Amish and Mennonites emigrated to Pennsylvania for a variety of reasons. Today, the most traditional descendants of the Amish continue to speak Pennsylvania German, also known as Pennsylvania Dutch. However, a dialect of Swiss German predominates in some Old Order Amish communities, especially in the American state of Indiana. As of 2000, over 165,000 Old Order Amish live in the United States and approximately 1500 live in Canada. A 2008 study suggested their numbers have increased to 227,000, and in 2010 a study suggested their population had grown by 10% in the past two years to 249,000, with increasing movement to the West.
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Andy Barrie
Andy Barrie (born January 30, 1945) is a Toronto-based radio personality, most known for his work at CFRB and later on CBC Radio as host of Metro Morning. He has been retired since March 1, 2010 .
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Barrie moved with his family to Yonkers, New York in 1952, where he attended public schools, going on to major in theater at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. After university, he began a career in radio: WCCC-FM in Hartford, Connecticut, WAYE in Baltimore and WASH-FM, then a Metromedia station in Washington, DC.
Given Conscientious Objector status by his local draft board during the Vietnam War, Barrie trained as a combat medic. In 1969, he received orders to be shipped to Vietnam. A conversation with his brother, a career officer who had just returned from two years there, confirmed Barrie's decision to desert and leave the U.S. for Canada. He later received a General Discharge from the United States Army, became a Canadian citizen, and is free to travel to the U.S.
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Arndt Pekurinen
Arndt Juho Pekurinen (August 29, 1905 in Juva, Finland – November 5, 1941 in Kalevala district, Soviet Union, now Russia) was a Finnish pacifist and conscientious objector.
In 1926, Pekurinen repeatedly refused mandatory conscription, leading to his imprisonment between 1929 and 1931. He refused to either wear a uniform or take arms. While Pekurinen was deeply religious, his motives were not based on his faith. While his contemporaries suggested he was Communist, he was not interested in politics. Because of his pacifist conviction, in the atmosphere of the Militaristic thirties he was deemed as guilty of high treason, and the Lapua movement harassed him relentlessly. In 1930, an international petition on his behalf was sent to the Finnish defense minister Juho Niukkanen, which included the signatures of sixty British MPs and notables such as Albert Einstein, Henri Barbusse and H. G. Wells. On April 14, 1931, the Lex Pekurinen, Finland's first alternative to military service, was passed. However, its provisions extended only as far as peacetime.
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Austria
Austria (i/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] ( listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.
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Austrians
Austrians (German: Österreicher) are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent.
The English term Austrians was applied to the population of Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. During the 19th century, it identified the citizens of the Empire of Austria (1804–1867), and until 1918 to the citizens of Cisleithania, Austria-Hungary's western half.
In the closest sense, the term Austria originally referred to the historical March of Austria, corresponding roughly to the Vienna Basin in what is today Lower Austria.
The English word Austrian is a derivative of the proper name Austria, which is a latinization of Österreich, the German name for Austria. This word is derived from Ostarrîchi, which first appears in 996. This, in turn, is probably a translation of the Latin Marcha Orientalis, which means "eastern borderland" (viz. delimiting the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire). It was a margraviate of the Duchy of Bavaria, ruled by the House of Babenberg from AD 976. During the 12th century, the Marcha Orientalis under the Babenbergs became independent of Bavaria. What is today known as Lower Austria corresponds to the Marcha Orientalis, while Upper Austria corresponds to the eastern half of the core territory of Bavaria (the western half forming part of the German state of Bavaria).
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Beatification
Beatification (from Latin beatus, blessed) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name (intercession of saints). Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process. A person who is beatified is given the title "Blessed."
In earlier ages this honor was entirely local and passed from one diocese to another with the authorization of their bishops. This is clear from the fact that early Christian cemeteries contain paintings only of local martyrs. Some beatifications by bishops in the Middle Ages were almost scandalous by modern standards. For instance, Charlemagne was beatified by a court bishop soon after his death. He was never canonized, and his veneration has been mostly suppressed, though permission is given to celebrate Mass in his honor in the cities of Aachen and Osnabrück, but without using the title of "Blessed."[citation needed]
Since the Catholic Church reform of 1983, one miracle must be proven to have taken place through the intercession of the person to be beatified, though the medical investigations of the Church are privately conducted and therefore subject to speculation about their methods.
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Ben Salmon
Ben Joseph Salmon (1889–1932) was an American Christian pacifist, Roman Catholic, conscientious objector and outspoken critic of just war theory, as he believed all war to be unjust.
Salmon was born and raised in a working-class Catholic family, and became an office clerk with the Colorado and Southern Railroad. Outraged by the Ludlow Massacre, he became more active in populist causes such as unionism and the single tax. When President Woodrow Wilson ordered a draft, Salmon was one of a number of Americans to refuse to cooperate. On June 5, 1917, Salmon wrote in an open letter to President Wilson:
Salmon was arrested in January 1918 for refusing to complete a Selective Service questionnaire. While out on bail, he was re-arrested for refusing to report for induction. He was locked in the guardhouse for refusing to wear uniform and forced to work in the yard. Despite not having been inducted, he was court-martialed at Camp Dodge, Iowa on July 24, 1918; charged with desertion and spreading propaganda. He was sentenced to death, but later re-sentenced to 25 years hard labor. He arrived at Fort Leavenworth on October 9, 1918 to start his sentence, just one month before World War I ended on November 11, 1918. He began a hunger strike "for liberty or death" on July 13, 1920. The government claimed that his fast was a symptom of mental illness and sent him to a ward reserved for the "criminally insane" at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C. on July 31, 1920.
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Daniel Sandate
Daniel Sandate was the second known U.S. soldier to be deported from Canada (after having fled there from the United States Army) to the United States when he was deported July 16, 2008 from Niagara Falls, Canada.
Previously Daniel Sandate had completed one deployment in Iraq. Upon return to the US, he allegedly was denied adequate physical and mental health care at Fort Carson. In frustration, he fled to Brampton, Ontario where he lived for over 2 years. After a failed suicide attempt and his arrest by the Canadian authorities, he was removed from Canada.[dead link] Upon return to the US, he was placed into custody and was later court-martialed at Fort Carson and given an 8-month prison sentence.
Daniel Sandate was represented by James M. Branum (of Pine Ridge, Oklahoma),William Durland (of Colorado Springs, Colorado) and Captain Seth Cohen (U.S. Army Trial Defense Service). Long's principal sentencing arguments focused on Sandate's suffering from post traumatic stress disorder which was the result of his time in Iraq and his potential for rehabilitation upon release.
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Desmond Doss
Desmond Thomas Doss (February 7, 1919 – March 23, 2006) was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor and one of only three so honored (the others are Thomas W. Bennett and Joseph G. LaPointe, Jr.). He was a Corporal (Private First Class at the time of his Medal of Honor heroics) in the U.S. Army assigned to the Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. He died the same day as another Medal of Honor recipient, David Bleak.
Drafted in April 1942, Desmond Doss refused to kill, or carry a weapon into combat, because of his personal beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist. He thus became a medic, and by serving in the Pacific theatre of World War II helped his country by saving the lives of his comrades, while also adhering to his religious convictions. Shortly before leaving the Army, Desmond was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He left the Army in 1946.
His Medal of Honor was earned by the risks he took to save the lives of so many comrades.
He is the subject of The Conscientious Objector, an award-winning documentary, and an upcoming feature film by the same name. The project has been developed and financed by Walden Media, and will be produced by Bill Mechanic, David Permut, Steve Longi, Gregory Crosby, and Terry Benedict.
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Eric Nagler
Eric Nagler (born June 1, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American-born musician and television personality known primarily for his work on Canadian children's television series such as The Elephant Show.
Initially, Nagler was a folk musician in the United States, and in 1966 he marched through Mississippi with Martin Luther King Jr., encouraging people to register to vote. He married fellow musician Martha Beers in 1966 and due to their opposition to the Vietnam War they moved to Toronto in 1968, Nagler as a conscientious objector to the war. In 1972, Nagler returned to the United States to stand trial for draft evasion; he was acquitted. Around 1971, Eric and Martha owned a guitar/folk-music store on Avenue Road in Toronto called the Toronto Folklore Centre. The couple divorced in 1977. Nagler was remarried to Shelley McCarthy in 1985 and according to his personal website currently resides near Shelburne, an hour north of Toronto, Ontario, and home of the Annual Canadian Championship Fiddling Contest.
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Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War (Finnish: Suomen sisällissota, kansalaissota; Swedish: Finska inbördeskriget) was a part of the national, political and social turmoil caused by World War I (1914–1918) in Europe. The Civil War concerned control and leadership of the Grand Duchy of Finland as it achieved independence from Russia after the October Revolution in Petrograd. The war was fought from 27 January to 15 May 1918 between the forces of the Social Democrats led by the People's Deputation of Finland, commonly called the "Reds" (Finnish: punaiset, Swedish: röda), and the forces of the non-socialist, conservative-led Senate, commonly called the "Whites" (Finnish: valkoiset, Swedish: vita). The Reds—usually Finnish-speaking workers—were supported by the Russian Soviet Republic; they were based in the industrial cities in the south. The Whites—dominated by farmers and middle- and upper-class Swedish speakers—received military assistance from the German Empire. The Whites won the war, in which about 37,000 people died out of a population of 3 million.
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Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde, better known under the name of Franco, (Spanish: [fɾanˈθisko ˈfɾaŋko]; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general, dictator and the leader of the Nationalist military rebellion in the Spanish Civil War, and totalitarian head of state of Spain, from October 1936 (as a unified nation from 1939 onwards) until his death in November 1975. He came to power while recognizing the principles of the far-right Falange movement, although this was for propaganda reasons, as he belonged to no political party before becoming Head of State. As head of state, Franco used the titles Caudillo de España and Generalísimo, but also was called formally as His Excellency, The Head of State.
Franco was from a military family, and although originally intent on entering the Spanish Navy, he instead became a soldier. He participated in the Rif War in Morocco, becoming the youngest general in Europe by 1926. After returning to the Spanish mainland, he saw service suppressing an anarchist-led strike in 1934, defending the stability of Alcalá-Zamora's conservative government. Following the formation of a Popular Front government, made up of various left-wing factions, instability heightened. Violence between militant groups rose sharply with assassination of conservative parliamentary leader José Calvo Sotelo, in retaliation for the killing of José Castillo. Franco and his co-conspirators used Calvo's death as their pretext for war, as they had already initiated the plan for their rebellion.
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Franz Jägerstätter
Blessed Franz Jägerstätter, O.F.S., (in English also spelt Jaegerstaetter) (May 20, 1907 — 9 August 1943) (born as Franz Huber) was an Austrian conscientious objector during World War II. Jägerstätter was sentenced to death and executed. He was later declared a martyr and beatified by the Catholic Church.
Jägerstätter was born in Sankt Radegund, Upper Austria, a small village between Salzburg and Braunau am Inn. He was the illegitimate child of Rosalia Huber, a chambermaid, and Franz Bachmeier, a farmer. He was first cared for by his paternal grandmother, Elisabeth Huber. Franz's natural father was killed in World War I when he was still a child, and when his mother married in 1917, Franz was adopted by her husband, Heinrich Jägerstätter.
In his youth, Franz gained a reputation for being a wild fellow, but, in general, his daily life was like that of most Austrian peasants. He worked as a farmhand and also as a miner, until in 1933 he inherited the farmstead of his foster father. In that same year, he fathered an out-of-wedlock daughter, Hildegard Auer. On Maundy Thursday of 1936, he married Franziska Schwaninger, a deeply religious woman. After the ceremony, the bridal couple proceeded on a pilgrimage to Rome. The marriage produced three daughters.
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George Bellows
George Wesley Bellows (August 12 or August 19, 1882 - January 8, 1925) was an American realist painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City, becoming, according to the Columbus Museum of Art, "the most acclaimed American artist of his generation".
George Bellows was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He was an only child, born four years after his parents married, at the ages of fifty and forty respectively. His mother, Anna Wilhelmina Smith, was the daughter of a whaling captain.
Bellows attended The Ohio State University from 1901 until 1904. There he played for the baseball and basketball teams, and provided illustrations for the Makio, the school's student yearbook. He was encouraged to become a professional baseball player, and he worked as a commercial illustrator while a student and he continued to accept magazine assignments throughout his life. Despite these opportunities in athletics and commercial art, Bellows desired success as a painter. He left Ohio State in 1904 just before he was to graduate and moved to New York City to study art.
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Gerard Kennedy
Gerard Michael Kennedy (born July 24, 1960) is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as Ontario's Minister of Education from 2003 to 2006, when he resigned to make an unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. Kennedy previously ran for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party, losing to current premier Dalton McGuinty on the final ballot.
While attending the University of Alberta in Edmonton, he became involved in the local food bank, eventually becoming its first executive director in 1983. In 1986, he moved to Toronto to run the Daily Bread Food Bank and did so until he entered politics, in 1996.
He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as an Ontario Liberal Party Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in a 1996 by-election to replace former premier Bob Rae in the York South constituency. In the 1999 and 2003 general elections, he was elected to represent the new Parkdale—High Park constituency. He became the province's Minister of Education in 2003, serving in McGuinty's first government.
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Jason Kenney
Jason T. Kenney, PC, MP (born May 30, 1968) is Canada's current Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. He has represented the riding of Calgary Southeast in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.
Initially elected as a candidate of the Reform Party of Canada, Kenney was re-elected as a Canadian Alliance candidate in 2000, and has since been re-elected four times as the candidate of the Conservative Party of Canada.
Following the Conservative victory in the 2006 general election, Kenney was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for the Prime Minister of Canada. On January 4, 2007, he was sworn in as the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity, and as a Privy Councillor. Kenney has held the post of Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism since October 30, 2008.
Kenney was born in Oakville, Ontario and raised in Saskatchewan. He is the grandson of band leader Mart Kenney. He graduated from the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, a Catholic, co-educational, boarding high school located in Wilcox, Saskatchewan.
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Jeremy Hinzman
Jeremy Dean Hinzman (born in 1979 in Rapid City, South Dakota) is the first American Iraq war resister/deserter to seek refugee status in Canada.
He enlisted in the U.S. army as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division and deserted in 2004 to avoid participating in the Iraq War. "He fled to Canada with his wife and preschool-age son. Now living in Toronto and working as a bike courier, Hinzman faces a court martial and a possible five-year prison sentence if he returns to the U.S.. Hinzman said he sought refugee status because he opposed the war in Iraq on moral grounds and thought the U.S. invasion violated international human rights standards."
He "was one of the first to have his application [for refugee status] rejected – a decision he unsuccessfully appealed to the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal. His request to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court was rejected...November [2007]. At that time, he filed for a pre-removal risk assessment with the citizenship and immigration department, which determines if a denied refugee applicant would be subject to torture, death or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if returned to their country of origin.
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Jesse Winchester
Jesse Winchester (born James Ridout Winchester; May 17, 1944) is a musician and songwriter who was born and raised in the southern United States. To avoid the Vietnam War draft he moved to Canada in 1967, which is where and when he began his career as a solo artist. His highest charting recordings were of his own tunes, "Yankee Lady" in 1970 and "Say What" in 1981. He became a Canadian citizen in 1973, gained amnesty in the U.S. in 1977 and resettled there in 2002.
Winchester is probably most well known as a songwriter, with his works being recorded by many notable artists, including Patti Page, Elvis Costello, Jimmy Buffett, Joan Baez, Anne Murray, Reba McEntire, The Everly Brothers and Emmylou Harris. A number of these recordings have had success on various charts.
Born in Bossier City, Louisiana, Winchester was raised in northern Mississippi and the city of Memphis, Tennessee. He attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, graduating in 1966. Upon receiving his draft notice the following year, Winchester moved to Montreal, Quebec to avoid military service.[citation needed]
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Jesus
Jesus ( /ˈdʒiːzəs/; Greek: Ἰησοῦς; 7–2 BC/BCE to 30–36 AD/CE), also referred to as Jesus Christ or simply Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and most Christian denominations venerate him as God the Son incarnated. In Islam, Jesus (in Arabic: عيسى in Islamic usage, commonly transliterated as Isa) is considered one of God's important prophets.
Most modern historians agree that Jesus existed and was a Jewish teacher from Galilee in Roman Judaea, who was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect, Pontius Pilate. Scholars have offered competing descriptions and portraits of Jesus, which at times share a number of overlapping attributes, such as a rabbi, a charismatic healer, the leader of an apocalyptic movement, a self-described Messiah, a sage and philosopher, or a social reformer who preached of the "Kingdom of God" as a means for personal and egalitarian social transformation. Scholars have correlated the New Testament accounts with non-Christian historical records to arrive at an estimated chronology of Jesus' life.
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John Courtney Murray
John Courtney Murray, (September 12, 1904 – August 16, 1967), was an American Jesuit priest and theologian, who was especially known for his efforts to reconcile Catholicism and religious pluralism, particularly focusing on the relationship between religious freedom and the institutions of a democratically structured modern state.
During the Second Vatican Council, he played a key role in persuading the assembly of the Catholic bishops to adopt the Council's ground-breaking Declaration on Religious Liberty, Dignitatis Humanae.
John Courtney Murray was born in New York City in 1904 and entered the New York province of the Society of Jesus in 1920. He studied Classics and Philosophy at Boston College, receiving bachelor's and master's degrees in 1926 and 1927 respectively. Following his graduation, he travelled to the Philippines where he taught Latin and English literature at the Ateneo de Manila. He returned to the United States in 1930 and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1933. He pursued further studies at the Gregorian University in Rome and completed a doctorate in sacred theology in 1937. Returning to the United States, he taught Catholic trinitarian theology at the Jesuit theologate in Woodstock, Maryland and, in 1941, was named editor of the Jesuit journal Theological Studies. He held both positions until his death in Queens, New York in 1967. He died of a heart attack.
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Joshua Key
Joshua "Josh" Key is a United States Army deserter, who fled while on leave from the Iraq War, and is a current resident of Canada. He is the author, with Lawrence Hill, of The Deserter's Tale, a book chronicling his service in Iraq and his subsequent departure from military life.
Joshua Key was born in 1978 in Guthrie, Oklahoma, which is located just outside of Oklahoma City.
At age 20, he married Brandi Johnston and they have four children. Initially they moved to Canada together, but she later divorced him and returned to the US with their children.
In 2002 Key enlisted in the United States Army. He attended basic training and was stationed in Fort Carson, Colorado. He was deployed to the Middle East in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
"Key served as a combat engineer for eight months in Iraq 2003." "Mr. Key had told the IRB that while in Iraq with a unit of combat engineers, he took part in at least 200 raids on civilian homes." When he returned home on leave, he deserted the Army in November, 2003.
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Kevin Benderman
Kevin Benderman (born 1964) was born and raised in Alabama. He held the rank of Sergeant and was a mechanic (MOS 63M) in the United States Army. Kevin Benderman first enlisted in the Army in 1987 and served until 1991 when he accepted his discharge; however, nine years later in 2000 he chose to reenlist. Benderman was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on July 9, 2002 and served in Iraq from March 2003 until September 2003 with the Fourth Infantry Division. He was awarded two Army Commendation medals for his actions in Iraq. In late 2003 Sergeant Benderman was transferred from Fort Hood, Texas to Fort Stewart, Georgia and was assigned to the Third Infantry Division. When told that he would be returning to Iraq he first applied as a conscientious objector in December 2004 but his application was rejected. It was around this same time he was passed over for promotion to Staff Sergeant. He then refused to deploy with his unit and was court-martialed in July 2005; following a conviction, he was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment, demoted to the rank of private, and given a dishonorable discharge. The dishonorable discharge was upgraded to a bad conduct discharge by the United States Army in 2008.
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Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Никола́евич Толсто́й, pronounced [lʲev nʲɪkɐˈlaɪvʲɪtɕ tɐlˈstoj] ( listen); known in the Anglosphere as Leo Tolstoy) (September 9, 1828 – November 20, 1910) was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist fiction. Many consider Tolstoy to have been one of the world's greatest novelists. Tolstoy is equally known for his complicated and paradoxical persona and for his extreme moralistic and ascetic views, which he adopted after a moral crisis and spiritual awakening in the 1870s, after which he also became noted as a moral thinker and social reformer.
His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky (Russian: Лев Троцкий, pronounced [ˈlʲef ˈtrot͡skʲɪj] ( listen); 7 November [O.S. 26 October] 1879 – 21 August 1940), born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army.
Trotsky was initially a supporter of the Menshevik Internationalists faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. He joined the Bolsheviks immediately prior to the 1917 October Revolution, and eventually became a leader within the Party. During the early days of the Soviet Union, he served first as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and later as the founder and commander of the Red Army as People's Commissar of Military and Naval Affairs. He was a major figure in the Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War (1918–20). He was also among the first members of the Politburo.
After leading a failed struggle of the Left Opposition against the policies and rise of Joseph Stalin in the 1920s and the increasing role of bureaucracy in the Soviet Union, Trotsky was successively removed from power, expelled from the Communist Party, deported from the Soviet Union and assassinated on Stalin's orders. An early advocate of Red Army intervention against European fascism, Trotsky also opposed Stalin's non-aggression pact with Adolf Hitler in the late 1930s.
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Lionel Charlton
Air Commodore Lionel Evelyn Oswald Charlton CB, CMG, DSO, RAF (7 July 1879 – 18 April 1958) was a British infantry officer who served in the Second Boer War. During World War I, Charlton held several command and staff posts in the Royal Flying Corps, finishing the war as a brigadier-general. Transferring to the Royal Air Force on its creation, Charlton served in several air officer posts until his retirement from the air force in 1928. Most notably, Charlton resigned his position as the RAF's Chief Staff Officer in Iraq as he objected to the bombing of Iraqi villages.
Lionel Charlton was born on 7 July 1879 at Piccadilly in London. He was educated at Brighton College and entered the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1898.
Shortly before World War I he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, becoming one of its first brigadier-generals in 1917.
During the First World War, Charlton served in the Royal Flying Corps, initially as a flight commander on No. 3 Squadron and later as the first Officer Commanding of No. 8 Squadron. On 15 April 1915 when No. 8 Squadron was grouped with No. 13 Squadron to form the new 5th Wing of the RFC, Charlton temporarily took command until he travelled to France.
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Mehmet Tarhan
Mehmet Tarhan (born 1978) was imprisoned for refusing military service in Turkey as a conscientious objector. Tarhan had been sentenced to four years in a military prison for disobedience after refusing to wear a military uniform, a sentence that is evidently the longest ever given for such an offense in Turkey. He was released in March 2006 after spending several months in prison.
According to Tarhan, he was born into a Kurdish peasant family. At the age of 17 he worked as a government employee in Diyarbakır. During this time he worked with KAOS GL (an independent political and cultural LGBT group) and Lambdaistanbul (a LBGT civil society initiative). He also became involved in and supported anti-military efforts. Tarhan credits his sexual and ethnic identity with causing him to question militarism.
During his days in prison he was offered and accepted to join Jury of Conscience of World Tribunal on Iraq
Tarhan first publicly objected to military service in October 2001. At a press conference in Ankara he said,
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Mennonite
The Mennonites are a Protestant group based around the church communities of the Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons (1496–1561), who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders. The teachings of the Mennonites were founded on their belief in both the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ, which they held to with great conviction despite persecution by the various Roman Catholic and Protestant states. Rather than fight, the majority survived by fleeing to neighboring states where ruling families were tolerant of their radical belief in adult baptism. Over the years, Mennonites have become known as one of the historic peace churches because of their commitment to nonviolence.
There are about 1.5 million Mennonites worldwide as of 2006. Mennonite congregations worldwide embody the full scope of Mennonite practice from "plain people" to those who are indistinguishable in dress and appearance from the general population. The largest populations of Mennonites are in Ethiopia,Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United States, but Mennonites can also be found in tight-knit communities in at least 51 countries on six continents or scattered amongst the populace of those countries. There are also significant numbers of Mennonites scattered throughout China. There are German Mennonite colonies in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia,Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, and Paraguay, who are to a large extent descendants of Mennonites living in eastern Europe, and there remains a small congregation in the Netherlands where Simons was born.
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Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; January 17, 1942) is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist. Considered a cultural icon, Ali was both idolized and vilified.
Originally known as Cassius Clay, Ali changed his name after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964, subsequently converting to Sunni Islam in 1975, and more recently practicing Sufism.[clarification needed] In 1967, three years after Ali had won the World Heavyweight Championship, he was publicly vilified for his refusal to be conscripted into the U.S. military, based on his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War. Ali stated, "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong... No Viet Cong ever called me nigger" – one of the more telling remarks of the era.
Widespread protests against the Vietnam War had not yet begun, but with that one phrase, Ali articulated the reason to oppose the war for a generation of young Americans, and his words served as a touchstone for the racial and antiwar upheavals that would rock the 1960s. Ali's example inspired Martin Luther King Jr. – who had been reluctant to alienate the Johnson Administration and its support of the civil rights agenda – to voice his own opposition to the war for the first time.
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Nigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people (generally people of Sub-Saharan African descent), and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur, and suggests that its target is extremely unsophisticated. The word originated as a term used in a neutral context to refer to black people, as a variation of the Spanish/Portuguese noun negro, a descendant of the Latin adjective niger (“color black”).
The variants neger and negar, derive from the Spanish and Portuguese word negro (black), and from the now-pejorative French nègre (nigger). Etymologically, negro, noir, nègre, and nigger ultimately derive from nigrum, the stem of the Latin niger (black) (pronounced [ˈniɡer] which, in every other grammatical case, grammatical gender, and grammatical number besides nominative masculine singular, is nigr-, the r is trilled).
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Osman Murat Ulke
Osman Murat Ulke (born 1970) is a Turkish conscientious objector. He was imprisoned for two and a half years for refusal of military service, and was the subject of a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights.
Ulke publicly burned his papers after being called for duty September 1, 1995.
A year later, he was detained in Izmir and formally arrested October 8. He was put on trial at the Military Court of the General Staff in Ankara, charged with "alienating the public from the institution of military service" and was additionally charged for burning his call-up papers and declaring his conscientious objection.
Amnesty International contacted the Turkish government, requesting that it provide alternative civilian service. Turkish law had no such provision in place. The human rights group made its suggestion based on recommendations made by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the Council of Europe.
The European Court of Human Rights found the nation had violated of article 3 of the convention in its persecution of Ulke. The court ordered Turkey to pay 11,000 euros to Ulke in compensation.
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Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI (Latin: Benedictus PP. XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI; German: Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on 16 April 1927) is the 265th Pope, a position in which he serves dual roles as Sovereign of the Vatican City State and leader of the Catholic Church. As pope he is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter. Benedict XVI was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005. A native of Bavaria, Pope Benedict XVI has both German and Vatican citizenship.
After a long career as an academic, serving as a professor of theology at various German universities—the last being the University of Regensburg—he was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising and cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1977. In 1981, he settled in Rome when he became Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the most important dicasteries of the Roman Curia. From 2002 until his election as Pope, he was also Dean of the College of Cardinals, and as such the primus inter pares among the cardinals. Prior to becoming Pope, he was "a major figure on the Vatican stage for a quarter of a century" as "one of the most respected, influential and controversial members of the College of Cardinals"; he had an influence "second to none when it came to setting church priorities and directions" as one of Pope John Paul II's closest confidants.
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Robin Long
Robin Long is one of several U.S. Army deserters who sought asylum in Canada because of his opposition to the Iraq war and became the first of those to be deported to the United States after being rejected for refugee status. He was deported from Canada on July 15, 2008.
In July 2008, the Toronto Star quoted Bob Ages, chair of the Vancouver-based War Resisters Support Campaign who said that since the time of slavery, Canada has been known as a place of asylum, and Long's removal marks the first time an Army deserter has been deported from Canada to the United States The Globe and Mail also reported this quote from Ages:
At the time he voluntarily enlisted in July 2003, Long believed that his country was justified in going to war in Iraq, his lawyer Shepherd Moss said at the court hearing to halt the deportation of July 2008. Long intended to train as a tank commander. "He wanted to go to defend his country", his lawyer stated.
Long trained for two years at Fort Knox in Kentucky. His perspective changed while in training at the Army base at Fort Knox. After hearing that weapons of mass destruction had not been found in Iraq, Long thought the U.S. had no reason for being at war. Also, in 2004 he was troubled by evidence of abuse of Iraqi detainees that came out in May 2004, according to his lawyer, Shepherd Moss, in July 2008
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Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War (25 October 1917 – October 1922) was a multi-party war in the former Russian Empire fought between the Bolshevik Red Army and the White Army, the loosely allied anti-Bolshevik forces. Many foreign armies warred against the Red Army, notably the Allied Forces and the pro-German armies. The Red Army defeated the White Armed Forces of South Russia in Ukraine and the army led by Aleksandr Kolchak in Siberia in 1919. The remains of the White forces commanded by Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel were beaten in the Crimea and were evacuated in the autumn of 1920. A number of independent countries – Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland – emerged from the war.
After the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the Russian Provisional Government was established during the February Revolution of 1917.
In the wake of the October Revolution, the old Russian Imperial Army had been demobilized; the volunteer-based Red Guard was the Bolsheviks' main military force, augmented by an armed military component of the Cheka, the Bolshevik state security apparatus. In January, after significant reverses in combat, War Commissar Leon Trotsky headed the reorganization of the Red Guard into a Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, in order to create a more professional fighting force. Political commissars were appointed to each unit of the army to maintain morale and ensure loyalty.
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Russian Mennonite
The Russian Mennonites are a group of Mennonites descended from Dutch and mainly Germanic Prussian Anabaptists who established colonies in South Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) beginning in 1789. Since the late 19th century, many of them have come to countries throughout the Western Hemisphere. The rest were forcibly relocated, so that few of their descendants now live at the location of the original colonies. Russian Mennonites are traditionally multilingual with Plautdietsch (Mennonite Low German) as their lingua franca.
In the early-to-mid 16th century, Mennonites began to move from the Low Countries (especially Friesland) and Flanders to the Vistula delta region, seeking religious freedom and exemption from military service. They gradually replaced their Dutch and Frisian languages with the Plautdietsch dialect spoken in the area, blending into it elements of their native tongues. Plautdietsch is the distinct Mennonite language which developed over a period of 300 years in the Vistula delta region and south Russia.
wn.com/Russian_Mennonite -
Sven Lindqvist
Sven Lindqvist (born April 28, 1932) is a Swedish author, whose works include A History of Bombing.
wn.com/Sven_Lindqvist -
Vladimir Chertkov
Vladimir Grigoryevich Chertkov (Russian: Влади́мир Григо́рьевич Чертко́в; also transliterated as Chertkoff, Tchertkoff or Tschertkow (3 November [O.S. 22 October] 1854 – November 9, 1936) was the editor of the works of Leo Tolstoy, and one of the most prominent Tolstoyans.
Chertkov was born in 1854 in St. Petersburg, Russia into a wealthy and aristocratic family. His mother (to whom he felt especially close), Elizaveta Ivanovna, born Countess Chernysheva-Kruglikova, was known among her circle in St. Petersburg society for her beauty, intellect, authoritativeness and tact. His father, Grigorii Ivanovich, was aide-de-camp under Nikolai I, Adjutant-General under Alexander II and Alexander III, known in military circles for his front-line service and military bearing. The couple enjoyed imperial favour so much that Alexander II and Alexander III visited their home.
Describing his parents in one of his diary entries, he wrote: “That's how I grew up, assured of my own innate advantage over other people, proud of the dignity of my parents, their relatives and friends, entourage of servants, rising from their seats in the ante-room when I passed from my rooms into my parents’ part of the house, swimming in all kinds of luxury and almost not knowing rejection in satisfaction of my desires.”
wn.com/Vladimir_Chertkov -
World War I
World War I (WWI), which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939 (World War II), and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. It involved all the world's great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and Russia) and the Central Powers (originally centred around the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy; but, as Austria–Hungary had taken the offensive against the agreement, Italy did not enter into the war). These alliances both reorganised (Italy fought for the Allies), and expanded as more nations entered the war. Ultimately more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. More than 9 million combatants were killed, largely because of enormous increases in lethality of weapons, thanks to new technology, without corresponding improvements in protection or mobility. It was the sixth-deadliest conflict in world history, subsequently paving the way for various political changes such as revolutions in the nations involved.
wn.com/World_War_I
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Inside Out - Arthur Gardner, conscientious objector from WWI
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:39
- Updated: 10 Dec 2012
Documentary piece from a West Yorkshire 'inside out' episode in 2001 about Arthur Gardner, a conscientious objector from WWI, who could so no reason to fight in the war. Staring Jonny Davies as Arthur Gardner.
http://wn.com/Inside_Out_Arthur_Gardner,_conscientious_objector_from_WWI
Documentary piece from a West Yorkshire 'inside out' episode in 2001 about Arthur Gardner, a conscientious objector from WWI, who could so no reason to fight in the war. Staring Jonny Davies as Arthur Gardner.
How I Became a Conscientious Objector
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:33
- Updated: 29 Nov 2012
Iraq veteran Joshua Casteel discusses his time as an interrogator for the US military at Abu Ghraib and how it led to him becoming a conscientious objector.
http://wn.com/How_I_Became_a_Conscientious_Objector
Iraq veteran Joshua Casteel discusses his time as an interrogator for the US military at Abu Ghraib and how it led to him becoming a conscientious objector.
- published: 27 Feb 2007
- views: 12770
- author: mennoStories
The Conscientious Objector - Desmond Doss MOH Winner & True Follower of Christ
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 101:31
- Updated: 29 Dec 2012
The great story of a simple man living in a cruel and hostile world and standing upon the faith of Jesus. Wathc this documentary on PVT Desmond T. Doss. It will make you cry!! He truly kept the faith!!! FYI: No I dont advocate the SDA chruch which will be sighted in the documentary. Gods people are those who keep His commandments and hold dear to the Testimony of Jesus Christ as Desmond Doss displays in this doc. And all the while he lived humbly and loving his fellow neighbor no matter what. Enjoy and Thank God for examples like Desmond T. Doss. RIP
http://wn.com/The_Conscientious_Objector_Desmond_Doss_MOH_Winner_True_Follower_of_Christ
The great story of a simple man living in a cruel and hostile world and standing upon the faith of Jesus. Wathc this documentary on PVT Desmond T. Doss. It will make you cry!! He truly kept the faith!!! FYI: No I dont advocate the SDA chruch which will be sighted in the documentary. Gods people are those who keep His commandments and hold dear to the Testimony of Jesus Christ as Desmond Doss displays in this doc. And all the while he lived humbly and loving his fellow neighbor no matter what. Enjoy and Thank God for examples like Desmond T. Doss. RIP
- published: 24 Jun 2012
- views: 2069
- author: wakeus777
The Conscientious Objector - Desmond Doss
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:18
- Updated: 21 Dec 2012
Conscientious objector documentary - desmonddoss.com
http://wn.com/The_Conscientious_Objector_Desmond_Doss
Conscientious objector documentary - desmonddoss.com
- published: 01 Dec 2006
- views: 24777
- author: 120382038
Conscientious Objectors in World War One
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:04
- Updated: 15 Nov 2012
Video about those men who refused to join or be conscripted into the army during WW1 including the different types of conscientious objectors and what happened to them. Song: You Gotta Be by Des'ree NB This is an earlyish attempt at video making. No copyright infringement intended. For educational use only.
http://wn.com/Conscientious_Objectors_in_World_War_One
Video about those men who refused to join or be conscripted into the army during WW1 including the different types of conscientious objectors and what happened to them. Song: You Gotta Be by Des'ree NB This is an earlyish attempt at video making. No copyright infringement intended. For educational use only.
- published: 02 Mar 2011
- views: 4884
- author: tenko08stgc
The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight It (Bullfrog Films clip)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:24
- Updated: 10 Dec 2012
Produced by Judith Ehrlich & Rick Tejada-Flores The story of conscientious objectors in World War II. www.bullfrogfilms.com
http://wn.com/The_Good_War_and_Those_Who_Refused_to_Fight_It_Bullfrog_Films_clip
Produced by Judith Ehrlich & Rick Tejada-Flores The story of conscientious objectors in World War II. www.bullfrogfilms.com
- published: 22 Jan 2010
- views: 2684
- author: bullfrogfilms
Desmond Doss conscientious objector received Medal of Honor
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:18
- Updated: 26 Nov 2012
www.WALLYBUTLER.US - Desmond T. Doss (February 7, 1919March 23, 2006) was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor (Cpl. Thomas W. Bennett, an army medic during the Vietnam war, is the only other). He was a Private First Class (at the time of his Medal of Honor heroics) in the US Army assigned to the Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. He died the same day as another Medal of Honor recipient, David Bleak. Desmond Doss refused to kill, or carry a weapon into combat, because of his personal beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist. He thus became a medic, and by serving in the Pacific theatre of World War II helped his country by saving the lives of his comrades, while also adhering to his religious convictions. His Medal of Honor was earned by the risks he took to save the lives of many comrades. GO No. 97, November 1, 1945. Citation: He was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet (120 m) high. As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and machinegun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying them 1 by 1 to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands. On May 2, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man ...
http://wn.com/Desmond_Doss_conscientious_objector_received_Medal_of_Honor
www.WALLYBUTLER.US - Desmond T. Doss (February 7, 1919March 23, 2006) was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor (Cpl. Thomas W. Bennett, an army medic during the Vietnam war, is the only other). He was a Private First Class (at the time of his Medal of Honor heroics) in the US Army assigned to the Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. He died the same day as another Medal of Honor recipient, David Bleak. Desmond Doss refused to kill, or carry a weapon into combat, because of his personal beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist. He thus became a medic, and by serving in the Pacific theatre of World War II helped his country by saving the lives of his comrades, while also adhering to his religious convictions. His Medal of Honor was earned by the risks he took to save the lives of many comrades. GO No. 97, November 1, 1945. Citation: He was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet (120 m) high. As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and machinegun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying them 1 by 1 to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands. On May 2, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man ...
- published: 03 Jun 2009
- views: 15756
- author: zija777
Israeli Conscientious Objectors, Shministim, Send letter www.december18th.org
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:16
- Updated: 30 Dec 2012
Support Israel's young conscientious objectors. WWW.December18th.ORG Shministim say why they refuse to serve in an army that occupies the Palestinians.
http://wn.com/Israeli_Conscientious_Objectors,_Shministim,_Send_letter_wwwdecember18thorg
Support Israel's young conscientious objectors. WWW.December18th.ORG Shministim say why they refuse to serve in an army that occupies the Palestinians.
- published: 16 Dec 2008
- views: 90989
- author: JVP18
Warmongers & Conscientious Objectors | Heroes and Villains
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:20
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
: Abby Martin highlights IDF soldier and conscientious objector, Natan Blanc, who faces time in prison for refusing to fight against innocent civilians in Gaza. Abby then calls out Gilad Sharon, son of former Israeli leader Ariel Sharon, for suggesting the best approach to solving the conflict is for Israel to "flatten Gaza". LIKE Breaking the Set @ fb.me FOLLOW Abby Martin @ twitter.com
http://wn.com/Warmongers_Conscientious_Objectors_|_Heroes_and_Villains
: Abby Martin highlights IDF soldier and conscientious objector, Natan Blanc, who faces time in prison for refusing to fight against innocent civilians in Gaza. Abby then calls out Gilad Sharon, son of former Israeli leader Ariel Sharon, for suggesting the best approach to solving the conflict is for Israel to "flatten Gaza". LIKE Breaking the Set @ fb.me FOLLOW Abby Martin @ twitter.com
- published: 20 Nov 2012
- views: 1432
- author: breakingtheset
AVTM causes conscientious objection
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:34
- Updated: 28 Dec 2012
#139 Upside down flag leads to police involvement/Rebel Inc. To hear the full podcast: adamvstheman.com Please address hate mail to adam@adamvstheman.com Donate Bitcoin: 1BWeuWdgjrP8PFAwBwgwU9BUqJNewScouy Invest here to support ADAM VS THE MAN! adamvstheman.com
http://wn.com/AVTM_causes_conscientious_objection
#139 Upside down flag leads to police involvement/Rebel Inc. To hear the full podcast: adamvstheman.com Please address hate mail to adam@adamvstheman.com Donate Bitcoin: 1BWeuWdgjrP8PFAwBwgwU9BUqJNewScouy Invest here to support ADAM VS THE MAN! adamvstheman.com
- published: 13 Nov 2012
- views: 2649
- author: AdamKokesh
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR anti war poem
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:43
- Updated: 08 Dec 2012
inspired by EDNA ST VINCENT MILLAY poem
http://wn.com/CONSCIENTIOUS_OBJECTOR_anti_war_poem
Conscientious Objector leaves military
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:08
- Updated: 21 May 2012
Michael Thames left the military in June of 2007 after winning his CO status because his Christian beliefs forbade him from killing. The military wanted him to serve as an interrogator in Iraq.
http://wn.com/Conscientious_Objector_leaves_military
Michael Thames left the military in June of 2007 after winning his CO status because his Christian beliefs forbade him from killing. The military wanted him to serve as an interrogator in Iraq.
- published: 08 Jul 2007
- views: 2635
- author: Tom Grant
Israel's Young Conscientious Objectors - Jewish Voice for Peace
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:27
- Updated: 09 Dec 2012
Free The Shministim! ISRAEL'S YOUNG CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS. The Shministim are Israeli high school students who have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in an army that occupies the Palestinian Territories. December 18, 2008 marked the launch date of a global campaign to release them from jail. SHMINISIM 2010: A new Shministim letter has been drafted for 2010, and 88 Israeli young people have signed it. The letter, addressed to Prime Minister Netanyahu, slams the Occupation and asks, Can military rule of a civilian population be considered anything other than a dictatorship? To learn about this new class of conscientious refusers, go here: www.shministim.com Below are but a few who refuse to serve the occupation! These Israeli teenagers refuse to take part in an army that illegaly and brutally occupies the Palestinian Territories and are willing to pay the price for our struggle against the occupation and in favor of peace. May God bless and protect each and every one of them. Name: Or Ben-David Age: 19 Location: Jerusalem Why I am one of the Shministim: I refuse because I want to make a difference. I want all those Palestinian youths who have lost hope to see that there are Israelis who care and who make a different choice. I want all those of my friends who became soldiers or who are about to become soldiers to see that things dont have to be the way they are Pre-Sentence: 28th Sept. 2009 (7 days of confinement to base) First Sentence: 29th Oct. 2009 (20 days) Second ...
http://wn.com/Israel's_Young_Conscientious_Objectors_Jewish_Voice_for_Peace
Free The Shministim! ISRAEL'S YOUNG CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS. The Shministim are Israeli high school students who have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in an army that occupies the Palestinian Territories. December 18, 2008 marked the launch date of a global campaign to release them from jail. SHMINISIM 2010: A new Shministim letter has been drafted for 2010, and 88 Israeli young people have signed it. The letter, addressed to Prime Minister Netanyahu, slams the Occupation and asks, Can military rule of a civilian population be considered anything other than a dictatorship? To learn about this new class of conscientious refusers, go here: www.shministim.com Below are but a few who refuse to serve the occupation! These Israeli teenagers refuse to take part in an army that illegaly and brutally occupies the Palestinian Territories and are willing to pay the price for our struggle against the occupation and in favor of peace. May God bless and protect each and every one of them. Name: Or Ben-David Age: 19 Location: Jerusalem Why I am one of the Shministim: I refuse because I want to make a difference. I want all those Palestinian youths who have lost hope to see that there are Israelis who care and who make a different choice. I want all those of my friends who became soldiers or who are about to become soldiers to see that things dont have to be the way they are Pre-Sentence: 28th Sept. 2009 (7 days of confinement to base) First Sentence: 29th Oct. 2009 (20 days) Second ...
- published: 12 Mar 2010
- views: 5792
- author: AFAskygoddess
Conscientious Objectors, State Department Censorship | Heroes and Villains
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:42
- Updated: 15 Oct 2012
Abby Martin highlights conscientious objectors & state department censorship. LIKE Breaking The Set @ fb.me FOLLOW Abby Martin @ twitter.com SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Abby Martin breaks the set about conscientious objectors by highlighting the case of Kimberly Rivera, and calls out Philippe Reines for admonishing CNN for attempting to question more ABOUT HEROES AND VILLAINS: It's difficult at times to sort through the negativity on the corporate press for inspiration. On Breaking the Set, Abby highlights the heroes out there doing good work while also calling out villains who undermine American democracy. ABOUT BREAKING THE SET: A brand new show on the RT Network hosted by Abby Martin. There are way too many rules set in society that prop up the establishment -- an establishment that works to divide and conquer the people. 'Breaking the Set' seeks to smash through the Left/Right Paradigm set in the media and political establishment to find the middle ground: the truth. It is a show that cuts through that pre-established narrative which tells the people what to think and what to care about. Tune in from 6-6:30 EST MF on your local cable station OR watch live at www.RT.com OR SUBSCRIBE to the official YouTube channel @ www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Conscientious_Objectors,_State_Department_Censorship_|_Heroes_and_Villains
Abby Martin highlights conscientious objectors & state department censorship. LIKE Breaking The Set @ fb.me FOLLOW Abby Martin @ twitter.com SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Abby Martin breaks the set about conscientious objectors by highlighting the case of Kimberly Rivera, and calls out Philippe Reines for admonishing CNN for attempting to question more ABOUT HEROES AND VILLAINS: It's difficult at times to sort through the negativity on the corporate press for inspiration. On Breaking the Set, Abby highlights the heroes out there doing good work while also calling out villains who undermine American democracy. ABOUT BREAKING THE SET: A brand new show on the RT Network hosted by Abby Martin. There are way too many rules set in society that prop up the establishment -- an establishment that works to divide and conquer the people. 'Breaking the Set' seeks to smash through the Left/Right Paradigm set in the media and political establishment to find the middle ground: the truth. It is a show that cuts through that pre-established narrative which tells the people what to think and what to care about. Tune in from 6-6:30 EST MF on your local cable station OR watch live at www.RT.com OR SUBSCRIBE to the official YouTube channel @ www.youtube.com
- published: 26 Sep 2012
- views: 404
- author: breakingtheset
Conscientious Objector texture change demonstration
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:22
- Updated: 29 Dec 2012
Just a demonstration of a custom texture. Finally my favourite loli is a weapon!
http://wn.com/Conscientious_Objector_texture_change_demonstration
Just a demonstration of a custom texture. Finally my favourite loli is a weapon!
- published: 16 Oct 2011
- views: 49279
- author: YayoiTakatsuki96
Demo in Support of the Conscientious Objectors 23-9-08
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:56
- Updated: 19 May 2012
Demonstration in Support of the Conscientious Objectors Omer Goldman, Tamar Katz & Miya Tamrin This Tuesday,September 23rd, Tamar, Miya & Omer, signees of the Seniors Letter, will present themselves at the Army's central Recruitment Base - where they will declare their refusal to serve in the army of occupation, be court-marshaled and sent to the stockade. Omer, Miya & Omer are to be the fourth, fifth & sixth signees of the seniors letter to enter the stockade for their refusal to participate in the horrors of the occupation, and their decision to protest against the violent measures carried out by the IDF against the civilian population in the territories.
http://wn.com/Demo_in_Support_of_the_Conscientious_Objectors_23-9-08
Demonstration in Support of the Conscientious Objectors Omer Goldman, Tamar Katz & Miya Tamrin This Tuesday,September 23rd, Tamar, Miya & Omer, signees of the Seniors Letter, will present themselves at the Army's central Recruitment Base - where they will declare their refusal to serve in the army of occupation, be court-marshaled and sent to the stockade. Omer, Miya & Omer are to be the fourth, fifth & sixth signees of the seniors letter to enter the stockade for their refusal to participate in the horrors of the occupation, and their decision to protest against the violent measures carried out by the IDF against the civilian population in the territories.
- published: 25 Sep 2008
- views: 1412
- author: yisraelpnm
Israeli Lawmaker andi conscientious objector denounce situation in Gaza (1 of 2) from Democracy Now 12/31/08
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:25
- Updated: 18 May 2012
www.youtube.com Part 2 Israel has rejected a French proposal for an immediate emergency 48-hour ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. As Israeli air and sea attacks against the Strip continued into its fifth day, basic food supplies in Gaza are running low and hospitals are struggling to cope with the rising casualties. We speak to two Israelis opposed to the assault: Dov Khenin, a Knesset member with the the Jewish-Arab party Hadash; and Jonathan Benartzi, an Israeli conscientious objector who spent more than a year in prison for refusing to serve. He also happens to be the nephew of Benjamin Netanyahu, a leading proponent of attacking Gaza and a favorite to win the upcoming Israeli elections.
http://wn.com/Israeli_Lawmaker_andi_conscientious_objector_denounce_situation_in_Gaza_1_of_2_from_Democracy_Now_12_31_08
www.youtube.com Part 2 Israel has rejected a French proposal for an immediate emergency 48-hour ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. As Israeli air and sea attacks against the Strip continued into its fifth day, basic food supplies in Gaza are running low and hospitals are struggling to cope with the rising casualties. We speak to two Israelis opposed to the assault: Dov Khenin, a Knesset member with the the Jewish-Arab party Hadash; and Jonathan Benartzi, an Israeli conscientious objector who spent more than a year in prison for refusing to serve. He also happens to be the nephew of Benjamin Netanyahu, a leading proponent of attacking Gaza and a favorite to win the upcoming Israeli elections.
- published: 31 Dec 2008
- views: 924
- author: mediagrrl9
Fun With the Conscientious Objector
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:21
- Updated: 13 Aug 2012
Hitting people with a sign, good times.
http://wn.com/Fun_With_the_Conscientious_Objector
Standardized Testing in College Admissions: Profile of a Conscientious Objector
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:47
- Updated: 02 Jul 2012
Sylvie Baldwin discusses why she chose to apply to both Test Optional and Non-Test Optional Universities.
http://wn.com/Standardized_Testing_in_College_Admissions_Profile_of_a_Conscientious_Objector
Sylvie Baldwin discusses why she chose to apply to both Test Optional and Non-Test Optional Universities.
- published: 29 Sep 2010
- views: 3577
- author: LawrenceUniversity
Conscientious Objector - Official Trailer
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:46
- Updated: 26 Dec 2012
In a breakout performance, writer-director JW Cortes stars as Jason Cruz, an Iraq war veteran arrested amidst allegations of murdering unarmed Iraqi children. Jason attempts to detach himself from his unsuspecting family in an effort to save them from his pang of conscience. His bride, Kayla (Giselle Rodriguez) discovers simultaneously with the audience what exactly has put Jason and his family in the most challenging and trying situation of their lives. "Conscientious Objector" reminds us that the affects of war are indeed different, complex and as unique as the soldiers are experiencing it. Objecting to a one's self-conscience can be the toughest battle any one person can fight. www.co-themovie.com
http://wn.com/Conscientious_Objector_Official_Trailer
In a breakout performance, writer-director JW Cortes stars as Jason Cruz, an Iraq war veteran arrested amidst allegations of murdering unarmed Iraqi children. Jason attempts to detach himself from his unsuspecting family in an effort to save them from his pang of conscience. His bride, Kayla (Giselle Rodriguez) discovers simultaneously with the audience what exactly has put Jason and his family in the most challenging and trying situation of their lives. "Conscientious Objector" reminds us that the affects of war are indeed different, complex and as unique as the soldiers are experiencing it. Objecting to a one's self-conscience can be the toughest battle any one person can fight. www.co-themovie.com
- published: 12 Feb 2011
- views: 517
- author: setrocentertainment
Conscientious Objector Ryan Jackson Tells His Story (Part 1)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:32
- Updated: 06 Nov 2012
IVAW member and conscientious objector Ryan Jackson discusses his military service and how he came to believe wars are immoral. Ryan's beliefs led him to seek discharge from the US Army, found his chain of command unwilling to discharge him. Ryan refused to participate in what he calls "the entirely immoral and unethical conscientious objector process." Instead Ryan refused to participate in war, went AWOL, and eventually served 100 days in prison all because he did not wish to kill others.
http://wn.com/Conscientious_Objector_Ryan_Jackson_Tells_His_Story_Part_1
IVAW member and conscientious objector Ryan Jackson discusses his military service and how he came to believe wars are immoral. Ryan's beliefs led him to seek discharge from the US Army, found his chain of command unwilling to discharge him. Ryan refused to participate in what he calls "the entirely immoral and unethical conscientious objector process." Instead Ryan refused to participate in war, went AWOL, and eventually served 100 days in prison all because he did not wish to kill others.
- published: 05 Dec 2009
- views: 1539
- author: IVAWfilms1
Iron Brigade Xbox 360 Conscientious Objector Achievement
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:41
- Updated: 05 Oct 2012
Iron Brigade Xbox 360 Conscientious Objector Achievement. Subscribe to my channel.
http://wn.com/Iron_Brigade_Xbox_360_Conscientious_Objector_Achievement
Iron Brigade Xbox 360 Conscientious Objector Achievement. Subscribe to my channel.
- published: 30 Dec 2011
- views: 826
- author: LordBRandy1988
Father, forgive me, I will not fight for your Israel (PL subs)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:20
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
Israel's Young Conscientious Objectors: www.shministim.com december18th.org www.whywerefuse.org
http://wn.com/Father,_forgive_me,_I_will_not_fight_for_your_Israel_PL_subs
Israel's Young Conscientious Objectors: www.shministim.com december18th.org www.whywerefuse.org
- published: 15 Dec 2009
- views: 57142
- author: maghrebianka
photo: AP / Altaf Qadri
29 Dec 2012
Police in India have sealed off much of the capital, Delhi, and issued an appeal for calm after the death of a woman who was gang-raped in the city. The 23-year old woman, who has not been identified, died early on Saturday at a hospital in Singapore, where she had been taken for specialist treatment. Her body is to be flown back to India for burial ... Gatherings of more than five people have been banned in the city centre ... ....(size: 4.9Kb)
photo: AP / New York City Police Department
30 Dec 2012
A woman who told police she shoved a man to his death off a subway platform because she has hated Muslims since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the US and thought he was one was charged on Saturday with murder as a hate crime, prosecutors said ... Menendez, 31, was awaiting arraignment on the charge on Saturday evening, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. She faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted ... On Dec ... ....(size: 3.0Kb)
photo: AP / Ben Curtis
28 Dec 2012
The president of Central African Republic (CAR) has urgently called on France and other foreign powers to help his government fend off rebels who are quickly seizing territory and approaching the capital. Speaking to crowds in Bangui, a city of some 600,000, Francois Bozize on Thursday pleaded with foreign powers to do what they could. He pointed in particular to France, Central African Republic's former colonial ruler ... 516 Share ... News ... ....(size: 19.5Kb)
photo: AP / Shaam News Network
30 Dec 2012
London. UN-Arab League envoy to Damascus, Lakhdar Brahimi, has said that a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Syria seemed far away, adding that the country risked being slithering into ‘hell’ ... (ANI). For Zee News’s Updates, follow us on Twitter , Facebook, Google+, Pinterest. First Published ... ....(size: 1.7Kb)
photo: WN / Yolanda Leyba
28 Dec 2012
Galaxy Note 2 vs. iPhone 5. Do The Companies Have Their Game Plans Right?. Posted by Jay099 on December 28, 2012 02.15 pm 0. via. Mountain View at California seems to be a busy center now. Google is stepping up the gas on the march towards a holistic environment and experience for the consumers ... My Blog . My FB Page ... ....(size: 2.2Kb)
Yahoo Daily News
31 Dec 2012
Using a vast network of sources, Yahoo! Sports has uncovered a compendium of New Year's resolutions throughout the baseball world. As is the case with most resolutions, they will be broken ... Here is our New Year's gift to you. Mike Trout resolves to become a conscientious objector, convinced that's the only way to ingratiate himself with an MVP voting bloc that hates WAR ... (AP) ... Joe Girardi resolves to come clean ... [Related ... R.A ... • Slideshow ... ....(size: 5.7Kb)
The Hindu
29 Dec 2012
It would be quite obvious from the ongoing India-Pakistan cricket series that there is more to sport than mere sport, that politics has a huge sway over fans’ emotions ... Interwoven factors ... It is almost a catalogue of civilisational shortcomings ... Ugly rivalries ... They never called me ‘nigger,’ said Muhammad Ali while refusing — as a conscientious objector — to be drafted into the US army to fight in Vietnam....(size: 5.9Kb)
Wall Street Journal
29 Dec 2012
By BEN COHEN. The relationship between a player and a coach in college hoops, like the height of the rims, is the same on every basketball court. The coach tells the player what to do and how to do it, and the player does it or finds himself living miserably on the bench ... Smith impersonates Pitino in the locker room before games ... Pitino later added ... Smith's take ... As a freshman, Pitino said, Smith was a "conscientious objector" on defense....(size: 6.0Kb)
PhysOrg
24 Dec 2012
It would be difficult to overstate the degree to which A People's History has resonated with the American public. Although its perspective is unabashedly from the far left, its reach and influence extend far beyond that quarter with more than 2 million copies in print and prominent displays in suburban superstores ... And a similar trend held with conscientious objectors. "Surprisingly few black men became C.O.s," Wittner adds ... ....(size: 4.8Kb)
noodls
24 Dec 2012
(Source. Hebrew University of Jerusalem) ... Nabil was hosted by the Hebrew University's Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace in co-operation with the Geneva-based human rights organization UN Watch ... Nabil was introduced by Prof ... 20 October 2010'' ... Nabil was the first conscientious objector of the current regime, having founded an Egyptian movement against the country's military conscription in 2009....(size: 6.8Kb)
Stuff
22 Dec 2012
Though it seems simple, NZ Super is governed by a set of rules that can and do, on occasion, deliver nasty, and costly, surprises to those receiving it - or in the case of one man, severe irritation that New Zealand, which paid for his education, had to foot part of his pension despite him having barely worked here ... Conscientious objector ... No backdating ... Another case this year covered a different man with a similar belief. Ad Feedback ... ....(size: 8.7Kb)
The New York Times
21 Dec 2012
Nabil also posted updates to Twitter that were sharply critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and what he called Israel’s “racist government.” He also expressed his support for conscientious objectors who refuse to serve in the Israel Defense Forces ... As a Conscientious Objector jailed for refusing to serve in army, I declare support to Israelis who are acting against IDF....(size: 12.6Kb)
The Examiner
21 Dec 2012
I don’t thank soldiers for their “service” unless they are working against the military industrial complex, either as conscientious objectors, whistle blowers, political activists or some other means. That’s not to say that I don’t have a lot of sympathy for young kids who end up in the ranks because of parental bullying, the poverty draft or some other form of soft coercion ... He wanted to be an investigative journalist ... “No ... Total war ... ....(size: 4.7Kb)
noodls
21 Dec 2012
(Source. Stanford University) Stanford Report, December 20, 2012. Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" offers bad lessons in historical thinking, says School of Education Professor Sam Wineburg ... It would be difficult to overstate the degree to which A People's History has resonated with the American public ... And a similar trend held with conscientious objectors ... History, Wineburg notes, is messy....(size: 6.9Kb)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
20 Dec 2012
Many thanks for bringing us the comfort of our great helper Fred Rogers at a time when his wisdom and our need to be each other's helper is so great ("Mr. Rogers' Words of Comfort Revived in Wake of Tragedy," Dec. 18). Mr ... I was a child care worker at "The Home," having been assigned there as a conscientious objector in 1969 during the Vietnam War ... ....(size: 1.8Kb)
The New York Times
20 Dec 2012
Drivers in New York have two choices. slow bumper-to-bumper traffic and fast bumper-to-bumper traffic. Everyone knows Option 1. It is an existential condition in the city. Multimedia. Slide Show. Start Your Engines!. Connect with NYTMetro. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for news and conversation ... I had help ... My wife, Nancy, stood by the sidelines, a conscientious objector after looking at the helmet-and-jumpsuit outfit ... campaign ... ....(size: 9.6Kb)
The Independent
18 Dec 2012
It's the most widely celebrated anniversary of any British composer, ever. Few composers worldwide could compete ... He was a pacifist and a conscientious objector during the Second World War; and in an era when homosexuality was still illegal, he enjoyed a publicly accepted relationship with the tenor Peter Pears, whom he got to know in 1937 and for whom he created some of his finest operatic roles ... that gift for building powerbases....(size: 10.1Kb)
Canberra Times
17 Dec 2012
| Conscription |
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Military service |
| Conscription by country |
A conscientious objector (CO) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service"[1] on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion.[2]
In some countries, conscientious objectors are assigned to an alternative civilian service as a substitute for conscription or military service. Some conscientious objectors consider themselves pacifist, non-interventionist, non-resistant, or antimilitarist.
The international definition of conscientious objection officially broadened on March 8, 1995 when the United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/83 stated that "persons performing military service should not be excluded from the right to have conscientious objections to military service."[3] That definition was re-affirmed in 1998, when the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights document called "Conscientious objection to military service, United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution 1998/77" officially recognized that "persons [already] performing military service may develop conscientious objections."[4][5][6][7]
Introduction[link]
Historically, many conscientious objectors have been executed, imprisoned, or otherwise penalized when their beliefs led to actions conflicting with their society's legal system or government. The legal definition and status of conscientious objection has varied over the years and from nation to nation. Religious beliefs were a starting point in many nations for legally granting conscientious objector status.
Conscientious objection and the performance of civilian service (i.e. civilian tasks as an alternative to compulsory military service) in Germany grew into a veritable institution, especially in the health service. The suspension of conscription in Germany in 2011 is therefore reported to have caused problems for "caring" activities previously undertaken by objectors performing civilian service.[8] Some conscientious objectors served as firefighters and aides in mental institutions in the U.S. during World War II and the Korean War.
United Nations[link]
Universal Declaration of Human Rights[link]
In 1948, the issue of the right to "conscience" was dealt with by the United Nations General Assembly in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It reads: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance." The proclamation was ratified during the General Assembly on 10 December 1948 by a vote of 48 in favour, 0 against, with 8 abstentions.[9]
In 1974, the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, Sean MacBride said, in his Nobel Lecture, "To the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights one more might, with relevance, be added. It is 'The Right to Refuse to Kill.'" [10]
In 1976, the United Nations treaty the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights entered into force. It was based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and was originally created in 1966. Nations that have signed this treaty are bound by it. Its Article 18 begins: "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. …"[11]
However, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights left the issue of conscientious objection inexplicit, as we see in this quote from War Resisters International: "Article 18 of the Covenant does put some limits on the right [to freedom of thought, conscience and religion], stating that [its] manifestations must not infringe on public safety, order, health or morals. Some states argue that such limitations [on the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion] would [derivatively] permit them to make conscientious objection during time of war a threat to public safety, or mass conscientious objection a disruption to public order,...[Some states] even [argue] that it is a 'moral' duty to serve the state in its military."[12]
On July 30, 1993, explicit clarification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 18 was made in the United Nations Human Rights Committee general comment 22, Paragraph 11: "The Covenant does not explicitly refer to a right to conscientious objection, but the Committee believes that such a right can be derived from article 18, inasmuch as the obligation to use lethal force may seriously conflict with the freedom of conscience and the right to manifest one's religion or belief."[13] In 2006, the Committee has found for the first time a right to conscientious objection under article 18, although not unanimously.[14]
In 1997, an announcement of Amnesty International's forthcoming campaign and briefing for the UN Commission on Human Rights included this quote: "The right to conscientious objection to military service is not a marginal concern outside the mainstream of international human rights protection and promotion."[15]
In 1998, the Human Rights Commission reiterated previous statements and added "states should . . . refrain from subjecting conscientious objectors . . . to repeated punishment for failure to perform military service." [16] It also encouraged states "to consider granting asylum to those conscientious objectors compelled to leave their country of origin because they fear persecution owing to their refusal to perform military service . . . ."[7][17]
Nuremberg Principle IV[link]
The Nuremberg Principles were a set of guidelines for determining what constitutes a war crime. The document was created by the International Law Commission of the United Nations to recognize the legal principles underlying the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi party members following World War II.
Nuremberg Principle IV states: "The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him."
Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status[link]
The Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status (the Handbook) of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) states:
"171. Not every conviction, genuine though it may be, will constitute a sufficient reason for claiming refugee status after desertion or draft-evasion. It is not enough for a person to be in disagreement with his government regarding the political justification for a particular military action. Where, however, the type of military action, with which an individual does not wish to be associated, is condemned by the international community as contrary to basic rules of human conduct, punishment for desertion or draft-evasion could, in the light of all other requirements of the definition, in itself be regarded as persecution." [18]
Religious motives[link]
Cases of behaviour which could be considered as religiously motivated conscientious objection are historically attested long before the modern term appeared. For example, the Medieval Orkneyinga Saga mentions that Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney - the future Saint Magnus - had a reputation for piety and gentleness, and because of his religious convictions refused to fight in a Viking raid on Anglesey, Wales, instead staying on board his ship singing psalms.
The reasons for refusing to perform military service are varied. Many conscientious objectors cite religious reasons. Unitarian Universalists object to war in their sixth principle "The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all". Members of the Historic Peace Churches such as Quakers, Mennonites, Amish, Old Order Mennonite, Conservative Mennonites and Church of the Brethren object to war from the conviction that Christian life is incompatible with military action, because Jesus enjoins his followers to love their enemies and to refuse violence. Since the American Civil War, Seventh-day Adventists were known as non-combatants, and had done work in hospitals or to give medical care rather than combat roles, and the church has upheld the non-combative position.[19] Jehovah's Witnesses, while not pacifist in the strict sense, refuse to participate in the armed services on the grounds that they believe they should be neutral in worldly conflicts and often cite the latter portion of Isaiah 2:4 which states, "…neither shall they learn war anymore." Other objections can stem from a deep sense of responsibility toward humanity as a whole, or from simple denial that any government possesses the moral authority to command warlike behavior from its citizens.
In the early Christian Church followers of the Christ refused to take up arms.
In as much as they [Jesus’ teachings] ruled out as illicit all use of violence and injury against others, clearly implied [was] the illegitimacy of participation in war… The early Christians took Jesus at his word, and understood his inculcations of gentleness and non-resistance in their literal sense. They closely identified their religion with peace; they strongly condemned war for the bloodshed which it involved.— The Early Christian Attitude to War.
After the Roman Empire officially embraced Christianity, the Just War theology was developed in order to reconcile warfare with Christian belief. After Theodosius I made Christianity an official religion of the Empire, this position slowly developed into the official position of the Western Church. In the 11th century, there was a further shift of opinion in the Latin-Christian tradition with the crusades, strengthening the idea and acceptability of Holy War. Objectors became a minority. Some theologians see the loss of a pacifist position as a great failing of the Church; see Constantinian shift and Christian pacifism.
Ben Salmon was a Catholic conscientious objector during World War I and outspoken critic of Just War theology. The Catholic Church denounced him and the The New York Times described him as a "spy suspect." The US military (in which he was never inducted) charged him with desertion and spreading propaganda, then sentenced him to death (this was later revised to 25 years hard labor).[20] On June 5, 1917, Salmon wrote in a letter to President Wilson:
Regardless of nationality, all men are brothers. God is "our Father who art in heaven." The commandment "Thou shalt not kill" is unconditional and inexorable. … The lowly Nazarene taught us the doctrine of non-resistance, and so convinced was he of the soundness of that doctrine that he sealed his belief with death on the cross. When human law conflicts with Divine law, my duty is clear. Conscience, my infallible guide, impels me to tell you that prison, death, or both, are infinitely preferable to joining any branch of the Army.[21]
Because of their conscientious objection to participation in military service, whether armed or unarmed, Jehovah's Witnesses have often faced imprisonment or other penalties. In Greece, for example, before the introduction of alternative civilian service in 1997, hundreds of Witnesses were imprisoned, some for three years or even more for their refusal. In Armenia, young Jehovah's Witnesses have been imprisoned (and remain in prison) because of their conscientious objection to military service. The government of South Korea also imprisons hundreds for refusing the draft. In Switzerland, virtually every Jehovah's Witness is exempted from military service. The Finnish government exempts Jehovah's Witnesses from the draft completely.
The following is said of the Seventh-day Adventists (SDA) by a neutral, non-SDA organization: "Many Seventh-day Adventists refuse to enter the army as combatants, but participate as medics, ambulance drivers, etc. During World War II in Germany, many SDA conscientious objectors were sent to concentration camps or mental institutions; some were executed. Some Seventh-day Adventists volunteered for the US Army's Operation Whitecoat, participating in research to help others. The Church preferred to call them "conscientious participants", because they were willing to risk their lives as test subjects in potentially life-threatening research. Over 2,200 Seventh-day Adventists volunteered in experiments involving various infectious agents during the 1950s through the 1970s in Fort Detrick, MD. "[22] A schism arose during and after World War I between Seventh-day Adventists in Germany who agreed to serve in the military if conscripted and those who rejected all participation in warfare — the latter group eventually forming a separate church (the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement).[23]
For believers in Indian religions, the opposition to warfare may be based on either the general idea of ahimsa, non-violence, or on an explicit prohibition of violence by their religion, e.g., for a Buddhist, one of the five precepts is "Pānātipātā veramaṇi sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi," or "I undertake the precept to refrain from destroying living creatures," which is in obvious opposition to the practice of warfare. The 14th Dalai Lama has stated that war "should be relegated to the dustbin of history." On the other hand, many Buddhist sects, especially in Japan, have been thoroughly militarized, warrior monks (yamabushi or sóhei) participating in the civil wars. Hindu beliefs do not go against the concept of war, as seen in the Gita. Both Sikhs and Hindus believe war should be a last resort and should be fought to sustain life and morality in society.
Some practitioners of pagan religions, particularly Wicca, may object on the grounds of the Wiccan rede, which states "An it harm none, do what ye will" (or variations). The threefold law may also be grounds for objection.
A notable example of a conscientious objector was the Austrian devout Roman Catholic Christian Franz Jägerstätter, who was executed on August 9, 1943 for openly refusing to serve in the Nazi Wehrmacht, consciously accepting the penalty of death. He was declared Blessed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 for dying for his beliefs, and is viewed as a symbol of self-sacrificing resistance.
Selective conscientious objection[link]
United Kingdom Air Commodore Lionel Charlton served in the military from 1898 to 1928. In 1923 he selectively refused to serve in the RAF Iraq Command. (He later went on to serve as Air Officer Commanding No 3 Group.)[24]
On June 4, 1967, John Courtney Murray, an American Jesuit priest and theologian, delivered an address at Western Maryland College concerning a more specific type of conscientious objection: "the issue of selective conscientious objection, conscientious objection to particular wars, or as it is sometimes called, discretionary armed service."[25]
On March 8, 1971, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the case of Gillette v. United States that "the exemption for those who oppose "participation in war in any form" applies to those who oppose participating in all war and not to those who object to participation in a particular war only."[26]
On September 24, 2003, in Israel, 27 reserve pilots and former pilots refused to serve in only specific missions. These specific missions included "civilian population centers" in "the [occupied] territories." These pilots clarified: "We ... shall continue to serve in the Israel Defense Forces and the Air Force for every mission in defense of the state of Israel."[27][28]
On May 25, 2005, journalist Jack Random wrote the following: "The case of Sergeant Kevin Benderman (Iraq War Resister) raises the burning issue of selective conscientious objection: While it is universally accepted that an individual cannot be compelled against conscience to war in general, does the same hold for an individual who objects, in the depths of the soul, to a particular war?"[29]
See also: War resister, List of Iraq War resisters, List of resisters to the war in Afghanistan (2001-present), and Malcolm Kendall-Smith
Additional Selective C.O. case: U.S. v. Macintosh, 283 U.S. 605
Alternatives for objectors[link]
Some conscientious objectors are unwilling to serve the military in any capacity, while others accept noncombatant roles. While conscientious objection is usually the refusal to collaborate with military organizations, as a combatant in war or in any supportive role, some advocate compromising forms of conscientious objection. One compromising form is to accept non-combatant roles during conscription or military service. Alternatives to military or civilian service include serving an imprisonment or other punishment for refusing conscription, falsely claiming unfitness for duty by feigning an allergy or a heart condition, delaying conscription until the maximum drafting age, or seeking refuge in a country which does not extradite those wanted for military conscription. Avoiding military service is sometimes labeled draft dodging, particularly if the goal is accomplished through dishonesty or evasive maneuvers. However, many people who support conscription will distinguish between "bona fide" conscientious objection and draft dodging, which they view as evasion of military service without a valid excuse.
Conscientious objection exists since the incorporation of forced military service but was not officially recognized until the twentieth century, when it was gradually recognized as a fundamental human right as a part of the freedom of conscience.
Despite the fact that international institutions like the United Nations (UN) or the Council of Europe (CoE) regard and promote conscientious objection as a human right,[30] as of 2004[update], it still does not have a legal basis in most countries. Among the roughly one-hundred countries that have conscription, only thirty countries have some legal provisions, 25 of them in Europe. In Europe, most countries with conscription more or less fulfill international guidelines on conscientious objection legislation (except for Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Finland and Russia) today. In many countries outside Europe, especially in armed conflict areas (Democratic Republic of the Congo), conscientious objection is punished severely.
While conscientious objectors used to be seen as deserters, traitors, cowards, slackers or simply un-patriotic, their image has changed drastically in the Western world in past decades.[citation needed] Especially in Europe, where objectors usually serve an alternative civilian service, they are regarded as making an equally important contribution to society as conscripts.[citation needed] Parallel to that, the number of objectors has risen significantly, too[citation needed]: e.g., in Germany, where conscientious objection is a constitutional right, from less than one percent of all eligible men to more than fifty percent in 2003.
The Middle East[link]
Israel[link]
[31]All Israeli citizens and permanent residents are liable to military service. However, the Ministry of Defence has used its discretion under Art 36 of this law to automatically exempt all non-Jewish women and all Palestinian men except for the Druze from military service ever since Israel was established. Palestinian Israelis may still volunteer to perform military service, but very few do so (except among the Bedouin population of Israel).
In discussing the status of the armed forces shortly after the founding of the State of Israel, representatives of orthodox religious parties argued that yeshiva students should be exempt from military service. This derives from the Jewish tradition that if a man wants to dedicate his life to religious study, society must allow him to do so. The request of orthodox political parties to 'prevent neglect of studying the Torah' was granted by the authorities. But in recent years this exemption practice has become the subject of debate in Israeli society.
The right to conscientious objection is not legally recognized in the case of men. It is only partially recognized in the case of women under art. 39 of the National Defence Service Law, which permits exemption on grounds of conscience but only if they are religious grounds.
Women can claim exemption from military service on grounds of conscience under arts. 39 (c) and 40 of the Defence Service Law, according to which religious reasons can be grounds for exemption.[32]
The Americas[link]
United States[link]
During the American Revolutionary War, exemptions varied by state. Pennsylvania required conscientious objectors, who would not join companies of voluntary soldiers called Associations, to pay a fine roughly equal to the time they would have spent in military drill.[33] Quakers who refused this extra tax had their property confiscated.
The first conscription in the United States came with the Civil War. Although conscientious objection was not part of the draft law, individuals could provide a substitute or pay $300 to hire one.[34] By 1864 the draft act allowed the $300 to be paid for the benefit of sick and wounded soldiers. Conscientious objectors in Confederate States initially had few options. Responses included moving to northern states, hiding in the mountains, joining the army but refusing to use a weapon or imprisonment. Between late 1862 and 1864 a payment of $500 into the public treasury exempted conscientious objectors from Confederate military duty.[35]
| “ |
We were cursed, beaten, kicked, and compelled to go through exercises to the extent that a few were unconscious for some minutes. They kept it up for the greater part of the afternoon, and then those who could possibly stand on their feet were compelled to take cold shower baths. One of the boys was scrubbed with a scrubbing brush using lye on him. They drew blood in several places. |
” |
|
—Mennonite from Camp Lee, Virginia, United States, 16 July 1918.[36] |
||
In the United States during World War I, conscientious objectors were permitted to serve in noncombatant military roles. About 2000 absolute conscientious objectors refused to cooperate in any way with the military.[37] These men were imprisoned in military facilities such as Fort Lewis (Washington), Alcatraz Island (California) and Fort Leavenworth (Kansas). Some were subjected to treatment such as short rations, solitary confinement and physical abuse severe enough as to cause the deaths of two Hutterite draftees.[38]
Eventually, because of the shortage of farm labor, the conscientious objectors were granted furloughs either for farm service or relief work in France under the American Friends Service Committee. A limited number performed alternative service as fire fighters in the Cascade Range in the vicinity of Camp Lewis, Washington[39] and in a Virginia psychiatric hospital.[40]
During World War II, all registrants were sent a questionnaire covering basic facts about their identification, physical condition, history and also provided a checkoff to indicate opposition to military service because of religious training or belief. Men marking the latter option received a DSS 47 form with ten questions:[41]
- Describe the nature of your belief which is the basis of your claim.
- Explain how, when, and from whom or from what source you received the training and acquired the belief which is the basis of your claim.
- Give the name and present address of the individual upon whom you rely most for religious guidance.
- Under what circumstances, if any, do you believe in the use of force?
- Describe the actions and behavior in your life which in your opinion most conspicuously demonstrate the consistency and depth of your religious convictions.
- Have you ever given public expression, written or oral, to the views herein expressed as the basis for your claim made above? If so, specify when and where.
- Have you ever been a member of any military organization or establishment? If so, state the name and address of same and give reasons why you became a member.
- Are you a member of a religious sect or organization?
- Describe carefully the creed or official statements of said religious sect or organization as it relates to participation in war.
- Describe your relationships with and activities in all organizations with which you are or have been affiliated other than religious or military.
Civilian Public Service (CPS) provided conscientious objectors in the United States an alternative to military service during World War II. From 1941 to 1947 nearly 12,000 draftees,[42] unwilling to do any type of military service, performed work of national importance in 152 CPS camps throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The work was initially done in areas isolated from the general population both because of the government's concern that pacifist philosophy would spread and conscientious objectors would not be tolerated in neighboring communities. A constant problem through the duration of the program, especially in camps located in national forests for fire control, was make-work projects designed to occupy the men's time in the off-season and between fires. For instance, men at a camp on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia shoveled snow from an unused roadway while a snowplow was parked nearby. The uselessness of this type of work led to low morale and loss of experienced men as they requested transfers to other camps hoping for more meaningful work. Draftees from the historic peace churches and other faiths worked in areas such as soil conservation, forestry, fire fighting, agriculture, social services, and mental health.
The CPS men served without wages and minimal support from the federal government. The cost of maintaining the CPS camps and providing for the needs of the men was the responsibility of their congregations and families. CPS men served longer than regular draftees, not being released until well past the end of the war. Initially skeptical of the program, government agencies learned to appreciate the men's service and requested more workers from the program. CPS made significant contributions to forest fire prevention, erosion and flood control, medical science and especially in revolutionizing of the state-run mental health institutions which had previously been very inhumane and often cruel.
Alternatives to war bonds and war savings stamps were provided for those who would not fund the war for conscientious reasons. National Service Board for Religious Objectors offered civilian bonds and Mennonite Central Committee offered Civilian Public Service stamps and War Sufferers' Relief stamps.
Civilian Public Service was disbanded in 1947. By the early 1950s a replacement program, 1-W service, was in place for conscientious objectors classified as 1-W by Selective Service. The new program eliminated the base camps of CPS and provided wages for the men.
1-W service was divided into several categories. The Earning Service involved working in institutions such as hospitals for fairly good wages. Voluntary Service was nonpaying work done in similar institutions, mostly within North America. Pax Service was a nonpaying alternative with assignments overseas. 1-W Mission Supporting Service was like the Earning Service but the wages were used for the support of mission, relief or service projects of the draftees choice. The nonpaying services were promoted by church agencies as a sacrifice to enhance the peace witness of conscientious objectors.[43]
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), the thirty-fifth President of the United States, once wrote in a letter to a Navy friend,
War will exist until the distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige as the warrior does today.
Current legal situation[link]
See also: Conscription in the United States and New York Draft Riots
A 1971 United States Supreme Court decision, Gillette v. United States, broadened U.S. rules beyond religious belief but denied the inclusion of objections to specific wars as grounds for conscientious objection.[46]
Currently, the U.S. Selective Service System states, "Beliefs which qualify a registrant for conscientious objector status may be religious in nature, but don't have to be. Beliefs may be moral or ethical; however, a man's reasons for not wanting to participate in a war must not be based on politics, expediency, or self-interest. In general, the man's lifestyle prior to making his claim must reflect his current claims."[47] In the US, this applies to primary claims, that is, those filed on initial SSS registration. On the other hand, those who apply after either having registered without filing, and/or having attempted or effected a deferral, are specifically required to demonstrate a discrete and documented change in belief, including a precipitant, that converted a non-CO to a CO. The male reference is due to the current "male only" basis for conscription in the United States.
In the United States, there are two main criteria for classification as a conscientious objector. First, the objector must be opposed to war in any form, Gillette v. United States, 401 U.S. 437. Second, the objection must be sincere, Witmer v. United States, 348 U.S. 375. That he must show that this opposition is based upon religious training and belief was no longer a criterion after cases broadened it to include non-religious moral belief, United States v. Seeger, 380 U.S. 163 and Welsh v. United States, 398 U.S. 333. COs willing to perform non-combatant military functions are classed 1-A-O by the U.S.; those unwilling to serve at all are 1-O.
Emigration to Canada[link]
Extradition treaty and refugee law[link]
Pursuant to the Treaty between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, US authorities can request Canadian authorities to identify, locate, and take into custody US nationals who have committed a crime that carries a possible sentence of more than a year,[48] and subsequently extradite the target back to the US, as per the Extradition Treaty Between the United States of America and Canada. [49] However, the US government must promise that those extradited will not receive the death penalty, in accordance with the Supreme Court of Canada ruling in United States v. Burns. Thus, deserters who may have had an arrest warrant issued against them in the US are liable for arrest in Canada, unless they legalise their status, which can be done by pursuing a refugee claim, which the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) will consider. If the claim is refused, the claimant can appeal the decision in the Federal Court, the Federal Court of Appeal, and finally, the Supreme Court of Canada, if leave is granted. If, however, appeals do not overturn the decision of the IRB, the claimant must leave Canada within 30 days, if given a removal order.[50] If this is not done, or departure details are not confirmed with the Canada Border Services Agency, a deportation order is issued, enforceable by any officer of the Queen's peace in Canada.[51]
Vietnam War draft resisters and military deserters[link]
See also: Canada and the Vietnam War
From the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s, there was multi-faceted relationship between Canada and the Vietnam War. Starting in 1965, Canada became a choice haven for American draft resisters and deserters. Because they were not formally classified as refugees but were admitted as immigrants, there is no official estimate of how many draft resisters and deserters were admitted to Canada during the Vietnam War. One informed estimate puts their number between 30,000 and 40,000.[52] Whether or not this estimate is accurate, the fact remains that immigration from the United States was high as long as the war raged and that in 1971 and 1972 Canada received more immigrants from the United States than from any other country. Although some of these transplanted Americans returned home after the Vietnam War, most of them put down roots in Canada, making up the largest group Canada had ever received. Draft resistors were usually college-educated sons of the middle class who could no longer defer induction into the Selective Service System.[52]
The Canadian government initially refused to admit those who could not prove that they had been discharged from [American] military service. This changed in 1968.[52]
Noteworthy draft resisters include Jim Green (Vancouver city councillor and mayoral candidate), Eric Nagler, and Jesse Winchester. Distinct from draft resisters, there are also noteworthy deserters from that era, which include Andy Barrie (Host of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Radio's Metro Morning).[53]
Iraq War resisters[link]
Main articles: Canada and Iraq War resisters, List of Iraq War Resisters, Jeremy Hinzman, Joshua Key, and Robin Long
In the years following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, there was a multi-faceted relationship between Canada and Iraq War resisters.
On June 3, 2008 and March 30, 2009, two motions were passed in the Parliament of Canada in support of the war resisters' efforts to stay in Canada. An Angus Reid Strategies poll taken on June 6 and 7, 2008, showed that 64% of Canadians agreed with that motion.[54][55][56] But the motions' recommendation was non-binding and was never implemented by the minority Conservative government.
The significance of this issue on Canada's historical international reputation as a place of refuge is illustrated by this quote from United Kingdom's media, the BBC, when they reported on the precedent-setting case of Iraq war resister Jeremy Hinzman in 2004: "Americans in trouble have been running to Canada for centuries… in the wake of the American Revolution… [in the] Underground Railroad that spirited escaped American slaves to freedom… and in the 1960s, [when] as many as 60,000 young American men dodged the draft…"[57]
Canada deported several resisters in 2008 and 2009. They were subsequently imprisoned in the United States. The American newsmagazine Newsweek reported on this historical shift.[58]
As of July 2009, there were at least 28 public cases of U.S. war resisters in Canada, plus some families. When they first arrived in Canada, they mostly went to Toronto, Ontario; or Vancouver, British Columbia because that is where the majority of the organizing of the War Resisters Support Campaign takes place.
There is also an unknown number of U.S. soldiers who have refused to participate in specifically the Iraq war, have come to Canada without going public, and have not applied for legal refugee status. Daniel Sandate was one of those.
All political parties, except the governing minority Conservative Party of Canada, voted twice (in party voting blocs) in favor of allowing Iraq war resisters to remain in Canada.
On September 17, 2009, Gerard Kennedy introduced the binding Bill C-440,[59] which, in his words, was "in response to the refusal of the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney to show Canadian sensibility.... It basically takes the spirit of two motions that have already been passed by a majority of Parliament and puts them in the form of law that would have to be followed by the minister and the ministry of immigration and citizenship."[60] (See details.[59]) On Sept 29, 2010, the bill failed to pass[61] at second reading, lacking seven votes (143-136).
Canada[link]
Mennonites and other similar peace churches in Canada were automatically exempt from any type of service during World War I by provisions of the Order in Council of 1873 yet initially, many were imprisoned until the matter was again resettled. With pressure of public opinion, the Canadian government barred entry of additional Mennonite and Hutterite immigrants, rescinding the privileges of the Order in Council.[62] During World War II, Canadian conscientious objectors were given the options of noncombatant military service, serving in the medical or dental corps under military control or working in parks and on roads under civilian supervision. Over 95% chose the latter and were placed in Alternative Service camps.[63][64] Initially the men worked on road building, forestry and firefighting projects. After May 1943, as the labour shortage developed within the nation and another Conscription Crisis burgeoned, men were shifted into agriculture, education and industry. The 10,700 Canadian objectors were mostly Mennonites (63%) and Dukhobors (20%).[65]
Europe[link]
Eastern Europe[link]
Russia[link]
The Russian Empire allowed Russian Mennonites to run and maintain forestry service units in South Russia in lieu of their military obligation. The program was under church control from 1881 through 1918, reaching a peak of seven thousand conscientious objectors during World War I. An additional five thousand Mennonites formed complete hospital units and transport wounded from the battlefield to Moscow and Ekaterinoslav hospitals.[66]
USSR[link]
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Leon Trotsky issued a decree allowing alternative service for religious objectors whose sincerity was determined upon examination.[67] Vladimir Chertkov, a follower of Leo Tolstoy, chaired the United Council of Religious Fellowships and Groups, which successfully freed 8000 conscientious objectors from military service during the Russian Civil War. The law was not applied uniformly and hundreds of objectors were imprisoned and over 200 were executed.[citation needed] The United Council was forced to cease activity in December 1920, but alternative service was available under the New Economic Policy until it was abolished in 1936.[68] Unlike the earlier forestry and hospital service, later conscientious objectors were classified "enemies of the people" and their alternate service was performed in remote areas in a gulag-like environment in order to break their resistance and encourage enlistment.[69]
Central Europe[link]
Germany[link]
History[link]
After World War II, conscientious objectors in the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic were typically assigned to construction units, in the absence of a fully civilian alternative to military service.[70][71]
Present[link]
According to Article 4(3) of the German constitution (Grundgesetz): "No person shall be compelled against his conscience to render military service involving the use of arms. Details shall be regulated by a federal law."
According to Article 12a, every adult male is obligated to military service called Wehrdienst. The draftee can apply for an alternative service called "Zivildienst" (civilian service), if he declares conscience reasons. The civilian service may not last longer than military service. This rule has been applied since October 1, 2004. Before that date the civilian service was longer than military service, because soldiers could later be called to military exercises (Wehrübungen). In wartime, civilian draftees are expected to replace those on active military duty in their civilian professions.
The Wehrdienst is getting increasingly controversial, because only young men are getting drafted which some consider a violation of the third article of the constitution, that every person is equal before the law, but women are not affected by the Wehrdienst. However, the German constitution also states in Article 12a section 4 that no woman may be forced to serve in the armed forces. Therefore the different treatment of men and women actually has a constitutional basis.
As of 2011 the draft has been halted /discontinued in Germany.
Czechoslovakia[link]
In Czechoslovakia, those not willing to enter mandatory military service could avoid it by signing a contract for work lasting years in unattractive occupations, such as mining. Those who didn't sign were imprisoned. Both numbers were tiny. After the communist party lost its power in 1989, alternative civil service was established. As of 2006, both the Czech Republic and Slovakia have abolished conscription.
Western Europe[link]
Belgium[link]
Conscription was mandatory to all able-bodied Belgian males until 1994, when it was suspended. Civilian service was possible since 1963. Objectors could apply for the status of conscience objector. When granted, they did an alternative service with the civil service or with a socio-cultural organisation. The former would last 1.5 times as long as the shortest military service, the latter twice as long.
After their service, objectors are not allowed to take jobs that require them to carry weapons, such as police jobs.
Since conscription was suspended in 1994 and military service is voluntary, the status of conscience objector can not be granted anymore in Belgium. Women could not get this status either.
United Kingdom[link]
Before 1916[link]
The country recognized the right not to fight in the 18th century following problems with attempting to force Quakers into military service. The Militia Ballot Act of 1757 allowed Quakers to be excluded from military service. It then ceased to be a major issue, since Britain's armed forces were generally all-volunteer. However, press gangs were used to beef up army and navy rolls on occasions from the sixteenth to the early nineteenth centuries. Pressed men did have the right of appeal, in the case of sailors, to the Admiralty. The Royal Navy last took pressed men in the Napoleonic War.
1916-1918[link]
See also: Conscription Crisis of 1918
A more general right to refuse military service was not introduced until during World War I, when Britain introduced conscription with the Military Service Act of March 1916. The Act allowed for objectors to be absolutely exempted, to perform alternative civilian service, or to serve as a non-combatant in the army, according to the extent to which they could convince a Military Service Tribunal of the quality of their objection.[72]
Around 16,000 men were recorded as conscientious objectors, with Quakers, traditionally pacifist, playing a large role: 4500 objectors were sent to do 'work of national importance' such as farming, 7000 were ordered non-combatant duties, but 6000 were forced into the army, and when they refused orders, they were sent to prison. Cases regarding conscientious objectors formed only a tiny proportion of Military Service Tribunals' cases, estimated at 2%;[73] in the first six months of following the Military Service Act, tribunals heard 750,000 cases, of which 16,000 (the total number of conscience cases for 1916-18) is 2.13%. Tribunals were notoriously harsh towards conscientious objectors, reflecting widespread public opinion that they were lazy, degenerate, ungrateful 'shirkers' seeking to benefit from the sacrifices of others.[74]
Thirty-five objectors were taken to France and formally sentenced to death but immediately reprieved to 10 years in prison; conditions were made very hard for conscientious objector prisoners — ten died in prison, and around seventy died elsewhere as a result of their treatment. Many objectors accepted non-combat service, for example working in the dangerous role of stretcher-bearers. Conscientious objectors who were deemed not to have made any useful contribution were disenfranchised for five years after the war, but there was no administrative machinery to enforce such disenfranchisement.[75]
Britain's 1916 conscription legislation did not apply to Ireland, despite its then status as part of the United Kingdom; although the prospect of its introduction led to the Conscription Crisis of 1918. Similarly, British conscription in World War II did not apply to either Northern Ireland, or to the Irish Free State. Nevertheless, many Irishmen volunteered to fight in both world wars. The various parts of the British Empire and Commonwealth had their own laws: in general, all the larger countries of the Empire participated, and some were, in proportion to their population, major participants.
1918-1939[link]
After the war, there was some revulsion at the arbitrary way the law had been applied. In A. J. Cronin's 1935 novel The Stars Look Down, there is the following exchange:
"Come now... You're a Christian, aren't you? There's nothing in the Christian religion which prevents lawful killing in the service of your country." "There's no such thing as lawful killing...
"I haven't got any religion very much, not religion in your sense. But you talk about Christianity, the religion of Christ. Well, I can't imagine Jesus Christ taking a bayonet in His hands and sticking it into the stomach of a German soldier or an English soldier either for that matter. I can't imagine Jesus Christ sitting behind an English machine gun or a German machine gun mowing down dozens of perfectly guiltless men."
He goes to jail, as do others with a more conventionally religious view. This is described as one of the harsher tribunals, but within the range of actual events. The CO's cited stance is clearly derived from a well-known and frequently reprinted World War I article by Dr Alfred Salter, The Religion of a Conscientious Objector, positing the incongruity of "Christ in khaki" with a bayonet.
World War II[link]
In World War II, following the National Service (Armed Forces) Act of 1939, there were nearly 60,000 registered Conscientious Objectors. Testing by Conscientious Objection Tribunals resumed, this time chaired by a judge, but was much less harsh; if you were not a member of the Quakers or some similar pacifist church, it was generally enough to say that you objected to "warfare as a means of settling international disputes," a phrase from the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928. The tribunals could grant full exemption, exemption conditional on alternative service, exemption only from combatant duties, or dismiss the application. Of the 61,000 only 3,000 were given complete exemption and 18,000 were dismissed as false claimants. Of those directed to non-combatant military service almost 7000 were allocated to the Non-Combatant Corps, set up in mid-1940; its companies worked in clothing and food stores, in transport, or any military project not requiring the handling of "material of an aggressive nature". In November 1940 it was decided to allow troops in the NCC to volunteer for work in bomb disposal.[76] In total over 350 volunteered.[76] Other non-combatants worked in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Other acceptable occupations were farm work, mining, firefighting, ambulance service. About 5500 objectors were imprisoned, charged with offences relating to their unrecognised objection. A further 1000 were court-martialled by the armed forces and sent to military detention barracks or civil prisons. Nevertheless, the social stigma attached to 'conchies' (as they were called) was considerable: regardless of the genuineness of their motives, cowardice was often imputed.
1945-present[link]
Britain retained conscription, with rights of conscientious objection, as National Service until 1960. The use of only volunteer soldiers was hoped to remove the need to consider conscientious objectors. Ever since World War I, however, there have been volunteer members of the armed forces who have developed a conscientious objection to continuing in service; a procedure was devised for them in World War II, and, with adaptations, it continues to this day.
Northern Europe[link]
Finland[link]
See also: Siviilipalvelus
Finland introduced conscription in 1881, but its enforcement was suspended in 1903 as part of Russification. During the Finnish Civil War in 1918, conscription was reintroduced for all able-bodied men. In 1922, the option of noncombatant military service was introduced, but service in the military remained compulsory on pain of imprisonment. After the struggle of pacifist Arndt Pekurinen a law was passed providing for a peacetime-only alternative to military service, or civilian service (Finnish siviilipalvelus). The law was dubbed "Lex Pekurinen" after him. During the Winter War, Pekurinen and other conscientious objectors were imprisoned, and Pekurinen was eventually executed at the front in 1941, during the Continuation War.
After the war, a conscientious objector's civilian service lasted 16 months, whereas military service was 8 months at its shortest. To qualify for civilian service, an objector had to explain his conviction before a board of inspection that included military officers and clergymen. In 1987, the duration of the service was shortened to 13 months and the board of inspection was abolished. In 2008, the term was further shortened to 12 months to match the duration of the longest military service (that of officer trainees and technical crew). Today, a person subject to conscription may apply for civilian service at any time before or during his military service, and the application is accepted as a matter of course. A female performing voluntary military service can quit her service anytime during the first 45 days, however, if she wants to quit after those 45 days she would be treated like a male and assigned to civilian service.
Persons who have completed their civilian service during peacetime have, according to the legislation enacted in 2008, the right to serve in non-military duties also during a crisis situation. They may be called to serve in various duties with the rescue services or other necessary work of a non-military nature. Persons who declare themselves to be conscientious objectors only after a crisis has started must, however, prove their conviction before a special board. Before the new legislation, the right to conscientious objection was acknowledged only in peacetime. The changes to the service term and to the legal status of objectors during a crisis situation were made as a response to human rights concerns voiced by several international bodies,[77][78] who are overseeing the implementation of human rights agreements. These organisations had demanded Finland to take measures to improve its legislation concerning conscientious objectors, which they considered discriminatory. None of these organisations have yet raised concerns on the current legislation.
There are a small number of total objectors who refuse even civilian service, and are imprisoned for six months. This is not registered into the person's criminal record.
Southern Europe[link]
Italy[link]
Until 2004 conscription was mandatory to all able-bodied Italian males. Those who were born in the last months of the year typically used to serve in the Navy, unless judged unable for ship service (in this case they could be sent back to Army or Air Force). Until 1972, objectors were considered as traitors and tried by a military tribunal. Since 1972, objectors could choose an alternative civilian service, which was eight months longer than standard military service (fifteen months, then twelve, as for Army and Air Force, 24 months, then eighteen, then twelve as for the Navy)[citation needed]. Since such length was judged too punitive, an arrangement was made to make the civilian service as long as the military service. Since 2004, Italian males no longer need to object because military service has been turned into volunteer for both males and females.
Spain[link]
The Spanish Constitution of 1978 acknowledged conscientious objectors.[79] The Spanish parliament established a longer service (Prestación Social Sustitutoria) as an alternative to the Army. In spite of this, a strong movement appeared that refused both services. The Red Cross was the only important organisation employing objectors. Because of this, the waiting lists for the PSS were long, especially in areas like Navarre, where pacifism, Basque nationalism and a low unemployment rate discouraged young males from the army[original research?]. Thousands of insumisos (non-submittants) publicly refused the PSS, and hundreds were imprisoned. In addition a number of those in the military decided to refuse further duties. A number of people not liable for military service made declarations of self-incrimination, stating that they had encouraged insumisión. The government, fearing popular reaction, reduced the length of service and instead of sentencing insumisos to prison declared them unfit for public service.
Fronting the decreasing birth rate and the popular opposition to the army, the Spanish government tried to modernise the model carried from the Franco era, professionalizing it. The new army tried to provide an education for civilian life and participated in peace operations in Bosnia.
Turkey[link]
The issue is highly controversial in Turkey. Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan are the only three countries refusing to recognise conscientious objection and sustain their membership in the Council of Europe. In January 2006, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found Turkey had violated article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (prohibition of degrading treatment) in a case dealing the conscientious objection of Osman Murat Ulke.[80] In 2005, Mehmet Tarhan was sentenced to four years in a military prison as a conscientious objector (he was unexpectedly released in March 2006). Journalist Perihan Magden was tried by a Turkish court for supporting Tarhan and advocating conscientious objection as a human right; but later, she was acquitted.
As of March 2011, there were 125 objectors including 25 female objectors in Turkey. Another 256 people of Kurdish origin also had announced their conscientious objection to military service.[81]
In 14 November 2011, Ministry of Justice announced that a draft proposed to legalise the conscientious objector in Turkey and it is going to be in effect two weeks after the President approves of the law change.[82] This decision for legalization by the Turkish government is because of the pressures coming from European Court of Human Rights. ECHR gave the deadline to Turkish government until the end of year 2011 to legalize conscientious objection.
Africa and the Middle East[link]
South Africa[link]
Main articles: South African resistance to war and End Conscription Campaign
During the 1980s, hundreds[83] of South African white males dodged the draft, refused the call-up or objected to conscription in the South African Defence Force. Some simply deserted, or joined organisations such as the End Conscription Campaign, an anti-war movement banned in 1988, while others fled into exile and joined the Committee on South African War Resistance. Most lived in a state of internal exile, forced to go underground within the borders of the country until a moratorium on conscription was declared in 1993. Opposition to the Angolan War, "South Africa's Vietnam," was rife in English-speaking campuses, and later the war in the townships became the focus of these groupings.
Asia and Australasia[link]
See also: Conscription in Australia, Malaysian National Service, Compulsory Military Training (in New Zealand), National Service in Singapore, and Conscription in the Republic of China
South Korea[link]
Since the establishment of the Republic of Korea, thousands of conscientious objectors had no choice but to be imprisoned as criminals. Every year about 500 young men, mostly Jehovah's Witnesses[84], are arrested for refusing the draft.[85]
South Korea’s stance has drawn criticism from The U.N. Human Rights Committee, which argues that South Korea is violating article 18 of the ICCPR, which guarantees freedom of thought and conscience. In 2006, 2010, and again in 2011 the U.N. Human Rights Committee, after reviewing petitions from South Korean conscientious objectors, declared that the government was violating Article 18 of the ICCPR, the provision that guarantees the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. [3]
The government’s National Action Plan (NAP) for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights has not shown a clear stance on the pressing human rights issues such as, among other things, the rights of conscientious objectors to military service.[86]
In September 2007 the government announced a program to give conscientious objectors an opportunity to participate in alternative civilian service.[87] The program stipulates three years of civilian service that is not connected with the military in any way. However, that program has been postponed indefinitely after the succeeding administration took office in 2008. [4]
The government argues that introducing an alternative service would jeopardize national security and undermine social equality and cohesion. This is amid an increasing number of countries which retain compulsory service have introduced alternatives. In addition, some countries, including those with national security concerns have shown that alternative service can be successfully implemented. [5]
Death of CO's[link]
On January 15, 2009, the Korean Presidential Commission on Suspicious Deaths in the Military released its decision acknowledging that the government was responsible for the deaths of five young men, who were Jehovah’s Witnesses, were forcibly conscripted into the army. The deaths resulted from "the state's anti-human rights violence" and "its acts of brutality" during the 1970s that continued into the mid-1980s. This decision is significant since it is the first one recognizing the state’s responsibility for deaths resulting from violence within the military.[88][89]
According to the Commission’s decision, "the beatings and acts of brutality committed against them by military officials were attempts to compel and coerce them to act against their conscience (religion) and were unconstitutional, anti-human rights acts that infringed severely upon the freedom of conscience (religion) guaranteed in the Constitution."[88]
Effects Beyond Prison[link]
The records of conscientious objectors to military service are kept by a governmental investigative body as criminal files for five years. As a consequence, conscientious objectors are not allowed to enter a government office and apply for any type of national certification exam. It is also very unlikely that they will be employed by any company that inquires about criminal records.[90]
"Conscientious objectors ... often spend the rest of their lives tainted by their decision... Criminal records from draft dodging make it difficult for objectors to find good jobs and the issue of army service is often raised by potential employers during job interviews. " -reuters.com"
Statistics[link]
From 2000 to 2008, Korean Military Manpower Administration said that at least 4,958 men have objected to service in the military because of religious beliefs. Among those, 4,925 were Jehovah's Witnesses, 3 were Buddhists, and the other 30 refused the mandatory service because of conscientious objections other than religious reasons.[91]
Since 1950, there have been more than 16,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses sentenced to a combined total of 31,256 years for refusing to perform military service. If alternative service is not provided, some 500 to 900 young men will continue to be added each year to the list of conscientious objectors criminalized in Korea. [6]
Other countries[link]
See also: Conscription in Cyprus
As of 2005, conscientious objectors in several countries may serve as field paramedics in the army (although some do not consider this a genuine alternative, as they feel it merely helps to make war more humane instead of preventing it). Alternatively, they may serve without arms, although this, too, has its problems. In certain European countries such as Austria, Germany, Greece and Switzerland, there is the option of performing Civilian Service, subject to the review of a written application or after a hearing about the state of conscience (see below). In Greece, Civilian Service is twice as long as the corresponding military service and in Switzerland, the Civilian Service is one and one-half times longer. In 2005, the Swiss parliament considered whether willingness to serve one and a half times longer than an army recruit was sufficient proof of sincerity, citing that the cost of judging the state of conscience of a few thousand men per year was too great.
Conscientious objection in Professional forces[link]
Only three European Union countries - Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom - recognise the right to conscientious objection for contract and professional military personnel,[92]
In the United States, military personnel who come to a conviction of conscientious objection during their tour of duty must appear in front of a panel of experts, which consists of psychiatrists, military chaplains and officers. In Switzerland, the panel consists entirely of civilians, and military personnel have no authority whatsoever. In Germany, objections to military service are filed in writing, and an oral hearing is scheduled only if the written testimonials have been unconvincing; in practice, due to the heavy workload—about half of all draftees in a given year file as conscientious objectors—the competent authority reviews written applications only summarily, and it denies the alternative of a civilian service only in cases of grave shortcomings or inconsistencies in the written testimonials. Commonly, once an objector is summoned to a hearing, he has to explain what experiences drove him to recognize a conflict concerning his conscience.
Common questions[link]
| Category | Questions |
|---|---|
| Generality | How and when did you decide against the military service? |
| Why can't you arrange military service with your conscience? | |
| What prohibits you from serving in the military? | |
| Military service | Do you fear having to fight, or to use force? |
| Do you want to abolish the army? | |
| What do you think about the phrase "We have the army to defend us, not to kill others"? | |
| Use of force | What would you do if you were attacked? |
| What do you feel when you see that others are attacked? | |
| What is violence, exactly? | |
| Would you rather experience losses than having to use force? | |
| Belief | What do your beliefs say? |
| Would you describe yourself as a pacifist? | |
| What basic values, besides objecting to violence, do you have? | |
| What entity gives you the certainty that your thinking and your feelings are right? | |
| Implementation of your beliefs | Why didn't you choose to go into prison if your conscience is that strong? |
| Why didn't you use medical reasons to avoid military service? | |
| What do you actually do to further peace, or is your attitude the only peaceful thing about you? | |
| Personality | Who is in charge of defending your children in case of an armed conflict? |
| Do you live your ethical principles inside your family? | |
| What books do you read? | |
| What do you demand from yourself? | |
| Are you merely a leader, a follower or a loner? |
These are common questions from Swiss hearings.[93] By and large, these are asked in many other countries. They help to determine if the objector is politically motivated or if he is just too lazy to serve the country; or if he truly has a conflict stemming from his conscience. Arguments like "The army is senseless," "It is not just to wage wars," or opposition to involvement in a specific war (World War II, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War; a hypothetical war of West Germany against fellow Germans from the GDR during the Cold War) will hardly ever be accepted. He has only, and convincingly, to show that his conscience does not allow participation in an organisation which is intended to use violence.
Criticism[link]
In hearings about one's personal conflicts of conscience, certain subtleties may arise. One example from interrogations in Germany is about a plank of wood floating on the sea, and you, shipwrecked, need cling to it in order to save your life. Another person swims nearby and he also is in need of this plank. If you deny him the plank, you are, according to the interrogators ready to accept the death of a fellow human being, and therefore able to serve in the military. Otherwise, if you are willing to allow the other person use of the plank you are willing to die and therefore not credible.
In other examples, the interviewers would ask if one was ready to kill in self-defense or in the defense of a friend or family member or why one had not revoked their driver's license, for driving carries a risk of accidentally killing someone.
In Britain during World War I, there was an argument put forth by a conscientious objector who asked the people who were part of the tribunal if they were Christian. When they all replied in the positive he then remarked, "Could you imagine Christ in khaki running out into no-mans land?" None of the panelists could, and the man was given total exemption due to 'religious beliefs'.[94]
In various places, questions about such hypothetical situations have come into disuse because they do not explore the present-day state of the objector's conflict of conscience, but rather, possible future actions which, with a great probability, will never take place. In the 1980s, these types of questions were abolished in Germany after the Federal Constitutional Court found them unconstitutional.[citation needed]
Similar hearings and questions about hypothetical situations were in use in Finland for most of the history of Finnish conscientious objection, from its introduction in the 1930s to the 1980s, when they were abolished. Today, draftees have to specify whether they are objecting for religious or ethical reasons by marking the appropriate checkbox on a form, but hearings are no longer held. If conscripts turn into conscientious objectors during their service, the Defense Force will inquire of their reasons for internal research purposes, but the objectors are not required to answer unless they wish to do so. Usually, a conscientious objector will be released from the military within a few hours of making the claim.
See also[link]
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References[link]
- ^ On July 30, 1993, explicit clarification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 18 was made in the United Nations Human Rights Committee general comment 22, Para. 11: "Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. Framework for communications. Conscientious Objection". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomReligion/Pages/IstandardsI3k.aspx. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
- ^ "International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; See Article 18". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
- ^ UN Commission on Human Rights (March 8, 1995). "UN Commission on Human Rights, Conscientious objection to military service., 8 March 1995, E/CN.4/RES/1995/83 (See point #2)". UN Commission on Human Rights. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,4565c22523,4565c25f2c9,3b00f0d220,0.html. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (April 22, 1998). "Conscientious objection to military service; Commission on Human Rights resolution 1998/77; see preamble "Aware..."". United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/5bc5759a53f36ab380256671004b643a?Opendocument. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
- ^ "Conscientious objection to military service; E/CN.4/RES/1998/77; See introductory paragraph". UN Commission on Human Rights. April 22, 1998. http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=3b00f0be10&skip=0&query=1998/77. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
- ^ "Conscientious objection to military service, Commission on Human Rights resolution 1998/77, Navigation to document: press "next" four times, see bottom listing, and at the right choose letter for language ("E" for English) Document: CHR 54th 4/22/1998E/CN.4/RES/1998/77". United Nations Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 1998. http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/sdpage_e.aspx?b=1&se=10&t=11. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
- ^ a b D. CHRISTOPHER DECKER, AND LUCIA FRESA (29-MAR-2001). "THE STATUS OF CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION UNDER ARTICLE 4 OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, 33 N.Y.U. J. INT’L L. & POL. 379 (2000); See pages 412-424, (or PDF pages 34-36)". New York University School of Law, Issues - Volume 33. http://www1.law.nyu.edu/journals/jilp/issues/33/pdf/33n.pdf. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ^ See http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,783444,00.html
- ^ See http://www.unac.org/rights/question.html under "Who are the signatories of the Declaration?"
- ^ "The Imperatives of Survival". Nobel Foundation. 1974. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1974/macbride-lecture.html. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- ^ >"International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
- ^ "A Conscientious Objector's Guide to the UN Human Rights System". War Resisters International. http://www.wri-irg.org/books/co-guide-un.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- ^ "Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. Framework for communications. Conscientious Objection". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/religion/I3k.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
- ^ HRC views in case Yoon and Choi v. Republic of Korea, communications nos. 1321-1322/2004
- ^ "Out of the margins: the right to conscientious objection to military service in Europe". Amnesty International. 1997. Archived from the original on 2008-05-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20080515005528/http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGEUR010041997?open&of=ENG-2EU. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- ^ "Conscientious objection to military service; E/CN.4/RES/1998/77; See Point #5". UN Commission on Human Rights. April 22, 1998. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3b00f0be10.html. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
- ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (April 22, 1998). "Conscientious objection to military service; Commission on Human Rights resolution 1998/77; see point *7". United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/5bc5759a53f36ab380256671004b643a?Opendocument. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
- ^ Source: Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees
- ^ http://www.sidadventist.org/lead/index.php/resources/essent/89-leadership
- ^ Staff of the Catholic Peace Fellowship (2007). "The Life and Witness of Ben Salmon". Sign of Peace 6.1 (Spring 2007). http://www.catholicpeacefellowship.org/nextpage.asp?m=2524.
- ^ Torin Finney (1989). Unsung Hero of the Great War: The Life and Witness of Ben Salmon. pp. 118 and 119.
- ^ "The Seventh-day Adventist Church: Controversies, books and other resources", religioustolerance.org, Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
- ^ "Origin of the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement".
- ^ Sven Lindqvist, "A History of Bombing" (Nu dog du: bombernas århundrade), 1999, relevant quotation at [1]
- ^ Murray, John Courtney (1967-06-04). "Selective Conscientious Objection; Editor Note: An address given at Western Maryland College, June 4, 1967. First published as pamphlet entitled "Selective Conscientious Objection" by Our Sunday Visitor (Huntinton, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.). Republished as "War and Conscience" in A Conflict of Loyalties: The Case for Selective Conscientious Objected, 19–30, ed. by James Finn, (New York: Gegasus, 1968).". Woodstock Theological Center. http://woodstock.georgetown.edu/library/Murray/1967L.htm.
- ^ GILLETTE v. UNITED STATES
- ^ Courage to Refuse Pilots letter
- ^ The Nation (Online: September 23, 2003; Print: October 13, 2003). "In Fact... (THE ISRAELI PEACE MOVEMENT TAKES FLIGHT)". The Nation. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20031013/infact. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
- ^ Random, Jack (May 25, 2005). "Just Say No: The Case for Selective Conscientious Objection". http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/5-25-2005-70478.asp. Retrieved 26 January 2009.
- ^ D. CHRISTOPHER DECKER, AND LUCIA FRESA (29-MAR-2001). "THE STATUS OF CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION UNDER ARTICLE 4 OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, 33 N.Y.U. J. INT’L L. & POL. 379 (2000)". New York University School of Law, Issues - Volume 33. http://www1.law.nyu.edu/journals/jilp/issues/33/pdf/33n.pdf. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ^ http://wri-irg.org/co/co-isr-03.htm
- ^ http://wri-irg.org/co/co-isr-03.htm
- ^ Gingerich p. 2.
- ^ Gingerich p. 3.
- ^ Gingerich p. 4.
- ^ Gingerich p. 10.
- ^ Gingerich p. 11.
- ^ Smith, p. 545.
- ^ Gingerich p. 147.
- ^ Gingerich p. 213.
- ^ Gingerich pp. 77-78.
- ^ Gingerich p. 452.
- ^ Pannabacker pp. 260-269.
- ^ "John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, Historical Resources, Archives, Reference Desk, Quotations of John F. Kennedy". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Quotations+of+John+F+Kennedy.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
- ^ Safire, William (2007-08-26). "ON LANGUAGE; Warrior". The New York Times, Magazine. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A06E0D61230F935A1575BC0A9619C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all.
- ^ Gillette v. United States, 401 U.S. 437 (1971).
- ^ http://www.sss.gov/FSconsobj.htm
- ^ Treaty between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America on Mutual Legal assistance in Criminal Matters
- ^ Extradition Treaty Between the United States of America and Canada
- ^ The refugee system: Refugee claims in Canada—After applying
- ^ Government of Canada (2002). You Asked about… immigration and citizenship. Queen's Printer for Canada. pp. 66. ISBN 0-662-66679-8.
- ^ a b c Knowles, Valerie (2000). Forging Our Legacy: Canadian Citizenship and Immigration, 1900-1977. Public Works and Government Services Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada. ISBN 0-662-28983-8
- ^ "Vietnam War Resisters, Then and Now". http://www.letthemstay.ca/english_index.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- ^ Canseco, Mario (June 27, 2008). "Angus Reid Poll: Most Canadians Would Grant Permanent Residence to U.S. Military Deserters". Angus Reid. http://www.angusreidstrategies.com/polls-analysis/opinion-polls/angus-reid-poll-most-canadians-would-grant-permanent-residence-us-milit. Retrieved 12 July 2009. [dead link]
- ^ Bailey, Sue (July 5, 2009). "Federal website changes undermine Iraq resisters: critics". The Canadian Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iGSn-j73WQhIktgHT2tLCndsL_5A. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
- ^ Cooper, Alex (April 21, 2009). "Federal court to hear American war resister's appeal". The Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/article/622278. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
- ^ Gray, Jeff (July 6, 2004). "US deserter's Canadian campaign". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3867481.stm. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
- ^ Kovach, Gretel (June 6, 2009). "Canada’s New Leaf: America's war deserters could always take comfort in Canada. Now, it's the country that's deserting them.". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/id/200860. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
- ^ a b "BILL C-440,". House of Commons of Canada. September 17, 2009. http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Docid=4104737&file=4. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
- ^ "40th PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION, EDITED HANSARD • NUMBER 083, Thursday, September 17, 2009". Hansard: House Publications. September 17, 2009. http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4107004&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=2#SOB-2862779. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
- ^ The Canadian Press; republished online by CTV Television Network (Oct 16, 2010). "Outlast Harper, likely stay in Canada Chow tells war deserters". CTV Television Network online. http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20101016/war-deserters-101016/20101016/?hub=OttawaHome. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
- ^ Smith, p. 321. The Conscription Crisis of 1917 also barred immigrants and objectors from voting. This bar on entry was overturned in the 1920s, allowing immigrants to escape Soviet repression.
- ^ Gingerich p. 420.
- ^ Peter Dueck, Conrad Stoesz, Grant Klassen, Lynette Wiebe, Elsie Rempel, Lawrence Klippenstein, Alf Redekopp, Dan Dyck, John C. Klassen, Grant Klassen, Edward Enns, Jake K. Wiens, David Schroeder. "Alternative Service in the Second World War: Conscientious Objectors in Canada: 1939 - 1945". http://www.alternativeservice.ca/credits/index.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
- ^ Krahn, pp. 76-78.
- ^ Smith, p. 311.
- ^ The decree was issued in October 1918. Smith, p. 329.
- ^ Braun, Abraham, Th. Block and Lawrence Klippenstein (1989). "Forsteidienst, Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online". http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/F6717ME.html. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
- ^ Smith, p. 330.
- ^ Bernd Eisenfeld: Das Verhältnis der Partei- und Staatsführung der DDR zu den Bausoldaten a) die agitatorische Diskriminierung der Bausoldaten b) die substantielle Diskriminierung der Bausoldaten. Pp. 115-125. in: Kriegsdienstverweigerung in der DDR - ein Friedensdienst? Genesis, Befragung, Analyse, Dokumente. 190 Seiten + Anhang. Hrsg. Haag + Herchen, Frankfurt 1978. ISBN 3-88129-158-X. In German
- ^ [ * Sergej Kaledin: Das Baubataillon.Übersetzung der russischen Originalausgabe "Strojbat" (1991). Verlag Volk & Welt. Berlin 1992. ISBN 3-353-00927-2. In German
- ^ A.J.P. Taylor, English History, 1914–1945 (Oxford University Press, 1990), p116.
- ^ Adrian Gregory, 'Military Service Tribunals, 1916-1918' in J. Harris (ed.) Civil Society in British History. (Oxford, 2003).
- ^ Lois Bibbings, Telling Tales About Men (Manchester University Press, 2009).
- ^ A.J.P. Taylor, English History, 1914–1945 (Oxford University Press, 1990), p116. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWpacifists.htm
- ^ a b Jappy, M.J (2001). Danger UXB The Remarkable Story of the Disposal of Unexploded Bombs During the Second World War. Channel 4 books. p. 92. ISBN 0-7522-1938-3.
- ^ Suomi syrjii aseistakieltäytyjiä!
- ^ Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee : Finland. 02/12/2004
- ^ Spanish Constitution section 30.2
- ^ "Chamber Judgement Ulke vs. Turkey" , Accessed June 7, 2006.
- ^ See the list on the pages of the "opponents to war" (tr: savaş karşıtları), accessed on 15 May 2011
- ^ Vicdani ret' karara bağlanıyor
- ^ The National Registry of Conscientious Objectors launched in 1989, listed some 700 plus objectors for that year alone. Source: Argus, Thursday, September 21, 1989
- ^ [2] Imprisonment of conscientious objectors to military service]
- ^ South Korea military objectors say don't jail pacifists
- ^ Second Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
- ^ Conscientious Objectors to Get Non-Armed Services for 36 Months
- ^ a b Korean government held responsible for deaths of five conscientious objectors
- ^ Abuse blamed for mysterious deaths in army
- ^ Restrictions on Religious Freedom
- ^ Conscientious Objectors Top 5,000
- ^ War Resisters' International, Professional Soldiers and the Right to Conscientious Objection in the European Union, October 2008, p. 6, downloadable from http://wri-irg.org/pdf/eu-rtba2008update-en.pdf
- ^ Beratungsstelle für Militärverweigerung und Zivildienst.
- ^ The anecdote is represented in, or is coming from Cronin's 1935 novel The Stars Look Down.
Further reading[link]
- Alexander, Paul, (2008), Peace to War: Shifting Allegiances in the Assemblies of God. Telford, PA: Cascadia Publishing/Herald Press. A history and analysis of conscientious objection in the Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination.
- Catherine Ryan, Gary Weimberg (2008), "Soldiers of Conscience" [videorecording]; Luna Productions, aired on PBS, profile of 4 US Conscientious Objectors during the Iraq War.[7]
- Gillette v. U.S. 401 U.S. 437 (1971), [8]
- Selective Service, "Conscientious Objection and Alternative Service: Who Qualifies", [9]
- Bennett, Scott H. (2005). Army GI, Pacifist CO: The World War II Letters of Frank and Albert Dietrich (Fordham Univ. Press).
- Bennett, Scott H. (2003). Radical Pacifism: The War Resisters League and Gandhian Nonviolence in America, 1915-1963. (Syracuse Univ. Press).
- Keim, Albert N. (1990). The CPS Story: An Illustrated History of Civilian Public Service, pp. 75–79. Good Books. ISBN 1-56148-002-9
- Gingerich, Melvin (1949), Service for Peace, A History of Mennonite Civilian Public Service, Mennonite Central Committee.
- Krahn, Cornelius, Gingerich, Melvin & Harms, Orlando (Eds.) (1955). The Mennonite Encyclopedia, Volume I, pp. 76–78. Mennoniite Publishing House.
- Mock, Melanie Springer (2003). Writing Peace: The Unheard Voices of Great War Mennonite Objectors, Cascadia Publishing House. ISBN 1-931038-09-0
- Moorehead, Caroline (1987). Troublesome People: Enemies of War, 1916-86, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, ISBN 0-241-12105-1
- Pannabecker, Samuel Floyd (1975), Open Doors: A History of the General Conference Mennonite Church, Faith and Life Press. ISBN 0-87303-636-0
- Quakers in Britain — Conscientious Objectors.
- Smith, C. Henry (1981). Smith's Story of the Mennonites. Revised and expanded by Cornelius Krahn. Newton, Kansas: Faith and Life Press. pp. 299–300, 311. ISBN 0-87303-069-9.
- Spartacus Education Pacifism page.
- Rick Tejada-Flores, Judith Ehrlich (2000), "The good war and those who refused to fight it" [videorecording]; Paradigm Productions in association with the Independent Television Service, aired on PBS.
- McNair, Donald (2008) A Pacifist at War: Military Memoirs of a Conscientious Objector in Palestine 1917-1918 Anastasia Press, Much Hadham ISBN 978-0-9536396-1-8
External links[link]
- Alternative Service in the Second World War: Conscientious Objectors in Canada 1939-1945
- Conscientious objectors in a volunteer army (Chicago Tribune article by Anthony DeBartolo)
- The National Registry for Conscientious Objection
- International Conscientious Objectors' Day (War Resisters' International)
- European Court of Human Rights factsheet on case law on conscientious objection
- "Making a Choice: Conscientious Objection or Refusing to Register" (Resisters.info)
- The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection
- Mennonite Central Committee's listing of resources for conscientious objection (US and Canada)
- Refusing to Kill: conscientious objection and human rights in World War One. Peace Pledge Union, 2006.
- Watch His Conscience: A Short History Of The Conscientious Objector. By Michael D. Peabody
- Catholic Peace Fellowship
- The Right to Refuse to Bear Arms - the most authoritative recent world survey on provisions for conscientious objection to military service, by War Resisters' International
- A Conscientious Objector's Guide to the UN Human Rights System
- You have no enemies. A Call for Conscientious Objection. By Dieter Duhm
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http://pl.wn.com/Obdżektor
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| Desmond T. Doss | |
|---|---|
 Desmond Thomas Doss, Medal of Honor recipient |
|
| Born | (1919-02-07)February 7, 1919 Lynchburg, Virginia |
| Died | March 23, 2006(2006-03-23) (aged 87) Piedmont, Alabama |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942 - 1946 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Unit | 77th Infantry Division |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Okinawa |
| Awards | Medal of Honor Bronze Star (2) Purple Heart (3) |
Desmond Thomas Doss (February 7, 1919 – March 23, 2006) was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor and one of only three so honored (the others are Thomas W. Bennett and Joseph G. LaPointe, Jr.). He was a Corporal (Private First Class at the time of his Medal of Honor heroics) in the U.S. Army assigned to the Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. He died the same day as another Medal of Honor recipient, David Bleak.
Drafted in April 1942,[1] Desmond Doss refused to kill, or carry a weapon into combat, because of his personal beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist. He thus became a medic, and by serving in the Pacific theatre of World War II helped his country by saving the lives of his comrades, while also adhering to his religious convictions. Shortly before leaving the Army, Desmond was diagnosed with tuberculosis.[2] He left the Army in 1946.[3]
His Medal of Honor was earned by the risks he took to save the lives of so many comrades.
He is the subject of The Conscientious Objector, an award-winning documentary,[4] and an upcoming feature film by the same name. The project has been developed and financed by Walden Media, and will be produced by Bill Mechanic, David Permut, Steve Longi, Gregory Crosby, and Terry Benedict.
Contents |
Medal of Honor citation[link]
Rank and organization: Private First Class, United States Army, Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division.
Place and date: Near Urasoe Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, April 29, 1945 – May 21, 1945.
Entered service at: Lynchburg, Virginia
Birth: Lynchburg, Virginia
G.O. No.: 97, November 1, 1945.
Citation:
He was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet (120 m) high. As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and machinegun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying all 75 casualties one-by-one to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands. On May 2, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards (180 m) forward of the lines on the same escarpment; and 2 days later he treated 4 men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within 8 yards (7.3 m) of enemy forces in a cave's mouth, where he dressed his comrades' wounds before making 4 separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety. On May 5, he unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small arms fire to assist an artillery officer. He applied bandages, moved his patient to a spot that offered protection from small arms fire and, while artillery and mortar shells fell close by, painstakingly administered plasma. Later that day, when an American was severely wounded by fire from a cave, Pfc. Doss crawled to him where he had fallen 25 feet (7.6 m) from the enemy position, rendered aid, and carried him 100 yards (91 m) to safety while continually exposed to enemy fire. On May 21, in a night attack on high ground near Shuri, he remained in exposed territory while the rest of his company took cover, fearlessly risking the chance that he would be mistaken for an infiltrating Japanese and giving aid to the injured until he was himself seriously wounded in the legs by the explosion of a grenade. Rather than call another aid man from cover, he cared for his own injuries and waited 5 hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover. The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Pfc. Doss, seeing a more critically wounded man nearby, crawled off the litter; and directed the bearers to give their first attention to the other man. Awaiting the litter bearers' return, he was again struck, by a sniper bullet while being carried off the field by a comrade, this time suffering a compound fracture of 1 arm. With magnificent fortitude he bound a rifle stock to his shattered arm as a splint and then crawled 300 yards (270 m) over rough terrain to the aid station. Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of desperately dangerous conditions Pfc. Doss saved the lives of many soldiers. His name became a symbol throughout the 77th Infantry Division for outstanding gallantry far above and beyond the call of duty.[2]
Other Honors and Recognition[link]
On July 10, 1990, a section of Georgia Highway 2 between US Highway 27 and Georgia Highway 193 in Walker County was named the "Desmond T. Doss Medal of Honor Highway."[5]
In July 2008, the guest house at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. was renamed Doss Memorial Hall.[6]
On August 30, 2008, a two-mile stretch of Alabama Highway 9 in Piedmont was named the "Desmond T. Doss, Sr. Memorial Highway."[7]
He is buried in Chattanooga, Tennessee's National Cemetery.
He was a resident of Lynchburg, Virginia for which a portion of US Route 501 near Peaks View Park is named in his honor. Local veterans of the area still honor this hero by decorating the signs marking this portion of road several times during the year particularly around patriotic holidays and especially Memorial Day.
See also[link]
- List of Medal of Honor recipients
- List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
- Medical Cadet Corps
- Thomas W. Bennett
- Joseph G. LaPointe, Jr.
References[link]
- ^ WWII Army Enlistment Records
- ^ Herndon, Booton (1967). The Unlikeliest Hero. Boise, Idaho: Pacific Press Publishing Association. pp. 182. ISBN 0-8163-2048-9.
- ^ Service Profile
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Medal of Honor recipient Desmond Doss, 87, dies". http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news706221.html.
- ^ Guest House named after Medal of Honor recipient, WRAMC News Releases, July 17, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-08-31.
- ^ Piedmont Medal of Honor recipient honored with state highway designation, The Anniston Star, Michael A. Bell, August 31, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-08-31.
- ^ Medal of Honor recipients World War II (A-F) at the United States Army Center of Military History
- The Chattanoogan: Burial Set April 3 At National Cemetery For Medal of Honor Winner Desmond Doss (retrieved March 28, 2006)
Further reading[link]
- Herndon, Booton (2004). The Unlikeliest Hero: The Story of Desmond T. Doss, Conscientious Objector Who Won His Nation's Highest Military Honor. Mountain View, California: Pacific Press Publishing Association. ISBN 978-0-8163-2048-6. .
- Doss, Frances M. (2005). Desmond Doss: Conscientious Objector. Pacific Press Publishing Association. ISBN 978-0-8163-2124-7.
- Doss, Frances M. (1998). Desmond Doss: In God's care: The unlikeliest hero and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. The College Press.
External links[link]
- "Desmond Doss". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13711681. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
- "The Conscientious Objector (2004 film)". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0302427/. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
- "The Documentary". http://www.desmonddoss.com/. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
- "North America: Filmmaker Documents Story of Desmond Doss". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Adventist News Network. 18 November 2003. http://news.adventist.org/2003/11/orth-america-filmmaker-ocumets-story-of-esmo-oss.html. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
- "Desmond T. Doss Junior Academy, a Seventh-Day Adventist school in Lynchburg, Virginia". http://www.desmond22.adventistschoolconnect.org/. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Doss, Desmond T. |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Recipient of the Purple Heart medal Recipient of the Medal of Honor |
| Date of birth | January 17, 1919 – March 23, 2006 |
| Place of birth | Lynchburg, Virginia |
| Date of death | March 23, 2006 |
| Place of death | Piedmont, Alabama |
http://wn.com/Desmond_Doss
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Doss
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
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Wiki Summary
A conscientious objector (CO) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion.
In some countries, conscientious objectors are assigned to an alternative civilian service as a substitute for conscription or military service. Some conscientious objectors consider themselves pacifist, non-interventionist, non-resistant, or antimilitarist.
The international definition of conscientious objection officially broadened on March 8, 1995 when the United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/83 stated that "persons performing military service should not be excluded from the right to have conscientious objections to military service." That definition was re-affirmed in 1998, when the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights document called "Conscientious objection to military service, United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution 1998/77" officially recognized that "persons [already] performing military service may develop conscientious objections."
