woensdag 1 juli 2026

My tweets for June 2026

  Latest on top (updated regularly):
(https://twitter.com/martinbroek)

June 30

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Theater: De verborgen wereld van wapenhandel onthuld

Een personage werkt in de militaire industrie en ziet het gevaar van een wapen waaraan ze werkt.
Een kritische blik op morele grenzen trekt door eht land van dec 2026 tot feb 2027. Speeldata zie: https://www.theater.nl/firma-mes-nic-bruckman-projecten-wapens

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The country ruled by the Party of Rutte boosts military spending on unmanned systems such as drones, with the country’s Defence Ministry saying it wants more than half of the military’s “operational effects” to involve such technology within five years. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-29/netherlands-boosts-defense-spending-on-drones-uncrewed-systems

June 25

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Germany scraps €18B frigate deal with Dutch shipbuilder Damen. https://nltimes.nl/2026/06/24/germany-scraps-eu18b-frigate-deal-dutch-shipbuilder-damen

Germany scraps F126 frigate program, pivots to MEKO warships amid cost and contractor chaos. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2026/06/24/germany-scraps-f126-frigate-program-pivots-to-meko-warships-amid-cost-and-contractor-chaos/

How about the Damen ASWF-frigates build for the Dutch and Belgium navies?

June 24

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US Marines in Okinawa received NMESIS & MADIS. NMESIS is a ship-killing missile system 4 sea denial ops near coastlines. MADIS targets heli's, aircraft & drones.

The deliveries are part of the policy breaking Chinese defence in the contested Indo-Pacific. https://www.militarytimes.com/industry/techwatch/2026/06/23/us-marines-in-okinawa-receive-first-madis-nmesis-platforms

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België breekt wapenexportcontrole af, maar

't Is niet omdat 'n overheid beslist om de wapenhandel te versoepelen dat 't internationaal recht niet langer zou gelden. Als de Vlaamse overheid de controle afbouwt, komt deze de facto bij rechtbanken te liggen. https://vrede.be/nl/nieuws/commissie-buitenlands-beleid-zet-licht-op-groen-voor-nieuw-wapenhandeldecreet

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Voices in Japan against militarisation:

Anti-war protesters jeer Japan’s Takaichi over softening pacifist stance. Demonstrators shouted slogans throughout the prime minister’s speech at a World War II memorial event in Okinawa. https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3358162/anti-war-protesters-jeer-japans-takaichi-over-softening-pacifist-stance

June 23

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Combat tech intell

Ukraine’s MoD launched an access-controlled online platform that provides allied governments, military companies and R&D institutions with tech intelligence drawn from captured Russian military hardware. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2026/06/22/ukraine-launches-trophylab-platform-to-share-captured-russian-weapons-with-allies/

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Turkey exports corvette to Romania https://www.bgnes.com/politics/erdogan-turkey-exports-a-warship-to-a-nato-and-eu-member-state-for-the-first-time, the Contraamiral Roman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_corvette_Contraamiral_Roman equiped with Turkish technology.

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The pampered war machine

"To meet growing demand [for military tech] Thales NL is significantly investing in expanding its facilities by building new test and production facilities in close cooperation with the Ministry of Defence," of the Netherlands. https://www.marketscreener.com/news/thales-and-the-dutch-ministry-of-defence-sign-a-strategic-partnership-to-expand-radar-system-produ-ce7f5cd3dd81f226

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Hoogleraar wil VU-coöperatie met Defensie 'Onderzoekscentrum Defensie tegen Agressors' moemen. Aangezien hij de VS als agressor omschrijft ook tegen dat land: "Verzet tegen de agressor draait om volksverzet, solidariteit en innovatie door de underdog." https://advalvas.vu.nl/column-blog/ik-ben-geen-pacifist/
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US tells ASML it's concerned one of its chipmaking tools may be in China, Bloomberg News reports. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/us-tells-asml-its-concerned-one-of-its-chipmaking-tools-may-be-in-china-bloomberg-news-reports/ar-AA2624je

Howard Lutnick Warns ASML Holding (AMS: ASML) That A Top Chip Machine May Have Reached China. 
https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2026/06/19/washington-warns-asml-holding-ams-asml-that-a-top-chip-machine-may-have-reached-china

June 22

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Destroy what doesn't lick your arse, the state part of Western 'democracy' is in⬇️

Trump admin's imposition of export controls against Anthropic should serve as a warning to other technology companies that missteps...could result in unexpected sanctions.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/21/tech/anthropic-ai-regulation

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Representative for the Genoa dockworkers responsible for Italy’s 2-day general strike in '26 said this movement was successful only because it was well organised: “This movement was not spontaneous. There was a long organised process behind it.”
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/anti-war-movement-cannot-rely-spontaneity-alone-dockworkers-who-blocked-arms-shipments

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What happens when fire arms end up in the wrong hands. In that is those of the Michigan police. https://theintercept.com/2026/06/18/police-killing-michigan-john-jenuwine/

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The Kremlin may announce a mass mobilization to continue the war against Ukraine, as the Russian defence industry is operating at full capacity and is unable to increase arms production, the FT reports, citing Western intell.

While output has increased, “the military industry has plateaued”, one of the officials said. “They maxed out all their capacity. There’s no way to step it up without investment and that takes years.” 

June 20

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Aspect uit een interview: BlackRock blijft consequent miljarden pompen in de fossiele industrie en omstreden wapenhandel. https://dezwijger.nl/nieuws/fossielvrij-versus-blackrock

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JC14: Every disadvantage has an advantage

France’s expanding Rafale F5 negotiations with the UAE following the effective collapse of the Franco-German FCAS programme could redefine European combat aviation, future Middle East airpower alignment etc see-> https://defencesecurityasia.com/en/france-uae-rafale-f5-fighter-fcas-collapse-hypersonic-airpower-strategy/

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Extra juridical killings continue
VS-leger heeft donderdag 3 mensen gedood bij een luchtaanval op een boot in de Stille Oceaan. Dat meldt Southcom (https://x.com/Southcom/status/2067753361953452264). Volgens het Commando ging 't om drugscriminelen.

Rule of Law so old fashioned.
https://www.nieuwsblad.be/buitenland/amerikaans-leger-doodt-drie-personen-bij-aanval-op-boot-in-stille-oceaan/157451569.html

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AI tech revolving doors

OpenAI hires former Trump AI official Dean Ball

The artificial intelligence giant has hired the former top White House AI adviser and lead author of the White House’s AI Action Plan.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/18/openai-hires-former-trump-ai-official-dean-ball-00967118

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Als je last hebt van de kwaal die doet denken dat de Nederlandse krijgsmacht staat voor het verdedigen van vrijheid, democratie, rechten en de internationale orde en niet vooral de positie van de elite. Lees dan dit en laat doordringen wat het betekent. https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/06/19/excuses-voor-de-oorlog-tegen-indonesie-zijn-alleen-geloofwaardig-als-ze-consequenties-hebben-a4930171

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Effects of a cynical policy

BRITISH imports of Israeli military goods increased by more than 10,500 per cent between 2023 and 2025, a new investigation based on UN trade data has found. https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/british-imports-israeli-military-goods-10500

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Lord of the rings or Trojan horse

France’s move to drop Palantir from its intell services is the latest sign of European unease with the US data-mining firm, grown from a CIA-backed startup into one of the most powerful tech players of the Trump era.
https://www.malaymail.com/amp/news/money/2026/06/19/why-europe-is-getting-nervous-about-palantir-the-data-firm-named-after-the-lord-of-the-rings-seeing-stones/224326

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In a publication on March 19, 2026, the UK government announced a new steel strategy, with the aim of revitalizing the UK steel industry. As part of this strategy, new steel trading measures were announced that will go into effect on July 1, 2026. https://info.expeditors.com/newsflash/uk-announces-new-steel-safeguard-measures
Document: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69bbd096f7b1c24d8e23ce06/uk-steel-strategy.pdf

June 18

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Two fact-sheets on the current and next EU budgetary cycles, done by Mark Akkerman (Stop Wapenhandel, https://stopwapenhandel.org) and which are really great and useful.

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Debate

A view on arms supplies to Ukraine (predominantly air defence) argued from a solidarity view from those under Russian attack and written in connection with June 19-21 Convention of Die Linke. https://internationalviewpoint.org/Anti-militarism-that-forgets-those-under-attack-is-no-anti-militarism-at-all

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The True Cost of American Militarism is Far Higher Than We Know

Militarized foreign and domestic policies come at the expense of Americans' civil liberties, tax dollars, and safety.
https://inkstickmedia.com/the-true-cost-of-american-militarism-is-far-higher-than-we-know/

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Frank Slijper with Ilia Siatitsa and Ioannis Kouvakas,"When algorithms go to war: Tech giants, the arms industry and the weaponisation of AI," PAX, June 17, 2026. https://paxforpeace.nl/publications/when-algorithms-go-to-war/

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60+ UK parliamentarians want clarity after an illicit shipment of weaponry was seized in Belgium.

The seizure included fire control systems and spare parts for military aircraft for Israel, which is continuing its aggressions in Gaza and Lebanon. 
https://dev.morningstaronline.co.uk/article/mps-want-answers-british-arms-israel-seized-belgium

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“Security for Whom?”

Civil society organisations from across the spectrum urge EU decision-makers to reject the military budget surge and invest in human security instead.

Introduction to Open Letter initiated by TNI, ENAAT, Stop ReArm Europe. https://www.tni.org/en/open-letter/security-for-whom

June 17

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Singaporean F-16D fighters have been seen integrating Israeli military equipment. Tel Aviv involvement in Singapore’s combat aviation dates back to the country’s independence: Israel played a central role in helping to establish the Singapore Armed Forces. https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/singapore-customised-f16s-israeli-electronic-warfare

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US’s latest crackdown on Anthropic further complicates the AI titan’s already ambivalent relationship with the Pentagon, which had been banning most Anthropic products while also carving out an exemption for its latest model, Mythos, analysts told. https://breakingdefense.com/2026/06/how-the-commerce-crackdown-on-anthropic-could-impact-the-pentagon-experts/

June 16

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Security for whom?

Surpression of whom?

Human rights defenders block access to Eurosatory arms fair near Paris to protest Israeli weapons companies.https://pbicanada.org/2026/06/15/french-human-rights-defenders-block-access-to-eurosatory-arms-fair-near-paris-to-protest-israeli-weapons-companies/

France has banned the display of Israeli offensive weapons at the 2026 edition of the exhibition, and restricted the displays of Israeli companies. https://www.newarab.com/news/france-shuts-down-12-israeli-stands-paris-arms-exhibition

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What’s driving the militarisation of tech – and what we can do about it? https://corporatewatch.org/whats-driving-the-militarisation-of-tech-and-what-we-can-do-about-it/

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Who profits from EU subsidies for the arms industry?

Find out which countries and companies benefit the most from the EU Defence Fund (EDF) and the Ammunition fund (ASAP), and where they export: https://enaat.org/2026/06/08/osde/

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F-35 readiness rates continued to decline through 2025, with the fleet’s full mission capable rate falling to 25%, according to GAO (https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108113).
https://www.militarytimes.com/industry/techwatch/2026/06/12/only-1-in-4-f-35s-is-fully-mission-capable-gao-finds/

But fools around the world/Europe keep on buying them, to underline relations with the USA.

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Germany is exploring at least three different strategies to replace the failed Future Combat Air System (FCAS) fighter project, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius revealed Tuesday. Supporting the US by buying more Lockheed F-35 fighters is one of them. https://breakingdefense.com/2026/06/more-f-35s-fifth-gen-plus-germany-explores-fighter-options-after-fcas-collapse/

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Comment: Laat ons dus inzetten op vrede, op een wereldwijde mobilisatie tegen de klimaatcrisis in plaats van een wereldwijde wapenwedloop, en op wereldwijde sociale rechtvaardigheid en het bestrijden van de ongelijkheid in plaats van op het versterken van de precariteit, de polaris...

Retweet with comment @janbuelinckx: De wapenwedloop verhit de aarde en koelt het klimaatbeleid af. https://www.dewereldmorgen.be/artikel/2026/06/10/de-wapenwedloop-verhit-de-aarde-en-koelt-het-klimaatbeleid-af

June 14

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Zijn de extra defensieuitgaven wel zo defensief? Door: Wendela de Vries https://jacobin.nl/zijn-de-extra-defensieuitgaven-wel-zo-defensief/

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