World Peace can be defined as the end of institutionally organized armed conflict. This will happen when the governments and corporations currently responsible for unleashing war upon our world are forced to stop.
The idea that world peace is not only possible, that peace is in fact sitting right on our doorstep, may seen like a fanciful dream. But it is only a dream because we haven’t made it happen yet. Not because it is impossible and not because it is beyond the limits of human potential.
Sure, it will take a movement of millions upon millions of people like you and me from all around the world, coming together as a combined force. But together we can and will make it happen.
We can rival the trillion dollar empire that is the military industrial complex. We can overcome the thousands and thousands of years of baggage and damage caused by warfare. We have the power to manifest peace on earth as soon as we choose to.
It starts with our own governments, by letting them know that the use of military force is never an option except as a last resort. No longer will we let other innocent humans be treated as enemies, no matter their nationality, religion, culture or color.
Instead, our leaders need to be urged to exercise proven methodologies, like humanitarian aid and cooperation. By building up impoverished nations and strengthening war-torn communities from within, we attack desperation and extremism at its source. And this is ultimately the surest way to disrupt the cycle of violence.
On top of that, we need to strip out the billions in annual profits reaped by the businesses of war. 100% tax on all proceeds from weapons manufacturing. Fines and levies against these industries which perpetuate bloodshed. Class action suits against those who arm the armies, holding them accountable for the suffering they enable.
Yes, it is an uphill battle. So why even try?
For starters, this is an issue that effects you personally. You, your loved ones, your friends and everyone you know stand to reap the benefits of living in a world without warfare… a world of security and prosperity.
On top of that, with medical science moving forward as fast as it is, we are on the brink of being able to extend our lives indefinitely, letting us live as long as we choose. We will be able to witness our species expand to explore the universe.
All that and more can be ours as long as we don’t let the war-mongers screw it up for us. And if that isn’t reason enough for you to make peace a reality, then what is?
(The prudish townsfolk from Footloose approve of this new legislation.)
The Copyright Board of Canada has initiated new fees to play recorded music at large gatherings, like weddings and parties. If there’s fewer than one hundred people, the fees start at $9.25 per day. 400 guests will cost $27.76. And get this… if dancing is involved that fee doubles to $55.52.
What an asinine load of horse manure. Why would the crowd’s reaction to the music being played have any impact on the royalties owed?
Not that artists are likely to see a dime from this new tax. Nope, any money reaped is sure to go squarely into the hands of recording industry executives, helping them to fund another round of ludicrous litigation against the entire population.
On the bright side, it’s crap like this that is fueling humanity’s uprising against corporate rule. A few more encroachments might be all it takes for society to snap, forever ousting these cronies from power.
Penned during an all-night session by Premier Jean Charest’s government, this bill sets strict limits on public demonstrations and threatens stiff penalties to anyone trying to exercise their right to gather in protest and exercise free speech.
“This bill, if adopted, is a breach to the fundamental, constitutional rights of the citizens,” says the bar association president Louis Masson, who goes on to note how “The scale of its restraints on fundamental freedoms isn’t justified by the objectives aimed by the government.”
The precedent set here isn’t just bad for Quebec, it’s bad for our entire country. If they can do it there, why not everywhere?
So a handful of individuals seize the protests as opportunity to resort to vandalism and violence and the entire movement gets punished. How typical! No wonder police go undercover to disturb the peace… it so readily negates populist uprisings.
Which is really too bad, because I love what the students have been doing. I love their energy, their spirit, and their tenacity in the face of a domineering establishment. And really, their cause is just. Sure, they already pay the lowest tuition in all of Canada, and the hikes are relatively small. But that’s no reason not to expect better.
Instead of hating on Quebec’s students for being engaged in our democracy, maybe a better question is ‘Why aren’t the rest of Canadian students out demanding lower costs for themselves?’
Navigating between extinction and enslavement, brave humankind could very well avoid both to reach compelling new heights.
Neils Bohr once said that prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future. Despite the words of caution from the pioneering quantum physicist, I’d like to offer you my take on the three potential futures that we, as a species, are facing.
The first is extinction. This is where the human race is no more because we’ve wiped ourselves out in some foolish conflict or scientific mishap. Either that, or the universe conspires to eliminate us using it’s vast arsenal. There’s not a lot we can do to avoid this, apart from building peace instead of war.
The good news, despite what the mainstream media may want us to believe, is that humankind is actually the most peaceful we’ve ever been. (more…)
There’s a standard business negotiation tactic which has been brought into the realm of politics, used most effectively by right wing conservatives: ask for the stars and settle with the moon. So effective has this strategy been that the entire political spectrum has consistently shifted to the right over the past few decades.
Check out this impassioned speech by poet and Irish President Michael D Higgins, lambasting income disparity and the continued debasing of the lower and middle classes. Unbelievable! He’s like a spokesperson for the 99%.
We need more leaders like this guy… elected officials who will stand up for the regular people who voted them into power.
In Egypt, Syria, Libya, Bahrain and many other nations, civilians are being violently subjugated by their governments. The western media will sometimes report on these quashed uprisings, but a pressing question usually remains unasked – where do these tyrants get their modern weaponry?
For the most part, the tools of dissident suppression – rifles, tanks, bombs and gunships – aren’t being made domestically. Instead, they’re being imported from any of the world’s international arms dealers, most of whom will transact with anyone that has the cash.
Of course, corner any of the corporations that build these weapons, or any of the politicians who deal with despots, and it is unlikely they will admit any wrongdoings. I mean, come on, who could possibly have conceived that an armor plated vehicle with bulletproof tires and a mounted Gatling gun might be used for human rights violations.
But why would you expect anything other than crooks and cronies running the arms business? When there is billions of dollars changing hands, you just know it’s going to attract all kinds of scumbags.
And that brings us to a simple solution to this problem. In fact, this idea has so much potential that it wouldn’t just prevent the Defense Industry from arming tyrants, it would actually eliminate one of the primary reasons we even have war on earth.
Enough building it up. Here’s the proposal:
A 100% tax on all profits earned from manufacturing the weapons of war.
BLAM! Take that, Military Industrial Complex. You can design and sell all the weapons you want, but don’t expect any more lucrative deals. Now we’ll see if “building democracy”, “fighting terrorists”, and “protecting civilians” is really all that important to the war-mongers when there’s far fewer profits to be made.
Buffett starts off his diatribe by highlighting the hypocrisy of the struggling US economy:
OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.
…
[Preferential tax breaks] and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.
Buffett goes on to note how, despite the what the republican noise chamber may echo, higher taxes don’t necessarily scare away investment:
I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain.
People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.
To finish off his thesis, the billionaire Buffett laid out his plan:
[F]or those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in 2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.
My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.
Wow! How stunningly refreshing. If more people ended up like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett after amassing such huge fortunes, our world would likely be a more peaceful, prosperous and just place to live.
There are strong ties between an empowered population and distribution of wealth. As the will of the people is increasingly heard, wealth gets more evenly distributed amongst the entire population. The more the people are silenced, the more wealth can concentrate into the hands of the few.
These latest tax cuts should be a wake up call for Americans and the world.
We’ve been too quiet for too long.
We cannot wait for our political leaders to take action. In the US, for example, both sides – Democrats and Republicans – share too much of the same agenda to effect real change. The same is true for most governments around the world.
We cannot wait for the talking heads in the mainstream news media to alert us to the growing threat. Most often the news media are part of the problem! The revolution is not likely to be televised. The biggest media corporations have too much vested interest in perpetuating the status quo.
If you value your freedom, you need to take action. Blog, tweet, Facebook, make videos, write or call your politicians, take to the streets in protest. Let your voice be heard.
The fate of a free humanity could very well be decided over the course of the next few years.
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Seeing how it was the US Senate that passed the latest bill, here’s a clip of a former Senator Huey P. Long offering a sentiment we don’t hear enough of in the political spectrum.
How many men ever went to a barbecue and would let one man take off the table what’s intended for 9/10th of the people to eat? The only way to be able to feed the balance of the people is to make that man come back and bring back some of that grub that he ain’t got no business with! – Huey P. Long
