On behalf of the soldiers who continue to lose their lives, their livelihoods or their sense of well being, discarded after use by a for-profit enterprise built on bloodshed.
On behalf of the children who continue to lose their lives, their families, their sense of wonder at the world, because some group somewhere else gave themselves the authority to remotely execute other humans without due trial, oversight or accountability.
On behalf of the richest and most powerful global population to date, torn apart by an industry whose very existence depends upon our staying divided as a people, when the money being wasted on warfare could finally lift the entire human race out of the grips of desperate poverty.
It is time to enact The World’s People V The World’s Top 100 Defense Earners, for all the pain and suffering they continue to enable. They can still make arms all they want, but the trillions they’ve been reaping in profits will be forfeited.
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.
Tired of being gouged by those ridiculous transaction fees? Sick of seeing the big banks getting bailed out while you get sold out? Feel it’s time to shake up the establishment a bit?
Well, if you answered yes to these questions, then you should do what tens of thousands of others have already done and move all of your savings out of your bank and into a local credit union.
In fact, considering how today (November 5th) is Bank Transfer Day, there’s no better time than right now to be the change our world needs.
Once again, we see the real power of social media and the Internet. Here is one person with one idea who found a medium to share it with others. The idea resonated so well that it sparked a movement with billion dollar implications.
This adds further support to my belief that we are on the brink of a drastically improved planet. Now that we have proven means to coordinate the undercurrents of discontent into practical and positive real-world results, it’s only a matter of time.
Just imagine, in a few years when engaged and empowered minds answer the call to action, not in the hundreds of thousands, but in hundreds of millions – the world’s system will have no choice but to bend to the will of the people.
And what we want is a more just, more equal civilization where the powerful cannot freely exploit the powerless and people take priority over profits.
Yeah, right. Is that the same democracy and freedom currently being enjoyed by Iraqis and Afghans?
In all seriousness, it’s time for Americans to wake up and see what they are doing to the world. Exporting war and weapons is no way to build peace. Nor is there any honor in making a living off getting people killed.
Compare that to the number of Iraqi civilians who’ve been killed in the past ten years. Estimates range from 100,000 up to 1,000,000. Even at the conservative end, that’s four dead good-guys for every combatant.
And the stats coming out of Iraq are not uncommon for war zones. Armed conflict always hits the civilian population the hardest.
What this means for you war-hungry young men and women out there is: if you decide to enlist as a soldier of war, you’d better be prepared to kill innocent people.
Now, don’t worry. It will never get put to you that way. Just the opposite, in fact. You’ll be told – and you’ll probably believe – that you’re fighting to save and protect lives.
But, for every enemy you and your comrades slay, be sure to prevent the deaths of at least five non-combatants. That way you’ll make a net positive for the, on average, four or more innocent lives you just took.
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Then again, when you try to get into the math of it all, what really becomes clear is how millions of people are fighting and dying so that the super-rich can grow even richer.
Insurer Lloyd’s of London filed a suit this month seeking $215 million claiming that al Qaeda was directly funded by Saudi groups who, in turn, should cover the costs for insurance claims paid out.
The suit was withdrawn today, with speculation it will be refiled in a friendlier court. That, or maybe Lloyd’s bank account just gained a few zeroes.
Regardless of the outcome, it’s the precedent that is most fascinating. If you can hold someone accountable for funding terrorism, then someone might be held liable for the most costly form of terrorism ever inflicted on humankind – war!
Take, as an example, the fear and suffering caused by America’s policy of long distance murder – using remote controlled planes to bomb anyone deemed to be a threat. Right now, the thousands upon thousands of innocent deaths are simply being dismissed as casualties of war.
But get some evidence together – like ‘MADE IN THE USA’ on a piece of shrapnel embedded in some child’s brain – and you’ve got yourself a lawsuit!
All it will take is for one of these international death-dealing corporations, like Boeing or BAE, to be shaken down for a few billion of their war-profits. Then, no doubt, countless other ambitious litigators will set their sites on all of the world’s major arms dealing giants.
It will be glorious! Like a class action suit – the Military Industrial Complex vs. the Human Race – and the result will take away one of the financial incentives behind the drive to war.