Today (April 5th) the International Peace Bureau (IPB) launched its annual social media message focused on the huge disparity between military and humanitarian spending:
Geneva, 5 April 2016 — Today sees the start of the Global Days of Action on Military Spending (April 5 - 18), when the International Peace Bureau and its partners around the world focus on the excessive military spending of the world's governments. … [which] last year reached $1,676 billion (USD), … The United States remained by far the world's biggest spender in 2015, … $596 billion. ..., China's … $215 billion, Saudi Arabia's ... $87.2 billion … Russia's … $66.4 billion ... (Military Costs v. Humanitarian Needs: Statement for the Global Days of Action on Military Spending 2016, International Peace Bureau, Geneva, 31 March, 2016.)
When my Doukhobor ancestors burnt their guns in Tsarist Russia in June 1895, it was Lev N. Tolstoy who saw the merit of this act and came to their assistance. He completed his book Resurrection and used its proceeds to pay for the transport of 7,500 of the most persecuted group to Canada in 1899. As an activist in the peace movement, a Doukhobor and a follower of Tolstoy, I wholeheartedly support the nonkilling paradigm, along with many other efforts to build a world without wars.
With peace builders around the world, I call on all genuine efforts to release us from the slavery of war and create a world with meaning for a peaceful and caring humanity. Let’s get on with it!
For background about Global Days of Action on Military Spending, I recommend readers further explore these websites and their publications.
World Beyond War — Director David Swanson, just updated his book War Is A Lie which challenges the repetitive falsehoods generated by those in power to justify armed conflict.
Center for Global Nonkilling provides important insights and tools for the creation of a world without wars. More than 100 free self-educational downloads are on their website, in many languages. In 2007 I presented a paper at CGN on the need to include Lev N. Tolstoy and the Doukhobors among the peace leaders. Tolstoy had the wisdom to search for truth and the meaning of life which he applied in becoming a world literary figure and moral leader. In his Socratic quest, he challenged social injustice. He called war: ‘the slavery of our times’. His ideas were picked up by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
For all those who care about violence on our planet, I highly recommend listening/ reading the "The Current" online CBC radio, for Tuesday April 5, 2016. Anna Maria Tremonti discussed the worldwide guns-violence problem.
ReplyDeleteRoughly a billion guns in the world, author shares startling facts on firearms
"As an investigative journalist, Ian Overton saw firsthand the pain and destruction caused by guns. Now he is director of investigations for the London-based charity Action on Armed Violence. He's also the author of The Way of the Gun: A Bloody Journey in the World of Firearms. ... he joins me to talk about how gun culture in North America has made an impact across the globe."
In a world run by war profiteers, especially the USA and NATO countries, it is time to stand up and say enough.
ReplyDeleteOne of those bright lights is Dr. Jill Stein, leader of the US Green Party and running for re-election this August.
Her honesty and passion remind me of the days of dear Martin Luther King Jr. She doesn't have his oratorical chops but she does have the right words, the courage and the heart. Please listen to this video interview with her "The Empire Files" with Abby Martin, and share if you agree.
Peace, art and love,
Kenskyman
Thank you Koozma for bringing all this important information to my attention. I long for the day when Canadian governments act for peace rather than support imperialist adventurism around the globe.
ReplyDelete