OMNI WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS, #134, JULY 12, 2023.

 

134.  WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS, #134, JULY 12, 2023.
Juan Cole, From Militarism to Invading Ourselves.
Roots Action.  Unrestrained US Military Spending.
WBW’s Nonviolent Resistance to Militarism conference September 22-24.

 

OMNI at FARMER’S MARKET this Saturday, JULY 15, 2023. 
Our Table is at the NW corner of Fayetteville Square beginning 8 a.m.   We have free copies of Nukewatch Quarterly, Jeffrey Sachs’ article on US/NATO provoking the Ukraine War, two urgent petitions, and more to explain why we should take action against the Ukraine War.  Sandy Lee-Shirley, Abel Tomlinson, Dick Bennett, and more.

 

Here is the conclusion of Cole’s analysis of the Bush, Cheney, Rice admin.’s lying, illegal, cruel, atrocious invasion of Iraq and its consequences.  To read the entire essay, go to https://tomdispatch.com/iraqs-climate-crisis/?utm_source=TomDispatch&utm_campaign=cf47e98021-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_07_13_02_04_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1e41682ade-cf47e98021-308836209#more

TOMGRAM                      

Juan Cole, Invading Ourselves.  POSTED ON JULY 9, 2023.

. . .If, instead of invading Iraq, the American government had swung into action in the spring of 2003 to cut carbon dioxide output, as one of our foremost climate scientists, Michael Mann, was suggesting at the time, the emission of hundreds of billions of tons of CO2 might have been avoided. Humanity would have had an extra two decades to make the transition to a zero-carbon world. In the end, after all, the stakes are as high for Americans as they are for Iraqis.

If humanity doesn’t reach zero carbon emissions by 2050, we are likely to outrun our “carbon budget,” the ocean’s ability to absorb CO2, and the climate will undoubtedly go chaotic. What has already happened in Iraq, not to speak of the dire climate impacts that have recently left Canada constantly aflame, U.S. cities smoking, and Texans broiling in a record fashion would then seem like child’s play.

At that point, in short, we would have invaded ourselves.

 

A Trillion Here, A Trillion There.

RootsAction Team via uark.onmicrosoft.com 7-4-23
to James
U.S. military spending is out of control. Will you please click here to join a coalition of organizations and Congress Members in telling the U.S. Congress to move money from war to human and environmental needs? As of last year, out of 230 other countries, the U.S. spends more on war and war preparations than 227 of them combined. Russia and China spend a combined 21% of what the U.S. and its allies spend on war.(1) The solution is not yet another routine, annual, massive increase in U.S. military spending. But that's what Congress has planned. The grotesquely named "Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023" gives 56% of federal discretionary spending in 2024 to militarism, and 44% to absolutely everything else.(2) The budget now barreling its way through Congress, lubricated by war profiteers' "campaign contributions" and lobbying, would put military spending at nearly, or over, $1 trillion, depending on what you include. Three percent of that could end starvation on Earth. A bit over 1% could provide the world with clean water. The U.S. Congress could transform the lives of billions of people, but its members generally pretend to be powerless to change course.(3) Click here to tell your Congress Members that you know there is a mountain of money and you want it spent more wisely.   Donate   Click here to insist that your Representative and Senators publicly take a stand and actually try to reduce military spending.
We're excited to announce #NoWar2023: Nonviolent Resistance to Militarism, World BEYOND War's virtual global conference this September 22-24!

 

Registration is now open. Click here to purchase tickets.

 

A global 3-day conference on nonviolent resistance in the face of invasions, occupations, and military violence. You say you’re against war, but what’s the alternative? Managing conflict nonviolently is one of the three core strategies of World BEYOND War’s alternative global security system. But when the rule of law and diplomacy are failing and violence is underway, both seasoned activists and newcomers alike often question whether unarmed resistance can be effective against military invasion, occupation, and war. Throughout three days of virtual panels, training, and discussion sessions, #NoWar2023 will make the case for the efficacy of nonviolent resistance as a tool for conflict resolution, highlighting case studies from around the world of unarmed civilian based defense against invasions, occupations, and dictatorships. Hosted virtually on the Zoom Events platform, World BEYOND War’s #NoWar2023 annual global conference brings together peace and anti-war individuals and organizations from around the world to share, reflect, strategize, and organize towards the abolition of war.