Veterans Day Is Over, Now What? Divest Stop Endless War
Reading detroitmechworks essay today and contemplating possible preparations for a million person armed forces got me thinking. What is being done to stop this, what CAN be done to change this ? Something that works, something that hits the war profiteers in the pocket book. Here's the plan.
Background
Many of us remember the part divestiture movement played in ending Apartheid era in the Republic of South Africa:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinvestment_from_South_Africa
Disinvestment (or divestment) from South Africa was first advocated in the 1960s, in protest of South Africa's system of apartheid, but was not implemented on a significant scale until the mid-1980s. The disinvestment campaign, after being realized in federal legislation enacted in 1986 by the United States, is credited by some[2] as pressuring the South African Government to embark on negotiations ultimately leading to the dismantling of the Apartheid system.
Just about every day I see news of success of the global climate movement in getting colleges, churches, and other organizations in various countries to divest from fossil fuels industry..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel_divestment
Fossil fuel divestment or fossil fuel divestment and investment in climate solutions is the removal of investment assets including stocks, bonds, and investment funds from companies involved in extracting fossil fuels, in an attempt to reduce climate change by tackling its ultimate causes.
Numerous groups advocate fossil fuel divestment, which in 2015 was reportedly the fastest growing divestment movement in history.[1] Beginning on campuses in The United States in 2011 with students urging their administrations to turn investments in the fossil fuel industry into investments in clean energy and communities most impacted by climate change, the movement soon spread across the globe. By December 2016, a total of 688 institutions and over 58,000 individuals representing $5.5 trillion in assets worldwide had been divested from fossil fuels.[2][3]
Now multiple groups want to build on that success:
Co-Sponsors
If your organization would like to sign on as a co-sponsor, please send an email to robin@codepink.org.
Addicted to War
Alliance for Global Justice
American University NAACP
Anti-War Committee Chicago
As You Sow
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
Beyond Nuclear
Black Alliance for Peace
Cal Poly Students for Quality Education
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran
Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for International Policy
Christian Peacemaker Team
Coalition to End the U.S.-Saudi Alliance
Dorothy Day Catholic Worker
Environmentalists Against War
Fellowship of Reconciliation/USA
Food Not Bombs
Global Campaign for Peace Education
Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space
Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
Institute for Policy Studies
International Institute on Peace Education
Iraq Veterans Against the War
Just Foreign Policy
KnowDrones
Korea Policy Institute
MADRE
Middle East Crisis Committee
National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund
National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance
National Coalition to Protect Student Privacy
National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth
National Priorities Project
National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee
Nonviolent Peaceforce
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
On Earth Peace
ONE DC
Pax Christi-Boston
Pax Christi-Metro DC
Pax Christi-Metro NY
Peace Action/USA
Peace Now
People's Congress of Resistance
Poor People's Campaign
Popular Resistance
Praxis Peace Institute
Presentation Sisters Social Justice Team
Pressenza
Proposition One Committee
RootsAction
Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
Show Up! America
Traprock Center for Peace & Justice
Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment
U.S. Peace Council
United for Peace & Justice
United National Antiwar Coalition
United Students Against Sweatshops
Voices for Creative Nonviolence
War Prevention Initiative
Women Against Military Madness
Women's Action for New Direction
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
World Beyond War
Strategy
CODEPINK, in partnership with an array of peace and disarmament groups, is launching a divestment campaign to encourage universities, religious organizations, retirement funds, mutual funds, private investors, and other financial institutions in the United States to take action to reduce violent global conflicts and slow the hyper-militarization of our world by divesting from the U.S. War Machine. Divestment from the War Machine means divesting (removing invested assets) from companies that derive their profits by supplying and profiting from U.S. military interventions, expansions, and the militarization of our streets. In other words, we are calling for divestment from companies that make a killing on killing.
Through this strategy we plan to:
Uncover the hold the military-industrial complex has on our government and our foreign policy
Spark a vital public debate questioning the role of weapons manufacturers and military contractors in perpetuating conflict around the globe
Expose how our financial and educational institutions are supporting those companies
Inspire the public and investors to pressure these institutions to divest
Hold the arms industry accountable in political and financial spheres for its culpability in the death and displacement of millions of innocent people
Condemn our government’s prioritization of military spending and demand that diplomacy and aid, not militarism, be our country’s response to global conflicts.The United States’ preoccupation with expanding and protecting its military and economic interests has created a system which prioritizes “defense” over human rights, military spending over diplomacy and aid, preparing for combat over preventing wars, and profit over human life and the health of the planet.
With this divestment campaign we are calling for a radical rethinking of American priorities. Diluting the power of those who profit most from war-making is the first step in building a transformed nation that stops spreading violence and death at home and abroad. A divestment campaign gives power to the public to dismantle the war economy and demand that our nation operate to uphold the right of every human being, both at home and abroad, to live in freedom and dignity, safe and free from poverty, danger, and despair.
Those who want learn more or get involved with this work can check here.
Weapons companies make a killing from killing. Join us in divesting from the war machine! https://t.co/gDHlbPwJpH #divest pic.twitter.com/wOKBGsOxwb
— CODEPINK (@codepink) September 2, 2017
Comments
Let's end this.
'How long has this been going on...'
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Vet suicides, 20 plus every f*cling day?
One of the myriad reasons to change directions
Divest!
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Having a plan already in motion
answers the question I've been asking. What can we do to stop this marching global hegemony. This is being used to stop the wars and this can also be used for the other issues that we want changed.
The Israel boycott must be working since congress and some state leaders want to make this illegal.
Anyone who wants in on the Texas hurricane recovery has to sign a form stating that they aren't involved in the boycott.
Thanks DO for this. We can come up with suggestions for the other ways to get the government's attention.
Getting more people to stop watching the mainstream media because they are owned by the defense industries might be another boycott. The media just tell us what the PTB wants us to know anyway.
Look at how the flush rush campaign worked. He lost millions in advertising. So did Hannity when he kept defending Moore. He has finally stopped endorsing him because of his sexual allegations. This didn't take more than one month.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Welcome sd, and yes getting people to wise up
to corporate media fail should be ongoing work!
Re: loyalty oath for contractors in TX. AFAIK that was only in one tiny city and the ACLU was able to nip it in the budd.
http://americanfreepress.net/israeli-interests-come-before-recovery/
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Could be a good thing.
I would view it as much more difficult compared to the efforts regarding fossil fuel and Israeli apartheid, but worth an effort combined with other strategies.
What appears to be missing from their strategy is any pushback against the duopoly and the Executive branch that authorizes and approves imperialism and imperialist actions such as wars, regime changes, economic sanctions, etc. Not to mention the word imperialism and how it's all based on lies, illegal as hell and in violation of the Constitution.
Weak strategies will get weak results.
Hi ba, think you have a waysto go in making a case that this is
a weak strategy there podnah.
As you know the purpose and goals of a number of those groups listed above for sure include all the others that you, and I, seek. Many of these groups have been protesting, occupying, being arrested, organizing and lobbying for years for all you listed.
Divestiture is a strategy, and an excellent one imo for the purpose they have agreed on. We will just have to agree to disagree.
Whether it will be effectively implemented or ultimately successful in getting money out of politics and foreign policy decision making remains to be seen. The other night Pluto said that it could be outlawed in places, as has been working for justice for the Palestinians.
We want It all, and more !
..
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Stop them now—soon they’ll be able to kill without human agency
http://autonomousweapons.org/
@lotlizard
Damn, that video scared me at the beginning, thought at first it was a current sales pitch, until the 'news footage' finally reassured me. But, yeah, that will be coming - providing deniability for the many innocent deaths from drone-strikes murdering without due process of law and avoiding the 'bad optics' of refusing to remove - from drone kill lists - war journalists who TPTB don't want factually reporting from the scenes of their lucrative attacks and invasions on other people's countries.
Signed up, but it's all based off FB and Twitter, which I wouldn't join if they were the only portals to the internet. At least for however long they're permitted to stay on there. Unless, of course, this organization is merely for the purpose of identifying those of us who sign up for it, which is, of course a possibility, as it would be surprising for such an organization to be permitted to continue at either place, considering... Guess we'll either find out, or maybe never know.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.