Transforming Militarism to Humanitarianism

I got the idea of enjoying whats left from Ron Dexter’s film “On The Edge”. It was a remark of Ted Turner.

Enjoying whats left while not being a part of the problem, indeed trying to be a part of the solution, is what I am after. I hope that I will be able to focus only on my own responsibility though. To me it makes no sense to drive or fly to a protest about global warming or wars for resources. As Gandhi said, Be the change we want. Santa Monica library’s computer room is clearly labeled the Computer Commons. Indeed, the libraries are all that is left of our commons. When everyone has laptops the library commons will go the way of the public telephone, now very hard to find. I heard someone advocating for universal wifi for all who have laptops and he said that everyone should have access to the internet….I hate to break the news to him, everyone does have access!…without buying a computer and creating the cyber contamination that ends up poisoning the poorest. Celphones destroy what is left of public telephones and also contribute to cyber poisoning and resource wars. But see, there I go again!! I don’t want to coerce anyone, I just want to live my life without being a part of the problem. With my boat, I sew the forty year old sails, spice the lines and work to make the solar panels power the boat when the sails don’t.

By the way, its a buyers market in boats like mine and you can get one for almost nothing…learn to sail if needed by getting on a racing crew and learn to anchor with a local power squadron….independence!

It is my recollection that the national veterans for peace started to counter the machinations of the empire in latin america. It seems significant that members have finally elected someone in Joey King that has a latin america focus. Considering the progress and potential for progress in latin america, it seems to be Veterans For Peace most neglected opportunity!

http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1755

Since then the FMLN in El Salvador and:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81lvaro_Colom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_Guatemalan_coup_d’%C3%A9tat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Lugo

Now a new idea…or maybe an old one!

Transforming Militarism to Humanitarianism for the future!

This will be our best recruiting tool, and therefore our best fund raising tool. It is something I have already tried out on active duty military at Arlington West, on veterans at VFW meetings and on the public during my campaign….it is something that can unite us with the active duty military and the environmentalists. Even if the transformation of our military from empire to global assistance cannot be done it is something that is worth trying to do.

We have all seen the predictions…by environmentalists and the pentagon….that global warming and climate chaos will increase conflict and displacement of people. The gist is that military activity is going to increase, whether VFP endorses it or opposes it. R. Bucky Fuller, who would have been a vfp if he had been asked, reflected on his career in the Navy about the conversion of defense spending from weaponry to livingry. He liked to point out that refrigeration, transistors and the internet all came from defense spending. I think that our mission statement commits us to opposing the use of war as an instrument of foreign policy and that we can embrace the good that our military…and likely only our military…can accomplish in an era of increased global conflict and instability. Again, knowing the danger of overworking this concept, I tout:

Read:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Cooperative_Strategy_for_21st_Century_Seapower

Excerpt:

Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Operations & Seapower Strategy

A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower calls for a diplomacy-building approach echoing the mantra that “preventing wars is as important as winning wars”^[22] and “focuses on opportunities versus threats; on optimism over fear and on confidence instead of doubt.” ^[23] It recognizes the challenges imposed by the uncertain conditions in a time of rapid change and makes pro-active assistance and disaster response crucial elements to building relationships across nations. By working with the U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and non-governmental organizations, maritime forces provide unique capabilities to bear in times of crisis as set forth in the strategy.

While humanitarian missions are generally not traditionally thought of as major sea service missions, military leaders say these tasks are crucial for promoting maritime security. Admiral Gary Roughead said this strategy takes homeland defense, “a step further.” He says that “through globally persistent, maritime forces, U.S. seapower will always exist primarily to fight and help win our nation’s wars but… we can do more.”^[6] When Tropical Cyclone Sidr struck the southern coast of Bangladesh on November 15, 2007, U.S. Navy Sailors and Marines offered almost immediate assistance. Within days, the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), embarked on the amphibious ship Tarawa, was in the devastated country providing crucial care to wounded and displaced citizens.^[24] Military corpsmen and doctors bandaged the wounded and worked in concert with the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) helping the neediest from a storm that left several hundred thousand Bangladeshis homeless. After the storm, U.S. service members also provided maritime security patrols around the coast of Bangladesh.

The military sea services also responded swiftly to the tsunami that struck Indonesia and Southeast Asia in December 2004. Marines from Naval Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit Six (NEPMU-6) left their home base of Pearl Harbor a few days later deploying to Indonesia. Once there, dozens of NEPMU members provided humanitarian support including medical help and conducted water quality testing and insect collection for disease examination.^[25] Less than a week after the storm hit, Navy helicopters from the aircraft carrier, Abraham Lincoln were flying over the Indian Ocean transporting supplies, bringing in disaster relief teams and supporting humanitarian airlifts to tsunami-stricken coastal regions.^[26]

The U.S. Coast Guard provided relief to the tsunami affected regions of Southeast Asia delivering over 40,000 pounds of food January 21, 2005 in the form of emergency high energy biscuits, to Medan, Indonesia and over 21,000 pounds of medical supplies, and temporary shelters to Utaphao, Thailand via two Coast Guard C130 airplanes.^[27] Additionally, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Munro shuttled more than 80 tons of humanitarian relief supplies from Singapore to the Navy amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard for distribution to tsunami victims in northern Indonesia.^[28]

Admiral Gary Roughead said the U.S. response to the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia was, “a demonstration to ourselves and to others of the value of being able to render humanitarian assistance and disaster response from the sea.” He added, “There is no way we could have done it without the sea-based capabilities of a aircraft carrier and expeditionary forces.”^[6]

The U.S. sea services also respond to domestic emergencies when needed… When Hurricane Katrina flooded large portions of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005, maritime forces responded. Following the late-summer storm, Harry S. Truman, Iwo Jima and other Virginia-based Navy ships headed to the Gulf Coast to help with relief efforts^[29]. Thousands of military members were dispatched including Naval Mobile Construction Battalions and six Disaster Relief Teams (DRTs) providing amphibious construction equipment, medical personnel and supplies to the flooded areas.

In solidarity, Lane Anderson