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Demilitarization is Not a Dirty Word

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I came across this article pasted below on the blog Ten Thousand Things . It is a great resource for issues of peace and justice in the Asia Pacific. The question of militarism and militarization are so important in this world today because the nature of war has changed. For much of the word war is still bloody and gritty and in your face. But for the First World and its allies they get to embrace a different technological relationship to war, one that makes it far more virtual that real. While soldiers still die and still bleed, much of the war has been privatized and has become digital. It is now easier to wipe humans and communities from the map than ever before. A screen of irreality sits between you and the human lives on the other side. Buttons take the place of weapons, so in a way you actually don't hurt much of anything, tin men and metal birds do it all for you. In Guam, a place that sometimes celebrates the fact that it is the tip of America's spear, having a con

Messages of Solidarity for Gangjeong

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The Grand March for the Peace of Gangjeong received 45 messages of solidarity from around the world (one of them from me). All of them were translated into Korean so that the marchers could see the support and encouragement they were receiving from far off places such as Germany, Palestine, Ireland, India and even East Timor. Some of the messages are pasted below: ********************************** Taro Abe , Nagoya, Japan 皆さんの活動に心から敬意を表します。 「済州島平和の巡礼:カンジョンの平和のための大行進」 の成功をお祈りしています。 阿部太郎(名古屋市・日å本) 여러분의 활동에 진심으로 경의를 나타냅니다. "제주도 평화 순례 : 강정의 평화를위한 대행진 '의 성공을 기원합니다. 아베 타로 (나고야 · 일본) I sincerely express my respect to your struggle. I pray for the success of the 'Jeju Island Peace Pilgrim: Grand March for the Peace of Gangjeong.' Abe  Taro  (Nagoya, Japan) ………………………………………………………………………….. Elliott Adams , Past President, Veterans For Peace, USA  I served in the Republic Of Korea as part of the US Army, I have been to Jeju. The destruction of Gangeong