The Afghan economy — measured in GDP — stopped growing in 2012 and has since retrenched. After a $126 billion U.S. relief and reconstruction investment lasting nearly two decades, Afghanistan is the 183rd worst country in the world to “do business.” Less than a third of Afghans are connected to the power grid. The few economic … Continue reading The terrible consequences of the USA’s Afghan War
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SIPRI: Global military spending remains high at $1.7 trillion
(Stockholm, 2 May 2018) Total world military expenditure rose to $1739 billion in 2017, a marginal increase of 1.1 per cent in real terms from 2016, according to new figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). China’s military expenditure rose again in 2017, continuing an upward trend in spending that has lasted for … Continue reading SIPRI: Global military spending remains high at $1.7 trillion
Don’t Buy Don’t Sell: Germany – Turkey
The potential of Five Percent Campaign's "Don't Buy Don't Sell" campaign concept is well illustrated in Germany's recent civil society activities. After Turkey's latest "Operation Olive Branch" was exposed to show that German-made tanks were used against Kurdish groups in Syria (who were significant local allies of the USA's fight against the Islamic State), the … Continue reading Don’t Buy Don’t Sell: Germany – Turkey
A new America’s drone base in Niger
Taken together, these parallel missions reflect a largely undeclared American military buildup outside the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, often with murky authorities and little public attention, unfolding in remote places like Yemen, Somalia and, increasingly, West Africa. ... Where American and Nigerien officials see enhanced security in drone operations — for surveillance, strikes or … Continue reading A new America’s drone base in Niger
Cambridge Analytica is what happens when you privatise military propaganda
by Adam Ramsaym, openDemocracyUK "The Gulf War Did Not Take Place". This audacious claim was made by the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard in March 1991, only two months after NATO forces had rained explosives on Iraq, shedding the blood of more than a hundred thousand people. To understand Cambridge Analytica and its parent firm, Strategic Communication Laboratories, … Continue reading Cambridge Analytica is what happens when you privatise military propaganda
Transform defence for sustainable human safety 