Keeping Informed No 3.
This fortnight’s newsletter starts with a hyperlink that offers a call to action that should be heeded by all NZ organisations concerned with the global future. It will do little good to paint a NZ masterpiece on a rotting global canvas.
Recently, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) has been counting the cost of developing and maintaining nuclear arsenals. At the same time it has asked how the money might be better spent. The Russia Insider hyperlink in the Peace and Conflict Resolution section, looks at what might be the costs of actually harvesting the fruits of this orchard so long and lovingly tended by the deranged.
Still no unsubscribes from the previous two newsletters: recipients are welcome to do so. I apologise for being such a persistent bearer of bad news!
Global Governance
https://paddlenow.org.nz/a-bugle-call-for-sleepy-ears/ A former NZ ambassador to the UN speaks out on the urgent need to reform global governance. 7 minute read.
https://mailchi.mp/d3a607f7c1f7/news-from-democracy-without-borders-11986353?e=595cfab2d9 Worth a read for an insight into the contrast between the vibrancy of the global governance movement in Europe and the almost total lack of concern in New Zealand. 2 – 30 minute read (depending how deep you dig.)
Peace and Conflict Resolution
https://himalmag.com/nuclear-dangers-of-the-naval-kind-2019/ The inevitability of accidents as India and Pakistan expand their fleets of nuclear powered and armed submarines. 8 minute read
https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/10/article/rebuilding-syria-without-syrias-oil/ 5 minute read
https://russia-insider.com/en/top-russian-talk-show-rips-princeton-u-over-callous-fantasizing-about-nuking-russia-video/ri27737 The sad truth is that we, like Damocles, live with this sword dangled above our heads. Just one human error is required to break the horsehair from which the nuclear stand-off is suspended. 3 minutes incl. video.
https://www.history.com/news/what-was-the-sword-of-damocles For those who are interested in parables! 1 minute read
Environment and climate change
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/21/ocean-acidification-can-cause-mass-extinctions-fossils-reveal#targetText=Ocean%20acidification%20can%20cause%20the,66m%20years%20ago%20has%20revealed.&targetText=The%20researchers%20analysed%20small%20seashells,three%2Dquarters%20of%20marine%20species Ocean acidification: – a must read and possibly the most worrying aspect of the impending ecological disaster. 5 minute read
https://www.stopecocide.earth/newsletter-summary/rebels-alliances-and-reverse-christmas-cards An exciting newsletter from Stop Ecocide, one of a Paddle Now’s first supporters. 2 – 30 minute read.
https://www.dw.com/en/antarctic-marine-conservation-park-thwarted-by-china-russia/a-51089527 1 minute read
Human Rights
https://lobelog.com/changing-israels-behavior-will-require-much-more-than-tinkering-with-aid-and-loan-guarantees/#more-50797 5 minute read.
https://www.whistleblower.org/truthjailing/ Dealing to whistleblowers in the USA. 3 – 6 minute read
https://www.prosperity.com/rankings ‘Prosperity’ is measured against nine separate indicators of a society’s well-being. NZ comes second after Norway. As you go down the scale, the red zone indicates the countries most in need of assistance. A simple table over which you can ponder for more than five minutes.