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When this ends, and it will, and the dust settles and our societies return to a sense of normality.
We need to empower the UN as never before, and as world citizens begin a sea change for the planet and its population.
Conflict, weapons, inter country/religious/ideology conflict and the disgusting concept of a nuclear / biological weapons arsenal need to END.
The environment, the natural world and the health of people are where focus and money should be channelled.
The thought of US citizens queuing for guns at this time, rather than moving to solidarity.
The world spent 1.8 trillion on military expenditure, 1.8 trillion, that money should have been spent on jobs on industries that help and provide resilience to our planet and its people. Think of the number of ventilators and flexible bed capacity, and disease / vaccine research that could have funded.
Disgusting that much of that money is spent on devices that kill and take human life. Something we see as so precious in these troubling times.
Feck war, feck guns, feck disgusting biological and chemical Weapons, feck the nuclear arsenal. You think of the fear of Coronavirus in Syria and its refugee camps, a country who’s health infrastructure is decimated.
“Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilisation, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbour life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”
End to war, arms industry and nuclear arsenal on 11:03 - Mar 18 by Epiphone
Whist I agree with you 100% it’s never going to happen,too much money to be made by the military/industrial machine.
We could always unite, take action and fight back. The immediate future is the time for radical change. Us plebs hold more cards than we have in a long time.
End to war, arms industry and nuclear arsenal on 10:57 - Mar 18 by WeWereZombies
it's time for that quote again:
“Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilisation, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbour life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”
From Carl Sagan 'Pale Blue Dot'
One of the most inspiring things ever written, and I've said for the past couple of years that reading it, plus viewing the "earthrise from space" video/still, plus Commander Chris Hadfield's view from the ISS, should be compulsory for every leader of every country on the planet,
Former Commander Hadfield said that seen from space, Earth has no borders; nor is the name of any country written across it. Never has that proved more true than now, both in terms of Covid-19 and climate change.
Ironic that for decades we've seen man-made things - potential nuclear holocaust (#BanTheBomb!) and terrorism as the biggest threats, along with climate change - yet the thing that's actually brought the planet to a grinding halt is one of the lowest forms of life! #MotherNature
We can live in hope. But after the First World War and Spanish flu pandemic, you'd have thought we'd have been similarly careful about safeguarding human life.
However that, coupled with the Great Depression, was the springboard for a whole new level of craziness within the space of a generation.
I think we're more socially evolved now and we're much more conscious of human rights, equality and sustainability. But we've seen how quickly those can be ignored for selfish and nationalistic interests.
End to war, arms industry and nuclear arsenal on 11:54 - Mar 18 by Darth_Koont
We can live in hope. But after the First World War and Spanish flu pandemic, you'd have thought we'd have been similarly careful about safeguarding human life.
However that, coupled with the Great Depression, was the springboard for a whole new level of craziness within the space of a generation.
I think we're more socially evolved now and we're much more conscious of human rights, equality and sustainability. But we've seen how quickly those can be ignored for selfish and nationalistic interests.
"We can live in hope. But after the First World War and Spanish flu pandemic, you'd have thought we'd have been similarly careful about safeguarding human life."
We're so far removed from a national or global threat I think divisive politics have snuck back in gradually.
End to war, arms industry and nuclear arsenal on 11:31 - Mar 18 by Ryorry
One of the most inspiring things ever written, and I've said for the past couple of years that reading it, plus viewing the "earthrise from space" video/still, plus Commander Chris Hadfield's view from the ISS, should be compulsory for every leader of every country on the planet,
Former Commander Hadfield said that seen from space, Earth has no borders; nor is the name of any country written across it. Never has that proved more true than now, both in terms of Covid-19 and climate change.
Ironic that for decades we've seen man-made things - potential nuclear holocaust (#BanTheBomb!) and terrorism as the biggest threats, along with climate change - yet the thing that's actually brought the planet to a grinding halt is one of the lowest forms of life! #MotherNature
Your post triggered a recognition for me, Chris Hadfield. One of my kids, and shamefully I cannot even remember which one, gave me a book for Christmas or birthday some years ago called 'You Are Here'. I have just gone and taken it off the bookshelf and there it is, the author's name is Chris Hadfield. I am going to have to read it now.
And, coincidentally enough, I started to watch 'Earth from Space' off the iPlayer late last night. Only got twelve and a half minutes into it before tiredness overcame me but, with just a month left before they take it down, something else in a similar vein to keep me away from stupid spats on TWTD.
End to war, arms industry and nuclear arsenal on 11:57 - Mar 18 by WeWereZombies
Your post triggered a recognition for me, Chris Hadfield. One of my kids, and shamefully I cannot even remember which one, gave me a book for Christmas or birthday some years ago called 'You Are Here'. I have just gone and taken it off the bookshelf and there it is, the author's name is Chris Hadfield. I am going to have to read it now.
And, coincidentally enough, I started to watch 'Earth from Space' off the iPlayer late last night. Only got twelve and a half minutes into it before tiredness overcame me but, with just a month left before they take it down, something else in a similar vein to keep me away from stupid spats on TWTD.
Can give you my Skype if you fancy a personal spat off TWTD?
End to war, arms industry and nuclear arsenal on 11:54 - Mar 18 by Darth_Koont
We can live in hope. But after the First World War and Spanish flu pandemic, you'd have thought we'd have been similarly careful about safeguarding human life.
However that, coupled with the Great Depression, was the springboard for a whole new level of craziness within the space of a generation.
I think we're more socially evolved now and we're much more conscious of human rights, equality and sustainability. But we've seen how quickly those can be ignored for selfish and nationalistic interests.
And coupled with the fact that some people are power-crazed ar5eholes.
Presumably you saw that Putin is overturning the rules that limit their Presidential terms. Pretty much a dictator in all but name. Shows what a sham 'democracy' can be. Sure there's a few elections to get through, but he seems pretty adept at controlling those.
End to war, arms industry and nuclear arsenal on 11:57 - Mar 18 by WeWereZombies
Your post triggered a recognition for me, Chris Hadfield. One of my kids, and shamefully I cannot even remember which one, gave me a book for Christmas or birthday some years ago called 'You Are Here'. I have just gone and taken it off the bookshelf and there it is, the author's name is Chris Hadfield. I am going to have to read it now.
And, coincidentally enough, I started to watch 'Earth from Space' off the iPlayer late last night. Only got twelve and a half minutes into it before tiredness overcame me but, with just a month left before they take it down, something else in a similar vein to keep me away from stupid spats on TWTD.
BBC's 13 Minutes to the Moon podcast was recommended to me yesterday by a work colleague. They're on the 2nd series (I wasn't aware of the first) - meant to be really interesting, using a lot of real mission control audio from the Apollo 13 mission.
End to war, arms industry and nuclear arsenal on 12:04 - Mar 18 by Swansea_Blue
BBC's 13 Minutes to the Moon podcast was recommended to me yesterday by a work colleague. They're on the 2nd series (I wasn't aware of the first) - meant to be really interesting, using a lot of real mission control audio from the Apollo 13 mission.
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