FRAGMENTS OF MILITARISM

Article in the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions newspaper

* I got the above interview via email today from South Korea. The story ran in the union newspaper called "Work and World." One question they asked me, and my response, follows:

If there is anything that you can [suggest] to the KCTU that has a sociopolitical role in the progressive movement in South Korea, please tell?

It is my belief that under corporate globalization a plan is being developed to further militarize the world by expanding NATO and use this "global military alliance" to control resource extraction as fossil fuels and other important natural resources begin to decline on the planet. I now call this corporate globalization process "21st century feudalism." Space technology will become a key military tool to put this global control mechanism into operation. In order for us to effectively deal with this coming reality people must first know about it and understand it. All our movements must become much better at working together, sharing information, and developing strategies to counter these corporate domination plans. We must globalize our resistance to corporate domination. Some of this is happening today but not nearly enough. I'd like to be a part of finding ways to expand this kind of work.

* Also in the emails today was a story from Afghanistan by the Associated Press that reported how soldiers from the US Army's 10th Mountain Division stormed through a Swedish run charity hospital in central Afghanistan, breaking down doors and tying up staff in a search for militants.

The article reported that "The charity said on its Web site that the troops actions were not only a violation of humanitarian principles but also went against an agreement between NATO forces and charities working in the area."

* I took part in a meeting yesterday in Brunswick to begin organizing a statewide campaign to oppose the use of the closing Brunswick Naval Air Station as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Test Center. The base is set to be shut down in 2011. We had key organizers from around the state at the meeting. Since the state of Maine will be funding the "redevelopment" of the base at some level it makes this a statewide issue. All signs are showing us that the aerospace industry in Maine, and many leading politicians, are pushing this as a "jobs" program for the state.