The United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs made a statement on the occasion of GDAMS in support of our efforts to demilitarize for development. “In her message to mark the Global Day of Action on Military Spending, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Angela Kane, highlighted the vast hidden human cost of excessive [...]
Through four months of fruitful outreach, fortifying and expanding the network of civil society groups that make up the Global Day on Military Spending (GDAMS) coalition, the second Global Day last Tuesday, 17 April, was a tremendous success worldwide. The International Peace Bureau (IPB) and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) were able to convince [...]
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI, has published its annual calculations of global military spending. This year there is some reason for hope, as the slight increase in military spending around the world marks a major slowdown compared to global trends since September 11, 2001. Nevertheless, spending did go up from 2010, and modest cuts will not be enough to free up the resources necessary to reach the millennium development goals, nor to mark a true reversal of priorities from militarism and corporate greed to human needs and environmental sustainability.
The former Costa Rican President and 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner has done us the honor of putting together this video in honor of the Global Day of Action on Military Spending! Without an army, Costa Rica has been able to invest public resources in the public interest – education, healthcare, development, humanity. Arias shares [...]
Our final Newsletter before the big day on April 17th is here. In it you will find a summary of the events planned around the world – we’re on every continent, in more than 35 countries with over 100 actions! You’ll also see some important reminders on how to maximize your event’s impact. We especially [...]
January 27th, 2012 
editor 
In this article from The Atlantic Jeffery Smith breaks down the so-called ‘budget cuts’ to the Pentagon, touching on everything from jobs affected to potential security risks.
Smith states: “Actually, describing it as a cut is a misnomer. The plan actually calls for an increase in the national security budget over the next decade — but it would scale back the 18 percent boost previously set for that period.”
January 17th, 2012 editor 
There’s JUST FOUR DAYS remaining until GDAMS 2012! Check out this call to action, download it, and distribute it to your mailing lists, contacts, friends and relatives! Bajen el llamado a la participación en español aquí. Téléchargez l’appel à participation en français ici. Available for download in Chinese here. Available for download in Japanese here. [...]
January 13th, 2012 editor 
Not long ago, Bob Pollin, founding co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, appeared on the Real News to discuss PERI’s new report entitled “The U.S. Employment Effects of Military and Domestic Spending Priorities.” The report finds that compared to $1 billion spent on the military, 35% more jobs are created simply by returning the money to consumers through tax cuts, 50% more by clean energy investments, 53% more from health care and 138% more from education.
January 13th, 2012 editor 
In this op-ed from author Michael Klare, whose upcoming book The Race for What’s Left: The Global Scramble for the World’s Last Resources promises to deliver a fascinating if terrifying analysis of what’s in store for 21st century resource wars, we see a snapshot of the three hotspots for conflict between the U.S. and Iran, China and Russia over control of oil and gas trade. He writes:
“With energy demand on the rise and sources of supply dwindling, we are, in fact, entering a new epoch — the Geo-Energy Era — in which disputes over vital resources will dominate world affairs. In 2012 and beyond, energy and conflict will be bound ever more tightly together, lending increasing importance to the key geographical flashpoints in our resource-constrained world.
January 10th, 2012 editor 
For those unaware, AOL has a defense news service, mostly for the benefit of Military-Industrial Complex insiders who want to know how many drones the U.S. can export with the help of Congressional subsidies to the corporate welfare state.
Recently, one of the service’s contributors, retired Army Colonel Doug MacGregor – now executive VP of the Northern Virginia-based defense consulting firm Burke-MacGregor Group, LLC – wrote a piece on the role of military spending in the U.S. fiscal crisis.
January 10th, 2012 editor 
In Foreign Policy of all places, Barney Frank lays out a pretty spot-on deconstruction of some of the prevailing myths that have served to keep military spending on the rise in the U.S.
He writes:
“In the United States, cuts in public-sector spending have caused the loss of 550,000 public-sector jobs — think teachers, police, and firefighters — since January 2009, adding to the raw unemployment numbers and removing the multiplier effect that takes place when employees spend their paychecks.
January 9th, 2012 editor 
Reality is officially more absurd than parody, as the NDAA bestows even more power on the president than was granted to George W. Bush, making it legal for the U.S. to detain anyone they (secretly) deem a terror suspect, anywhere, anytime, indefinitely. If they don’t think it would just be easier to kill him/her.
EVENT REPORTS & PHOTOS
Photos, videos, and reports are coming in from all over the world. Check out our Event Reports page to see the worldwide success of GDAMS 2012!
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