Arms Race = Suicide Race
The “Oppenheimer” movie and the Ukraine war have brought much-needed attention to the possibility of terminal war. The arms race will end the human race. To call nukes weapons of mass destruction comes nowhere near describing the level of devastation that their use would result in. To be clear, these are weapons of annihilation that would make Hiroshima and Nagasaki look trivial. And how are our great leaders addressing this existential threat? Instead of advocating universal nuclear disarmament countries led by the U.S. are spending billions to upgrade them. That’s a good definition of insanity. It’s nothing short of a miracle that nuclear war, the ending of the planet, has not happened. Can our luck last forever? The odds and logic say no. If we don’t reverse the insane arms race, we will be committing suicide.
Speaker
Koohan Paik-Mander
Koohan Paik-Mander is a journalist, author and peace and environmental activist. She serves on the boards of World BEYOND War and the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. Her articles appear in The Nation, The Progressive, Foreign Policy in Focus, and other publications. Her article “Whales Will Save the World’s Climate — Unless the Military Destroys Them First” was named by Project Censored as one of the top 25 censored stories of 2021-2022. She is co-author of The Superferry Chronicles: Hawaii’s Uprising Against Militarism, Commercialism and the Desecration of the Earth.
Samir Wahid –
What a good summary. Thanks for bringing this to the airwaves and media. Thank you for a job well done..
From a listener in California –
This arms race lecture was just haunting, debilitating even. But quite good, nonetheless. LOVED that you inserted “Howl” to help boneheads like me. But heartbreaking.
Koohan Paik-Mander –
What creative editing! I loved the insertion of the ORIGINAL recitation of Howl by Ginsberg! Fantastic!
Thank you for a job well done.
TIMOTHY DONNELLY –
Tremendous awareness of military’s huge footprint, tech-print and overall disruption of ecosystems. We are implementing as Koohan designates, ‘Smart Sea, Air, and Land’ as we embrace and fund developed EW (Electronic Warfare). She sings an old pacifist song. But Ignorance with Rage knows not. American ignorance, Chinese ignorance, North Korea ignorance, but all with the smarts to win. Most people all over this world are survival-wired in fear. So, what about trust and symbiosis? They, with the fastest missile wins…wins what? They, with the most advanced AI will overwhelm. The US ‘delusion’ in defending or “winning’ is also China, Russia, North Korea, and any other upstart nation’s equal “delusion.” This is not a US Problem it is the Human problem that Lewis Mumford called Insanity in books past. The real question is how to stop bullies and aggression and the parts of human nature that contain this?
listener in Albuquerque –
I heard on KUNM a remarkable summary of U.S. military activities in the Pacific Ocean and the effect on whales. The speaker, Koohan Paik-Mander, was outstanding. Thank you.
Toronto area listener –
Thank you for recommending this broadcast. I came in from doing yard work so I would not miss it. We have known about the threat to ocean life for some time but I was not aware, or ready to accept, the sheer extent of the all-encompassing global web that she described. Every year we hear that the US military has been allotted more money than has been asked for! The reality is so far beyond Stanley Kubrick’s movie Dr. Strangelove that it defies comprehension.
Jeff Gerrior –
My morning ritual was turned upside down as I sat transfixed by Ms. Paik-Mander’s sobering revelations and prescient warnings. I am still buzzing many hours later as I wonder what I could do to help reverse the course of what appears inevitable to our world and its people. Probably very little, but I’m heartened to have discovered this bold revolutionary and her mission to do something in the face of such utter madness.
Ron Solomon –
Totally agree with the 3 previous reviews. A fantastic job of pulling together all these inter-related issues that as she said, are completely ignored by the mainstream media. And to think that Donald Trump can convince a large chunk of the American people that all we have is fake news, but from the totally opposite perspective!
Doriane Regalia –
All Americans need to listen to this warning and move forward with this information to force our politicians, government and military to stand down in every way possible as urgently as possible.
Henry in CO –
What a good summary of the annihilation facing us. Thanks for bringing this to the airwaves and media.
Jerry Markatos –
Wow… Koohan Paik-Mander hand in hand with Allen Ginsberg… powerful radio, alongside Ginsberg’s Moloch as passionate warning!