A thousand years of train rides

When Aaron and Ralph figured out we could get monthly train passes for a thousand years with what the U.S. military spent every minute in 2008, we were gobsmacked.

And even if you let your imagination take wing -- say, for example, what if you bought a helicopter, hired a pilot, bought helipad space in the city -- you could do all that for what the military spent in the 10 minutes it took Aaron to walk to the station: $19 million. *

Not only that, you'd have enough left over for two or three (million) lattes.

You'd be awake for at least a thousand years on that much coffee.

With $1.9 million, we could educate children in Afghanistan. Help heal the wounds of the tsunami and of decades of civil war in Aceh. Make sure students in the United States know there are honorable, peaceful alternatives to military service.

Don't miss the train on this one. Help us wage peace.


* Used commercial Bell helicopter: $3.5 million
Private pilot: $100,000 a year
City lot near work for helipad: $5 million
Fuel and maintenance per hour of flight time: $300
Large latte: $4 (with generous tip)

Peace Indicator: 195,000

This week's Peace Indicator is 195,000.

Since its formation in 1961, more than 195,000 people have served in the Peace Corps. Those volunteers have served in 139 countries and provided a wide variety of services. The Peace Corps is just one of many groups (including AFSC) that help people find ways to put their desire to do good into action.

Peace is Brewing

This weeks video features my coffee pot.



While doing some research for this video I found that a lot of Americas drink coffee, 52% to be exact. Not only that, but we spend a lot of money on coffee about $4 billion dollars worth in 2008 alone.

Well that's just a drop in the pot to The US Military who spent that amount in only 35 hours.

My coffee pot is steamed and so am I.

Peace Indicator: 5

Five is the number of Nobel Peace Prize lectures you can watch on the Nobel web site.

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2005/elbaradei-lecture.html

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2006/yunus-lecture.html

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2007/ipcc-lecture.html

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2007/gore-lecture.html

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2008/ahtisaari-lecture.html

Before 2005, the site has summaries only.

The bedbug factor

Sometimes peace is as simple as getting rid of bedbugs.

That was the case in New Hampshire recently, when African refugees living in a Manchester apartment building complained to AFSC's Maggie Fogarty about a bedbug infestation.

Bedbugs aren't our usual line of work. Creating a better world is — in this case, a world free of bedbugs.

AFSC and its partner, the Granite State Organizing Project,teamed up to bring the whole community together to help the building's residents. GSOP is a coalition of religious, community, and labor groups.

In addition, a number of government agencies, churches, and even students from a local college are involved in stamping out the infestation.

Despite the costs of pest control, replacing furniture, and staff time, this effort will all cost a fraction of the $1.9 million the U.S. military spent every minute in 2008. Yet many lives now and in the future will be better because of it.

"It's not just about bedbugs," Maggie Fogarty said. "We need to learn together how to prevent these infestations so that no one has to endure what these tenants are experiencing."

***

Listen to a report about the project on New Hampshire Public Radio.

Greyhound for Peace

This week’s video feature’s Rosie’s friend Patrick (they actually do co-exist quite happily).

After seeing the carrot that Rosie got for her video, Patrick was quite jealous and wanted to make one of his own.

Patrick’s been a long-time peace advocate, last appearing in AFSC’s Friends For Peace campaign several years ago. He’s quite sure if greyhounds ran the world there wouldn’t be any wars — although life might move at a much faster pace — and we’d all spend a lot more time snuggling with our dogs.

Patrick would like to thank Sax in the Suburbs for their musical support.

Peace Indicator: 1.6 billion

The number of people with access to safe drinking water rose by 1.6 billion since 1990 — from 4.1 billion in 1990 to 5.7 billion in 2006.

These numbers come from the World Health Organization.

For more information on how the world's health is improving, visit http://www.who.int/research/en/

For detailed information on world health, visit http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/2009/en/index.html

Path to peace includes healthcare

This week's video features AFSC staff member M'Annette Ruddell talking about how she would spend $1.9 million per minute.



M'Annette would like to see the U.S. place a higher priority on caring for its citizens instead of bringing harm to others. With so many Americans living without health insurance, and without easy access to even basic care, it's hard to argue with such a simple redirection of priorities.

How would you like to see the U.S. use its resources?

Peace Indicator: 100

The goal of the planners of the NNOMY conference, held recently in Chicago, was to have 100 youth attend; they exceeded their goal.

NNOMY is the National Network Opposing Militarization of Youth, which AFSC helped to found and we have staff on the steering committee. NNOMY's conference this summer brought together youth from across the country, and gave them opportunities to share their experiences and insights.

AFSC helped get busloads of kids of the conference, which everyone reported as being a big success. You can see a slide show from the conference, and read more about the experience on our main web site.