von Matt Meyer

Trotz jahrzehntelangem zivilem Widerstand in Afrika gegen Kolonialismus überrolt eine bösartige Landakquisitionsbewegung den Kontinent in einem seit den Eroberungen des 19. Jahrhunderts nie dagewesenen Ausmaß. Vorsichtig geschätzt wurden seit 2010 wesentlich mehr als 125 Millionen Morgen (Acres) Land – mehr als die doppelte Fläche von Großbritannien – an reiche Investoren oder ausländische Regierungen verkauft. China und Indien führen die Liste der staatlichen Einkäufer an und Goldman Sachs und JP Morgan die der multinationalen Firmenplünderer. Die am meisten durch die neuesten Verkäufe beeinträchtigten Ländern sind die Demokratische Republik Kongo, Eritrea und Äthiopien. Oxfam International hat berichtet, dass in manchen Fällen Land für weniger als 40 Cent pro Morgen verkauft wurde.

So the no-news is that for the year 2011 the total world military spending amounted to $1,74 trillion ($1,740,000,000,000) as announced by SIPRI on the 17 April - which coincided with the Global Day of Action on Military Spending. This is just a "slight" increase from last year, just 0.3 percent. According to SIPRI, this figure means that for the first year in 13 years, the world military spending has leveled out.

Jungmin Choi

On 19 March, massive blasting of the Gureombi rock, the symbol of the campaign against the new naval base in South Korea's Jeju Island, began. There was blasting, of course, before that, but it's different now because while the blasting so far has been of the fields near the Gureombi rock to make the worksite for Caisson, now the blasting is of the Gureombi rock itself. This is the first time the Gureombi rock has been affected since Samsung C&T first pressed ahead with blasting. At the start of this new phase, Gangjeong villagers and peace activists resisted fiercely, but the police had organised protection for Samsung C&T and violently arrested protesters so that Samsung C&T could continue working. The Gangjeong Village Council strongly protested, saying that Samsung is a merchant of death, destroying natural heritage and building a war base, and appealed for various kinds of online and direct action against Samsung. From 17 March, there was a Catholic mass every day to urge the stopping of the blasting, and demanding the release of prisoners, this was in front of the Samsung C&T building and in support of the campaign against the Samsung credit card. In these ways, the nonviolent action aimed at Samsung C&T was designed to make the struggle more of a national issue.

Tim Wright

Each year, the nine nuclear-armed nations spend a combined total of more than US$100 billion on their nuclear forces – assembling new warheads, modernizing old ones, and building ballistic missiles, bombers and submarines to deliver them. Much of this work is carried out by private corporations, which are financed by a vast web of financial institutions around the world.

• Over 130 events planned in 40 countries on April 17
• Actions come as new global military spending data released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
• Action coincides with U.S. Tax Day

Washington DC/Geneva – Over 130 different actions will take place in 40 countries worldwide, with participation in over 50 cities in the United States alone. The events, which coincide with Tax Day in the United States, emphasize the staggering amount of taxpayer money that goes toward military spending. Amidst global economic and climate crises, groups will be calling for a shift in spending from war and militarism to expenditures on human need. [FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS HERE.]An annual report on global military spending will be released on the same day, and is expected to show an increase.