September 2024 Newsletter
Issue #91
The Arms Trade

 The United States is the world’s top arms exporter, with sales from leading U.S. producers reaching
$285 billion.


For comparison, the United States contributes around $18 billion to the United Nations each year and roughly $70 billion on foreign aid -- which is slightly larger than what the government allocates annually to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Arms trade is a part of foreign policy: it’s used to support U.S. allies, as leverage in international agreements, and to help one side over another during a conflict.

The United States was responsible for 41.7% of international arms sales between 2019 and 2023, up from 38.6% between 2017 and 2021, suppling arms to more than 100 countries.


Countries that import weapons from the U.S. and the percentage of their military purchases from
American suppliers:

Democratic Republic of the Congo -- 100%
Montenegro --100%
Taiwan -- 99%
Japan -- 97%
Netherlands -- 94%
Togo -- 90%
Saudi Arabia -- 82%
Norway -- 82%
United Kingdom -- 76%
Morocco -- 75%
Italy -- 71%
Australia -- 67%
South Korea -- 63%


Between February 2022 and February 2024, the U.S. delivered or committed to $46 billion of weapons to Ukraine. In April, the U.S. approved another $61 billion in military support.


Types of arms the U.S. exports:

Aircraft -- 62.3%
Missiles -- 16.7%
Armored vehicles -- 10.4%
Air defense systems -- 2.9%
Sensors -- 2.8%
Engines -- 2.6%
Ships -- 1.3%
Naval weapons -- 0.9%
Artillery -- 0.2%


In the U.S., there are approximately 740,000 workers in the national defense industry.


Globally, the world’s biggest arms exporting countries are:
US -- 41.7%
France -- 10.9%
Russia -- 10.5%
China -- 5.8%
Germany -- 5.6%
Italy -- 4.3%
UK -- 3.7%
Spain -- 2.7%

Countries that have the highest military spending
per capita are:

Qatar -- $4,564
Israel -- $2,535
Saudi Arabia -- $1,928
Singapore -- $1,837
Kuwait -- $1,815
U.S. -- $1,815

There are 107 countries that spend less than 2% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on their military, 44 that spend 2-5% and 7 countries that spend more than 5%. These are:

Ukraine -- 9.5%
Saudi Arabia -- 8.2%
Oman -- 8.1%
Qatar -- 5.9%
Algeria -- 5.7%
Kuwait -- 5.7%
Israel -- 5.09%

The 5 largest arms importing countries in the world are: Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt, Australia and Algeria. Together they account for 35% of total
arms imports.

For more on War, click here.
Other Resources
Partnership for a World Without
Nuclear Weapons
Promotes the ratification and expansion of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons as well as other activities to protect all life and the environment from all forms of devastating nuclear harm caused by the development, testing, production, transport, possession, use, and threat of use of nuclear weapons. Aims to build a voluntary international network among various organizations of the Catholic Church and to encourage information sharing, exchange, and cooperation among member organizations.

For more on War, click here.
How to Prevent — or Stop — a War
A TED Talk, featuring Gabrielle Rifkind, the director of the Oxford Process, an organization dedicated to ending armed conflict. She shares how inclusive negotiating strategies can prevent war from breaking out or stop an ongoing conflict — and shows what we can do to make peace real for all. Watch now.

For more on War, click here.
The Intersection of War and Climate Change
A TED Talk, featuring youth advocate Victor Ochen, who says that conflict is the biggest barrier to tackling climate change. Having seen firsthand how war undermined Uganda's economic and environmental potential, he explains the need to address the shared root causes of conflict and climate issues — starting by empowering African youth. Watch now.

For more on the Environment, click here.
Earth’s Journey Into Hope: Reflections on Thomas Berry’s Great Work
By Brian Edward Brown. Considers the impact of Thomas Berry’s landmark text in ecological theology, The Great Work, on the 25th anniversary of its publication. Offers insights not only to Berry’s work but to the vital work before all of us. Reflects on where we have been to energize today’s movements for ecological well-being and provides a way forward, encouraging us to remember our human past and to step into our planetary future with the spiritual energy of Thomas Berry. Read more.

For more on the Environment, click here.
MoneyGeek
Offers tips and ideas for managing credit, reducing debt, saving for down payments and leveraging specialized mortgage solutions and home buying programs. Also provides information on loan options for low income buyers as well as low-income home buying programs such as grants and loans specific to low-income families, local initiatives and nonprofits and other special programs. Also has Homeless and Low-Income Student Resources. Learn more.

For more on Housing, click here.
National Voter Registration Day
A nonpartisan civic holiday dedicated to celebrating our democracy. Since its kickoff in 2012, the holiday and its team of thousands of partners have worked to get over 5 million Americans registered to vote in time for their next trip to the ballot box. Celebrated each September, National Voter Registration Day involves dedicated partners from all over the country focused squarely on growing our shared democracy. Resources include: Partner Resources, Toolkit for Election Offices, Trusted Voting Resources, Shop/Merchandise. Learn more.

For more on Voting Rights, click here.
Refugee on the Threshold
By Timothy Leacock. This is the true story of Ahmed, a Somali refugee who received a death threat in his homeland, departed on a perilous journey, requested asylum, and received jailed detention. The book chronicles Ahmed's courage and determination as he encounters roadblocks in the immigration courts and the friendships that changed the course of his life. The question he faced was could he prove he deserved asylum and cross the threshold, or would he be tossed back to his homeland, only to suffer certain death at the hands of a terrorist group known for carrying out their threats? Read more.

For more on Refugees, click here.
6 Essential Lessons for Women Leaders
A TED Talk, featuring former Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard and former Finance Minister of Nigeria Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who share practical insights and reflect on their experiences as women leaders in positions of global power. Together they share six standout lessons on what it takes to lead and build solidarity in the face of gender bias and stereotypes. Watch now.

For more on Gender Inequality, click here.
Catholic Women Preach: Raising Voices, Renewing the Church - Cycle C 
Edited by by Donnelly Elizabeth and Petrus Russ. A resource from FutureChurch, this is the third of a series of three volumes, following the C Cycle of the lectionary, offering homilies by Catholic women from the around the world. The texts are taken from an ongoing project, “Catholic Women Preach,” which features videos every Sunday. Though the texts are available on the website, this series makes them available in print form. Read more.
(Available September 25, 2024)

For more on Gender Inequality, click here.
PushBlack
The nation’s largest nonprofit media organization for Black Americans, reaching 9 million people across multiple platforms. Tells empowering stories on Black life and history that inspire people to take liberating actions in the best interest of Black communities. 

For more on Racism, click here.
The New Breadline:
Hunger and Hope in the Twenty-First Century
By Jean-Martin Bauer. A humanitarian leader with more than two decades of experience working for the United Nations, takes aim at the global food crisis—revealing how hunger anywhere affects lives everywhere and what steps can be taken to change course. Argues that the problem of hunger is always political—and like all political conditions, hunger is something we can work to change. Drawing from his fieldwork in the most hunger-prone countries across the globe—from Haiti, where elites hoard imported French cheese, to Madagascar, where foreign corporations are snatching up valuable land from local farmers, to America, where the lines at food banks continue to grow—weaves an understanding of the structural systems of racism, classism, and sexism that thwart true progress in the battle against hunger.

For more on Hunger, click here.
To Love Our Neighbors: Radical Practices in Solidarity, Sufficiency, and Sustainability
By Joe Blosser. Shows how true neighbor love is the long-term work of forming and maintaining more just communities. Weaves together resources in theology, community development, economics, anti-racism, and environmental sustainability to help community leaders, organizations, students, churches, and neighborhoods embrace solidarity for change. Guides readers to live in solidarity with others across our differences, exercise sufficiency in our economic lives, and care for the sustainability of our planet and communities. Read more.

For more Justice resources, click here.
Christ Without Borders
By Jacob Parappally. Develops critiques of Western Christian preoccupations with dogmas and doctrines about Jesus that “do not let the mystery of Christ be experienced by those who do not share” Jewish, Greco-Roman, Mediterranean, and European perspectives. Shows how the peoples of India and South Asia have experienced Jesus Christ and asks if these Christians have not themselves a valuable contribution to make to Christology. Read more.
(Available after September 25)

For more Justice resources, click here.
Oxford Process
An independent, conflict resolution organization that combines diplomatic, geopolitical and psychosocial expertise to ripen conditions for peacemaking. Also provides international mediation training and a safe space to incubate conflict prevention ideas.

For more Peace resources, click here.
Building Peace and Community: Alternatives to Violence Project Around the World
Edited by Graeme Stuart, Dawn Addy, Vaughn M. John, Betty McEady, John A. Shuford, Tonette S. Rocco. A resource from the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP), featuring 62 authors who discuss AVP’s experience in 21 different countries. By exploring ways in which AVP has adapted to different contexts, the challenges faced, the lessons learned, and the AVP’s impact on individuals and communities, they demonstrate AVP’s transformative power and the hope it offers in times of growing violence. Read more.

For more Peace resources, click here.
Important Dates This Month
Individuals Honored This Month
September 5th
If you can't feed a hundred people,
then feed just one.
September 14th
On behalf of my outraged Christian conscience, I raise my voice in protest [against the treatment of Jews], and I assert that all men, Aryans and non-Aryans, are brothers because they have been created by the same God; that all men, whatever their race or religion, have the right to be respected by individuals and states. The present anti-Semitic pressures flout human dignity and violate the most sacred rights of the human person and family.
September 22nd
Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don't dare express themselves.
September 30
I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.
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