Thoughts for the New Year 2005

17. Dezember 2005

Dear Friends:

Christmas, the festival of peace, is upon us.
PEACE?

Former generals and specialists, responsible for the limitation and non-proliferation of atomic weapons warn us, that the world is closer than ever before to experience the use of these weapons. But who of us believes in these warnings or takes them seriously?

I fear that one of these days we will wake up to the use of hese weapons. Where will it happen?

Somewhere in the world through a terrorist, in the general area of Israel, Pakistan or India or through a drunken commander of a submarine who speaks Russion, French or English?

I have lost hope that our goverments, our secular institutions or our churches , all of which believe in laws against killing, will show us ways leading to the elimination of all sanctioned killings. So declares a Christian church in its latest catechism:

Avoiding war

All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war. However, "as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed."

The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:

• the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
• all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
• there must be serious prospects of success;
• the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated.

The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.

Who, I wonder, is supposed to verify these four conditions?

No, the hope for a change of this situation can come only from us all, from all people of good will..

KILLING IS OUT! TOETEN IS PASSE!

At least the member states ot the European Union have eliminated the death sentence imposed formerly through the judical system of these states. This is a first step. We the people, each of us, have to show our goverments and churches the way:

KILLING IS OUT! TOETEN IS PASSE!

But encouraging news can be read in some newspapers:

Late September the Minister President of Sweden announced that his country within 15 years will be independent of the use of oil, gas and coal through the use of renewable energy sources. By 2020 Sweden will totally eliminate the use of fossil fuels for the generation of electricity.

In the coming years power plants using only renewable fuels will be built to produce 10% more electricity than all presently running power plants using oil, gas or coal.(2003 13,5 tera watt). This will even make possible an increase of the export electricity produced through renewable sources.

Providing Sweden really will be successful by 2020 in fulfilling this formidable plan I will nominate Sweden for the NOBEL PEACE PRICE . It will not be necessary for this country any more to wage war for securing her oil imports. Even wars with Iraq or other oil rich countries can be stopped providing we plan similar steps and we commit ourselves to similar action.

This is my peace message:

KILLING IS OUT! TOETEN IS PASSE!

Let us forego the use of any oil!

Christmas is upon us, the Festival of Peace.

Greetings from Ithaca to all of you

Nancy and Roderich