The US stock exchange shot up on the re-election of President George W Bush, led by arms industry stocks. Presumably investors are confident that war and violence will continue to be used as a primary tool in international relations.
Yet analysts say 'moral issues' were uppermost in the minds of many of the midwest majority who voted republican and tipped the scales against John Kerry. Warmongering must, in the minds of these voters, have nothing to do with morals.
Closer to home, Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy has been awarded the Sydney Peace Prize. Roy is succinct on the arms industry, observing that weapons used to be manufactured to fight wars but these days wars are manufactured to sell weapons.
More from Arundhati Roy: 'Today, in a world convulsed by violence and unbelievable brutality the lines between 'us' and 'the terrorists' have been completely blurred. We don't have to choose between Imperialism and Terrorism, we have to choose what form of resistance will rid us of both. What shall we choose? Violence or non violence? We have to choose knowing that when we are violent to our enemies, we do violence to ourselves. When we brutalize others, we brutalize ourselves. And eventually we run the risk of becoming our oppressors'.
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