Aftermath Would be Worse than a Nuclear War

March 9, 2014

KENT SHIFFERD - What could be worse than a nuclear war? A nuclear famine following a nuclear war. And what follows famine is epidemic disease. What can you do? The only way to assure ourselves this global disaster will not happen is to join the global movement to abolish all weapons of...

Obama Pronouncements about International Law Are Hypocritical

March 7, 2014
Obama Pronouncements about International Law Are Hypocritical

NORMAN SOLOMON - International law is suddenly very popular in Washington. President Obama responded to Russian military intervention in the Crimea by accusing Russia of a “breach of international law.” . . . Unfortunately, during the last five years, no world leader has done more to undermine international law than Barack Obama. He treats...

The Man Behind the Exploding Trains

March 6, 2014
The Man Behind the Exploding Trains

ERIC DE PLACE and RICH FELDMAN - In our previous installment, we explored how unsafe DOT-111s, the Ford Pinto of rail cars, make up the vast majority of oil-filled tank cars now riding the rails in North America. With DOT-111s, there is no margin for error. A serious derailment will almost always lead to...

The Purposely Confusing World of Energy Politics

March 4, 2014
The Purposely Confusing World of Energy Politics

RICHARD HEINBERG - Life often presents us with paradoxes, but seldom so blatant or consequential as the following. Read this sentence slowly: Today it is especially difficult for most people to understand our perilous global energy situation, precisely because it has never been more important to do so. Got that? No? Okay, let me...

Encouraging News from Oregon’s Junior Senator

March 3, 2014
Encouraging News from Oregon’s Junior Senator

JEFF MERKLEY - As a new member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I've fought to invest in, rather than undermine, our environment. And I have some good news: in the compromise spending bill that passed Congress (in late January), we secured renewed support for our Northwest environment, and succeeded in pushing back on several...

Update: Radiation Leaks from New Mexico Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Facility

March 1, 2014

SUSAN GORDON - Southwest Research and Information Center (SRIC) has carefully followed information about the radiation leak from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) that was first identified at approximately 11:30 pm on Friday, February 14, 2014. (See PeaceWorker article, "Excessive Radiation Levels Detected at New Mexico Waste Site," published Feb....

Why Nonviolent Direct Action?

February 28, 2014
Why Nonviolent Direct Action?

RALPH HUTCHINSON - [Editor’s Note: In the wake of the sentencing of 3 nonviolent objectors at the Y12 bomb plant in Oak Ridge, TN to long prison terms, this author takes the judge to task for the advice he offered the defendants from the bench. He develops his challenge into an insightful explanation of...

Nuclear Weapon Resisters Sentenced to Long Prison Terms, Outrageous Fines

February 27, 2014
Nuclear Weapon Resisters Sentenced to Long Prison Terms, Outrageous Fines

JOHN LAFORGE - Three anti-war activists who easily snuck into what is touted as one of the country’s most secure nuclear weapons facilities were sentenced to long terms in federal prison Tuesday, Feb. 18. The three were convicted last May on felony charges of depredation of property and sabotage for their nonviolent action called...

U.S. Examines Afghanistan Option that Would Leave Behind 3,000 Troops

February 26, 2014
U.S. Examines Afghanistan Option that Would Leave Behind 3,000 Troops

KAREN DEYOUNG - One of the four options President Obama is considering for a U.S. military presence in Afghanistan beyond this year would leave behind 3,000 troops, based in Kabul and at the American installation at Bagram, U.S. officials said. The other options include more troops in two scenarios and none in another.

Fast Track to Income Inequality

February 24, 2014
Fast Track to Income Inequality

LORI WALLACH - Corporate interests were fiercely lobbying for President Obama to dedicate serious time in this State of the Union speech to pushing fast track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in order to try to overcome growing congressional and public opposition to both, but instead he made only a brief passing reference. No...

Excessive Radiation Levels Detected at New Mexico Waste Site

February 22, 2014

LAURA ZUCKERMAN - Underground sensors have detected excessive radiation levels inside a nuclear waste storage site deep below New Mexico's desert, but no workers have been exposed and there was no risk to public health, U.S. Department of Energy officials said on Sunday.

Obama Prepares Plan for Deeper Greenhouse Gas Pollution Cuts

February 20, 2014
Obama Prepares Plan for Deeper Greenhouse Gas Pollution Cuts

LISA F. FRIEDMAN - The Obama administration is quietly working on new greenhouse gas emissions targets to deliver to the United Nations, even as it struggles to craft regulations that will enable the United States to meet its current carbon-cutting goals.

If Obama Orders the CIA to Kill a U.S. Citizen, Amazon Will Be a Partner in Assassination

February 18, 2014
If Obama Orders the CIA to Kill a U.S. Citizen, Amazon Will Be a Partner in Assassination

NORMAN SOLOMON - President Obama is now considering whether to order the Central Intelligence Agency to kill a U.S. citizen in Pakistan. That’s big news this week. But hidden in plain sight is the fact that Amazon would be an accessory to the assassination.

Heads of 31 Nations Declare Zone of Peace

February 16, 2014
Heads of 31 Nations Declare Zone of Peace

DAVID SWANSON (post) - The Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), gathered in Havana, Cuba on January 28 and 29, 2014 at the Second Summit, declared a Zone of Peace.

Oregon Middle School Makes the Grade for “Zero Net Energy”

February 14, 2014
Oregon Middle School Makes the Grade for “Zero Net Energy”

CHRIS THOMAS - Two Oregon buildings are getting national attention for maximum energy-efficiency - and one is passing its benefits on to the next generation.

The Mythological Basis of Foreign Policy

February 12, 2014
The Mythological Basis of Foreign Policy

DAVID SWANSON - War gains support and acceptance from widespread belief in false information, and the accumulation of false information into generally false concepts or myths about war. This is good news, because it means we are not intractably divided by ideology or worldview. Rather, we will find more widespread agreement about war if...

World’s 85 Richest have Same Wealth as 3.5 Billion Poorest

February 10, 2014

RT - The world’s 85 wealthiest people have as much money as the 3.5 billion poorest people on the planet – half the Earth’s population. That’s according to Oxfam’s latest report on the risks of the widening gap between the super-rich and the poor.

Most Americans Agree About Global Warming, But Not Congress

February 9, 2014
Most Americans Agree About Global Warming, But Not Congress

WENDY KOCH - The vast majority of Americans in each of 40-plus states surveyed say global warming is real, serious and man-made, and the concerns tend to be slightly higher in coastal or drought-stricken areas, says an analysis out today.

A Nickel a Year Could Prevent Starvation in Afghanistan

February 7, 2014
A Nickel a Year Could Prevent Starvation in Afghanistan

KATHY KELLY - In Afghanistan, funds have been available for tanks, guns, bullets, helicopters, missiles, weaponized drones, drone surveillance, Joint Special Operations task forces, bases, airstrips, prisons, and truck-delivered supplies for tens of thousands of troops. But funds are in short supply for children too weak to cry who are battling for their lives...

New Year’s Resolution: Push US to Withdraw Military from Afghanistan

February 5, 2014
New Year’s Resolution: Push US to Withdraw Military from Afghanistan

JOHN LAFORGE - After so much blood and destruction in Afghanistan, a lot of people dream of Secretary of State John Kerry reviving his monumental 1971 question, “How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?”

They Never Announce When You Prevent a War

February 3, 2014
They Never Announce When You Prevent a War

DAVID SWANSON - If we can stop one war, if we can stop two wars, why can't we stop them all and put our resources into protection rather than destruction? Why can't we move to a world beyond war?

The Keystone Principle: Stop Making Climate Disruption Worse

February 1, 2014
The Keystone Principle: Stop Making Climate Disruption Worse

KC GOLDEN - President Obama was all over the map on climate in his State of the Union address Tuesday night -- exhorting us to do what's right and necessary to protect our grandkids, then turning around and defending his senseless and climate-destroying "All of the above" energy policy. But now, the president faces...

Kentucky Senators Boost Your Electric Bill

January 30, 2014
Kentucky Senators Boost Your Electric Bill

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON - Kentucky's two Republican senators, who built their political careers railing against unions and government spending, stuck people and businesses in the Pacific Northwest with hundreds of millions of dollars of debts plus higher costs for electricity. They did it to save union jobs by wasting millions in federal dollars. Confused?...

Cut Off the NSA’s Juice

January 28, 2014
Cut Off the NSA’s Juice

NORMAN SOLOMON - The National Security Agency depends on huge computers that guzzle electricity in the service of the surveillance state. For the NSA’s top executives, maintaining a vast flow of juice to keep Big Brother nourished is essential -- and any interference with that flow is unthinkable. But interference isn’t unthinkable. And in...

Vietnamese Cyber-Army Hacks Pro-Democracy Activists, Analysts Say

January 26, 2014

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - HANOI, Vietnam - Working on her blog in California one day, Vietnamese democracy activist Ngoc Thu sensed something was wrong. It took a moment for a keystroke to register. Cut-and-paste wasn't working. She had "a feeling that somebody was there" inside her computer. Her hunch turned out to be right.

The Only Way to Stop Climate Change Now May Be Revolution

January 24, 2014
The Only Way to Stop Climate Change Now May Be Revolution

ERIC HOLTHAUS - So it’s come to this. Last year, a researcher presented a paper on climate change at the American Geophysical Union’s meeting entitled ”Is Earth F**ked?” which advocated “environmental direct action, resistance taken from outside the dominant culture, as in protests, blockades and sabotage by indigenous peoples, workers, anarchists and other activist...

Will 2013 Be the Year Coal Died?

January 22, 2014
Will 2013 Be the Year Coal Died?

ANGUS DUNCAN - What was the biggest energy story of 2013 in the United States? Most observers would point to the vast, unlooked-for quantities of natural gas and oil released by new “fracking” recovery techniques. National oil production has surged by 30 percent just since 2011. Five yearsago the natural gas...

Nuclear Power: Not a Green Option

January 20, 2014

KENT D. SHIFFERD - There are other ways to make electricity, namely solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro dams, and there is always conservation. Why would anyone in their right mind risk going nuclear as a way to deal with global warming?

Retirement Theft in Four Despicable Steps

January 18, 2014

PAUL BUCHHEIT - The fear of running out of money in retirement is America's greatest financial concern. It's a fear greater than death. But the American workers who have paid all their lives for retirement security are being cheated by wealthy individuals and corporations who refuse to meet their tax obligations, and...

Former NSA Whistleblowers Plead for Chance to Brief Obama on Agency Abuses

January 16, 2014

RT.COM - A group of former National Security Agency insiders who went on to become whistleblowers have written a letter to President Barack Obama requesting a meeting with him to offer “a fuller picture” of the spy agency’s systemic problems.

Why the Washington Post’s New Ties to the CIA Are So Ominous

January 14, 2014
Why the Washington Post’s New Ties to the CIA Are So Ominous

NORMAN SOLOMON - American journalism has entered highly dangerous terrain. A tip-off is that the Washington Post refuses to face up to a conflict of interest involving Jeff Bezos -- who’s now the sole owner of the powerful newspaper at the same time he remains Amazon’s CEO and main stakeholder. The Post is supposed...

Let’s Learn from the History of the American People’s Support for War

January 12, 2014
Let’s Learn from the History of the American People’s Support for War

LAWRENCE WITTNER - There would certainly be less disillusionment, as well as a great savings in lives and resources, if more Americans recognized the terrible costs of war before they rushed to embrace it. But a clearer understanding of war and its consequences will probably be necessary to convince Americans to break out...

Trial of Anti-Nuclear Activists Ends with Unusual Sentence

January 11, 2014
Trial of Anti-Nuclear Activists Ends with Unusual Sentence

MEGAN FINCHER - Defense attorney Henry Stoever meekly approached the bench of Presiding Judge Ardie Bland Dec. 13, complaining that security had refused to let him bring certain pieces of evidence into the courthouse: a full-sized wooden door with a banner proclaiming, "Open the door to a nuclear...

U.S.’s Shame: Gitmo Violates Human and Legal Rights

January 10, 2014
U.S.’s Shame: Gitmo Violates Human and Legal Rights

JOHN LAFORGE - Four more innocents were released from America’s Robben Island this month. Our offshore penal colony at Guantanamo Bay still holds 158 prisoners, 84 of whom have been cleared for release. The men sent home were never charged with a crime and were cleared four years ago.

MLK’S Lessons for the Climate Justice Movement

January 8, 2014
MLK’S Lessons for the Climate Justice Movement

JOSE-ANTONIO OROSCO - Today, the annihilation of humanity looms again as a possibility because of climate change. In 1964, King could not have imagined the particular features of global environmental destruction that we now face. Yet, he had reflected carefully on the forms of action needed to avert mass extinction before, so his work...

Looking Beyond the Current Budget Agreement

January 7, 2014
Looking Beyond the Current Budget Agreement

GLEN GERSMEHL - It’s time for a serious New Year’s resolution: Among our friends and in citizen groups and faith communities to which we belong, we must discuss budget priorities and the elimination of wasteful and unnecessary defense spending. And we must take the next step and urge our elected officials to focus on...

Defense Secretary Hagel Reaffirms Climate Change, Sustainability are Central Military Concerns

January 6, 2014
Defense Secretary Hagel Reaffirms Climate Change, Sustainability are Central Military Concerns

BENJAMIN SCHNEIDER - It may come as a surprise to many Americans that the U.S. military is deeply committed to addressing the threat of climate change and developing renewable energy sources. That’s what Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel spoke about on Friday, Nov. 22, 2013, at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia,...

Conflict of Interest: The Washington Post and the CIA

January 4, 2014
Conflict of Interest: The Washington Post and the CIA

NORMAN SOLOMON - News media should illuminate conflicts of interest, not embody them. But the owner of the Washington Post is now doing big business with the Central Intelligence Agency, while readers of the newspaper’s CIA coverage are left in the dark.

U.S. Judge Says NSA Phone Surveillance is Lawful

January 2, 2014
U.S. Judge Says NSA Phone Surveillance is Lawful

JONATHAN STEMPEL - (Reuters; Dec. 27, 2013) - A federal judge ruled that a National Security Agency program that collects records of millions of Americans' phone calls is lawful, calling it a "counter-punch" to terrorism that does not violate Americans' privacy rights.

Police In Thailand Lay Down Vests and Barricades In Solidarity With Protestors

December 31, 2013
Police In Thailand Lay Down Vests and Barricades In Solidarity With Protestors

ISA ABU JAMAL - In a stunning turn of events today in Thailand, riot police yielded to the peaceful protesters they were ordered to harass and block. The police removed barricades and their helmets as a sign of solidarity.

Want to Win the Climate Debate? Stop Debating

December 29, 2013
Want to Win the Climate Debate? Stop Debating

LUCY EMERSON-BELL - In early November the Diane Rehm Show on NPR featured an episode on the natural gas boom in America. After panelists glorified the natural gas revolution, Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, chimed in by saying, "Nobody (on this panel) has mentioned climate change. What we should acknowledge is...

Anti-Drone Movement Prepares for Take Off

December 27, 2013
Anti-Drone Movement Prepares for Take Off

KEN BUTIGAN - An organizing summit held this past weekend at the Georgetown Law Center in Washington, D.C. — called Drones Around the Globe: Proliferation and Resistance — signaled another important milestone in the growth of the anti-drones movement. With 400 participants, including people from nations regularly under drone attack, the conference...

Oregon Megaload Protesters Savaged by Police

December 25, 2013
Oregon Megaload Protesters Savaged by Police

LYNN FITZ-HUGH - Hyperbole? You decide if this is how you believe the police should behave when citizens are exercising their constitutional right to free speech. On Monday, December 16, 16 people were arrested at two different locations on Hwy 26 outside John Day, OR. They were there in response to Omega...

Japan’s Deadly New ‘Fukushima Fascism’

December 23, 2013
Japan’s Deadly New ‘Fukushima Fascism’

HARVEY WASSERMAN - Fukushima continues to spew out radiation. The quantities seem to be rising, as do the impacts. The site has been infiltrated by organized crime. There are horrifying signs of ecological disaster in the Pacific and human health impacts in the U.S. But within Japan, a new State Secrets Act makes such...

War or Do Nothing? Alternative Options for Iran Still Needed

December 21, 2013
War or Do Nothing? Alternative Options for Iran Still Needed

TOM H. HASTINGS and ERIN E. NIEMELA - In the spirit of sharing what we’ve learned in our obscure field of Peace and Conflict Studies, let’s think about some possible conflict management methods unexamined by our decision-makers in their dealings with Iran and its uranium enrichment capacity.

Federal Court Vindicates Edward Snowden’s Actions

December 19, 2013
Federal Court Vindicates Edward Snowden’s Actions

ANTHONY D. ROMERO - Edward Snowden is a great American who deserves full immunity for his patriotic acts. When Snowden blew the whistle on the NSA, he single-handedly reignited a global debate about government surveillance and our most fundamental rights as individuals. On Monday, a federal judge vindicated Snowden's actions by declaring unconstitutional the...

350 Or Bust: Scientists Warn Even 2°C Warming Leads To ‘Disastrous Consequences’

December 17, 2013
350 Or Bust: Scientists Warn Even 2°C Warming Leads To ‘Disastrous Consequences’

JOE ROMM - Humanity is choosing to destroy a livable climate, warn 18 of the world’s leading climate experts in a new study. Led by James Hansen, they make the strongest case to date for a target of 350 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 in the air, or about 1°C (1.8°F) total warming.

Public Interest Groups Propose a Budget for People, Peace and Planet

December 15, 2013

PRESS RELEASE FROM ROOTS ACTION & OTHER GROUPS - (December 10, 2013, Washington, DC). Representatives from a broad coalition including over a hundred peace, anti-hunger, anti-poverty, environmental and community groups called upon Congressional leaders Tuesday to increase funding for a wide range of domestic programs by cutting runaway, dangerous military spending by 25 to...

Male Socialization – the Unconsidered Factor in Mass Shootings

December 13, 2013
Male Socialization – the Unconsidered Factor in Mass Shootings

ROB OKUN - As we prepare for the gut-wrenching first anniversary of Newtown on Saturday, I teeter back and forth between sadness and anger. Sadness that 20 six and seven year-olds were murdered—along with a half-dozen Sandy Hook Elementary School educators—and anger that public officials and most of the media still largely ignore the...

Portrait of a Corporate Criminal: General Electric

December 11, 2013
Portrait of a Corporate Criminal: General Electric

LAWRENCE WITTNER - Can the world’s biggest corporations act with impunity? When it comes to General Electric (GE) -- the eighth-largest U.S. corporation, with $146.9 billion in sales and $13.6 billion in profits in 2012 -- the answer appears to be “yes.”