Don’t Believe the NATO Hype: Alternatives Exist to War, Economic Crises

May 19, 2012
Don’t Believe the NATO Hype: Alternatives Exist to War, Economic Crises

DR. JOSEPH GERSON -Beyond this hysteria, peace, labor and immigrant rights activists and scholars are gathering in Chicago for the May 18-19 Counter-Summit for Peace and Economic Justice, to present the case against NATO-driven militarism.

Symbolic Court Finds Bush Guilty of War Crimes

May 17, 2012
Symbolic Court Finds Bush Guilty of War Crimes

BIG NEWS NETWORK.COM - George W. Bush and several other members of his administration have been found guilty of war crimes by the Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War.

Top 10 Electric Car Makers – United States 2012 EV Market Leaders

May 15, 2012
Top 10 Electric Car Makers – United States 2012 EV Market Leaders

JOHN ADDISON - Electric car sales triple in the U.S. each year – 20,000 in 2011, 60,000 or more in 2012, 180,000 or more in 2013. Accenture forecasts 1.5 million electric vehicles in the United States by 2015. Over 10 million electric vehicles are possible by 2020, especially if oil prices rise as battery...

Carbon Tax Needed to Protect Us from Coal

May 13, 2012
Carbon Tax Needed to Protect Us from Coal

TAMATA STATON, LAURA CARVER & PHILIP CARVER -An economically efficient policy would place a price-adder (tax) on fossil fuels based on their carbon-content. Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) has introduced legislation to price carbon emissions -- the Save Our Climate Act of 2011, H.R. 3242. Revenue is collected at the point of first...

99% Spring Disrupts Verizon Shareholder Meeting Six Times

May 11, 2012
99% Spring Disrupts Verizon Shareholder Meeting Six Times

DAVE JOHNSON- The highly-profitable company Verizon -- the 16th largest corporation in America -- is asking its workers for givebacks amounting to as much as $20,000 each, while tripling the compensation of CEO Lowell McAdam from $7.2 million to $23.1 million. The company made $22.5 billion in profits over the past four years while...

U.S.-Afghan Strategic Partnership: Where Are the Voices of Afghan Citizens?

May 9, 2012
U.S.-Afghan Strategic Partnership: Where Are the Voices of Afghan Citizens?

ERIN E NIEMELA - As the NATO summit approaches in May, throngs of peace protestors are expected to descend on Chicago to pressure the U.S.-led, 28-nation military alliance for an end to the war in Afghanistan. But for some activists, it will be too late to protest the greatest threat to a peaceful Afghanistan:...

Stop the Nuclear-Industry Welfare Program

May 7, 2012
Stop the Nuclear-Industry Welfare Program

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS AND RYAN ALEXANDER - Since 1948 the federal government has spent more than $95 billion (in 2011 dollars) on nuclear energy R&D. That is more than four times the amount spent on solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biofuels, and hydropower combined.

Who Are Those 1% Who Own America?

May 3, 2012
Who Are Those 1% Who Own America?

Jim Cook - After all the talk about "the 1%", who are these people really? Where do they work and how much do they really make? At the top of the list is Tim Cook, who replaced Steve Jobs at Apple.

2012 U.S. Peace Index Highlights America’s Most and Least Peaceful States and Cities

May 2, 2012
2012 U.S. Peace Index Highlights America’s Most and Least Peaceful States and Cities

MICHAEL SHANK AND CRAIG BROWNSTEIN - The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) announces the second annual release of the United States Peace Index (USPI). The 2012 USPI provides a comprehensive assessment of U.S. peacefulness at the state and city levels and analysis of the costs associated with violence and the socio-economic measures associated...

Tea Party and Occupy Share Some Similarities

May 1, 2012
Tea Party and Occupy Share Some Similarities

JOHN DARLING - Tea Party and Occupy supporters found that they have many similarities at a forum in Southern Oregon. In their first public outing together, Tea Party and Occupy backers — and an audience of 200 — found a lot of common ground. They agreed that corporations, lobbyists, the military and the federal...

The Shame of Nations: New Record Set for Spending on War

April 29, 2012
The Shame of Nations: New Record Set for Spending on War

LAWRENCE S. WITTNER -"World military spending reached a record $1,738 billion in 2011 -- an increase of $138 billion over the previous year. The United States accounted for 41 percent of that, or $711 billion."

Drone Activist Denied Visa

April 27, 2012
Drone Activist Denied Visa

SHAHZAD AKBAR - The drone campaign, which continues to be conducted without oversight and accountability, is documented to have taken a horrendous toll on the civilian population of these regions, the magnitude of which has only come to light through the efforts of grassroots activists such as Akbar.

Backward Glance and Some Advice for Dick Cheney

April 25, 2012
Backward Glance and Some Advice for Dick Cheney

CRAIG CLINE - Former Vice President Dick Cheney is the fortunate beneficiary of a heart transplant. I hope his new heart has more compassion than his old one did.

Victory Against ALEC – Objectionable Task Force Ends

April 23, 2012
Victory Against ALEC – Objectionable Task Force Ends

NANCY SCOLA - Public Safety and Elections was not quite a rogue unit, it was a distraction. Today's release from ALEC was titled 'ALEC Sharpens Focus,' and the theme continued in its body, which said the group was recommitting to its 'efforts on the economic front, a priority that has been the hallmark of...

Tax Time and Time to Re-Imagine Our Broken Food System

April 21, 2012
Tax Time and Time to Re-Imagine Our Broken Food System

DR. WILL TUTTLE - "organic foods are not only not subsidized, but organic growers are actually penalized by being forced to pay large amounts of money to have their products certified as organic"

The Tyranny of Freedom

April 19, 2012
The Tyranny of Freedom

WILLIAM DERESIEWICZ - Freedom has become the be-all and the end-all of our political expectation, the full meaning of the American experiment. Justice is gone, and even more conspicuously banished is that term of terms for movements from abolitionism to feminism, for Lincoln and King: equality.

Vermont Senate Votes to Amend Ending Corporate Personhood

April 17, 2012
Vermont Senate Votes to Amend Ending Corporate Personhood

MOVE TO AMEND - Vermont is poised to become the first state to call for an amendment to abolish the doctrine known as “Corporate Personhood” which gives corporations constitutional rights meant to protect people.

Lawsuit Challenges Steens Mtn. Wind Project

April 15, 2012
Lawsuit Challenges Steens Mtn. Wind Project

PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE - The project would dissect land protected by Congress in 2000. Brent Fenty, executive director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA), says going to court was a last resort.

Thinking the Unthinkable on Iran

April 13, 2012
Thinking the Unthinkable on Iran

EDITOR'S NOTE - This article adds to the peace movement’s usual analysis, which views control of oil supplies as the driving force behind U.S. policy toward Iran, the notion that nuclear nonproliferation might actually be the prime objective. Whether or not you believe that nonproliferation is the most important aspect, it is reasonable to...

Why the 99% Spring?

April 11, 2012
Why the 99% Spring?

GEORGE GOEHL - We live in an America where more than 46 million Americans live below the poverty level. This is the highest poverty rate since the Census Bureau began publishing such figures.

Is New Bill a Clampdown on Protest?

April 9, 2012
Is New Bill a Clampdown on Protest?

RUSS BAKER - Is the president being asked to pound yet another nail into the coffin of democratic expression? So say alarmist scenarios concerning HR 347 (the Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011), now on the president’s desk.

Occupy Wall Street May Be Changing Wall Street Firms

April 7, 2012
Occupy Wall Street May Be Changing Wall Street Firms

KHADEEJA SAFDAR - The majority of marketing and communications executives at financial services firms said that Occupy Wall Street has impacted their business, according to a study...

Congress Needs to Hear No Iran War Message NOW

April 5, 2012
Congress Needs to Hear No Iran War Message NOW

REBECCA GRIFFIN - Tell your representative and senators to oppose bills that bring us closer to war with Iran, and to support diplomacy.

No Justice Without Peace

April 3, 2012
No Justice Without Peace

BY DAVID SWANSON - We've done something worse than get our priorities wrong when we've moved resources to harming people rather than helping people.

Everyone Matters

April 1, 2012
Everyone Matters

BY KEN BUTIGAN - Larry taught me that everyone matters, and it was this primal lesson that consciously and unconsciously fueled a longing within for a world whose policies, structures and conditions reflected this most basic fact.

Does the United States Spend Too Much on Homeland Security?

March 30, 2012
Does the United States Spend Too Much on Homeland Security?

BY JOHN MUELLER AND MARK G. STEWART - In seeking to evaluate the effectiveness of the massive increases in homeland security expenditures since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the common and urgent query has been, "Are we safer?" This, however, is the wrong question.

Try a Little Nuclear Sanity

March 28, 2012
Try a Little Nuclear Sanity

LAWRENCE S. WITTNER - On February 8, 2012, Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) took to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to introduce the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures Act (H.R. 3974).

Tax on Out-of-State Political Money Could Outflank Citizens United

March 26, 2012
Tax on Out-of-State Political Money Could Outflank Citizens United

ROB HAGER - In southern Minnesota (Paul Wellstone country), a new revolt against money in politics has started. Should this revolt spread, it would provide a far quicker and more effective grassroots strategy to get big and corporate money out of more elections than the popular but misguided campaign to pass municipal resolutions...

5 Freedom-Killing Tactics Police Will Use to Crack Down on Protests in 2012

March 24, 2012
5 Freedom-Killing Tactics Police Will Use to Crack Down on Protests in 2012

STEVEN ROSENFELD - Across America many cities and police forces are eyeing new ways to crack down on protesters. The First Amendment right to assemble and protest is going to get a black eye in 2012—as it has every time there has been an upsurge in America’s social justice movements.

Even Cato Institute Agrees that Nuclear Iran is an Exaggerated Threat

March 22, 2012
Even Cato Institute Agrees that Nuclear Iran is an Exaggerated Threat

MALOU INNOCENT & JONATHAN OWEN - The Republican presidential hopefuls, Ron Paul excepted, would prefer a more bellicose response to Iran’s nuclear aspirations than President Obama’s current stance. Cato Institute staff argue that this is approach is flawed.

America’s Plutocrats Play the Political Ponies

March 20, 2012
America’s Plutocrats Play the Political Ponies

SAM PIZZIGATI - Any resemblance between democracy and U.S. Presidential politics has become, in our new super PAC era, purely coincidental. The only mystery: Why aren’t billionaires making even bigger bets?

What We Have to Do to Secure a Rosy Future

March 18, 2012
What We Have to Do to Secure a Rosy Future

TOM MURPHY - In this post, I offer a rosy vision for what I think we could accomplish in the near term to maximize our chances of coming out shiny and happy on the tail end of the fossil fuel saga.

Avoiding War with Iran Requires Creative Thinking

March 16, 2012
Avoiding War with Iran Requires Creative Thinking

SUSI SNYDER - The European Union, as a key actor in global non-proliferation and disarmament discussions, and charged with facilitating dialogue with Iran over its nuclear program, bears a specific responsibility to encourage a peaceful negotiated solution based on mutual trust and respect for all parties.

Murder Is Legal, Says Attorney General

March 14, 2012
Murder Is Legal, Says Attorney General

DAVID SWANSON - Attorney General Eric Holder explained last week why it's legal to murder people...

Department of Defense Should Further Reduce Its Budget

March 10, 2012
Department of Defense Should Further Reduce Its Budget

CRAIG CLINE - Last summer, Congress passed, and President Obama signed, a law that requires the DoD to reduce its enormous “budget” by close to $1 trillion over the next 10 years.

Secret Tribunal Threatens the Environment

March 8, 2012
Secret Tribunal Threatens the Environment

GLOBAL WATCH - For 18 years, Amazonian indigenous people have fought tirelessly to get Chevron to clean up horrific toxic contamination in a swath of Ecuador the size of Rhode Island. Finally last year, justice prevailed: an Ecuadorian appeals court reaffirmed that Chevron had to pay $18 billion to clean up the disaster...

Illusion of Separation Causes Global Disasters

March 6, 2012
Illusion of Separation Causes Global Disasters

WINSLOW MYERS - The biggest challenges we face all have their root cause in an artificial separation—between nations, races, religions, classes, between political parties, between humans and the living ecosystem upon which we depend for life—even between our heads and hearts. Such apparent separations represent a kind of global neurosis for which one antidote...

Americans Oppose Fossil Fuel Subsidies

March 4, 2012
Americans Oppose Fossil Fuel Subsidies

ANTHONY LEISEROWITZ - In his new proposed federal budget, President Obama called on Congress to repeal more than $4 billion a year in subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, arguing that these "inefficient fossil fuel subsidies...impede investment in clean energy sources and undermine efforts to address the threat of climate change."

Dennis’ Prayer for America Speech

March 2, 2012
Dennis’ Prayer for America Speech

DENNIS KUCINICH - Ten years ago, as we watched the Bush administration – through Attorney General John Ashcroft - respond to the horrific events of 9/11/01, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio gave this stirring speech. Now, ten years later, measure Kucinich’s wisdom against that which has been actually directing our nation’s path

The 10 Most Excellent Reasons to Attack Iran

February 23, 2012
The 10 Most Excellent Reasons to Attack Iran

DAVID SWANSON - 1. Iran has threatened to fight back if attacked, and that's a war crime. War crimes must be punished.

How to Strengthen the UN’s Ability to Maintain International Peace and Security

February 21, 2012
How to Strengthen the UN’s Ability to Maintain International Peace and Security

LAWRENCE S. WITTNER - Conservative politicians often portray the United Nations as a powerful monster, poised to gobble up the United States and other countries and put them under alien rule. The reality, of course, is quite different.

Not Another Rabbit Hole!

February 19, 2012
Not Another Rabbit Hole!

IAN HRRIS - When Alice went down the rabbit hole in Lewis Carol’s novel, Alice and Wonderland, she experienced all kinds of unpleasant surprises. What kind of surprises will we Americans face if our government bombs Iran?

Government Health Care OK For Politicians But Not Us

February 17, 2012
Government Health Care OK For Politicians But Not Us

JESSE JACKSON - Republicans on the campaign trail denounce Obama’s health-care reforms as a virtual threat to the Republic. It’s “socialized medicine,” “a job killer,” “a government takeover of health care.” All the Republican candidates for president promise to repeal it, and Republican legislators are virtually united in trying to do so.

The Big Money Behind State Laws

February 15, 2012
The Big Money Behind State Laws

NY TIMES EDITORIAL - It is no coincidence that so many state legislatures have spent the last year taking the same destructive actions: making it harder for minorities and other groups that support Democrats to vote, obstructing health care reform, weakening environmental regulations and breaking the spines of public- and private-sector unions. All of...

Keystone XL Pipeline Will Cost 20,000 Jobs Per Year

February 13, 2012
Keystone XL Pipeline Will Cost 20,000 Jobs Per Year

MARK WIGG - Canada has a surplus of crude oil and the US is pretty much their only market. About 20% of our oil now comes from Canada. According to today’s Toronto Globe and Mail (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/crude-glut-in-us-suppresses-canadian-oil-prices/article2330013/) , we are paying $30 less per barrel for tar sands oil because they have no place...

ALEC Education “Academy” Launches on Island Resort

February 11, 2012
ALEC Education “Academy” Launches on Island Resort

DUSTIN BIELKE - Today, hundreds of state legislators from across the nation will head out to an "island" resort on the coast of Florida to a unique "education academy" sponsored by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). There will be no students or teachers. Instead, legislators, representatives from right-wing think tanks and for-profit education...

Federal Jury Says Cops Can’t Arrest People for Recording Police Encounters

February 9, 2012
Federal Jury Says Cops Can’t Arrest People for Recording Police Encounters

JACOB SULLUM - Last week a federal jury in Oregon awarded damages to an environmental activist who sued the city of Eugene after a police officer seized his video camera and arrested him for wiretapping. In March 2009, Josh Schlossberg was distributing leaflets outside Umpqua Bank in downtown Eugene when Sgt. Bill Solesbee told...

Chicago Prepares an Iron Fist for NATO/G8 Protests

February 7, 2012
Chicago Prepares an Iron Fist for NATO/G8 Protests

BRIAN TERRELL - On January 25, the host committee for the G8/NATO summit in Chicago in May unveiled a new slogan for the event, “The Global Crossroads.” The mood of the organizers is upbeat and positive. This is a grand opportunity to market Chicago with an eye for the tourist dollar and the...

Pentagon Seeks Mightier Bomb vs. Iran

February 5, 2012
Pentagon Seeks Mightier Bomb vs. Iran

ADAM ENTOUS - Pentagon war planners have concluded that their largest conventional bomb isn't yet capable of destroying Iran's most heavily fortified underground facilities, and are stepping up efforts to make it more powerful, according to U.S. officials briefed on the plan.

Audit: U.S. Defense Department Can’t Account for Billions for Iraq

February 3, 2012
Audit: U.S. Defense Department Can’t Account for Billions for Iraq

JOSH LEVS - The U.S. Defense Department cannot account for about $2 billion it was given to cover Iraq-related expenses and is not providing Iraq with a complete list of U.S.-funded reconstruction projects, according to two new government audits.