EDITOR– The “realities†listed in this article are correct as far as they go, but they do not go far enough. While it is strictly true that “there is no Social Security crisis†because the Social Security Trust Fund “is full of U.S. Treasury Bonds,†the implication is that everything is all right. This is emphatically not the case. Please read the MoveOn article and also the PeaceWorker editorial that follows it.
Category: Archive
PeaceWorker Comments on Social Security Article
PETER BERGEL — For decades, beginning during the Vietnam War, our elected leaders have tried to mask the size of the national debt they have permitted to accumulate by “borrowing†the surplus from the Social Security Trust Fund. This was done without consulting the public in any way, and largely without public knowledge, even though this money was set aside from all workers’ paychecks in an insurance program guaranteed to provide funds for them in their old age. To be precise, the government purchased U.S. T-bonds with our insurance money.
Met Office Report: Global Warming Evidence Is ‘Unmistakable’
LOUISE GRAY — A new climate change report from the Met Office [meteorological and climate change forecasts for the UK and worldwide] and its U.S. equivalent has provided the “greatest evidence we have ever had” that the world is warming. It is the first time a report has brought together all the different ways of measuring changes in the climate. The report brings together the latest temperature readings from the top of the atmosphere to the bottom of the ocean
We’re Not Ready for a Nuclear Power Plant Disaster
BOB HERBERT — We were told by oil industry executives and their acolytes and enablers in government that deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico would not cause the kind of catastrophe that we’ve been watching with an acute and painful sense of helplessness for the past three months. Advances in technology, they said, would ward off the worst-case scenarios. Fail-safe systems like the blowout preventer a mile below the surface at the Deepwater Horizon rig site would keep wildlife and the environment safe.
How Can We Identify and Utilize Best Practices for Problem Solving?
WINSLOW MYERS — When I was working as a teacher, I loved the phrase “best practices.†It suggested pooled wisdom, a collective weeding out of the more effective from the less effective, a distillation of the authentic out of a world of potential baloney. It implied disinterested cooperation to figure out what really does work when we’re trying to help children learn. Any collection of best practices would synergize with each other in a perfect storm of competency.
Financial Analysis: End of the World As We Know It
PHIL DAVIS — What are 308,367,109 Americans supposed to do? First of all, despite clamping down on immigration, our population grew by 2.6M people last year. Unfortunately, not only did we not create jobs for those 2.6M new people but we lost about 4M jobs so what are these new people going to do?
Hiroshima/Nagasaki Bombing Myths Need Correction
RUSSELL VANDENBROUCKE — Every August, as the anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki approach, comments resume about American decisions at the end of World War II. Despite the passage of 65 years, heated opinions are repeated as fact and myths become immortalized as truths. Beyond distorting the historical record, wishful thinking about it leads us to repeat past mistakes in new ways against new enemies.
The War Supplemental Vote Was Not Even Close
JOE WALSH —
The vote was not even close and especially when you know that it took a 2/3 vote. The reason for the 2/3 vote to pass, was it was a rule change. We have been informed that all our delegation except that one republican voted against war funding, I want to jump for joy, but can’t — sorry.
State of Denial: After the Big Leak, Spinning for War
NORMAN SOLOMON —
Washington’s spin machine is in overdrive to counter the massive leak of documents on Afghanistan. Much of the counterattack revolves around the theme that the documents aren’t particularly relevant to this year’s new-and-improved war effort.
Public-Private Venture to Make City an ‘Icon of Sustainability’
MICHAEL BURNHAM — Westward pioneers halted their wagons in Portland, OR 150 years ago, but today’s politicians and planners aim to make recession- battered Portland the starting point for green-economy trailblazers. Mayor Sam Adams and General Electric Co. executives are forging a first-of-its-kind partnership that will include retrofitting drafty buildings with energy-saving technologies and helping local startups sell their clean-technology products abroad.
WiliLeaks Releases Afghan War Diary
WILILEAKS — On July 25, 2010 WikiLeaks, the Australian whistleblower website, released a document set called the “Afghan War Diary,†an extraordinary compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010.
Libertarian View: 10 Reasons to End the Wars Now
WES BENEDICT — The long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been back in the news recently, and we just had the bizarre spectacle of the Republican National Committee Chairman saying he didn’t like Obama’s war in Afghanistan, while the DNC chastised him for failing to support the troops.
The Impossible Contradictions of Modern War
WINSLOW MYERS — The article in Rolling Stone that ended the meteoric career of General McChrystal shines light on the thought-process not only of one military man, but also on the dysfunctional paradigm now failing in Afghanistan. It is a textbook demonstration of how the mind-set of war itself, the notion of annihilating an enemy and emerging victorious, has become obsolete.
Why We Must Reduce Military Spending
REPS. BARNEY FRANK AND RON PAUL — As members of opposing political parties, we disagree on a number of important issues. But we must not allow honest disagreement over some issues to interfere with our ability to work together when we do agree. By far the single most important of these is our current initiative to include substantial reductions in the projected level of American military spending as part of future deficit reduction efforts.
Micro Air Vehicles – Protecting Your Future?
REMARKABLE VIDEO — Are you familiar with the term “micro air vehicle?†If not, you should be. It’s another of the arsenal of futuristic weapons the U.S. Air Force is developing.
Democrats Forced to Cheat to Fund War
DAVID SWANSON — The Democratic leadership in the House had to resort to an unusual and underhanded tactic to pass war funding last week.
Unanimous Conformity in the Senate Prolongs the Wars
NORMAN SOLOMON —
For the warfare state, it doesn’t get any better than 99 to 0. Every living senator voted to approve Gen. David Petraeus as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. Call it the unanimity of lemmings — except the senators and their families aren’t the ones who’ll keep plunging into the sea.
Teachable Moment: Anti- and Pro-War Supporters Lock Horns
WINSLOW MYERS — What an extraordinary civics lesson for the students, faculty, administration, town officials and parents connected with the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School on Cape Cod! Two teachers, Marybeth Verani and Carrie Koscher, stood up at an assembly recognizing six students who were joining the military and held a sign that said “End War.”
Events Calendar Moved to Oregon Progressive Network
OREGON PEACEWORKS — Oregon PeaceWorks’ events calendar has been combined with the calendar offered by Oregon Progressive Network (OPN). Read the details…
“Americans Don’t Flinch† They Duck!
KATHY KELLY & DAN PEARSON — In accepting General McChrystal’s resignation, President Obama said that McChrystal’s departure represented a change in personnel, not a change in policy. “Americans don’t flinch in the face of difficult truths or difficult tasks.†he stated, “We persist and we persevere.†Yet, President Obama and the U.S. people don’t face up to the ugly truth that, in Afghanistan, the U.S. has routinely committed atrocities against innocent civilians.
Keep the Internet Uncensored
KAT BARR — Right now, the Internet is a free, open resource for all Americans. But in backrooms in Washington, Verizon, AT&T, and other telecom companies are lobbying hard to change that.
Time for Oregon to Ban the Bag
NICOLE FORBES– From 500 miles off the Oregon Coast to Japan, the Pacific Ocean is a toxic soup of plastic. The amount of plastic in our oceans has tripled since the 1980s, and it is now six to 40 times more prevalent than plankton, the fundamental food source of our ocean. It’s time to ban plastic bags.
Defazio Urges New Policy in Afghanistan
REP. PETER DEFAZIO — U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, (OR-04) in a speech on the House floor June 24th, urged President Obama to reconsider his policy in Afghanistan in light of the replacement of General McChrystal. Read the speech.
Elise Boulding Dead at 89
MARY LEE MORRISON — Elise Boulding died at 4:40 pm, June 24, 2010 in Needham, MA. Hailed as a “matriarch” of the twentieth century peace research movement, she was sociologist emeritus from Dartmouth College and from the University of Colorado and in on the ground floor in the movements of peace, women’s studies and futures and played pivotal roles in each.
Wikileaks Founder Fears for His Life
SIMON LAUDER — The man behind whistleblower website Wikileaks says he is not in a position to record an interview amid claims his life is in danger. Julian Assange, the Australian-born founder of Wikileaks, is said to be under threat with reports that the site has hundreds of thousands of classified cables containing explosive revelations.
BP’s Other Gifts to America — and the World
LAWRENCE WITTNER — The offshore oil drilling catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico brought to us by BP has overshadowed its central role over the past century in fostering some other disastrous events.
From Great Man to Great Screwup: Behind the McChrystal Uproar
NORMAN SOLOMON — When the wheels are coming off, it doesn’t do much good to change the driver. Whatever the name of the commanding general in Afghanistan, the U.S. war effort will continue its carnage and futility.
Cost-Benefit Analyses for Open and Closed Fists
TOM H. HASTINGS — Here comes the 4th of July and we are barely done with Memorial Day. The flags of nationalistic patriotic fervor sprout and resprout across the land, in the parks, on the lawns, on billboards, on the Internet, and generally everywhere. Military jets will fly in formation, anthems will fill the air, and military uniforms will be ubiquitous. Little children are getting used to this, and they never see the adults they trust question this, so they come to trust the guns, the songs about bombs, the valorization of violence, and the equation of killing with freedom.
Ten Suggestions for Effective Activism
PAUL ROGAT LOEB — Effective activism is a long-haul process, not “save the earth in 30 days, ask me how.†But there are some principles that seem to reoccur for people addressing every kind of challenge from the Gulf Oil spill to inadequate funding for urban schools to how to deal with Afghanistan and Iraq. When I was updating Soul of a Citizen, an activist rabbi who was teaching the book at Florida Gulf Coast University suggested I gather together the Ten Commandments for effective citizen engagement. Calling them Commandments seemed a bit presumptuous, but I did draw together ten suggestions that can make engagement more fruitful.
Join Independence from Oil Visual Demo
SARAH HODGEDON — There is no doubt that the human race must wean itself from dependence on oil if it is to survive and avoid the worst aspects of global warming. The Sierra Club has devised an imaginative way to bring this message to Congress as an Independence Day celebration. Read more…
Cheaponomics
RAJ PATEL — A top ten list of things that aren’t as cheap as you think.
Police State Tactics Take Another Step Forward
WENDY MCELROY — In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer. Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists.
Palestinian, Israeli Physicians Call for Inquiry on Attack on Ships
IPPNW — The following is a joint statement from the Palestinian and Israeli affiliates of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) on the recent violence at sea. This statement is the product of unique and powerful collaboration, with physicians transcending political and ideological divisions to speak out with a common voice for peace and humanity.
Replacing Offshore Oil Would Take 195 Californias or 74 Texases
CHRIS NELDER — As the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster continues to unfold, the peak oil community has a “teachable moment†in which it can illuminate the reality of our energy plight. The public has had a crash course in the challenges of offshore oil, and learned a whole new vocabulary. They are more aware than ever that the days of cheap and easy oil are gone. What they do not yet grasp are the challenges in transitioning from fossil fuels to renewables.
Unarmed and Courageous: Emergency Workers in Afghanistan
KATHY KELLY & JOSH BROLLIER — These brave peace correspondents, reporting from a desperately dangerous place, reveal why U.S. policy is failing in Afghanistan.
Can We Live With the Bomb?
LAWRENCE WITTNER — For some time now, it has been clear that nuclear weapons threaten the existence not only of humanity, but of all life on Earth. Thus, Barack Obama’s pledge to work for a nuclear weapons-free world—made during his 2008 presidential campaign and subsequently in public statements—has resonated nicely with supporters of nuclear disarmament and with the general public.
Harman Gives Cover to Gaza Aid Piracy
NORMAN SOLOMON — When Israel attacked the Gaza aid flotilla, Congresswoman Jane Harman was engaged in a parallel assault. Israel’s government relied on the efficacy of violence; Harman’s campaign was counting on the power of paid media. In both cases, the targets were advocates of human rights for Palestinian people.
OPW Lauches Online Peace Store
CARRIE ADAMS — If you have ever visited the Oregon PeaceWorks office in Salem, you have seen our display of peace merchandise. If you’ve never had that opportunity, you no longer need miss out. OPW has launched its online Peace Store which you can visit with a mere mouseclick.
The World After Abundance
JOHN MICHAEL GREER — It has been nearly four decades now since the limits to industrial civilization’s trajectory of limitless material growth on a limited planet have been clearly visible on the horizon of our future. Over that time, a remarkable paradox has unfolded. The closer we get to the limits to growth, the more those limits impact our daily lives, and the more clearly our current trajectory points toward the brick wall of a difficult future, the less most people in the industrial world seem to be able to imagine any alternative to driving the existing order of things ever onward until the wheels fall off.
Beltway Bulletin – American Power Act Analysis
PHIL CARVER — The Senate is now considering the Kerry-Lieberman climate bill, titled the American Power Act (APA). It has several improvements over H.R. 2454, the Waxman-Markey bill that passed the House in June 2009.
Actual War Spending to Top $1 Trillion Today
NATIONAL PRIORITIES PROJECT — National Priorities Project’s Cost of War counter http://www.costofwar.com/, designed to count the total money appropriated for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, will reach the $1 trillion mark on May 30 at approximately 10:06 a.m. (regardless of time zone).
Answering Rand Paul on Civil Rights
LAWRENCE S. WITTNER — Rand Paul’s criticism of the federal civil rights legislation of the 1960s can be better evaluated by looking at the workings of similar legislation that appeared on the state level two decades before.
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Holds 50th Reunion
DAVID HARTSOUGH — I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the 50th reunion of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), April 15-18, 2010, in Raleigh, NC. Over 800 SNCC workers, their families and friends came together for four days to remember, reflect, share stories, inspire a younger generation, and strategize about how to continue the important work that SNCC students started 50 years ago.
Brilliant Transportation Idea: Carsharing for All
SARA STROUD — Carsharing is on the rise, but it must be more scalable to have a real impact on easing traffic congestion and cutting carbon emissions, according to cleantech investor Sunil Paul. That’s the idea behind Spride Share, a San Francisco-based carsharing startup that came out of stealth in late April and is backed by Paul’s early-stage venture fund Spring Ventures, which has funded cleantech startups such as Nanosolar and algal fuel company Solazyme.
Tell Your Reps: No More War Funding
NORMAN SOLOMON — Official Washington may be good at spinning rhetoric in murky fog, but there’s no way around this fact: war can only continue if Congress votes to pay for it.
Environment Oregon Kicks Off Ban the Bag Campaign
ENVIRONMENT OREGON — An island of trash twice the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean is killing more than 1 million seabirds, 100,000 sea turtles and marine mammals, and countless fish each year. Plastic makes up 90 percent of this toxic soup, and four-fifths of that plastic, much of which is plastic bags, floats into the ocean from our rivers and harbors.
How Does the Global Warming Pollution from Cars Compare to Other Major Sources Such As a Coal Power Plant?
UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS — Ask a Scientist: S. Tompkins from Charlotte, NC, asks “How does the global warming pollution from cars compare to other major sources such as a coal power plant?” and is answered by Clean Vehicles Senior Engineer Jim Kliesch.
If I Had a Trillion Dollars: Youth Video Contest Announced
NATIONAL PRIORITIES PROJECT — The money that is being spent on the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will reach $1 trillion within the next five months. This money could be spent in our communities on many things that now face cuts, like after school programs, art and music programs, and summer jobs. You can spread the word. The American Friends Service Committee and National Priorities Project are sponsoring a youth video project to help young people (high school and college age) enter the cost-of-war discussion. Share your ideas about what you would do – for yourself, your family and your community – with $1 trillion.
Troubling Questions About Nominee Elena Kagan
GUY-URIEL CHARLES — Elena Kagan, currently the Solicitor General of the United States, is widely rumored to be President Obama’s top choice to succeed Justice Stevens on the Supreme Court. The most compelling and least compelling aspect of a Kagan nomination is that we do not know where she stands on many of the issues that would come before the Court. For those of us who would prefer a strong left-of-center nominee, the basic message is that we should trust that Kagan will not be the left’s version of David Souter. I understand why Kagan is politically attractive as a nominee, but I am nevertheless left with some questions.
Kagan Supreme Court Nomination Invites GOP Election Victories
NORMAN SOLOMON — If President Obama has his way, Elena Kagan will replace John Paul Stevens — and the Supreme Court will move rightward. The nomination is very disturbing, especially because it’s part of a pattern.