Category: What’s Happening In the Movement

Nuclear Harbinger: Vermont Yankee Plant Shuttered

by Oregon PeaceWorks • January 10, 2015 • 0 Comments

JOHN LAFORGE – On December 29, the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor was shut down for good, cancelled 18 years before its license expired. The shutdown comes after thousands of protest actions; widespread uncontrolled leaks of radioactive tritium; the shocking collapse of a cooling tower; operator mismanagement; lying and cover-ups; and the state legislature’s 2010 passage of a “shut-down by 2012” law, a statute later voided by a federal court. Entergy Corp.’s surrender announcement mentioned only “economic concerns.”

Day 2 of the Fast for Justice to Close Guantanamo

by Oregon PeaceWorks • January 8, 2015 • 0 Comments

CLIFF SLOAN – When I began as the State Department’s envoy for closing the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, many people advised me that progress was impossible. They were wrong.

Resisting the Unspeakable in Afghanistan

by Oregon PeaceWorks • December 27, 2014 • 0 Comments

PAT KENNELLY – 2014 marks the deadliest year in Afghanistan for civilians, fighters, and foreigners. The situation has reached a new low as the myth of the Afghan state continues. Thirteen years into America’s longest war, the international community argues that Afghanistan is growing stronger, despite nearly all indicators suggesting otherwise. Yet, there is another possibility, that the old way has not worked, and it is time for change; that nonviolence may resolve some of the challenges facing the country.

Take the Next Step After Vienna – Global Mobilization to Abolish Nuclear Weapons!

by Oregon PeaceWorks • December 25, 2014 • 0 Comments

ABOLITION 2000 – Global coalition follows-up Vienna conference with mobilization to achieve a nuclear abolition agreement at the 2015 NPT Review Conference.

Ten Things to Know About the Climate Deal

by Oregon PeaceWorks • November 15, 2014 • 0 Comments

BILL MCKIBBEN – November 12: Last night, just weeks after the largest climate mobilization ever, the world’s two biggest polluters — the United States and China — announced their most ambitious climate action yet. That is not a coincidence: it’s a sign that our pressure is working, and that we need to apply much more.

Apocalypse Now: Seriously, It’s Time for a Major Rethink About Liberal and Progressive Politics

by Oregon PeaceWorks • November 13, 2014 • 0 Comments

DON HAZEN – We are losing badly to the corporate state. Here’s what we need to do.

What the Election Results Mean for the Climate Movement

by Oregon PeaceWorks • November 7, 2014 • 0 Comments

MAY BOEVE – The results of the November 4, 2014 election were pretty rough. But when times get tough, it’s really important to remember to breathe, and focus on how we’re going to fix this problem together. Here’s my early sense of what this election means for the climate movement:

The Umbrella Revolution: Nonviolent Struggle Erupts in Hong Kong

by Oregon PeaceWorks • November 3, 2014 • 0 Comments

ROLIEN HOYNG and MURAT ES – Two professors in Hong Kong interview fellow academics, student activists and graduate students from mainland China in order to draw out Hong Kong’s history in relation to globalizing forms of political expression. Colonial history, neoliberal urban governance, and Chinese authoritarianism all bear on the current unrest.

Why Don’t We Build a Movement?

by Oregon PeaceWorks • November 1, 2014 • 0 Comments

KAZU HAGA – What if all organizations in Oakland who work for social justice put down their egos and worked to create a COLLECTIVE work-plan for the next 10 years? Not just deciding to work together on 1 campaign for a year. Actually built integrated workplans that allow us to still do what each of us do best, but with a grand strategy of how we’re all contributing to the same change? What if nonprofits stopped their turf wars? What if nonprofits stopped feeding into the capitalist, individualistic mentality of this culture and took the idea of movements and collaborations seriously? What if we told all of our funders that after spending down our current grant, we’re all gonna change directions slightly and start to work together for real? What if . . .

Massive Protests Lead Guatemala to Reject ‘Monsanto Law’ in Court

by Oregon PeaceWorks • October 30, 2014 • 0 Comments

TEX DWORKIN – In a landmark decision on September 4, following intense pressure by indigenous people, trade unions, farmer’s organizations and others, the Guatemalan judiciary ruled to suspend the controversial Plant Variety Protection Law, commonly referred to as the ‘Monsanto Law’ because of the multinational biotech company’s involvement in it.

Paying Respects, Pentagon Revives Vietnam, and War Over Truth

by Oregon PeaceWorks • October 24, 2014 • 0 Comments

SHERYL GAY STOLBERG – It has been nearly half a century since a young antiwar protester named Tom Hayden traveled to Hanoi to investigate President Lyndon B. Johnson’s claims that the United States was not bombing civilians in Vietnam. Mr. Hayden saw destroyed villages and came away, he says, “pretty wounded by the pattern of deception.” Now the Pentagon — run by a Vietnam veteran, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel — is planning a 50th anniversary commemoration of the Vietnam War. The effort, which is expected to cost taxpayers nearly $15 million by the end of this fiscal year, is intended to honor veterans and, its website says, “provide the American public with historically accurate materials” suitable for use in schools. But the extensive website, which has been up for months, largely describes a war of valor and honor that would be unrecognizable to many of the Americans who fought in and against it.

Building the Movement to End the Latest Expanded U.S. War in the Middle East

by Oregon PeaceWorks • October 16, 2014 • 0 Comments

JIM LAFFERTY – If the U.S. public gained a fuller and more honest understanding of what U.S. and U.S. backed Arab states have done that has led to the creation of ISIS, what the true nature of the threat is from ISIS, and the futility and negative blow-back from waging such a war, antiwar sentiment would develop much more quickly and deeply than otherwise. And those who already oppose this new war would be more articulate opponents of it if they, too, had a better understanding of the root problem, its origins, why the U.S. has entered the fray, and why this war is not in the best interests of the people of this nation.

Oregon and Washington Continue to Fund Fossil Fuel Infrastructure

by Oregon PeaceWorks • October 14, 2014 • 0 Comments

ONWARD OREGON – Although Governors Kitzhaber and Inslee are publicly concerned about fossil fuel exports, other branches of our state governments are investing in infrastructure supporting these activities. Thanks to our friends at Sightline Institute, we see that Oregon and Washington have made substantial investments in enhancing fossil fuel export facilities.

Peace is Breaking Out All Over the World

by Oregon PeaceWorks • October 12, 2014 • 0 Comments

STEVEN YOUNGBLOOD – A friend and colleague recently wrote me and asked if I, an advocate for peace, was discouraged by the avalanche of violence that seems to be engulfing mankind. It’s certainly easy to get discouraged, or even to abandon the notion that peace is possible, given the new status quo in Ukraine, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Nigeria, Ferguson, Missouri, Mexico, Syria, Gaza, Somalia and so on. Against this backdrop, the annual commemoration of the International Day of Peace on Sept. 21 seemed futile—like holding a storm awareness seminar in the middle of a category five hurricane. Yes, the big picture seems awful. But it’s not the only picture. That’s why I choose to look instead at a number of other pictures that show peace breaking out all around the globe.

The New War, the Forever War, and a World Beyond War

by Oregon PeaceWorks • October 10, 2014 • 0 Comments

WORLD BEYOND WAR ISIS STATEMENT – The following is an assessment of the current ISIS crisis. The statement examines: (1) the social context of the destructive violence in Syria and Iraq — where we are; (2) viable nonviolent alternatives — what should be done; and (3) opportunities for civil society to advocate and push for those alternatives — how we can make it happen. The alternatives and pathways toward achieving those are not only preferable from a perspective of humanity, but proven to be more effective.

Young Afghani Teaches Important Nonviolence Lessons

by Oregon PeaceWorks • September 20, 2014 • 0 Comments

KATHY KELLY – Here in Kabul, one of my finest friends is Zekerullah, who has gone back to school in the 8th grade although he is an 18-year old young man who has already had to learn far too many of life’s harsh lessons.

Why the Climate Movement Must Stand with Ferguson

by Oregon PeaceWorks • September 4, 2014 • 0 Comments

DEIRDRE SMITH – It was not hard for me to make the connection between the tragedy in Ferguson, Missouri, and the catalyst for my work to stop the climate crisis.

Guerilla Woolfare: Against the Madness of Mutually Assured Destruction

by Oregon PeaceWorks • August 29, 2014 • 0 Comments

JAINE ROSE and REBECCA JOHNSON – Editor’s Note: “While Nagasaki Day has come and gone, this innovative project richly deserves to be known by people all around the world, so ‘Ask me what I’m knitting.’” On 9th August – the 69th anniversary of the incineration of Nagasaki by a plutonium bomb code-named “Fat Man” – thousands of people will join the Wool against Weapons demonstration in Berkshire to link up a 7-mile pink knitted ‘peace scarf’ between the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) complexes at Aldermaston and Burghfield.

Stop the Wars, Stop the Warming!

by Oregon PeaceWorks • August 25, 2014 • 0 Comments

APPEAL TO THE PEACE AND CLIMATE MOVEMENTS – The developing climate emergency does not exist in isolation. . . . We must understand and confront the social and economic context that produced and accompanies it: war and unlimited military expenditures, corporate globalization, vast social inequality and racism.

Recalling the Lessons of Wisconsin

by Oregon PeaceWorks • August 23, 2014 • 0 Comments

DAVID SWANSON – A new film called Wisconsin Rising is screening around the country, the subject, of course, being the activism surrounding the mass occupation of the Wisconsin Capitol in 2011. I recommend attending a planned screening or setting up a new one, and discussing the film collectively upon its conclusion. For all the flaws in Wisconsin’s activism in 2011 and since, other states haven’t even come close — most have a great deal to learn.

Borderfree Community: Volunteers for Peace in Afghanistan

by Oregon PeaceWorks • August 19, 2014 • 0 Comments

KATHY KELLY – The Borderfree Center is named for Prof. Noam Chomsky’s call, in a 2013 American University of Beirut commencement speech, for participation in “a worldwide struggle to preserve the global commons” so as to secure “decent human survival in a world that has no borders.” The symbol of their participation is the blue scarf they distribute to friends and supporters, symbolizing the blue expanse of sky upon which national boundary lines will never be drawn.

Apathy or Genocide for Gaza? Citizens Say, ‘Enough!’

by Oregon PeaceWorks • August 11, 2014 • 0 Comments

ERIN NIEMELA – Israeli, Palestinian and American citizens, between Israelis and Palestinians, we don’t need a “humanitarian pause.” We need actual humanitarians – everyday citizens who work together, rise up and shout “Enough!” to the gunrunning, bloodshed, enmification and apathy. We can end the violence for good and build peace forever – but we have to work together to control those fat, grey leathery legs of war.

Turning Up the Heat on Climate

by Oregon PeaceWorks • August 7, 2014 • 0 Comments

REGISTER-GUARD EDITORIAL – Eugene city councilors can find plenty of excuses Monday to walk away from an ordinance committing the city to an aggressive strategy for reducing local contributions to climate change. Amid the hubbub over a proposed paid sick leave law, an abdication of leadership on climate change might be little noticed. But the council should reject all excuses and approve the ordinance.

Hiroshima – 69 Years Later

by Oregon PeaceWorks • August 5, 2014 • 0 Comments

ROBERT F. DODGE, M.D. – On Aug. 6th, sixty-nine years ago, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, killing 80-140 thousand people immediately. Three days later on August 9th, a second U.S. nuclear bomb was dropped over Nagasaki, killing an additional 74,000 people. From that week to the present moment the world has been held hostage to the insane threat and potential annihilation by these weapons that now number in excess of 17,000 worldwide. However daunting, we have witnessed this past year some of the most significant progress and awareness of this threat and work to eliminate nuclear weapons, thus realizing the long standing desires of people everywhere, to live in a world free of nuclear weapons. It is time for our elected officials to support the international efforts toward this end.

Planning for a Day of Peace

by Oregon PeaceWorks • August 3, 2014 • 0 Comments

DAVID SWANSON – We need our governments to begin planning for a day of peace. Instead of investing everything in planning for war, preparing for war, and proliferating enough weapons to fuel plenty of wars, governments could invest in alternatives to war, nonviolent means of conflict resolution, moves toward justice that reduce conflict, international standards of law that make negotiations and diplomacy effective.

We are Israeli Reservists. We Refuse to Serve: A Petition.

by Oregon PeaceWorks • July 30, 2014 • 0 Comments

YAEL EVEN OR – Whenever the Israeli army drafts the reserves — which are made up of ex-soldiers — there are dissenters, resisters, and AWOLers among the troops called to war. Now that Israel has sent troops to Gaza again and reserves are being summoned to service, dozens are refusing to take part.

War Journalism Leads the Bleeding in Gaza

by Oregon PeaceWorks • July 21, 2014 • 0 Comments

ERIN NIEMELA – As Israel’s boots hit the ground in Gaza, Operation War Journalism rages on. Both Arab and Israeli war journalists weaponize rhetoric: False dichotomies (do we bomb or do nothing?) and a pro-violence worldview, among other deadly bullets. War journalism sells violent conflict – “if it bleeds, it leads” – and we’re buying it. The violence in Gaza is partially a result of decades of media-distributed war products made from state-provided materials. War journalists escalate and prolong violent conflict. Their reporting choices, whether conscious or not, are harmful to citizens on all sides of violent conflicts, the Gaza crisis included.

U.S. Mayors Call for Good Faith U.S. Participation in Nuclear Disarmament Forums

by Oregon PeaceWorks • July 12, 2014 • 0 Comments

JACKIE CABASSO, Mayors for Peace contact – The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), the non-partisan association of America’s big cities, on June 23, 2014 unanimously adopted a sweeping new resolution Calling for Constructive Good Faith U.S. Participation in International Nuclear Disarmament Forums at its 82nd annual meeting in Dallas, Texas. According to USCM President Kevin Johnson, Mayor of Sacramento, California, “These resolutions, once adopted, become official USCM policy.”

Rising People-Powered Movement Of Movements Is Transforming The World

by Oregon PeaceWorks • July 10, 2014 • 0 Comments

MARGARET FLOWERS – On a snowy weekend in January, activists for social, economic and environmental justice from across the United States gathered in a Chicago union hall to plan a Global Climate Convergence: ten days of action from Earth Day to May Day. Many of these activists had never focused on the climate crisis before, being mired instead in fighting battles that loomed more immediately in their lives. Who has the capacity to worry about climate change when your community is hungry, cold, without shelter, lacks health care or is being poisoned? During that weekend meeting, we transcended the barriers that typically lead to working in narrow silos and treading water while the oceans literally and figuratively continue to rise around us. We stepped outside of our particular areas of advocacy, connected our struggles, and forged a collective effort to take action together this spring and beyond. The rallying cry was that the time has arrived to join hands and change course.

Peace Movements’ Common Vision: The Abolition of Militarism

by Oregon PeaceWorks • June 30, 2014 • 0 Comments

MAIREAD CORRIGAN MAGUIRE – We are all aware that this is the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo which led to the start of the First World War in l9l4. What started here in Sarajevo was a century of two global wars, a Cold War, a century of immense, rapid explosion of death and destruction technology, all extremely costly, and extremely risky. A huge step in the history of war, but also a decisive turning point in the history of peace.

Mayors Sign Climate Protection Agreement, Endorse Innovative Climate Solutions

by Oregon PeaceWorks • June 29, 2014 • 0 Comments

ARI PHILLIPS – Confronting climate change was a major agenda item at last week’s U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Dallas, Texas, including climate protection awards, climate panels, and a discussion with U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and U.S. DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz. Mayors signed the latest version of the Climate Protection Agreement — endorsed by over 1,000 mayors, it supports a national goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050 amongst other things.

Memo to Potential Whistleblowers: If You See Something, Say Something

by Oregon PeaceWorks • June 26, 2014 • 0 Comments

NORMAN SOLOMON – Blowing the whistle on wrongdoing creates a moral frequency that vast numbers of people are eager to hear. We don’t want our lives, communities, country and world continually damaged by the deadening silences of fear and conformity.

GMO Ban Passes in Jackson & Josephine Counties

by Oregon PeaceWorks • June 10, 2014 • 0 Comments

NORTHWEST CENTER FOR ALTERNATIVES TO PESTICIDES – Voters in Jackson and Josephine Counties of Oregon took a huge step three weeks ago when they voted to ban cultivation of genetically modified crops in their counties. They overcame out-of-state spending led by Monsanto and Syngenta that amounted to about $1 million (or almost $10 for every registered voter).

Nonviolent Resistance Continues on Jeju, the Peace Island in Korea

by Oregon PeaceWorks • June 7, 2014 • 0 Comments

KATHY KELLY – Jeju Island, South Korea – For the past two weeks [the latter part of May], I’ve been in the Republic of Korea (ROK), as a guest of peace activists living in Gangjeong Village on ROK’s Jeju Island. Gangjeong is one of the ROK’s smallest villages, yet activists here, in their struggle against the construction of a massive naval base, have inspired people around the world.

Delegation to Korea, Vietnam Reveals Need to End All War

by Oregon PeaceWorks • May 23, 2014 • 0 Comments

DAVID HARTSOUGH – I recently returned from three weeks in Korea and Vietnam, countries which have in the past and are still suffering from the ravages of war.

Gay Pride Group Honors Manning; Ousts Pro-Corporate and Pro-Military Leaders

by Oregon PeaceWorks • May 16, 2014 • 0 Comments

“JOEY” – The message below was sent by Joey, a member of the San Francisco Pride Board. Please circulate and go on-line to add your comments and support on the sites listed. This victory comes as a result of months of insurrection in support of Manning inside the SF Pride movement, resulting in the ouster of most of the pro-corporate, pro-military Pride Board.

Egyptian Youth Protest Against Anti-Protest Law a Month Before Elections

by Oregon PeaceWorks • May 8, 2014 • 0 Comments

JUAN COLE – Hundreds of leftist and secular youth demonstrated on Saturday [April26] against Egypt’s Draconian law forbidding demonstrations, demanding the release of revolutionary activists jailed under it. They marched from Serai al-Qubba to the presidential palace. Activists said that they did not believe the presidential elections scheduled for late May would be on the up and up if the protest law remains in place.

David vs. Goliath: The Nuclear Zero Lawsuits

by Oregon PeaceWorks • April 29, 2014 • 0 Comments

ROBERT DODGE – Editor’s note: This is a follow-up op-ed on the nuclear zero lawsuits. This past Thursday, April 24th, historic lawsuits were filed against the U.S. and the eight other Nuclear Weapons States (NWS) of the world to meet their treaty obligations to disarm by the courageous tiny island nation Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Nuclear Zero Lawsuits Filed: Action Requested

by Oregon PeaceWorks • April 28, 2014 • 0 Comments

RICK WAYMAN – Big news today out of The Hague and San Francisco. The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has filed unprecedented lawsuits against all nine nuclear-armed nations for their failure to negotiate in good faith for nuclear disarmament, as required under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The suits were filed against all nine nations at the International Court of Justice, with an additional complaint against the United States filed in U.S. Federal District Court.

NRC Denies Nuclear Safety Petition

by Oregon PeaceWorks • April 24, 2014 • 0 Comments

MICHAEL MARIOTTE – On April 9, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) formally denied a petition originally submitted by Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) and 37 co-petitioners to make modest improvements in emergency planning for nuclear reactor accidents.

Earth Day Calls for a New Beginning

by Oregon PeaceWorks • April 20, 2014 • 0 Comments

KEN MCCORMACK – For Earth Day, April 22, let’s vow to take responsibility. Our careless behavior has changed Earth much faster than predicted. We are living through a global crisis, and the United States is largely responsible. There are good economic reasons, of course, to deny what has happened. ExxonMobil is recording higher profits than ever. Expensive disinformation campaigns are spreading doubt. Governments and corporations are urging “more growth.” That is, “more for us!” But in our hearts we know. Endless growth is impossible, and its pursuit is immoral.

“War Tax Resisters” Protest with their Money

by Oregon PeaceWorks • April 14, 2014 • 0 Comments

RUTH BENN – On April 15 people in communities across the United States will be leafleting, marching, doing street theatre, committing civil disobedience, and picketing at post offices, IRS offices, federal buildings calling attention to what they see as the harmful effects of military spending.

Military Recruiters Bully Counter-Recruiters in Portland School

by Oregon PeaceWorks • March 23, 2014 • 0 Comments

ANGIE HINES – On March 13, a fellow counter military recruiter and I went to Cleveland High School to talk with students. We were in a room filled with uniformed
military recruiters, many more than necessary to staff a table. The Army, Army National Guard, Navy, and Marines were there. Within three to four minutes of our beginning to speak, we were essentially forced out of the room. Our treatment at the hands of the military recruiters was pathetic and not to be tolerated.

Peacebuilding: Powerful New Frame for the Peace Movement

by Oregon PeaceWorks • March 21, 2014 • 0 Comments

MATTHEW ALBRACHT – The prevailing notion and dominant cultural story is that violence is inevitable and there is really nothing significant we can do about it. Luckily, this is a false assumption. Many new methodologies are emerging, at almost every level of society, which are proving to be highly effective ways to address conflict before it erupts into violence — or to turn it around more quickly when violence is already ensuing. Conflict may be inevitable, but violence does not have to be.

Small Arizona Town Challenges Border Patrol Excesses

by Oregon PeaceWorks • March 15, 2014 • 0 Comments

JOHN HEID – “You have no rights here!” barked a U.S. Border Patrol agent to a resident of Arivaca, AZ who was passing through a Customs and Border Protection checkpoint 23 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. This remark confirms a sense of violation of rights that many borderlands residents have when encountering one of the 71 permanent or tactical checkpoints scattered across the southwestern U.S.

Peace Activists Challenge Government Harrassment

by Oregon PeaceWorks • March 11, 2014 • 0 Comments

ANTI-WAR COMMITTEE – On Feb. 26, 2014 we were successful in getting unsealed the application and affidavit used to obtain the search warrants for the 2010 raids on the Anti-War Committee office and on the homes of Mid-west anti-war and international solidarity activists. A review of these documents shows not only the extent to which law enforcement will twist the truth in pursuit of a target, but also the obsession of the U.S. government with any opposition to the U.S. imperialist agenda and the depths to which they will go to suppress freedom of thought and speech.

Nuclear Weapon Resisters Sentenced to Long Prison Terms, Outrageous Fines

by Oregon PeaceWorks • February 27, 2014 • 0 Comments

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 Transform Now Plowshares at the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The convictions carried possible maximum sentences of 30 years in prison.

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

by Oregon PeaceWorks • February 14, 2014 • 0 Comments

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

Cut Off the NSA’s Juice

by Oregon PeaceWorks • January 28, 2014 • 0 Comments

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 fact, it may be doable.

The Only Way to Stop Climate Change Now May Be Revolution

by Oregon PeaceWorks • January 24, 2014 • 0 Comments

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 groups.”

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