DR. TOM H. HASTINGS – Greta Thunberg was just a little girl in Sweden who learned about the emerging threats to all of us–literally to every human being on Earth and to all species–from anthropogenic (human-caused) climate chaos. Now Thunberg has greatly increased the momentum of the climate chaos resistance movement.
Author: Oregon PeaceWorks
The Crass Warfare of Billionaires Against Sanders and Warren
NORMAN SOLOMON – The billionaire class is worried. For the first time in memory, there’s a real chance that the next president could threaten the very existence of billionaires — or at least significantly reduce their unconscionable rate of wealth accumulation — in a country and on a planet with so much human misery due to extreme economic disparities.
World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency
RIPPLE, WOLF, NEWSOME, BARNARD and MOOMAW – Scientists have a moral obligation to clearly warn humanity of any catastrophic threat and to “tell it like it is.†On the basis of this obligation and the graphical indicators presented below, we declare, with more than 11,000 scientist signatories from around the world, clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency.
Conclusions of the “C40 Report” Questioned
RICK BARNETT – Any time you see a cheery climate story, it’s about a subset of the subject-of-story’s emissions. When a city does this, the headline always associates the cheery news with the city’s name, rather than noting that it’s only about a portion of city operations, which represent a miniscule percentage of emissions from the entire city. The key to a claim about “peaked†emissions is picking the correct subset of emission sources from total emissions.
How Soldiers Brought a Halt to the U.S. War Machine
ROGER BYBEE – Opposition to the Vietnam war burst into a wide range of activism, including wearing anti-war buttons while in uniform, petitions and demonstrations, guerrilla theater, staging hearings about war crimes, and throwing away the medals they earned in Vietnam.
Movement Violence Can Lead to a Decline in Public Support
J. MUNOZ and E. ANDUIZA – The choice between violence and nonviolence is available to any protest movement. Opting to engage in violence is more costly to the movement because it increases the chance of state repression and also reinforces the claims of those who oppose the movement. The academic research on this topic shows that nonviolent movements are more successful in achieving their long-term goals, whether influencing policy or bringing about regime change. Many researchers theorize that broad-based public support for protest movements is instrumental to their success and that the use of violence may weaken this support.
Why Those “Endless Wars” Must Never End
ANDREW BACEVICH – Here’s the strange thing for the self-proclaimed greatest power in history, the very one that, in this century, has been fighting a series of unending wars across significant parts of the planet: if you exclude Operation Urgent Fury, the triumphant invasion of the island Grenada in 1983, and Operation Just Cause, the largely unopposed invasion of Panama in 1989, Washington’s last truly successful war ended 74 years ago in August 1945 with the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japanese cities. Every war of even modest significance since — and they’ve been piling up — from the Korean and Vietnam wars to the ones in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Libya, and elsewhere in this century (and the last as well, in the cases of Afghanistan and Iraq) has either ended badly (Vietnam) or not at all (see above).
Should You Be Afraid of the Fascists in Your Community?
WIM LAVEN – I get accused of “being over-the-top†and using hyperbole by conservative friends and acquaintances with increasing frequency. This is caused, in large part, by me being a vocal and active contributor to the public discourse about issues of peace and justice. I am called a “snowflake†for responding to those who support—or even promote—rape culture. My conservative friends say they cannot take me seriously, which is frustrating, but at least it is honest. The question is: how seriously should we consider the statements others make?
Widening Wealth Gap Condemns More Americans to Poverty
LAWRENCE WITTNER – Despite the upbeat words from America’s billionaire president about the “economic miracle†he has produced, economic inequality in the United States is on the rise.
What Is the Real Status of Democracy in Russia?
NATYLIE BALDWIN: An interview with Nicolai N. Petro – I conducted an email interview with Nicolai N. Petro, professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island, on the state of democracy in today’s Russia, after having read his eye-opening 2018 journal article, “Are We Reading Russia Right?†His full biography is below the interview.
Everybody Is Betraying Everybody in Syria
GRAHAM E. FULLER – After some eight years of civil conflict, the situation in Syria is basically reverting to the pre-conflict norm.
PLOWSHARES FOUND GUILTY
KINGS BAY PLOWSHARES 7 – More than 18 months after they snuck onto the site of one of the largest known collections of nuclear weaponry in the world, a jury found the Kings Bay Plowshares 7 guilty of all four of the charges brought against them.
Taking Next Steps toward Nuclear Abolition
KATHY KELLY – Many who are working for the abolition of nuclear weapons are deeply disturbed by the madness of maintaining nuclear weapons arsenals and believe such weapons threaten planetary survival. They are joined by people everywhere who worry that, similar to the 1930s, citizens of countries possessing nuclear weapons sleepwalk toward utter disaster.
Carbon Emissions From 30 of the World’s Largest Cities Are Already Dropping Since Signing Climate Pact
C40 CITIES and GOOD NEW NETWORK – The world’s leading scientists have calculated that global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2020 in order to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. New analysis published ahead of the C40 World Mayors Summit confirms that 30 of the world’s largest cities, representing more than 58 million urban citizens, have now reached this crucial milestone.
Extinction Rebellion Targets Arms Industry: Disarm to Decarbonise
EXTINCTION REBELLION – On October 17, XR Peace joined with other anti-arms trade activists to stage a day of action targeting key players in the polluting, oppressive arms industry.
What Really Happened to American Socialism?
HARVEY WASSERMAN – Both Democratic Socialism and Social Democracy are American made. Accept no substitutes.
Climate Disruption: New Study Highlights the Devastating Global Impact of Regional Nuclear Conflict Between India and Pakistan
INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO ABOLISH NUCLEAR WEAPONS – The title of a new study by Toon et al, published this week in Science Advances, speaks volumes: “Rapidly Expanding nuclear arsenals in Pakistan and India portend regional and global catastrophe.â€
Major Media Bury Groundbreaking Studies of Pentagon’s Massive Carbon Bootprint
JOSHUA CHO – US military is responsible for the most egregious and widespread pollution of the planet, yet this information and accompanying documentation goes almost entirely unreported.
We’re More at Risk of Nuclear War With Russia Than We Think
GEORGE BEEBE – Today, that old dread of disaster has all but disappeared, as have the systems that helped preclude it. But the actual threat of nuclear catastrophe is much greater than we realize. U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle need to start addressing the danger.
Unasked Questions about US-Ukrainian Relations
STEPHEN F. COHEN – Is U.S. national security being trumped by loathing for Trump? We need to know fully the origins of Russiagate, arguably the worst presidential scandal in American history, and if Ukrainian authorities can contribute to that understanding, they should be encouraged to do so. As I’ve argued repeatedly, fervent anti-Trumpers must decide whether they loathe him more than they care about American and international security.
Why are Americans so Confused about the Meaning of “Democratic Socialism?”
LAWRENCE WITTNER – The meaning of democratic socialism―a mixture of political and economic democracy―should be no mystery to Americans. After all, socialist programs have been adopted in most other democratic nations. Even so, large numbers of Americans seem remarkably confused about democratic socialism.
The US Is Spending $1.25 Trillion Annually on War
WILLIAM D. HARTUNG and MANDY SMITHBERGER – There are at least 10 separate pots of money dedicated to fighting wars, preparing for yet more wars, and dealing with the consequences of wars already fought. So the next time a president, a general, a secretary of defense, or a hawkish member of Congress insists that the U.S. military is woefully underfunded, think twice. A careful look at U.S. defense expenditures offers a healthy corrective to such wildly inaccurate claims.
Expanding the Concept and Practice of Nonviolence
MIKE YARROW – True “nonviolence” is an affirmative presence of an alternative force for change, which Gandhi called, “a force more powerful.†Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement is, “. . . true nonviolence is more than the absence of violence. It is the persistent and determined application of peaceable power to offenses against the community.â€
Americans Want Abolition of Nuclear Weapons, not just Limitations!
TIMMON WALLIS – September 23, 2019: A NuclearBan.US poll, conducted on its behalf this week[1] by YouGov, reveals that 49% of Americans think that the US should work with the other nuclear armed countries to eliminate all nuclear weapons from all countries, in line with the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (“Nuclear Ban Treatyâ€). Only 32% think that the US should continue to ignore the new treaty and hold on to its nuclear weapons regardless of what other countries think or do, while a further 19% say they “don’t knowâ€.
Saving the Planet Means Overthrowing the Ruling Elites
CHRIS HEDGES – We must organize to replace existing structures of power with ones capable of coping with the crisis before us.
America’s Great Climate Exodus Is Starting in the Florida Keys
PRASHANT GOPAL – Mass migration begins as coastal homes are bulldozed in the state facing the biggest threat from climate-driven inundation.
To Stop the Worst Effects of the Climate Crisis, Report Says ‘The Level of Ambition Needs to be Tripled’—At Minimum
EOIN HIGGINS – The new U.N. report referencing increasing impacts of the climate crisis underscores the need for urgent action.
Accepting “Partial Scores” from New Media Leads to Poor Understanding of Issues
JEFF COHEN – In the old George Carlin joke, the TV sportscaster announces: “Here’s a partial score from the West Coast – Los Angeles 6.†For a brilliant comedian like Carlin – who skewered corporate power, class structure and political/media propaganda – that’s one of his more innocuous jokes. But it’s sharply relevant today as corporate TV news outlets serve up a series of partial scores. Call it “propaganda by omission.â€
We Are Not All Equal When It Comes to the Consequences of Climate Change
LESLIE GREGORY and TOM H. HASTINGS – Not only are we already well into the worst mass extinctions of other species since the Cretaceous Debacle, but it is also evident that climate chaos will indeed impact health and well-being of people of color more than anyone. Consider the evidence.
How the Youth-led Climate Strikes Became a Global Mass Movement
NICK ENGELFRIED – It began as a call to action from a group of youth activists scattered across the globe, and soon became what is shaping up to be the largest planet-wide protest for the climate the world has ever seen. The Global Climate Strike is the result of a whole new generation taking bold action and could be the turning point for grassroots resistance to fossil fuels.
Following Outcry, Armenian Government Steps Back on Controversial Mine Project
ANI MEJLUMYAN – Two weeks after declaring that it would go ahead with a long-debated gold mine project, Armenia’s government has reversed course and said that it will continue to study whether it would in fact be safe for the environment.
Economic Sanctions on Venezuela: War by Another Name
H . PATRICIA HYNES – Recall the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 from grade school history? President James Monroe proclaimed that European nations could not colonize nor otherwise interfere in North and South American countries. Ironically, since 1890, the U.S. has intervened in Latin American elections, civil wars and revolutions at least 56 times, according to historian and author Mark Becker, to bolster US corporate interests and to eliminate democratically elected governments and leftist movements.
The Logic of the Nuclear Age and the Insanity of Our Nuclear Weapons Policy
E. MARTIN SCHOTZ, MD – Once the US and Russia see each other as partners in survival, they would be in a position to work together to help other nations join in the process. This is the way an international ban on nuclear weapons can eventually be achieved.
U.S. Invasion of Iraq Left a Plethora of Environmental Poisons
DAVID MASCIOTRA – First the U.S. invaded Iraq — then we left it poisoned. Bombs, bullets and military hardware abandoned by U.S. forces have left Iraq “toxic for millennia.”
We Need Civility, but We Also Need Open Exploration of our Differences
WINSLOW MYERS – The times are too momentous for us to bite our tongues in the name of a veneer of civility that inhibits the constructive exchange of views. Civility, while necessary, is not sufficient.
Immigration Resistance Has Many Faces
ANDREW MOSS – For the most part, major news organizations like the New York Times, CNN, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times have provided comprehensive, accurate coverage of major immigration-related developments. Significant policy changes and their impacts on people have been presented with careful regard for both detail and larger issues. This is as it should be. Nevertheless, coverage often falls short in underplaying a critical dimension of unfolding events: the extraordinary depth and breadth of resistance to the Trump administration’s policies.
The Primary Contradiction: Corporate Power vs. Progressive Populism
NORMAN SOLOMON – For plutocrats, this summer has gotten a bit scary. Two feared candidates are rising. Trusted candidates are underperforming. The 2020 presidential election could turn out to be a real-life horror movie: A Nightmare on Wall Street.
Trump Broke US Law when He Withdrew from the INF Treaty
DR. TIMMON WALLIS – President Trump violated the US Constitution when he unilaterally pulled the United States out of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty on August 2, 2019.
Film ‘Official Secrets’ Reveals the Depth of Deception Behind the Iraq War
SAM HUSSEINI – A new film depicting the whistleblower Katherine Gun, who tried to stop the Iraq invasion, is largely accurate, but the story is not over, says Sam Husseini.
Trump Has Blocked Wage Gains for American Workers
LAWRENCE WITTNER – On June 19, 2019, President Donald Trump bragged at his re-election kickoff rally in Orlando that, thanks to his leadership, the wages of American workers “are rising at the fastest rate in many decades.†The reality, however, is that they are not. Indeed, wages rose at a faster rate only a few years before, under his predecessor. And a key reason for the very limited wage increases since Trump entered the White House is his administration’s success in blocking any wage increases for some workers and in reducing wage increases for others.
There Once Was a President Who Hated War
STEPHEN M. WALT – American elites used to see war as a tragic necessity. Now they’re completely addicted to it.
The Trump Administration’s Approach to the Climate Crisis is a Crime Against Humanity
MEL GURTOV – The President of the United States is a criminal. I’m not referring to the twenty-odd investigations of him currently underway for violations of the Constitution, obstruction of justice, and collaboration with the Russian election attack, among other misdeeds. No, I’m referring to his and his administration’s intentional and reckless pursuit of national policies that condemn American and the world’s citizens to environmental destruction and the end of life as we know it.
Sanders’ New Plan to Rein In Corporate Misbehavior
DAVID SWANSON – Meet the corporations that could lose their federal contracts when President Sanders signs a new executive order protecting workers’ rights.
Virgin Plastic Pellets are the Biggest Pollution Disaster You’ve Never Heard Of
ZOE SCHLANGER – “Pellets make up the second most common type of microplastic that we find, second to fragments which break down from things that are bigger,†says Sherri Mason, a plastics pollution researcher at Pennsylvania State University who has published foundational studies on microplastics found in freshwater. She spends much of her time collecting and counting bits of plastic in the environment. “I can go to any beach, give me five minutes and I’ll find a nurdle,†she says. “Along a river, 10 minutes. Once you know what a nurdle looks like you find them everywhere.â€
2019’s States with the Most Underprivileged Children
ADAM MCCANN – In an ideal world, all children would live worry-free and have access to their basic needs: nutritious food, a good education, quality health care and a secure home. Emotionally, they all would feel safe and be loved and supported by caring adults. When all such needs are met, children have a better chance of a stable and happy adult life. But in reality, not every child is so privileged — even in the richest and most powerful nation in the world.
Why the West Has Historically Feared Russia
NATYLIE BALDWIN – Russia’s vast size – the largest country geographically in the world – and its prodigious resources are present for all to see. But now, having overcome its historical issues with poor agricultural policies, it also has the ability to feed itself, a highly educated citizenry, and the industrial infrastructure to support a space program as well as a sophisticated nuclear and defense system. It has the ability to build cars, trucks, and airplanes completely within its own borders. Unlike many countries in the world, it has very little external debt and major gold reserves. It is weathering the sanctions against it better than Iran or Venezuela.
Hiroshima Unlearned: Time to Tell the Truth About US Relations with Russia and Finally Ban the Bomb
ALICE SLATER – August 6th and 9th mark 74 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where only one nuclear bomb dropped on each city caused the deaths of up to 146,000 people in Hiroshima and 80,000 people in Nagasaki. Now, with the US decision to walk away from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force (INF) negotiated with the Soviet Union, we are once again staring into the abyss of one of the most perilous nuclear challenges since the height of the Cold War.
Earthquakes Repeatedly Striking Proposed US Nuclear Waste Site
EMMA SNAITH – Officials fear deadly radioactivity could seep into earth if another high-magnitude quake strikes Nevada desert.
To Tackle Climate Change We Need to Rethink Our Food System
KATHLEEN ROBERTS and DR. SHENGGEN FAN – Our food system is broken, but not irrevocably so. The challenges are enormous, but by understanding the problem and potential solutions, we can effect critical changes in the ways we produce, consume and dispose of food.
Trump is Trying to Revive the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Site
DERRICK BROZE – “The United States is brokering land deals to enrich corporations and deprive the Shoshone of our lawful property rights and interests,†Ian Zabarte, a member of the Western Shoshone nation, says while sitting at his home in the Las Vegas area. Zabarte recently celebrated his 54th birthday and also marked 30 years of defending his community against the controversial Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste site.