TOM H. HASTINGS – It is long past time to really pare down the DoD budget. We should not have sophisticated weaponry all over the Earth, under the seas, and in space while families are living in tents in the snow on sidewalks and while health care is still not available to all. Can we unite for peace and prosperity?
Author: Oregon PeaceWorks
Why News of Population Decline and Economic Slowdown Isn’t Necessarily a Bad Thing
RICHARD HEINBERG – Sure, the end of economic expansion and population growth is a challenging prospect. But it’s not nearly as daunting as the crisis we are setting up for ourselves if we continue to destroy nature through wasteful consumption and pollution. China’s slowdown is a welcome opportunity for global leaders and policymakers to get our priorities straight and set ourselves on a path of sustainable happiness and well-being.
The Deafening Silence of Intellectuals in the Face of Growing Global Conflicts
BOAVENTURA DE SOUSA SANTOS – Intellectuals do not have a monopoly on culture, on values, or on truth, much less on the meanings attributed to any one of these “domains of the spirit,” as they used to be termed. But intellectuals should also not shrink from denouncing what they see as destructive of culture, values, and truth, notably when such destruction claims to be carried out in the name of these “domains of spirit.”
Don’t be Misled: “Wokeness” Means “Kindness”
JONATHAN KLATE – “Wokeness” is what folks on the political right love to declare themselves as being against these days. But, what is it, really, that they oppose?
The Ninth Anniversary of the Ukraine War
JEFFREY D. SACHS – We are not at the 1-year anniversary of the war, as the Western governments and media claim. This is the 9-year anniversary of the war. And that makes a big difference.
Possible Coup Taking Shape in Israel
MEL GURTOV – Israel has always been touted as America’s most reliable friend in the Middle East, a bastion of democracy in a region dominated by autocracies. Now that picture is fraying as the far-right coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes power.
War in Ukraine and ICBMs: The Untold Story
NORMAN SOLOMON – With sky-high tensions between the world’s two nuclear superpowers, the chances of ICBMs starting a nuclear conflagration have increased as American and Russian forces face off in close proximity.
The Case for Diplomacy in Ukraine
KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL and JAMES W. CARDEN – At this juncture, with Russia at the start of a new offensive in Ukraine, vanden Heuvel and Carden believe diplomatic engagement is the only moral and realistic policy available to President Biden and his advisors.
Trouble in town? Send in the Maroon People Instead of the Police
MELINDA BURRELL – The Mediation Response Unit (MRU) of Dayton, Ohio, is helping people understand, among other benefits, that they don’t need to use violence in a dispute, or call the police, or threaten attorneys. Another way is frequently a far better response. Often police are called for a disturbance but cannot do anything because it is a civil, rather than criminal, complaint.
Cuba Is Not a State Sponsor of Terrorism
NOAM CHOMSKY and VIJAY PRASHAD – For two years, the Biden administration has maintained Trump’s vindictive policy, one that punishes Cuba not for terrorism but for the promotion of peace. But Biden can remove Cuba from this list with a stroke of his pen.
Shah-ddy Workmanship: How the US Undermined Democracy in Iran
HALEY MORROW and TOM H. HASTINGS – Since the US was the most significant actor in deposing the democratically elected Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953, and then installing Shah, Iranians knew he was a “puppet of the non-Muslim West.” While few Americans know or remember that our country ended democracy and installed a dictatorship in Iran, virtually no Iranians have forgotten. If anything, that is the sad strength of the theocracy–they blame all Iranian problems on “The Great Satan” (the US).
A Realistic ‘Energy Transition’ Is to Get Better at Using Less of It
RICHARD HEINBERG – My aim is not to discourage people working toward an energy transition, but to insist that we develop a realistic plan for energy descent, rather than insisting on foolish dreams of eternal consumer abundance by means other than fossil fuels. Currently, politically rooted insistence on continued economic growth is discouraging truth-telling and serious planning for how to live well with less.
How Books Can Be Used to Build Up America or to Divide It
TOM CONWAY – Citizens, teachers and other union members harness the power of the written word to unify and bolster their hometowns, but Florida Governor Ron DeSantis opts to weaponize books in an attempt to divide and dominate.
State of the Union Address Shows Us Reality and Surreality
DR. TOM H. HASTINGS – I hope the vast majority of us are paying enough attention to get serious about upholding what is good and helpful for us. The devils are hyperactive in the details but, as we heard and saw, they reveal to all of us what they are willing to do if we are at all apathetic about it. As Edmund Burke reminded us, all that is necessary for evil to triumph is good people do nothing.
Don’t Give Up on the UN
GARY B. OSTROWER – A world organization with the ability to prevent war makes more sense than a narrow and nationalistic commitment to traditional sovereignty. In that case, the UN may begin to live up to its original promise.
Unions Buoyant as 1.27 Million French Protest Pension Reform
ELAINE GANLEY, JADE LE DELEY and JOHN LEICESTER – An estimated 1.27 million people took to the streets of French cities, towns and villages on January 31, according to the Interior Ministry, in new massive protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to raise the retirement age by two years.
A Victory for Abolitionists: ICE-Run Immigration Prison Shuts Down Today
ADRIANNA TORRES-GARCIA and JASMINE RIVERA – It took nearly a decade of exposing the patterns of abuse and neglect at the facility in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
What Determines the Success of Movements Today?
CATHY ROGERS – Building on the recommendations of other movement strategists, new research from the Social Change Lab offers key insights into the factors that lead to protest wins.
Diplomatic Cables Prove Top U.S. Officials Knew They Were Crossing Russia’s Red Lines on NATO Expansion
BRANKO MARCETIC – A review of the public record and dozens of diplomatic cables made publicly available via WikiLeaks show that U.S. officials were aware, or were directly told over the span of years, that expanding NATO was viewed by Russian officials well beyond Putin as a major threat and provocation; that expanding it to Ukraine was a particularly bright red line for Moscow; that such action would inflame and empower hawkish, nationalist parts of the Russian political spectrum; and that it could ultimately lead to war.
And Now They Want to Arm Our Children?
ROB OKUN – We can have a country, if we launch a sustained nationwide, nonviolent movement to end the scourge of gun violence.
Movement to stop Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ calls for support after police kill forest defender
ZANE MCNEILL – “The struggle that is playing out in Atlanta is a contest for the future. It will determine whether those who come after us inherit an inhabitable Earth or a police state nightmare … The forest defenders are trying to create a better world for all of us. We owe it to the people of Atlanta and to future generations everywhere to support them.”
The U.S. Foreign Policy Establishment Proves in Ukraine That It Forgot the Lessons of Vietnam
JAMES W. CARDEN – The wariness and suspicion of unnecessary and unsupportable foreign interventions which, albeit all-too-temporarily, stemmed from the “Vietnam Syndrome” is today utterly absent in the corridors of power in Joe Biden’s Washington. The Vietnam Syndrome is indeed kicked: Dead and buried. But we may soon regret its passing.
‘No miracles needed’: Prof Mark Jacobson on how wind, sun and water can power the world
DAMIAN CARRINGTON – The influential academic, Prof. Mark Jacobson, says renewables alone can halt climate crisis, with technologies such as carbon capture expensive wastes of time.
Are We on the Verge of Civil War II?
ROBERT C. KOEHLER – Martin Luther King, in 1964, warned of the escalation of violence and its consequences when he delivered his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, pointing out to the world that: “. . . in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones. . . . Violence ends up defeating itself.” Verge of Civil War II? Consider the signs.
Celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
KARY LOVE – We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be coworkers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. Such a time is now. Become part of human progress. Call, write, use this time creatively to end the threat to creation.
The Myth of the “Moderate Republican” — and Why It’s So Dangerous
NORMAN SOLOMON and JEFF COHEN – Applying adjectives like “moderate” to congressional Republicans is much worse than merely bad word choices. Our language “becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish,” George Orwell wrote, “but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.” And dangerous ones.
Public Libraries Continue to Thrive Despite Defunding and Privatization Attacks
APRIL M. SHORT – Efforts by governments and cities across the nation to defund the public library indicate a misunderstanding of the essential role that libraries play.
Become a “Vehicle” for the Shift to Nonviolence
SUSAN BEAVER THOMPSON – Let us each become a “vehicle” for a monumental shift toward a more evolved way to manage our conflicts. Though a challenging endeavor, Peace on Earth is possible… and it’s coming. Since Susan Thompson’s first peace journalism trek in 2013, much has changed. People are waking up, becoming engaged and taking action for what they believe. The soil is ripe for pioneering peace activists and peace journalists to rock the world.
Why I’m Going to Jail In Germany Instead of Paying Fines
JOHN LAFORGE – Refusing to pay fines for nonviolent resistance to nuclear war preparations is, from John LaForge’s position of privilege, also an act of solidarity with the poor, the undocumented, and the outcasts who often don’t have resources or connections enough to purchase their way out of pre-trial detention or incarceration for minor offenses.
As we confront the climate crisis, is bigger and faster always better?
CHARLIE WOOD – By prioritizing large-scale climate responses we might be missing out on the kind of bottom-up solutions most aligned with bringing the world back within its limits.
The Squeaker of the House
WIM LAVEN – It is hard to deliver on political promises. Getting results requires hard work and Kevin cannot do any heavy lifting because he has given up his backbone. As Squeaker of the House we should not expect much more than noise, and the people will need to use their voices to drown out the right-wing extremism that is on its way.
Biden to Democrats: Nominate Me, Whether You Like It or Not
NORMAN SOLOMON – With 2023 underway, Democrats in office are still dodging the key fact that most of their party’s voters don’t want President Biden to run for re-election. Among prominent Democratic politicians, deference is routine while genuine enthusiasm is sparse.
Peace Activists to take on the Pentagon and its Corporate Outposts
KATHY KELLY – Mindful of the children who are maimed, traumatized, displaced, orphaned, and killed by all of the wars raging today, we must hold ourselves accountable as well. Phil Berrigan’s challenge must become ours: “Meet me at the Pentagon!” Or at its corporate outposts.
School Vouchers Have Been a Disaster—Now Advocates Are Trying to Rename Them
PETER GREENE – ESAs (education savings accounts) are legal in around 10 states so far, but if this new idea for promoting school choice hasn’t already been proposed in your state, it may be appearing there soon. Here’s what education savings accounts are, how they work, and what policymakers and families in your state should consider before rushing headlong into adopting this idea.
Major Climate Legal Win for South Africa’s Indigenous Communities
JACO PRINSLOO – “Wild Coast communities [of South Africa] are using the courts to fight for the right to determine what happens in their territory and [to strengthen] their hand in a country heavily marred by colonialism.”
Unity in the community, or, how I learned to get along with my enemies
TOM H. HASTINGS – Hate only feeds more hate, more destruction, more violence, more useless continuation of wreckage. Unless some people simply stop, however unilaterally that might be, the hate will never vanish. It may go under some rock when social norms force it there, but it is like a peat bog fire just waiting under the surface, for years sometimes, before conditions allow it to erupt into a raging wildfire. How? How to drop the hate?
Why civilian nuclear power is merely a cover for producing more nuclear weapons
ALFRED MEYER – To protect ourselves from the dangers of the nuclear enterprise, we need to stop the nuclear weapons and nuclear power reactor programs—a tall order, for sure. But if we seek success in our efforts, we are well advised to understand the forces we are engaging with. It is all about nuclear weapons.
Fusion–and its Radioactive and Nuclear Weapons Links
KARL GROSSMAN – A research physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab working on fusion energy research and development says “it is time to ask: Is fusion really a ‘perfect’ energy source?”
Bike Libraries Are Boosting Access To Bikes Across The US
CINNAMON JANZER – Campuses And Libraries Across The Country Are Increasingly Adding Bikes To Their Inventory, Increasing Access To Cycling Along The Way.
Record Turnout in Georgia?? MY A**!
GREG PALAST – A one-million-vote nose-dive in turnout was well-concealed by GOP Gov. Brian Kemp to cover up the effects of “Jim Crow 2.O” at the launch of his presidential campaign. From the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal, math-challenged reporters have repeated the completely upside-down fable of a “record turnout” in the Georgia Senate runoff.
The “Groundhog Day” Syndrome and Progressive Movements in the U.S.
RICK JAHNKOW – A long game is a slow process that doesn’t satisfy our culturally-ingrained need in the U.S. to see immediate results from everything we do. Nevertheless, if we are ever going to break free of the Groundhog Day syndrome, long-game approaches must be given as much emphasis as organizing rallies that demand “change now!”
In Baltimore, Healing Trauma Is Now Official Policy
LISA ELAINE HELD – A groundbreaking law directs Baltimore city agencies and employees — from cops to librarians — to root out practices that cause trauma. Already, lives have been saved.
CODEPINK’s Statement on Congress Passing $858 Billion Military Budget
MELISSA GARRIGA – Budgets like the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) are moral documents. What this $858 billion “defense” budget (includes $50 billion for nuclear weapons; $25 billion for missile defense) is saying to every person in this country is that the people in power do not care about us. Bought by the war industry, they ONLY care about their own profits. They would rather give almost a trillion dollars to death, destruction, and war profiteers than meet the needs of the people.
These Cities’ Car-Free Streets Are Here to Stay
MAYLIN TU – Cars? In this economy? Here’s how four cities kept miles of pavement traffic-free, turning a popular pandemic solution into a permanent fixture.
Corporate Control in the US: How Pervasive Is It?
BRAD WOLF – Thanks to Lewis Powell and his colleagues, the planet now faces multiple crises, and perhaps extinction, by way of corporate hand. The danger is real, existential, measurable. The dead can be counted. The homeless, the hungry, the drought stricken, flooded, burned down, and the war-ravaged form a chorus of suffering. Corporate profits, CEO salaries, lobbying expenditures, and tax cuts reveal the why and how.
Pursuit of Profit Decimates Quality Journalism
BERNIE SANDERS – We need to rebuild and protect a diverse and truly independent press so that real journalists and media workers can do the critical jobs that they love, and that a functioning democracy requires.-
Can We Rebuild a Welcoming Political Culture? You Might Be Surprised
MELINDA BURRELL – A team of psychologists and neuroscientists recently reviewed studies about how to reduce partisan animosity — those negative feelings we have towards people in the other party. The team identified three science-backed areas of potential action: thoughts, relationships, and institutions.
Small modular reactors will not save the day. The US can get to 100% clean power without new nuclear.
ARJUN MAKHIJANI – We can create a renewable electricity system that is much more resilient to weather extremes and more reliable than what we have today. The thinking needs to change, as the Drake Landing Solar Community in Alberta, Canada, where it gets to negative 40 degrees Celsius in the winter, has shown. It provides over 90% of its heating by storing solar energy in the ground before the winter comes. Better than waiting for the nuclear Godot.
Why Movements Need to Revive Song Culture
PAUL ENGLER – Music is making a comeback in movement spaces, as organizers rediscover how song culture strengthens the capacity to create social change.
Ubuntu or Collective Suicide
ROBERT C. KOEHLER – This will never be a perfect world. This will never be a world without conflict. But let’s pause in this moment, calm ourselves, set down our hatred and look each other in the eyes. I am because you are.