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.
Category: December 2022
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.