JESSICA CORBETT – Dozens of youth activists with the Sunrise Movement were arrested by Secret Service agents on Monday, June 28, while blockading all 10 entrances of the White House to demand that President Joe Biden and federal lawmakers deliver an infrastructure package that invests in job creation and combats the climate emergency.
Category: Archive
Supreme Court Vindicates Progressive Fears – Supports Voter Suppression
TOM HASTINGS – The unraveling of US democracy continues as the third branch of government, contaminated by Republican dirty tricks, confirms the trend of voter suppression laws designed to prevent entire groups of people who tend to vote Democrat from actually being able to vote.
Trend: Nationalism Declines in Many Countries
LAWRENCE WITTNER – Although, beginning in about 2015, nationalist political parties made enormous advances in countries around the world, more recently they have been on the wane.
Time is Running Out for US-Iran Nuclear Agreement
MEL GURTOV – Despite the best efforts of the Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu to disrupt the nuclear talks with Iran by attacking Iran’s nuclear computer network, the news out of Geneva is that a new agreement is close to being signed. It has been a very rough road to get there—a road worth recalling because among that agreement’s accomplishments will be resumption of multilateral diplomacy with the US at the table.
‘Horrible and Unconscionable Betrayal’: Biden DOJ Backs Trump Line 3 Approval
JESSICA CORBETT – Indigenous and environmental activists fighting against the Line 3 tar sands pipeline were outraged Thursday, June 24, after the Biden administration filed a legal brief backing the federal government’s 2020 approval of the project under former President Donald Trump.
Education of the US Public About Climate-Related Migration Urgently Needed
ANDREW MOSS – The Biden administration has made some admirable moves and gestures toward addressing the immense challenges posed by climate-related migration. But it hasn’t adequately educated the American people about the issue.
50 Years Ago, the Pentagon Papers’ Success Hinged on a Personal Conversion to Nonviolence
ROBERT LEVERING – Without the friendships he forged in the antiwar movement, Daniel Ellsberg might not have found the courage and support he needed to help end the Vietnam War.
What If Dennis Kucinich Becomes the Mayor of Cleveland?
NORMAN SOLOMON – Cleveland has been spiraling downward. It’s one of the poorest cities in the country, beset by worsening violent crime, poverty and decaying infrastructure. Now, 42 years after the end of his first term as mayor, Dennis Kucinich is ready for his second.
‘Keystone XL Is Dead!’: After 10-Year Battle, Climate Movement Victory Is Complete
JOHN QUEALLY – “Keystone XL is now the most famous fossil fuel project killed by the climate movement,’ said one veteran campaigner, “but it won’t be the last.”
Puerto Rican Workers: No Peace If Energy Is Privatized
WORKER’S WORLD – Unions representing thousands of Puerto Rican workers, ranging from teachers to truck drivers, support Puerto Rican Electric Power Authority (PREPA) workers and demand the LUMA Energy contract be repealed.
APPEAL to Biden and Putin to Reduce Nuclear Weapons Dangers
CENTER FOR CITIZEN INITIATIVES – CCI calls for results-oriented dialogue to rediscover the road to a world free of nuclear weapons.
Summer of Drought, Wildfires Could Devastate NW Salmon Species
ERIC TEGETHOFF – There are signs this summer could be a bad one for the native salmon of the Northwest. Already, drought has gripped the region, causing low river flows that could be hard for fish to navigate or spawn in. That’s bad news for species already teetering on extinction, especially in the Columbia River Basin.
Schumer’s Anti-China Bill Sacrifices Climate for Empire
MARCY WINOGRAD and MEDEA BENJAMIN – “United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021” would sabotage an opportunity for the U.S. and China—countries responsible for releasing half of the world’s fossil fuel emissions — to partner on curbing emissions and sharing strategies for greening the Earth.
“Usable Nukes” – Our Government’s Latest Security Fantasy
ROBERT KOEHLER – We must free ourselves from the mindset of militarism, which is perpetuated not merely by politicians and generals but, inexcusably, by much of the media, which compliantly speaks their language. In militaryspeak, civilians may be bombed but they’re never murdered, at least not by us. If we can’t avoid acknowledging their deaths, then they become collateral damage, necessary for “the restoration of strategic stability.â€
JPMorgan Chase Just Became the World’s Most Dangerous Bank
ALEC CONNON – While the IEA states that there can be no new investment in the expansion of fossil fuels, Chase doesn’t plan to reduce its investments in new fossil fuel supply at all within the next decade.
Is the Biden-Putin Summit Doomed?
RAY MCGOVERN – Whether or not Official Washington fully appreciates the gradual – but profound – change in America’s triangular relationship with Russia and China over recent decades, what is clear is that the US has made itself into the big loser. The triangle may still be equilateral, but it is now, in effect, two sides against one.
Biden’s Eloquence About George Floyd Will Ring Hollow if Rahm Emanuel Gets Ambassador Nomination
NORMAN SOLOMON – If Joe Biden fully meant what he said after meeting with George Floyd’s family in the Oval Office on Tuesday, he won’t nominate Rahm Emanuel to be the U.S. ambassador to Japan. But recent news reports tell us that’s exactly what the president intends to do.
Are We Getting the National Security We Are Paying For?
MICHAEL CARRIGAN and PETER BERGEL – Our country continues to expend nearly half its discretionary budget on its military might. That leaves only half for everything else. The perennial explanation given to defend this lopsided priority is that the military guards our national security. If only that were true!
Like Biden’s Bold Moves on Government Spending? Thank Social Movements.
MARK ENGLER and PAUL ENGLER – The importance of grassroots organizing is still being underestimated.
Tribe Fends Off Dangerous Open Pit Mine Plan
REBECCA ROWE – The Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin sent a mine developer back to the drawing board after a legal battle over sacred sites and water contamination.
What ‘Self-Defense’ Means for Israel
ROBERT C. KOEHLER – What a world this is. I fear far less “aid†is given, and far less profit is envisioned, to promote “the right of all people, regardless of their faith, to have self-determination and equal rights.â€
Why Israel Blows Up Media Offices and Targets Journalists
NORMAN SOLOMON – AP president, Gary Pruitt, said “we are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organizations in Gaza.â€
Rethinking the West’s Approach to Ukraine
NICOLAI N. PETRO – The United States insists on seeing Ukraine through the prism of Russia, rather than through the complex realities of Ukraine.
Yaqui Resisters Dismantle a Gas Pipeline and Sell It As Scrap Metal
DALIRI OROPEZA and REYNA HAYDEE RAMIREZ – The gas pipeline was already a foregone conclusion, at least that’s what the company, the subsidiary, and the government of Sonora thought. They were wrong. Yaqui women narrate how they have stopped this project.
Getting Back to Basics in Policy on Israel
MEL GURTOV – “The problem with the Middle East is that you can try to turn your back on it, but it won’t turn its back on you,†said Martin S. Indyk, former US ambassador to Israel. And it hasn’t: once again, Israelis and Palestinians are at war.
How a Hearing on Nuclear Weapons Shows All that’s Wrong with US Foreign Policy Making
JOE CIRINCIONE – The panel with no diversity of views was meant to reinforce a forgone conclusion: more money for more weapons.
SOS: Will the World Answer the Calls for Help?
WIM LAVEN – We can speak out against oppression, we can demand assistance for those in need, and we can strive to do better. The world depends on our collective action and commitment.
Amid Widespread Disease, Death, and Poverty, the Major Powers Increased Their Military Spending in 2020
LAWRENCE WITTNER – Last year was a terrible time for vast numbers of people around the globe, who experienced not only a terrible disease pandemic, accompanied by widespread sickness and death, but severe economic hardship. Even so, the disasters of 2020 were not shocking enough to jolt the world’s most powerful nations out of their traditional preoccupation with enhancing their armed might, for once again they raised their military spending to new heights.
This Startup Grows Kelp then Sinks it to Pull Carbon from the Air
ALEXIS BENVENISTE – Carbon emissions are a huge contributor to climate change, so companies are getting creative about finding ways to suck the heat-trapping element out of the atmosphere and slow global warming.
Restrictions Work, says Man Who Brought Massachusetts Gun Deaths to Record Low
SARAH BETANCOURT – Massachusetts has the lowest US gun death rates, and John Rosenthal says mass shootings won’t stop without real national action.
Biden Needs to Replace Saber-Rattling STRATCOM Head
JOHN LAFORGE – Joe Biden has his own Douglas MacArthur moment, and should replace the head of US Strategic Command, Adm. Charles A. Richard, just as Harry Truman fired the insubordinate commander of the US war in Korea.
Transcending ‘the Religion of Whiteness’
ROBERT C. KOEHLER – Are we transcending the religion that gave us slavery?
Montana Becomes First State To Pass Resolution Against Unconstitutional Wars
LIAM MCCOLLUM – The Montana state legislature overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan and unprecedented resolution Tuesday calling on the federal government to end endless wars. The resolution passed 95-3 in the House and 47-2 in the Senate. The resolution specifically urges President Joe Biden and the United States Congress to “end the endless war in Afghanistan,†repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force, resist sending U.S. troops into combat without a declaration of war from Congress or specific authorization to do so, and to “execute a prudent foreign policy.â€
Chinese Foreign Ministry Calls for Promptly Starting Talks on Space Arms Control
SPACE WAR – China is calling on the global community to urgently start the negotiations on the space arms control, which should be based on a document proposed by Beijing and Moscow
The Biden Administration Needs A Kinder, Gentler Foreign Policy
DR. MARC PILISUK – In a world increasingly threatened by nuclear annihilation, there is need for a new vision in which adherence to the values of peace with justice and environmental sustainability are prominent. This goes with support for the international institutions supporting them like the World Health Organization, UNESCO and the International Criminal Court. The outmoded world of aggressive gamesmanship will need dramatic U.S. reformist initiatives if it is ever to change.
Inside the Koch-Backed Effort to Block the Largest Election-Reform Bill in Half a Century
JANE MEYER – On a leaked conference call, leaders of dark-money groups and an aide to Mitch McConnell expressed frustration with the popularity of the legislation—even among Republican voters.
Ten Reasons to Oppose Militarism & War on Earth Day
JOHN MIKSAD – Earth Day has meant many things to us since its inaugural year, 1970. Now, more than ever, its legacy must include opposition to militarism and war.
‘Oi Barclays, Clean Your Act Up!’ – Extinction Rebellion Dirty Scrubbers Pay a Visit to Barclays HQ
EXTINCTION REBELLION – [On March 30] Extinction Rebellion Dirty Scrubbers took their theatrical protest to Barclays Bank headquarters in Canary Wharf with a letter to the bank demanding it ‘clean its act up!’ The scrubbers were armed with a ‘wobbly washing machine’ and a bubble machine. They washed the blood, oil, and greenwash out of Barclays’ dirty money and cleaned the black carbon out of Barclays’ arctic exploration in a theatrical performance designed to highlight the role of banks in the climate and ecological emergency.
Contrary to What Biden Said, U.S. Warfare in Afghanistan Is Set to Continue
NORMAN SOLOMON – The U.S. war in Afghanistan won’t end just because President Biden and U.S. news media tell us so. As countless Afghan people have experienced, troops on the ground aren’t the only measure of horrific warfare.
Again, Washington Jumps to Conclusions over Ukraine-Russia Skirmish
ANATOL LIEVEN – The initial reaction of Biden administration officials to the latest clash between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian militia (or Russian soldiers serving as militia) in eastern Ukraine exemplifies a very dangerous pattern in U.S. and Western behavior: to believe whatever “our†side in a given crisis tells us, automatically, and without checking facts.
There’s Another Pandemic under Our Noses, and It Kills 8.7m People a Year
REBECCA SOLNIT – While Covid ravaged across the world, air pollution killed about three times as many people. We must fight the climate crisis with the same urgency with which we confronted coronavirus.
Trapped at the Border: Their Fate is our Fate – The Immigration Issue is Complex
ROBERT KOEHLER – It’s far too easy to envision the chaos of emigration getting worse, with the world’s poorest (and most deserving) people trapped in ever-intensifying violence and desperation, increasingly walled off from hope by racist ignorance. Something else becomes possible when we begin to realize that unless we change the world, their fate is our fate.
Selective Service Registration Deserves a Full Hearing in Congress
EDWARD HASBROUCK – The real choice Congress faces regarding draft registration is whether to expand registration to women or to end it entirely. Bills for each of those options were introduced in the last session of Congress, and are likely to be reintroduced within the next few months as part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act. This is a choice about militarism, not a choice about gender equality.
Playing Russian Roulette in the Ukraine
NATYLIE BALDWIN – There have been recent reports of intensified fighting near the line of contact in the Donbass area of eastern Ukraine between Kiev forces and Donbass rebels who are supported by Russia. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission reported a rise in ceasefire violations at the end of the week before last from 89 to nearly 500. There are accusations back and forth of new attacks by Kiev forces on Donbass and a military buildup in Russia near the border with eastern Ukraine.
Big Chickens in Georgia Suppress Liberal Voters
WIM LAVEN – Repeated efforts to undermine black votes and black voices is disgusting and we need to make sure the racist strategies are punished, but, sadly, for the moment Georgia’s Republicans are getting away with it.
‘This Goes Way Beyond Brutality’: Myanmar Coup and the Military’s Violent Suppression of Democracy
GLOBAL VOICES SOUTH EAST ASIA – February became a bloody month as the military and police violently attacked anti-coup protesters
Opposition to Abolishing Nuclear Weapons—and What Could Help to Overcome It
LAWRENCE S. WITTNER – Large numbers of people remain unready to take the step necessary to prevent the launching of a war that would turn the world into a charred, smoking, radioactive wasteland. Why?
Where Are the “Other†White Men?
ROB OKUN – Where are the “other†white men? Who wear masks, believe in gender equality (and science), raise their children, don’t “babysit†them; workingmen volunteering in their communities? There are plenty of them below the media’s radar, and many like them are in BIPOC communities.
The Urgent Need for a Biden-Putin Summit
NORMAN SOLOMON – The outbreak of rhetorical hostilities between the White House and the Kremlin has heightened the urgent need for a summit between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin. The spate of mutual denunciations is catnip for mass media and fuel for hardliners in both countries. But for the world at large, under the doomsday shadow of nuclear arsenals brandished by the United States and Russia, the latest developments are terribly ominous.
How to Finally End ‘Forever Wars’
JACK GOLDSMITH and SAMUEL MOYN – If President Biden really wants to end the ‘forever wars’, he must work with Congress and go well beyond narrowing old permission slips for conflict.