STEPHEN ZUNES – By refusing to call for a ceasefire as civilian deaths rise, Biden is alienating young and left-leaning voters.
Category: Archive
The War in Israel: Costs and Consequences
MEL GURTOV – That Netanyahu is the only top Israeli national security official who has not accepted any blame for the Hamas attack is indicative. Will postwar Israel again be plunged into political chaos? Will the far right be empowered or discredited because of the war? Will Israel after the war continue expansion of settlements and deprivation of Palestinians’ rights in the West Bank? One outcome of the extraordinary violence seems certain: The hope for Israeli-Palestinian coexistence, not to mention a two-state arrangement, has been dashed for many years to come.
The Osage want you to know their story doesn’t end with Killers of the Flower Moon
GREG PALAST – Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon describes the struggles of the Osage people. Here’s why they are still fighting.
Texas nuclear waste storage permit invalidated by US appeals court
CLARK MINDOCK – A U.S. appeals court canceled a license granted by a federal agency to a company to build a temporary nuclear waste storage facility in western Texas, which the Republican-led state has argued would be dangerous to build in one of the nation’s largest oil basins.
NATO’s Steadfast Noon Is Ready-made Doom
JOHN LAFORGE – Steadfast Noon is not just code language, or public relations. The event is a large-scale, psychological operation intended to teach us to pretend that nuclear attacks can do good. Of course if nuclear firestorms saved lives and ended war — as U.S. mythology goes with Hiroshima and Nagasaki — then the Pentagon would have used them in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. People love to be fooled.
How the Fourth Level of Socialism Improves on the Other Three
RICHARD D. WOLFF – This fourth kind of socialism repairs the other three kinds’ relative neglect of the micro-level transformation of capitalism into socialism. It does not reject or refuse those other kinds; it rather adds something crucial to them. It represents an important stage reached by prior forms of and social experiments with socialism.
800+ Legal Scholars Say Israel May Be Perpetrating ‘Crime of Genocide’ in Gaza
JAKE JOHNSON – “The ongoing and imminent Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip are being conducted with potentially genocidal intent.”
U.S. Plan to Put Weapons-Grade Uranium in a Civilian Reactor Is Dangerous and Unnecessary
ALAN J. KUPERMAN – The Biden administration’s intention to use dozens of bombs’ worth of highly enriched uranium as fuel in a new civilian reactor sets a dangerous precedent, one that could help our foes get nuclear weapons.
When Violence Fails, Try Nonviolence (Think Ukraine, Middle East)
DR. TOM H. HASTINGS – Exercising nonviolent power is ultimately up to a people. Do we accept that war and violence is inevitable? Do they justify themselves with tales of trauma and atrocity? Often, yes. But not always. Humans choose. It’s what we do.
Why China’s New Map of Its Borders Has Stirred Regional Tensions
JOHN P. RUEHLE – China’s release of its standard map has produced outrage and alarm in several countries, yet Beijing remains steadfast in continuing its historical approach toward its borders.
New Nuclear Plants Don’t Exist; Old Ones Are Decrepit
HARVEY WASSERMAN – To quickly bury at last the immensely powerful fossil fuel industry that threatens us all, the only clear solution comes with a fast-as-possible shift to safer, cleaner, cheaper truly green Solartopian renewables that actually do exist. That are constantly evolving.
The Savagery of the War Against the Palestinian People
VIJAY PRASHAD – The many Israeli attacks on Gaza pulverize the minimal infrastructure that remains intact in Gaza and hits the Palestinian civilians very hard. Civilian deaths and casualties are recorded by the Health Ministry in Gaza but disregarded by the Israelis and their Western enablers. As the current bombing intensified, journalist Muhammad Smiry said, “We might not survive this time.” Smiry’s worry is not isolated. Each time Israel sends in its fighter jets and missiles, the death and destruction are of an unimaginable proportion. This time, with a full-scale invasion, the destruction will be at a scale not previously witnessed.
Over 5,000 actions were organized for Campaign Nonviolence Action Days 2023
RIVERA SUN – During the 10th annual Campaign Nonviolence Action Days from Sept. 21 to Oct. 2, hundreds of local, national and international groups organized actions and events to build a culture of peace and active nonviolence, free from war, poverty, racism and environmental destruction. In 2023, a staggering 5,057 actions were planned across the United States and 20 countries. Over 60,000 people took part in these actions and events.
Thousands protest around the world against Japan’s nuclear waste dumping
KERRY SMITH – Ahead of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Summit on September 18–19, thousands of people in 16 cities across 8 countries gathered to call on the UN and governments to stop Japan’s discharge of nuclear waste into the Pacific Ocean.
As RFK Jr. Shifts His 2024 Strategy, He’s Bad News for Progressives
JEFF COHEN and NORMAN SOLOMON – If Robert F. Kennedy Jr. follows through on his apparent plans to run for president in the fall 2024 general election, that will make it all the more important for progressives to have a clear understanding of who Kennedy is and what he really stands for. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. offers progressives a mishmash of appealing statements, “free market” corporatism and assorted political toxins. Not a good deal.
A major win against factory farming points to a powerful new direction for the climate movement
NICK ENGELFRIED – Small farmers in Oregon, backed by a coalition of animal rights and climate activists, secured a big legislative victory over industrial factory farms, providing inspiration for wider action. “Part of our philosophy is you cannot only oppose or restrict the bad actors, although that is important,” Alice Morrison said. “You also have to lift up folks doing things that align with good stewardship of the land. Any solution to factory farming will be more viable if it puts forward that kind of positive vision.”
FCC details plan to restore the net neutrality rules repealed by Ajit Pai
JON BRODKIN – Democrats finally have 3-2 majority needed to regulate ISPs as common carriers, but the road ahead is challenging.
Finding a Way Out of the “Security Dilemma”
WINSLOW MYERS – As Stephen Kinzer argues in an op-ed in the Boston Globe: “In the coming years, China and its partners will work intensely to strengthen their military power—only to counter American threats, of course. So will the United States and its partners—only to counter Chinese threats. Each side insists that it seeks only to defend itself. Neither believes the other, so both prepare for war. That makes war more likely. Because this spiral of mistrust is so common, it has a name: the security dilemma. It tells us that steps one country takes to increase its security often provoke rivals to take countersteps. That leads to competition that makes all parties less secure.”
Stop Fighting over Deck Chairs While the Ship Is on Fire and Sinking!
JOHN MIKSAD – Martin Luther King was correct when he said we will either learn to live together as brothers and sisters or perish together as fools. The choice is ours.
Fridays for Future: Greta’s school strikes led a third of Swiss citizens to change their habits
ANGELA SYMONS – ‘Collective action can have a direct effect on society’, study on climate strikes shows.
Ecuador Just Showed the World What It Means To Take Climate Change Seriously
NICK GOTTLIEB – Ecuador just showed the world what it means to take climate change, biodiversity loss, and Indigenous sovereignty seriously, all with one national referendum, and at significant cost in a country wrestling with the challenging reality of being a resource producer in the Global South.
Fact Checking Biden’s UN Speech: Words Versus Action
TED SNIDER – US President Joe Biden’s speech before the General Assembly on September 19 spent surprisingly little time on Russia and the war in Ukraine and, in many ways, hit many of the right notes with its praise of “Sovereignty, territorial integrity, human rights . . . the core tenets of the U.N. Charter, the pillars of peaceful relations among nations. . ..” But America’s past performance on these very issues weaken the persuasiveness and sincerity of the appeal.
New York University will divest from fossil fuels in win for student activists
DHARNA NOOR – New York University plans to divest from fossil fuels, the Guardian has learned, following years of pressure from student activists.
Celebrate September 21, the International Day of Peace
TOM H. HASTINGS – Dwight Eisenhower, broadcast with Prime Minister Macmillan in London, 8/31/1959, said, “I like to believe that people, in the long run, are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.”
Small reactors at Hanford: Déjà vu all over again
JOHN ABBOTTS – Will small reactors be the vehicle by which Energy Northwest “rhymes” with its earlier nuclear fiasco? Stay tuned.
Saudi Arabia: With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?
KATHY KELLY – Rather than normalize militarism and human rights abuses, the United States should seek, always and everywhere, to salvage the planet and respect human rights.
From the Partial Test Ban Treaty to a Nuclear Weapons-Free World
LAWRENCE S. WITTNER – As the Partial Test Ban Treaty and its successors show us, arms control and disarmament treaties have helped to curb the nuclear arms race and prevent nuclear war. Similarly, the revived march toward nuclear catastrophe can be halted by finally banning nuclear weapons―if people will demand it.
Project 2025: A 5-Alarm Fire Bell for Our Republic
THOM HARTMANN – The merger of billionaire wealth with partisan Republican governance—and their combined efforts to reshape our government in their own corrupt image, the public be damned—threaten the integrity and future of the American experiment.
From Montana to the Amazon, Let’s Remember to Celebrate Climate Victories
KWOLANNE FELIX – Climate advocacy is arduous, thankless work. But recent wins in the courtroom and at the ballot box give Kwolanne Felix hope.
Oppenheimer’s “Triumph” Destroyed Him; Will It Destroy Us Too?
WINSLOW MYERS – The anguish of Robert Oppenheimer, who unleashed destruction beyond measure and then tried his best to stop its further spread, reminds us that America bears special responsibility for creating the kind of world he hoped for, where the nuclear curse is finally lifted.
DOE’s error-ridden analysis on coal CCS project threatens climate and engagement goals
EMILY GRUBERT – Evaluating whether technologies like hydrogen and carbon capture provide more benefit than harm is a critical activity for the U.S. on our decarbonization journey. The risks are large, and serious. The analyses we need are nuanced and require careful attention: this cannot be a “check the box exercise.” Not taking this seriously risks potentially trillions of dollars and billions of tonnes of GHG emissions, not to mention the trust and goodwill of the American public, which is reasonably skeptical of these potentially critically important technologies. The Project Tundra EA is shocking, with scary implications for doing this right. We must do better, and we must demand better.
One Day for Labor Is Not Enough
ANDREW MOSS – The state of labor this year is so fraught, so weighted with issues and problems, that a single day of homage and reflection doesn’t seem enough. It’s as if a year or more is needed to engage the issues, challenges, and possibilities facing American workers today.
Activists Now Have 104,000 Signatures to Put “Stop Cop City” on the Ballot
MIKE LUDWIG – Worried that city officials will reject large numbers of signatures, organizers have collected far more than required.
Wildfires Aren’t Just a Threat to People-They’re Killing Off Earth’s Biodiversity
REYNARD LOKI – In September 2022, climate journalist and native Oregonian Emma Pattee wrote in the New York Times that “[c]limate scientists estimate that the frequency of large wildfires could increase by over 30 percent in the next 30 years and over 50 percent in the next 80 years, thanks in large part to drought and extreme heat caused by climate change.” That is a frightening prospect not just for humans but for the countless nonhuman animals with whom we share this planet.
Lahaina Tragedy Shows Us the Connection Between Climate Change and Nuclear Weapons
WINSLOW MYERS – If Lahaina carries an echo of Pearl Harbor, the fire-bombing of Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, it also ties together the two largest challenges our species faces together, nuclear war and climate catastrophe.
New 4% Tax on Wealthiest Residents Will Fund Free School Meals in Massachusetts
ZANE MCNEILL – Public school students in Massachusetts are set to get a free breakfast and lunch after the state implemented a new 4 percent tax on the state’s wealthiest residents. Massachusetts is the eighth U.S. state to make free school meals permanent.
Coast to Coast Peace Walk Being Planned
VETERANS FOR PEACE – The goal of promoting VFP or any organization is secondary. That is why we welcome anyone or any left antiwar organization of good will to get on board. The primary and basic foundation organizing will be done by VFP. However, we want your input, involvement and suggestions. If we can all come together on this walk across the heart of America, we can do anything, maybe even begin to actually stop the war machine and find peace.
Arms Deals Are Bad Deals
TOM HASTINGS – Congress can fuss all day long over inane culture war issues that are less than a rounding error in the federal budget, but the real theft from all of us who work for a living is from the war profiteer corporations. Congress can pretend that Social Security and Medicare are making us impoverished but it is the contractor corporations who take more than anyone from our paychecks, quite literally. Only the American people can correct this. It will not be done by those we’ve elected so far, with some noteworthy exceptions. Change it up. Bring in those who are actually committed to fixing this.
Spitting Out Our Bite of the Nuclear Apple
ROBERT C. KOEHLER – War goes deep in the human psyche and, despite the hell it creates, our inner adolescent all too often refuses to surrender belief in it. Humanity has not fully transcended the social organizing principle of war — not when you toss in the corporate profiteering that accompanies it, or the political usefulness of a good enemy. But many, many courageous people are involved in pushing humanity to transcend war.
Survivors of Oppenheimer’s Trinity test are still fighting for justice and recognition
ALESSANDRA BERGAMIN – Nearly 80 years after the first atomic test in New Mexico, a consortium of “downwinders” are documenting the bomb’s impact on their community and organizing for restitution.
‘This Is Huge’: Judge Sides With Montana Youths in Historic Climate Ruling
JULIA CONLEY – “As fires rage in the West, fueled by fossil fuel pollution, today’s ruling in Montana is a game-changer that marks a turning point in this generation’s efforts to save the planet,” said one attorney representing 16 young plaintiffs.
Remembering the Painful Parts of Our Collective History is Important
WIM LAVEN – We would all benefit from an honest appraisal of our painful past. Remembering our collective history—with all its blemishes and bloodstains—could be more than a wake-up call.
Decades After the Nuclear Annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the US Government Called the Bombings “Tests”
NORMAN SOLOMON – The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki actually were tests, in more ways than one.
The climate movement has a recruiting and retention problem – here’s how we fix it
CHARLIE WOOD – Bringing more people into the climate struggle starts with transforming movement culture and opening diverse paths to entry.
How America Undervalues Working People, and How Workers are Fighting Back
ANDREW MOSS – America is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. Yet when compared to other advanced industrialized countries, it fares dismally in national laws and policies affecting workers. This is a major claim of a recent cross-national study sponsored by the humanitarian organization Oxfam America, a report that offers a powerful lens for understanding the major strike activity now underway in the U.S.
Zero Would Be Nice: on Oppenheimer and the TPNW
VICKI ELSON – We can safely abolish all nuclear weapons.
Shocking Statistics Cast Doubt on Human Wisdom
TOM H. HASTINGS – But the waste of war, including the massive diversion of the fruits of our labors to the war system instead of health care, education, and infrastructure, seems overwhelmingly stupid and maladaptive. Are we truly Homo sapiens, the self-anointed “Wise ones”? We shall see. It’s looking dubious.
Massive crowds rally in Israel as vote on judicial overhaul looms
AL JAZEERA – Protesters set up camp outside Israeli parliament as hundreds of thousands rally in Tel Aviv against far-right government’s judicial plans.
There’s no such thing as a new nuclear golden age–just old industry hands trying to make a buck
STEPHANIE COOKE – It’s hard to see how any of the nuclear hype becomes real unless Congress is ready to ignore market signals, nationalize the electricity sector, and rebuild an industrial infrastructure that disappeared decades ago.
Oppenheimer Film Offers Great Organizing Opportunity
ROBERT DODGE – I attended this weekend’s Los Angeles opening of Christopher Nolan’s epic film, Oppenheimer. This must-see film provides a critical opening for an essential conversation about nuclear weapons and their role in our security and the fate of the planet.