In the Line of Eternal Fire: Ukraine’s Nuclear Reactors – CounterPunch.org

LINDA PENTZ GUNTER – As Craig Hooper so chillingly warned us in his December 28, 2021 article for Forbes, a Russian invasion of Ukraine, “could put nuclear reactors on the front line of military conflict.” The result, he said, depending on the tactics deployed by the Russians, could be equivalent to “nuclear warfare without bombs.” It’s yet one more reminder of just how much an already perilous situation can become orders of magnitude worse, once you introduce the risk of major radioactive releases into the equation.

China Gives Oomph to Russia’s ‘Nyet’ on NATO

RAY MCGOVERN – Fourteen years ago today, when then-ambassador to Russia William Burns, in an IMMEDIATE cable titled “Nyet Means Nyet: Russia’s NATO Enlargement Redlines,” reported Moscow’s warning that NATO membership for Ukraine would cross a red line, the Russians could do little more than grouse. Enter from left stage Chinese President Xi Jinping last year with the shot of adrenalin Putin needed to make “Nyet” stick. Under-Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and her protégé Antony Blinken seem to be in the dark about the close ties between Russia and China represented by such give and take between the two countries.

Who is Willing to Participate in Non-Violent Civil Disobedience for the Climate?

CONTRIBUTORS – In September 2021, we asked Americans about their willingness to support an organization engaging in non-violent civil disobedience against corporate or government activities that make global warming worse and about their willingness to personally engage in such non-violent civil disobedience themselves. Here we examine how this willingness varies across different groups including Global Warming’s Six Americas, generations, and the three largest racial/ethnic groups in the United States.

San Jose Set to Become First U.S. City to Make Gun Owners Get Insurance

CHERI MOSSBURG and AMIR VERA – The San Jose, California, city council voted Tuesday night (January 25) to adopt a first-in-the-nation ordinance requiring most gun owners to pay a fee and carry liability insurance, measures aimed at reducing the risk of gun harm by incentivizing safer behavior and easing taxpayers of the financial burden of gun violence.