Blog

The Nobel Committee Is Doing Better Saturday, October 12th, 2019

Trump’s Opponents Have Him Beat . . . When It Comes to Incompetence Thursday, October 10th, 2019

If Trump were to finally shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, Nancy Pelosi and Jerrold Nadler and company would not declare it acceptable, absolutely not. But what they would do would be to open a months-long investigation into the history of the victim, what Trump had said earlier in the day, who had..

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Dashain Festival Commemorates Goddess Durga’s Prowess Thursday, October 3rd, 2019

In Hinduism, Goddess Durga is known as shakti and sometimes referred to as Durgatinashini, which literally means “the one who removes all kinds of pains and sufferings”. According to mythology, Durga was created by gods by pooling their spiritual powers together as they wanted to create..

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Dangerous Detentions: Julian Assange and Remaining in Belmarsh Tuesday, October 1st, 2019

Much ink has been spilt in textbooks describing situations where autocratic states can behave badly. They abuse rights; they ignore international law and they ride roughshod over conventions. Liberal democracies may boast that they follow matters to the letter of the law, and make sure that..

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New Study Documents Depleted Uranium Impacts on Children in Iraq Sunday, September 22nd, 2019

In the years following 2003, the U.S. military dotted Iraq with over 500 military bases, many of them close to Iraqi cities. These cities suffered the impacts of bombs, bullets, chemical and other weapons, but also the environmental damage of open burn pits on U.S. bases, abandoned tanks and..

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How the U.S. Institute of Peace Avoids Peace in Afghanistan Thursday, September 19th, 2019

Four years ago, I wrote this after a meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace: “The president of USIP Nancy Lindborg had an odd response when I suggested that inviting Senator Tom Cotton to come speak at USIP on the need for a longer war on Afghanistan was a problem. She said USIP had to please..

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For the First Time in My Life I’m Against Impeaching the President Thursday, September 12th, 2019

I had hoped to make the above statement after electing a president whom I did not consider a vile mass-murderous warmongering climate-destroying threat to humanity. I’m saying it early. I’m saying it while Trump is president. But I’m not saying it because I’ve come to share any of the..

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Nonviolence Denial Is As Dangerous As Climate Denial Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019

Persistent willful ignorance of necessary knowledge can be deadly. This is true of denial of climate collapse. It is also true of denial of the tools and power of nonviolent action. As evidence and knowledge pile up in each case, denial of the facts looks more and more intentional, reckless, and..

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10 Ways We Pretend War Is Not a Crime and How to Change Them Wednesday, August 28th, 2019

Happy Kellogg-Briand Pact Day! As you all know, but most people do not, the Peace Pact was signed 91 years ago today. And, as you all probably know, but most people do not, the inspiration and vision and endless labor behind it came from a mass movement begun and led, not by Mr. Kellogg or Monsieur..

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Love It or Leave It Monday, August 26th, 2019

Imagine a dystopian future in which every person in the United States is given free and total and preventative heath care from whatever doctors and nurses they want, but CNN talking heads pine sorrowfully for their beloved insurance companies. Imagine that top-quality education from preschool..

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Condescension and Climate Change: Australia and the Failure of the Pacific Islands Forum Sunday, August 18th, 2019

It was predictably ugly: in tone, in regret, and, in some ways, disgust. Australia emerged from the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting isolated, the true spoiler of the party which saw 17 states facing the obstinacy of one. It had taken place on Tuvalu, some two hours flight north of Fiji. The..

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America’s Superpower Panic Monday, August 12th, 2019

Global superpowers have always found it painful to acknowledge their relative decline and deal with fast-rising challengers. Today, the United States finds itself in this situation with regard to China. A century and a half ago, imperial Britain faced a similar competitive threat from America. And..

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Long After Hiroshima Wednesday, August 7th, 2019

How do we honor victims? We can remember them and appreciate who they were. But there were too many of them, and too many unknown to us. So, we can remember a sample of them, examples of them. And we can honor the living survivors, get to know and appreciate them while they are still alive. We can..

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Poor Wittle CNN Wednesday, July 31st, 2019

“So, Senator Sanders, do you think that someone who’s profited from the current so-called healthcare system, like John Delaney, is qualified to tell you not to change it?” is a different sort of question from “So, Congressman Delaney, won’t good Americans run screaming from Senator..

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Top End Travels: The Tiwi Islands, the Catholic Church and King Joe of Melville Island Friday, July 26th, 2019

Lush mangroves, the spray of emerald water from the Timor Sea, the sense of the untainted: the journey to the Tiwi Islands, some 80 kilometres north of Darwin, was crudely advertised as one of the Things to Do in the Northern Territory. “Take the opportunity to have a truly fantastic day out...

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Southeast Asia Was Hit By a Record-Breaking Disaster; It Was Called the United States Tuesday, July 23rd, 2019

In my town in the United States — as is not especially unusual — we have big memorials in prominent public places marking some of the most catastrophically immoral actions of the past. Unfortunately, all five of these major monuments celebrate and glorify these past horrors, rather than..

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U.S. Troops Back in Saudi Arabia: What Could Go Wrong? Sunday, July 21st, 2019

The First Gulf War back in 1990 was a big huge success. One of the things it accomplished was a major U.S. troop presence in Saudi Arabia. Muslims around the world were outraged. Bombs were repeatedly set off at Khobar Towers where troops were stationed. In 1998 Osama Bin Laden declared: “For..

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Mike Gravel Should Be In the Debates Thursday, July 18th, 2019

I spoke with Senator Mike Gravel on Thursday and asked him whether it seemed fair to him to be excluded from Democratic Party Presidential Primary debates on the basis of his performance in polls that did not include his name among those whom people could say they supported. Of course, he said..

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Is Tulsi Gabbard Qualified? Wednesday, July 17th, 2019

I want Tulsi Gabbard in the Democratic Presidential debates because she speaks out against wars. She raises the topic unasked. She wants various wars ended or not launched. She wants impeachment made automatic for presidents who launch wars. What’s not to love? I also want Mike Gravel included..

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Military Bill Amended for the Better: This Pig Has Really, Really Good Lipstick Sunday, July 14th, 2019

The latest U.S. House of Representatives version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which is beyond global in scope and not the least bit defensive, offended Donald Trump’s desire for limitless power and spending in dozens of ways detailed by the people he employs to write things longer..

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