Portraits of Peacemakers

The great portraitist Robert Shetterly has a new collection out in a book titled Portraits of Peacemakers: Americans Who Tell the Truth.

I recommend getting a copy for every person you know who enjoys art or history or activism or who is concerned by the mass killing of war.

I don’t think I’m biased by the honor I feel at having my portrait included in a collection of such wonderful people. I may be biased by my interest in advancing the cause of peace — but outside of corporate read more

Ukraine: They’re Admitting the Lies and Escalating the War While We Look at Pet Eating Memes

One of the most impressive things about U.S. elections always appears to be the way in which the 96% of humanity outside of the United States consents to doing nothing at all for the better part of a year, so that U.S. media outlets can focus fulltime on the election. Of course, it could be that this, like much else in U.S. elections, is a bit of an illusion.

The highlights of the recent debate would seem to be, from the discussion that has followed:

  1. an aging fascist buffoon falsely claiming that a group of people he’s demonizing wants to eat your pets — the wrong kind of animals, you should be serving the livestock industry that is helping render the Earth uninhabitable — and
  2. the same racist nitwit fumbling around about having “concepts of a plan” for healthcare — but please pay no attention to the healthcare solution long since found by every other wealthy nation on the planet and shunned by both major political cartels in Washington.

And yet, the most significant bit of the debate read more

NATO: Not A Tenable Option

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, August 29, 2024
Remarks on Canada-Wide Peace & Justice Network webinar on August 28, 2024

When NATO gathered in Washington D.C. several weeks ago, we held a counter-summit and a rally, did a bunch of interviews, wrote a bunch of articles, etc. All the videos and reports are at nonatoyespeace.org to watch and read at your convenience. I won’t try to read them to you. We had a minimal impact on U.S. and global communications about the NATO summit. We promoted read more

The Party Platform Racket

While party platforms are usually full of insincere popular promises, this year’s from the Democrats spits in the face of the majority of Democrats who want peace.

Normally, U.S. political party platforms should not be read as outlines of what a party will do if given power. (Lists of donors should be read as outlines of what a party will do if given power.) Platforms should be read as the question section of a beauty contest. (And be grateful there’s no swimsuit section.)

Four years ago, the read more

Why the Genocide Continues

According to the New York Times, U.S. officials say there’s no excuse, on the warmakers’ own terms, for the genocide they are arming:

“Israel has achieved all that it can militarily in Gaza, according to senior American officials, who say continued bombings are only increasing risks to civilians while the possibility of further weakening Hamas has diminished. . . . William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, is due in Qatar on Thursday. Brett McGurk, President Biden’s Middle East coordinator, read more