Tomgram: Nan Levinson, Peace When?

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It’s now more than two months since Hamas savagely assaulted Israeli border settlements and this round of the war in Gaza began. As a matter of habit, I watch NBC Nightly News and the PBS NewsHour and, in those eight weeks, I don’t think there was a single night when both of those broadcasts didn’t start with the latest news from Israel and Gaza. Other read more

Replacing a Disastrous War with a Just Peace in Ukraine

Although the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has captured the world’s horrified attention, the war in Ukraine has had even more terrible consequences.  Grinding on for nearly two years, Russia’s massive military invasion of that country has taken hundreds of thousands of lives, created millions of refugees, wrecked Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and economy, and consumed enormous financial resources from nations around the world.

And yet, despite the Ukraine War’s vast human read more

Philosophy Should Not Be Dumbed Down into War Propaganda by The Hill Newspaper

On December 9, The Hill published “Will America fail the Peter Singer test in Ukraine?” by Alexander J. Motyl, which began:

“Are the MAGA Republicans who want to cut off U.S. aid to Ukraine acting ethically? To put the matter bluntly, are they supporting the war crimes Russia is committing in Ukraine or not?”

Presumably those of us who dislike fascistic buffoons AND pointless endless murderous wars that risk nuclear apocalypse while slaughtering people, devastating the environment, impeding read more

Infrastructure for Peace – What Works?

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, December 9, 2023
Remarks at Conference of GAMIP (Global Alliance for Ministries and Infrastructures for Peace)

I’m sorry I’ve been too busy to have slides here, and am lucky just to have words. I’m also sorry there are so many Davids, King David being a horrible figure to name us all after, but David Adams and many other Davids are redeeming the name, I think.

Here we are in a moment when the world’s most self-righteous, self-appointed overseers of an read more

What If New Zealand Were to Abolish Its Military

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, December 7, 2023

The world should read a new book from New Zealand called Abolishing the Military. New Zealand has decidedly not yet followed Costa Rica and stashed its military in a museum. And were it to do so, I can virtually guarantee you that CNN would never mention the act. But the argument for doing so is powerfully laid out in this book and — whether the authors mean it to or not — applies with very slight tweaking to any nation on Earth.

First read more

What the People Have to Say About Weaponizing the World

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, December 6, 2023

The petition at this link is called “No More Weapons Shipments to Ukraine, Israel, or Taiwan.” It’s addressed to the U.S. government and reads : “Stop the weapons shipments, and replace them with diplomacy and a new focus on the human and environmental crises that these wars defund, distract from, and exacerbate.”

People have added the following comments when signing it:

“Please wise up and recognize that this Earth and the life it read more

VIDEO: Ending the Gaza War: Can a Just Peace Arise?

By Green Party Videos, December 6, 2023

On November 29, 1947 the United Nations adopted Resolution 181 that would divide Great Britain’s former Palestinian mandate into Jewish and Arab states. In the intervening years, Israel has been engaged in a series of wars with adjacent Arab states and displaced Palestinians.

On the 76th anniversary of this date. November 29, 2023, The Green Party Peace Action Committee presented a webinar on the latest outbreak of fighting in the Mideast, the war in read more