War Is A Crime

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Give Donald Trump credit. As a businessman, he’s brought into office some skills that previous presidents lacked. Take, for example, his willingness to plough staggering sums of money into five casinos destined to go bankrupt (and then jump ship, money in hand, leaving others holding read more

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Think of it as a reverse miracle. Seventeen years of American war in this century waged by a military considered beyond compare on a planet that, back in 2001, was almost without enemies. How, then, was it possible, month after month, year after year, to turn the promise of eternal victory so repetitiously into the reality of defeat (and spreading read more

Ever since the U.S. atomic bombings of Japanese cities in August 1945, a specter has haunted the world―the specter of nuclear annihilation.

The latest report from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, issued on January 24, reminds us that the prospect of nuclear catastrophe remains all too real.  Citing the extraordinary danger of nuclear disaster, the editors and the distinguished panel of experts upon whom they relied reset their famous “Doomsday Clock” at two minutes to midnight.

This read more

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“The Bleeding Wound”
Afghanistan and the Implosion of America
By Tom Engelhardt

As I approach 75, I’m having a commonplace experience for my age. I live with a brain that’s beginning to dump previously secure memories — names, the contents of books I read long ago (or all too recently), events, whatever. If you’re of a certain age yourself, you know the story.

Recently, read more

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War

Shutdown or no shutdown, not a single war, base-construction project, or war ship has been halted in its course, and the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service released its “interim report” on Wednesday.

The report comes after a lengthy period of collecting public comments and holding public hearings. At World BEYOND War we encouraged people to submit comments on the following themes, and we know that a great many people did so:

1. End required selective service (draft) registration for men.
2. Do not begin requiring that women register.
3. If not ended, allow the choice of registering as a conscientious objector.
4. If there must be non-military service, make sure that its pay and benefits are at least equal to those of military “service.”

The interim read more

This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.

More than a week ago, Jayme Closs, a 13-year-old from Wisconsin, escaped her 21-year-old abductor who had killed her parents. When she turned up 66 miles from home, having been missing for almost read more

Dana Frank is the author of The Long Honduran Night: Resistance, Terror, and the United States in the Aftermath of the Coup. She is professor of history emerita at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Since the 2009 military coup, her articles about human rights and U.S. policy in Honduras have appeared in outlets including the New York Times, The Nation, and Foreign Affairs, and she has testified before the U.S. Congress and the Canadian Parliament.

Total run time: 29:00
Host: David read more