WARS ABROAD, WARS AT HOME

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WARS ABROAD, WARS AT HOME

WILL STRIKING TEACHERS SPARK A LABOR REVOLUTION?

First came a statewide teachers' strike in West Virginia. When the teachers union leadership negotiated a weak compromise (which was tabled by the GOP-held state Senate anyway), the rank-and-file rebelled and started a wildcat (that is, not approved by leadership) strike that is still going. The strike has forced the closure of public schools in the state's 55 counties, leaving more than 275,000 students without classes to attend. Next, Oklahoma teachers, very clearly inspired by their West Virginia comrades, announced their ownstatewide strike on Monday. We may be at the beginning of a very important national labor push. It's time we all paid attention.   More

“RUSSIAGATE” REVISITED

One of the most bizarre aspects of Russiagate is the magical transformation of intelligence agency heads into paragons of truth-telling – a trick performed not by reactionary apologists for domestic spying, as one would expect, but by people who consider themselves liberals. There is something genuinely absurd about a former director of the FBI – which along with the CIA and NSA has long been one of the gravest threats to democracy in America – solemnly warning of the threat to democracy posed by Russian meddling in the election…  By focusing on the manufactured menace of Russiagate, the Democratic Party leadership can continue to ignore its own failures as well as the actual menace posed by Trump. And by fostering the fantasy of a vast Russian plot against America, the mainstream media can shut down reasonable foreign policy debate and promote a dangerous, unnecessary confrontation with a rival power.    More

Home-Grown Reactionaries, Not Russians, are Greatest Threat to Our Elections

The foes of voting rights never gave up. They never stopped trying to turn back the clock. Now, their unrelenting campaign against voting rights is bearing fruit. In response, we need a new movement to protect and extend the right to vote. Strategic litigation is needed to counter the right’s legal maneuvers.  Legislators should replace the new restrictions on voting with legislation that makes voting easier, not harder: Automatic and same day voter registration, extended periods for early voting, longer hours for polling booths to stay open for working people, an end to political gerrymandering, an end to felony disenfranchisement, curbs on big money in politics and more. We once more need reform to revive our democracy. That won’t happen without a modern day people’s movement as courageous and as relentless as that in Selma nearly half a century ago.    More

Pentagon's new problem after years of crying poverty: Spending all the cash

Congress is still finalizing 2018 appropriations levels for the Pentagon, a delay that has generals and admirals worried about spending all the promised cash in the five months remaining before the end of the fiscal year.  "We have a year's worth of money … and five months to spend it," Gen. Glenn Walters, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, said at a Senate Armed Services Committee budget hearing.

Critics say that giving the military more money than it can absorb invites waste and abuse, noting that the Pentagon has a long history of overpayments, cost overruns and fiscal shenanigans. "They cried wolf and now they have more than they can possibly put to use," said Mandy Smithberger, director of the Center for Defense Information, a policy organization critical of Pentagon budget practices. "I think it's dangerous because you are going to see a use-it-or-lose-it kind of spending."    More

Income Inequality in the U.S. Is Even Worse Than You've Been Led to Believe

The more the ultra-rich prosper, the less they're burdened with taxes, the greater the benefits for society as a whole. If you're familiar with Republican economic theory of the past 40 years, you've probably heard this line of reasoning. In fact, just the opposite is true.

Take it from the world's third richest man, Warren Buffett, who recently noted that between 1982 and 2017, "the wealth of the 400 [richest people in America] increased 29-fold—from $93 billion to $2.7 trillion—while many millions of hardworking citizens remained stuck on an economic treadmill. During this period, the tsunami of wealth didn’t trickle down. It surged upward.”  The reality is the United States is now home to some of the worst income inequality in the developed world, and thanks to the recent passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, this wealth gap will grow exponentially wider.    More

The Real Reason the Investor Class Hates Pensions

Advocates of pension “reform” — which really means cutting or eliminating traditional pension funds — will tell you that such funds are a big drain on state and local budgets, since, as defined-benefit programs, they are obligated to pay workers a defined amount in their retirement. But that’s largely a question of political priorities; underfunded pensions are the result of, well, decades of underfunding pensions. The real reason for the attack on pensions goes deeper, and exposes the great and growing rift between America’s economic elite and everyone else…  If the Kochs and their allies succeed in smashing and scattering these last remaining pension funds into millions of 401(k)s, they will do more than just undermine the retirement security of millions of Americans. They will silence their economic voice. The pension reform drive should be understood, at least in part, as a campaign of economic voter suppression. And it is coming, soon, to a jurisdiction near you, if it isn’t there already.   More

17 Democrats Send This Clear Message: "I Work for My Bank Donors, Not My Constituents'

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and sixteen Democrats joined with 50 Republicans in the U.S. Senate to advance a bill that critics say is just another handout for Wall Street banks—one that also sets the stage for the next major financial meltdown.  "This bill wouldn't be on the path to becoming law without the support of these Democrats." —Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)With a vote of 67-32, including the 17 Democrats who voted yes, a "motion to proceed" received enough support to send the 'Bank Lobbyist Act'—technically the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, or S. 2155—to the floor for debate, possible amendments, and then a final vote later this week or next.    More

OH CANADA!

Hundreds of Canadian doctors demand lower salaries

In a move that can only be described as utterly Canadian, hundreds of doctors in Quebec are protesting their pay raises, saying they already make too much money.  As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 700 physicians, residents and medical students from the Canadian province had signed an online petition asking for their pay raises to be canceled. A group named Médecins Québécois Pour le Régime (MQRP), which represents Quebec doctors and advocates for public health, started the petition Feb. 25.  “We, Quebec doctors who believe in a strong public system, oppose the recent salary increases negotiated by our medical federations,” the petition reads in French. The physicians group said it could not in good conscience accept pay raises when working conditions remained difficult for others in their profession — including nurses and clerks — and while patients “live with the lack of access to required services because of drastic cuts in recent years.”    More

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NEW WARS / OLD WARS – What Could Possibly Go Wrong

JOIN THE RALLY FOR PEACE IN KOREA

Thursday, March 15  4:30 - 5:30

South Station, Boston

Support the momentum for Peace in Korea! Continue the Olympic Truce in Kore;a Take War off the Table; Cancel U.S. military exercises in Korea.  The Olympic Truce (called by the U.N. to last from Feb. 2 to March 25) opened up the opportunity for future discussions that could eventually lead to peace. We must give this small opening toward peace the opportunity to grow and to prevent a catastrophic war   Say YES to the ongoing efforts by South and North Korea to restore a peace process. Say NO to war with North Korea

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A STEP TOWARD PEACE?

South Korea Announces Trump Will Meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un

The White House says President Trump has accepted an invitation to meet directly with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un. South Korea’s National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong spoke with reporters Thursday night outside the White House after briefing officials on the recent talks between Seoul and Pyongyang, and said the meeting would take place within two months. No sitting U.S. president has ever met with a North Korean leader; Kim Jong-un has never met another sitting head of state.    More

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END AMERICA’S WAR IN YEMEN

Of all the facets of our cherished democracy that have begun to erode, few erosions are more horrifying than Congress’ abdication of its duty to debate and vote on whether or not we go to war. Of all the people that have suffered the consequences of this erosion, few have suffered them more acutely than the people of Yemen, residents of a country where unauthorized U.S. military action has helped give rise to the worst humanitarian disaster in the world. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) introduced legislation last week aimed at confronting this erosion and its consequences in Yemen—legislation to end the U.S. military’s role in Yemen’s civil war unless and until Congress authorizes it.   More

The bill number is S.J.Res 54: Introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders [I-VT]; Cosponsors so far Sen. Elizabeth Warren and now Ed Markey, [D-MA];   Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT], Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]; Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ], Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]; Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT]; Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]

Experts urge senators to back bill ending US involvement in Yemen war

A group of experts, advocates, former officials and others are urging senators to support a bipartisan effort to end U.S. involvement in Yemen’s civil war.  “We strongly encourage you and your Senate colleagues to cosponsor and vote for S.J.Res 54, which defends the constitutional linchpin of Congress’s sole authority to declare war and promises to help end what aid groups consider the worst humanitarian crisis in the world,” the 37-person group wrote in a letter sent to every senator Thursday and obtained by The Hill…  In Thursday’s letter, the experts highlighted the United Nation’s assessment that the war has left 8.4 million Yemenis on the verge of famine and that States Department’s assessment that the war has continued a security vacuum that allows for the growth of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Yemeni branch of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.  U.S. involvement in war, the experts asserted, has not been authorized by either a war declaration or specific statutory authorization as required by the War Powers Act.    More

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is planning a visit to the United States early this year, in order to seek more US investment and military collaboration. 

Bin Salman is scheduled to make a stop at MIT, an institution which has worked closely with Saudi Arabia on issues such as cybersecurity and higher education. We call on MIT to revoke its invitation to MBS, a power hungry autocrat who has made bloocy war in Yemen and provoked regional instability.

Massachusetts Peace Action and our allies are planning to protest MBS during his visit at MIT, expected in late March or early April. Please join us in order to show bin Salman that his violent actions in Yemen are not acceptable, and to show MIT and the US government that we will not accept their collaboration with the Saudi absolute monarchy. See more information here. Please sign this petition to protest MBS at MIT.

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US SEEKS TO INTENTIONALLY PROLONG SYRIAN BLOODSHED

From the beginning of Syria’s conflict the United States presented to the world its unyielding ultimatum that the government in Damascus be deposed and replaced by a government headed by the armed militants the US cultivated before the conflict and has armed and funded throughout its now seven year course…  The US intentionally backing an “opposition” that has no chance of overturning the Syrian government equates to intentionally and maliciously prolonging a deadly conflict and all the horrors that accompany it. The Brookings paper specifically suggesting the US “bleed” the Syrian government is done with full knowledge of the cost in human suffering that “bleeding” would undoubtedly incur.    More

Media Erase US Role in Syria’s Misery, Call for US to Inflict More Misery

Anglo-American press coverage of the Syrian situation has grossly misled readers about their own governments’ role in the catastrophe, and has urged audiences to accept greater Western military intervention in the country without examining the implications of such a move… The argument that the US military should save Syria rests on the assumption that American militarism is benevolent, both in intent and outcome. Advancing this position depends on erasing the key contributions America and its partners have made to Syrians’ misery, not only through the above-mentioned support for sectarian armed groups but also through the US-led coalition bombing ostensibly aimed at ISIS that likely killed at least 3,500 to Syrian civilians, through derailing diplomatic efforts that might have ended the war years ago (London Review of Books, 7/16/15), and through carrying out a sanctions regime that has undermined Syrians’ access to clean water, medical equipment and food.    More

U.S. SHOULD ACCEPT PUTIN'S OFFER TO NEGOTIATE ON NUKES

Russia’s new strategic weapons systems do not change the balance of power between the U.S. and Russia, though the U.S. may point to them in justifying its own plans to modernize every aspect of its nuclear arsenal at a cost of $1.7 trillion. Russia’s new offensive nuclear weapons will only bring the ongoing nuclear arms race to a position of strategic stability.  The fuel for a new nuclear arms race was already on the fire, and a Russian strategic response was predictable, when the U.S. withdrew from the ABM Treaty and began developing and emplacing missile defense systems globally. The U.S. withdrawal and abrogation of the ABM Treaty may prove to be the greatest strategic blunder of the nuclear age.    More

For NYT, a Trillion Dollars’ Worth of A-Bombs Is ‘Little’ Response to Russia

The front-page subhead warned, “Russia has ramped up its arsenal, US has done little in response.”  So what does a “little” response look like? Since taking office, the Trump administration and Congress—citing the Russian challenge as one of their major rationales—have increased the military budget by about $80 billion, or roughly 13 percent, the largest increase since the aftermath of 9/11, and 70 percent greater than the entire Russian military budget of $47 billion…  Additionally, Trump has reportedly asked for a “black budget” of over $80 billion for covert operations ($30 billion more than previous reports), and pledged more than $1.2 trillion to building up the United States’ nuclear arsenal over the next 30 years, $200 billion more than Obama asked Congress for when he announced the plan two years ago.    More

GOD WILLS IT!  The War on Terror as the Launching of an American Crusade

George W. Bush answered the criminal attacks of 9/11 not by calling oninternational law enforcement to bring the perpetrators to justice, but by a declaration of cosmic war aimed at nothing less than the elimination of Islamist evil. Labeling it a “crusade” only underscored the subliminal but potent message conveyed by television cameras that lingered on the cathedral’s multiple crucifixes and the bloodied figure of Jesus Christ. Held up for all to see, that sacred icon sent a signal that could not be missed. A self-avowed secular nation was now to be a crusader, ready to display the profoundly Christian character of a culture erected on triumphalist pieties from its Pilgrim roots to the nuclear apocalypticism of the Cold War…  In fact, Bush’s use of that term wasn’t a stumble, however inadvertent, but a crystal-clear declaration of purpose that would soon be aided and abetted by a fervent evangelical cohort within the U.S. military, already primedfor holy war. With what Bush himself called “the distance of history,” it’s now possible to see the havoc his “crusade” is still wreaking across much of the globe.    More