OBAMA: First stop, Hiroshima; second stop, Moscow

#Obama in #Hiroshima
(Please retweet this message.)

Barack Obama is going to Hiroshima. The world will be expecting a big announcement - steps toward REAL nuclear disarmament, steps including Russia.

Here are five reasons why Hiroshima should be just the first stop on Obama's trip (and the second stop should be Moscow).

What Would a Nuclear Weapon Do
to Chicago? (Go ahead, guess . . . )

(1) Hiroshima? the tip of the iceberg ....

People can hardly bear to confront the horror of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

And yet perhaps the most important thing to remember as the eyes of the world turn to the Obama visit to Hiroshima is that each of today's nuclear weapons is a thousand times more powerful and a thousand times worse than the one used at Hiroshima.

Job #1 Vis-a-vis Russia:
NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

(2) US and Russia

People in the US are fed a daily diet of stories about other countries' nuclear weapons -- China (scary!), Pakistan (very scary!!), North Korea (very, very scary!!!) -- and possible future nuclear weapons -- IRAN!!!! -- but the two countries with THOUSANDS of nuclear weapons on alert and ready to go are the US and Russia.

We will never be safe until the US and Russia cut their own nuclear weapons.

Nuclear disarmament is
an obligation.

(3) Promises to Keep

Little has changed in 50 years. The world entered into a regime designed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons -- absolutely, 100% predicated on the promise of states with nuclear weapons -- the US, Russia, and others -- to eliminate theirs.

When you hear the words "NPT" and "Nonproliferation Treaty," ask the US and Russia: have you eliminate your nuclear weapons yet, as you promised you would?


(4) The US has a problem

President, Congress, People:
Who's gonna get this done?

A year ago, people were talking about how US politicians were gridlocked and our government had become ineffective.

Today, our political class is in crisis.

Barack Obama came into office in 2009 thinking -- or at least saying he thought -- he would bring about a huge advance in creating a nuclear-weapons-free world. Somewhere along the way, he seems to have decided it's not on him.

People need to tell Obama to face facts. It is on him.

It's not the way our government is supposed to work. But it's the hand he's been dealt.

World to US: DISARM!

(5) The world is watching

The way the world views the US is this: our country -- and a few others like us -- are holding a sword over everyone else's head.

It's time for the US to wise up and see itself as others see it.

In other words, it's time for us to care about our relationship with the other people with whom we share the planet.


What more is it gonna take?

Putin and Obama: #talk

Other related posts

"It's not enough to remember this just once a year; it's not enough that we make a single book -- Hiroshima -- required reading, and never go beyond that. There should be a whole canon that people study progressively, year by year, to grasp and retain the horror of this."

(See FIRE AND BLAST: A Curriculum that Confronts Nuclear Danger?)











Do we have a way to immerse ourselves in the experience of what the use of those nuclear weapons would really mean -- prospectively -- so that we can truly cause ourselves to confront our own inaction?

(See Stop engaging in risky behavior )

Any advocacy for the elimination of nuclear weapons must sooner or later get around to the specifics of the steps by which we get to zero. U.S. nuclear strategists recognize that 311 is still a large number of strategic nuclear weapons for the U.S. to hold. Shouldn't our minimum demand be to get U.S. to this level (or below)?

(See Why Are These Military Experts Saying CUT CUT CUT Nukes? )

Elaine Scarry demonstrates that the power of one leader to obliterate millions of people with a nuclear weapon - a possibility that remains very real even in the wake of the Cold War - deeply violates our constitutional rights, undermines the social contract, and is fundamentally at odds with the deliberative principles of democracy.

(See Reviews of "Thermonuclear Monarchy: Choosing Between Democracy and Doom" by Elaine Scarry )

I'm marveling at the adjacency of a piece of public art -- one with a very clear message about the risk of human ambition and self-absorption and heedlessness -- to the center of political power in the city of Chicago.

(See NUCLEAR WEAPONS: Who will bring us down to earth? )

NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT: Time to get ANGRY about US FAILURE!

It's the approximate midpoint of the month-long review conference on the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons at the United Nations in New York. Perhaps this is a good time to give everybody a head's up:

The US is FAILING in its obligation to disarm.

Nuclear weapons for everybody? or for nobody?
White House talks with Saudis focus on nuclear weapons.
(Image: Kevin LaMarque/Reuters)

I was reminded of this yesterday by an article in The New York Times: "Saudi Arabia Promises to Match Iran in Nuclear Capability" by David E. Sanger. The story suggests that Saudi Arabia is unhappy that Iran retains too much potential to get nuclear weapons. But what the Saudis are telling the US is, essentially, either everybody has them or nobody has them.  It's just a lot easier, diplomatically, to say, "We're talking about Iran here" than it is to say, "We're talking about you."

Look at the picture above from the White House meeting. Look at the faces. YOU decide: what do you really think is at issue here?

I have heard country after country after country express their frustration with US intransigence on nuclear disarmament.  The US (and other nuclear "haves") are bound by existing treaty obligations to move to complete nuclear disarmament. What's the holdup?

At the Peace and Planet nuclear disarmament events in New York in April, I heard Prof. Zia Mian challenge the audience to confront the fact that the promises that we have gotten to date from the US to eliminate nuclear weapons aren't being honored. We think we've made progress, but the truth is that we've FAILED.

So I wasn't surprised that between the time I decided to write this blog post and the time I turned on my computer, I had received an email from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) saying,

"An overwhelming majority of governments have expressed great concerns over the catastrophic humanitarian consequences and the increasing risk of use of nuclear weapons, and are calling for nuclear weapons to never be used again, under any circumstances. . . . Meanwhile, a small number of governments – in particular those with nuclear weapons themselves – are vigorously opposing progress. . . . What we are witnessing in New York right now is that the will of the majority to move forward is being blocked by a small minority who is desperate to preserve the status quo."

ICAN is promoting a global ban treaty -- one that will be led by the countries without nuclear weapons (and especially without a history of using nuclear weapons!).

What are those of us in the US supposed to do?

[UPDATE May 18: David E. Sanger and William J. Broad report in The New York Times: "China Making Some Missiles More Powerful" that, after sitting on MIRV technology for decades without making use of it, China is sending a clear message to the US: It is improving nuclear weapons in a way that "can unambiguously reach the United States." Could it have anything to do with the steadfast refusal of the US to eliminate its own nuclear weapons? Is it a coincidence that this announcement is coming during the NPT RevCon?]

[UPDATE May 27: AFSC's Joseph Gerson in Truthout: "Obama Administration Sabotages Nuclear Nonproliferation Conference" -- the title of the article says it all . . . . ]

[UPDATE June 3: The New York Times didn't mince words: "This year’s conference, after four weeks of often acrimonious debate and finger-pointing, collapsed on May 22 without the members formally agreeing on a plan of action. All decisions must be made by consensus, and the United States, Britain and Canada rejected the final communiqué." See the lead editorial on June 3, "Lost Opportunity on Nuclear Disarmament."]


TAKE ACTION:

Get angry!

Then . . . 

Get involved.

Get vocal.

Get educated. 

Get political.

Get serious.

Related posts

2015 "No Nukes" Mobilizations are happening around the US and around the world.

(See Key 2015 Events for Nuclear Disarmament Movement Organizers )

In light of the upcoming review of the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons) and the fact that organizations throughout the country and worldwide are organizing to press the U.S. to substantially reduce its stores of nuclear weapons, it seems like a good time to use social media to get EVERYONE on board!

(See 5 Ways YOU Can Make a Difference on #NoNukesTuesday )

How do you formulate a statement that can somehow convince the United States to eliminate its threatening nuclear weapons?  How do you formulate the 10th request? Or the 100th? Knowing all the time that the United States is in the position -- will always be in the position -- to say, "No" ?  At what point does it dawn on you that the United States will never give up its nuclear weapons, because it has the power and the rest of the world doesn't?

(See 360 Degree Feedback in New York (2014 NPT Prepcom and How the World Views the United States))

Elaine Scarry demonstrates that the power of one leader to obliterate millions of people with a nuclear weapon - a possibility that remains very real even in the wake of the Cold War - deeply violates our constitutional rights, undermines the social contract, and is fundamentally at odds with the deliberative principles of democracy.

(See Reviews of "Thermonuclear Monarchy: Choosing Between Democracy and Doom" by Elaine Scarry )











NOW THEREFORE, by the power vested in me, and on account of the actions on the part of the recipient today described, as well as others, I hereby declare the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize award to Barack H. Obama officially revoked.

(See Obama Nobel Peace Prize - REVOKED! )

IRAN NUKES DEAL: What Are They Trying to Tell Us?

April 3, 2015: Iran Nuclear Deal Reached

The headlines today are about the deal that has been reached with Iran on their nuclear program.

Pundits will wear themselves out for days and weeks talking about what this means for Iran, and "how close the world came to a nuclear Iran."

But years from now, people will talk about this for what it really was: an intervention by Iran (and the rest of the world) to try to wake the US up to its own responsibility to eliminate its own nuclear arsenal.

Simply stated: Iran has carried the negotiations about this agreement under the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) right up to the threshold of the every-five-year global review of the NPT, or "RevCon," which will take place for a month beginning at the end of April at the United Nations. The Iran deal is a detail. The US deal is the main event.

Nuclear disarmament is on the agenda everywhere in 2015

That's because the US (and the other nuclear "haves") has an ironclad obligation under the NPT to get rid of their own nuclear weapons. (The relevant section is Article VI.) Really, the only question is what it will take to compel them to comply. (And that's no small question.)

So what is Iran trying to tell us? Through this negotiation process, Iran has forced our entire society to say it over and over again: the NPT matters ... getting rid of nuclear weapons matters ....

Iran could have made a deal a long time ago. The stakes for them in having or not having nuclear capabilities are trivial - relative to their larger purpose.

What they have accomplished is putting the issue of nuclear disarmament -- by everybody -- front and center in the public discourse at the most important possible moment.

What happens next? It will be practically impossible for the US to waltz into the NPT RevCon without being prepared to talk about its own obligations under the NPT.

But bringing US nuclear disarmament to fruition will require the pressure from all of us . . . .


TAKE ACTION:

April 2015: Join all the Peace and Planet

nuclear disarmament activities.

Every Tuesday: spread the word about

the need for nuclear disarmament with

#NoNukesTuesday on social media.

Non-stop: find your member of Congress

and tell them you want nuclear disarmament NOW!

(See sample letter.)

Related posts

That a bunch of GOP senators are agitated about nuclear weapons is a good thing. Now we just need to re-direct their energy to where the real problem is.

(See EXTRA! U.S. Congress Notices Problem with Nuclear Weapons! )

It may be counterintuitive, but House Majority Leader John Boehner has actually done a good thing by inviting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress.

(See Bibi and Boehner's Gift to the Nuclear Disarmament Movement )





 

There are three centers of power that will impact nuclear disarmament: the President, the Congress, and the people. One of them will have to make nuclear disarmament happen.

(See Countdown to U.S. Nuclear Disarmament (With or Without the Politicians) )

In light of the upcoming review of the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons) and the fact that organizations throughout the country and worldwide are organizing to press the U.S. to substantially reduce its stores of nuclear weapons, it seems like a good time to use social media to get EVERYONE on board!

(See 5 Ways YOU Can Make a Difference on #NoNukesTuesday )

Far too many people think that the NPT is about freezing the status quo, and preventing additional states from obtaining nuclear weapons. This is a fundamental misunderstanding. The NPT is based on a quid pro quo: nuclear "have-nots" agree to not acquire nuclear weapons, and nuclear "haves" agree to disarm.

(See A DEAL'S A DEAL! (What part of "nuclear disarmament" doesn't the US understand?) )

 How do you formulate a statement that can somehow convince the United States to eliminate its threatening nuclear weapons?  How do you formulate the 10th request? Or the 100th? Knowing all the time that the United States is in the position -- will always be in the position -- to say, "No" ?  At what point does it dawn on you that the United States will never give up its nuclear weapons, because it has the power and the rest of the world doesn't?

(See 360 Degree Feedback in New York (2014 NPT Prepcom and How the World Views the United States))

U.S. Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament and Special Representative for Biological and Toxin Weapons (BWC) Convention Issues says "The P-5 have a responsibility to do more [with respect to theP-5's Article VI obligations]"

(See IT'S A START: U.S. Ambassador: "The P-5 have a responsibility to do more" )

As the Obama administration prepares in the days ahead to pivot from its focus on Syria to something truly startling -- talking to Iran! -- it is important that the American public devotes some time and energy to learning and thinking about Iran, the history of the U.S.-Iran relationship, and what the U.S.-Iran relationship means in the larger context of the effort to reduce the risk of war and violence in the world.

(See IRAN: 3 Reality Checks on the Emerging U.S. Narrative)


There will be no shortage of members of Congress who see this as an opportunity to puff out their chests and wave their arms and insist on continued conflict. It will be the work of the people to insist that the path of peace be followed through.

(See Talk With Somebody About Iran Today. (Maybe a Member of Congress?))

FARE THEE WELL: Deadheads for Nuclear Disarmament?

I've always assumed that the Grateful Dead chose the band's name and iconography as a commentary on the threat of nuclear war.

In particular, it seems to echo the phrase that John F. Kennedy included in his nuclear test ban speech in 1963, when he said that "A full-scale nuclear exchange, lasting less than 60 minutes, with the weapons now in existence, could wipe out more than 300 million Americans, Europeans, and Russians, as well as untold millions elsewhere. And the survivors, as Chairman Khrushchev warned the Communist Chinese, 'the survivors would envy the dead.'"

Grateful Dead in Chicago - July 3rd * 4th * 5th - 2015

Original members of the Grateful Dead are scheduled to play together "one last time" in Chicago this summer.

I can't help wondering at the coincidence of the Dead's big July 4th concert series, and the global Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference that will be taking place in New York City in April/May at the UN.

A lot of people are saying that the failure of the U.S. to move swiftly to eliminate its nuclear arms, in accordance with its treaty obligations, may cause the NPT to unwind. And this has become the basis for a global call to action.

FOOTNOTE: "Morning Dew"

"The song is a dialogue between the last man and woman left alive following an apocalyptic catastrophe: Dobson has stated that the initial inspiration for "Morning Dew" was the film On the Beach which is focused on the survivors of virtual global annihilation by nuclear holocaust."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_Dew

as played by the Grateful Dead:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDuZfdf4hFQ

Grateful Dead songwriter Robert Hunter talks about "Morning Dew" in the context of discussing another song, "Franklin's Tower":

http://artsites.ucsc.edu/GDead/agdl/fauthrep.html

Related posts

Let's dedicate June, July, and August this year to recognizing the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6 and 9, 2015). . . AND let's do something about it: make a nuclear ban a reality.

(See TIME FOR A NUCLEAR BAN? On the 70th Anniversary of Hiroshima/Nagasaki )





At the Peace and Planet nuclear disarmament events in New York in April, I heard Prof. Zia Mian challenge the audience to confront the fact that the promises that we have gotten to date from the US to eliminate nuclear weapons aren't being honored. We think we've made progress, but the truth is that we've FAILED.

(See NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT: Time to get ANGRY about US FAILURE! )

Far too many people think that the NPT is about freezing the status quo, and preventing additional states from obtaining nuclear weapons. This is a fundamental misunderstanding. The NPT is based on a quid pro quo: nuclear "have-nots" agree to not acquire nuclear weapons, and nuclear "haves" agree to disarm.

(See A DEAL'S A DEAL! (What part of "nuclear disarmament" doesn't the US understand?) )


There are three centers of power that will impact nuclear disarmament: the President, the Congress, and the people. One of them will have to make nuclear disarmament happen.

(See Countdown to U.S. Nuclear Disarmament (With or Without the Politicians) )

2015 "No Nukes" Mobilizations planned in the US already include New York City in April, Nevada in March, and New Mexico in August.


(See Key 2015 Events for Nuclear Disarmament Movement Organizers )

SOTU 2015: What Will Obama Say January 20 About Nuclear Disarmament?

On January 20, 2015, Barack Obama will deliver the State of the Union address.

What if, instead of viewing the State of the Union address as being about one leader . . .

The Speech Giver

. . . we viewed it as being about all of us?

The Union ... the people as embodied by their representatives
(Click to see large format image.)

What would the message be if the State of the Union address was concerned with the alleviating the most severe threat existing today to the Union -- to all of us?

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could hear these words?

Nothing is more critical to the state of our country than eliminating the risk of the use of nuclear weapons. Not jobs, not health care, not immigration, not civil rights. Not even the degradation of the climate that we are now trying so hard to reverse.

The consequences of the use of nuclear weapons are too severe to risk.

I would not be doing my job as President if I did not confront this risk and do something about it. More importantly, all of you would not be doing your jobs as U.S. citizens if you did not confront this risk and do something about it.

In April and May of this year, the nations of the world will convene a meeting at the UN in New York to review the progress on the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons - the NPT. The US obligation under the NPT is "to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control."

In light of this obligation, and in consideration of the importance of eliminating the risk of a nuclear exchange to our country's safety, I have scheduled a meeting with President Putin to negotiate deep reductions in remaining nuclear weapons.

The U.S. and Russia, as the holders of the overwhelming majority of nuclear weapons in the world, are the countries that can do the most to bring about the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

The total elimination of nuclear weapons by the U.S. and Russia is by far the most important issue confronting our two countries -- more important than all the other issues combined. This is not to slight the importance of the many areas upon which we disagree; the hard facts of nuclear weapons danger trump everything else.

I am doing this on your behalf, because I believe it is what you -- the citizenry of the U.S. -- must require of me, in your role as the ultimate owners and stewards of the safety and well-being of this Union.

What can we do to assure that he says these words?

After all, he works for us . . . .


TAKE ACTION:

Read the Spring 2015 Call to Action and commit.

Find activists near you and organize!

(See Peace Action affiliates and 

Campaign Nonviolence coordinators).

Help us take this message viral: every Tuesday on Twitter - #NoNukesTuesday.

Related link: The editorial board of The New York Times agrees: "[F]ailure to resolve the impasse [over nuclear weapons] could have extremely dangerous consequences for the post-Cold War order, since even 20 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, the two sides together possess more than 10,000 nuclear weapons, more than 90 percent of what exists in the world." (See "A Vital Nuclear Agreement, at Risk," January 1, 2015) . . . The Washington Post's editors also worry that the conversation between the US and Russia is currently "going nowhere," and warns, "Stop the nuclear treaty breakdown before it escalates" (December 28, 2014).

Related link: David Krieger of Nuclear Age Peace Foundation agrees: "Why, we might ask, is [Obama] engaged in modernizing the US nuclear arsenal, a trillion dollar project, instead of negotiating for the elimination of nuclear weapons? After all, in Prague in 2009, the president expressed boldly, 'America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.' What has happened to that commitment?" (See "Where’s America’s commitment to seek a world without nuclear weapons?" January 30, 3015)

Related posts

In the U.S., there are three centers of power that will impact nuclear disarmament: the President, the Congress, and the people. One of them will have to make nuclear disarmament happen.

(See Countdown to U.S. Nuclear Disarmament (With or Without the Politicians) )






 


Do we have a way to immerse ourselves in the experience of what the use of those nuclear weapons would really mean -- prospectively -- so that we can truly cause ourselves to confront our own inaction?

(See Stop engaging in risky behavior )

The decision about whether to live with the threat of nuclear annihilation is our decision. And that is why the entire country is mobilizing for mass action for nuclear disarmament in 2015. Are we capable of making sure the messengers -- Obama, Putin, the other agents of government -- hear their instructions from us clearly?

(See NEEDED: Heroes to Bring About Nuclear Disarmament )


Call me a demanding citizen, but I think the President should get off his butt and go talk to the leader of Russia.  (Yes, Putin.)  It's his job.

(See Obama: Go to Moscow!)

Far too many people think that the NPT is about freezing the status quo, and preventing additional states from obtaining nuclear weapons. This is a fundamental misunderstanding. The NPT is based on a quid pro quo: nuclear "have-nots" agree to not acquire nuclear weapons, and nuclear "haves" agree to disarm.

(See A DEAL'S A DEAL! (What part of "nuclear disarmament" doesn't the US understand?) )


NOW THEREFORE, by the power vested in me, and on account of the actions on the part of the recipient today described, as well as others, I hereby declare the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize award to Barack H. Obama officially revoked.

(See Obama Nobel Peace Prize - REVOKED! )

5 Ways YOU Can Make a Difference on #NoNukesTuesday

#NoNukesTuesday art ... courtesy @natriverascott

In light of the upcoming review of the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons)
and the fact that organizations throughout the country and worldwide are organizing to press the U.S. to substantially reduce its stores of nuclear weapons (see: CALL TO ACTION: Spring/Autumn 2015 Mobilisation), it seems like a good time to use social media to get EVERYONE on board!

What if we chose a day of the week -- say, Tuesday -- to join our voices and lift up the demand for the elimination of nuclear weapons? Could we help build toward a powerful spring 2015 nuclear disarmament mobilization?

The antiwar movement had a good experience with this type of social media activity in recent years with #AfghanistanTuesday . . .  in the run-up to the NATO protests in Chicago in May 2012 . . . . The time has come to turn up the volume again.

How about it? #NoNukesTuesday anyone?

Here's how you can make a difference:


(1) Tweet, Retweet, "Me-Tweet," Follow on #NoNukesTuesday

If it's Tuesday, it's time to say: #NoNukes . . .
#NoNukesTuesday
Nuclear Disarmamanet

If you can only invest a few minutes every Tuesday, you can help by going to #NoNukesTuesday on Twitter and adding your voice:

* retweet (RT) the #NoNukesTuesday tweets you find valuable

* augment/paraphrase ("me-tweet" - MT) #NoNukesTuesday tweets you find valuable

* add your OWN tweets with the hashtag #NoNukesTuesday
 
* follow others who are participating in #NoNukesTuesday

Let's go for a new form of "proliferation" -- making the nuclear disarmament message fill cyberspace every Tuesday!


(2) Pull in local organizations

What are the peace and justice organizations that you work with in your community?

Ask them to participate in #NoNukesTuesday -- and encourage them to devise a BIG presence in the spring 2015 nuclear disarmament mobilization!

"Fromm: Unilateral Nuclear Disarmament"
on the Peace Couple blog

(3) Link to your own writing on nuclear disarmament

Do you have a blog? Or have you been intending to start one? Now's the time to introduce others to what you have to say about nuclear disarmament.

Share you blog posts about eliminating nuclear weapons on Twitter using the #NoNukesTuesday hashtag.


(4) Tie in to other social media

The peace and justice movement is barely touching the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the vast array of social media that can be used to make #NoNukesTuesday big. There are all kinds of unexplored possibilities . . .

Tuesdays are the days when you can introduce others to ways to tie into the nuclear disarmament movement on other platforms: Facebook . . . Tumblr . . . Reddit . . . Instagram . . . .

Check out the #NoNukesTuesday community on Google+!

Join us! Tweeting every Tuesday in a movement to
eliminate #nuclearweapons #NoNukes #NoNukesTuesday

(5) Invite more people to #NoNukesTuesday

As everyone knows, when a genie gives you three wishes, the third wish should be . . . for more wishes.

The way to make sure #NoNukesTuesday becomes more and more effective is for EVERYONE to invite more people -- every week -- to be part of it.


These are just 5 ideas . . . I'm sure there are at least FIFTY ways all of us can make a difference on #NoNukesTuesday .

Let's get to work . . .

5 Ways YOU Can Make a Difference on #NoNukesTuesday

Related posts

There are three centers of power that will impact nuclear disarmament: the President, the Congress, and the people. One of them will have to make nuclear disarmament happen.

(See Countdown to U.S. Nuclear Disarmament (With or Without the Politicians) )








There is an eerie similarity between events in the book Paul Revere's Ride and events in our world today. I'm thinking particularly of how a network of mass resistance springs into action.

(See New World Counterinsurgency: Deja Vu All Over Again)














There are so many people to thank . . .
Through the visual arts ... photography ... film ... teaching ... activism ... publishing ....

So many people are making a difference in eliminating nuclear weapons . . . . 

(See GRATITUDE: People Are Making the Difference in Eliminating Nuclear Weapons )



People assemble every week -- in growing numbers -- to lift their voices together in opposition to continued U.S. occupation of Afghanistan.

It may get loud . . . .

(See #AfghanistanTuesday - ALL LINKS)

I've realized that when we ask ourselves, "What is it that we hope people will do?" we must include an element of recursivity: One of the things we want people to do is to involve more people in doing it. In a way, that element of recursivity -- dare I say "evangelism"? -- defines what it means for people to really become part of a movement.

(See Invite More People into Activism! (Pass It Along!) )