Image by Expert Infantry via Flickr
by Felicity Arbuthnot
Writer, Dandelion Salad
London, England
October 19, 2017
“Throughout the world, on any given day, a man, woman or child is likely to be displaced, tortured, killed or ‘disappeared’ … More often than not, the United States shares the blame.” — Amnesty International, 1996
Image by Babak Fakhamzadeh via Flickr
by Finian Cunningham
Writer, Dandelion Salad
East Africa
Crossposted from Strategic Culture Foundation, Oct. 14, 2017
October 17, 2017
US President Trump’s threats this week to shut down critical news media is an ominous sign of how fragile American democratic rights have become.
Image by Daniel Arrhakis via Flickr
by Felicity Arbuthnot
Writer, Dandelion Salad
London, England
October 12, 2017
When US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, stated of North Korea (4th September 2017): “When a rogue regime has a nuclear weapon and an ICBM pointed at you, you do not take steps to lower your guard. No one would do that”, she unwittingly put her finger on why the DPRK has been conducting missile tests and stating that they have ever bigger, better and longer range capabilities. There is no certainty that either of the latter is the case, but the tiny country has been subject to nearly seventy years of vilification and ever more threatening behavior from the US and allies, with the language of Donald Trump, from near day one of his Presidency of the US regime reaching ever more apocalyptic heights.
Image by r2hox via Flickr
Republished with permission from David Swanson at World Beyond War
by Gar Smith
World Beyond War, Sept. 24, 2017
October 11, 2017
Gar Smith / World Beyond War #NoWar2017 Conference,
September 22-24 at American University in Washington, DC.
War is humanity’s deadliest activity. From 500 BC to AD 2000 history records more than 1000 [1,022] major documented wars. In the 20th Century, an estimated 165 wars killed as many as 258 million people — more than 6 percent of all the people born during the entire 20th century. WWII claimed the lives of 17 million soldiers and 34 million civilians. In today’s wars, 75 percent of those killed are civilians — mostly women, children, the elderly, and the poor.
Image by tristam sparks via Flickr
Updated: Oct. 7, 2017
TheRealNews on Oct 5, 2017
Before decertifying the Iran nuclear deal, the US should approach the UN Security Council and the P5+1 with evidence that Iran is not in compliance, this is a multilateral deal says Professor Vijay Prashad.
Screenshot by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
See video below
by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Let’s Try Democracy
October 6, 2017
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) — listen to my radio show with one of ICAN’s leaders two years ago here.
Screenshot by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
See videos below
with David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Let’s Try Democracy
September 15, 2017
Remarks at #NoWar2017 conference on September 22, 2017.
[Videos below.]
Welcome to No War 2017: War and the Environment. Thank you all for being here. I’m David Swanson. I’m going to speak briefly and introduce Tim DeChristopher and Jill Stein to also speak briefly. We hope to also have time for some questions as we hope to have in every part of this conference.
Screenshot by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
See video below
with John Pilger
Watching the Hawks RT on Sept 18, 2017
With all eyes on the nuclear standoff with North Korea, what is the over-arching agenda in play behind the politics of crisis? Tyrel Ventura sits down with documentary filmmaker and journalist John Pilger to learn more about the unfolding behind-the-scenes power play, and to discuss his latest documentary, “The Coming War on China.”
Image by cool revolution via Flickr
by Finian Cunningham
Writer, Dandelion Salad
East Africa
Crossposted from Strategic Culture Foundation
September 19, 2017
Germany and France have backed the stance of Russia and China for negotiations to avert the Korea crisis. South Korea and Japan also seem to be amenable to recent calls by Russian President Vladimir Putin for exclusively diplomatic efforts. Any other option in the alarming standoff with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program portends disaster.
Screenshot by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
See videos below
with John Pilger
RT America on Sept 12, 2017
Investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker John Pilger tells RT America that US is to blame for putting the world on the brink of nuclear war. The rest of the world is mostly alarmed by the US, not North Korea. Sanctions will never work in deescalating the situation, he adds.
Image by takomabibelot via Flickr
by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Let’s Try Democracy
September 9, 2017
Remarks at People’s Convergence Conference, Sept. 8, 2017
Here’s my five-minute case for why you can’t have an effective progressive movement in the United States that doesn’t include working for peace. War and militarism and bases and ships and missiles and sanctions and nuclear threats and hostility make up the filter through which much of the other 96% of humanity experiences this 4%. The U.S. Congress chooses how to spend a great deal of money each year, and chooses to put 54% of it into war and preparations for war. The wars demonstrably increase rather than reduce or eliminate anti-U.S. sentiment and violence. They endanger us rather than protect us. The wars are a top cause of death and injury in the world, and a top cause of famines and disease epidemics and refugee crises that cause massive additional suffering. But war kills most by diverting resources. Small fractions of U.S. military spending could end starvation, provide clean water, end diseases, even end the use of fossil fuels worldwide. Military spending also reduces jobs in comparison to other spending or not taxing working people in the first place.
Image by Daniel Arrhakis via Flickr
by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Let’s Try Democracy
September 5, 2017
North Korea is open to reasonable negotiations. The United States, as embodied in the buffoon whom we have allowed to hold more power than any royal monarch has ever known, would prefer Armageddon to reasonable negotiations.
Image by cool revolution via Flickr
by Ariel Ky
Writer, Dandelion Salad
August 31, 2017
Let’s put some context into North Korea’s decision to keep on testing missiles in the face of U.S. threats.
First, the DPRK felt provoked by South Korea’s decision to further deploy THAAD, reported on August 20, 2017 in China’s Xinhua news article, “DPRK slams ROK’s decision to deploy additional THAAD launch pads.” From Pyongyang, “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday slammed the Republic of Korea’s decision to deploy four additional launch pads of the Terminal High Altitude Areas Defense (THAAD) system under alleged threat from DPRK missiles.”
Image by Rodney Dunning via Flickr
by Paul Street
Writer, Dandelion Salad
The Official Website of Paul Street, August 25, 2017
Previously published at Counterpunch, August 18, 2017
August 26, 2017
A story that appeared in the leading inside-Washington political journal The Hill last week bore a headline that ought to send a chill down the spine of anyone who believes in democracy: “Half of Republicans Would Back Postponing 2020 Election if Trump Proposed It.” Read the report’s opening 90 words and let them sink in:
Continue reading
Image by cool revolution via Flickr
by Felicity Arbuthnot
Writer, Dandelion Salad
London, England
August 24, 2017
North Korea an Aggressor? A Reality Check
“ … war in our time is always indiscriminate, a war against innocents, a war against children.” (Howard Zinn, 1922-2010)
“All war represents a failure of diplomacy.” (Tony Benn, MP, 1925-2014)
“No country too poor, too small, too far away, not to be threat, a threat to the American way of life.” (William Blum, Rogue State)
