The U.S. is preparing for war with China; is surrounding China with bases, warships, and missiles; and is promoting the Pacific Defense Initiative to collaborate with other nations in Asia to confront China. In response to these aggressive moves, China is building up its military, including hyper-sonic missiles. Another response is Chinese President Xi Jinping’s […]
Politics
The Eisenhower Project: documentation of claims
The Eisenhower Project has an animation listing some claims about U.S. militarism. This article documents those claims. “$6.4 trillion wasted since 2001” Brown University’s Costs of War project “Over 810,000 people killed in U.S. wars since 2001” Brown University’s Costs of War project “800 military bases in 70+ countries” Politico: Where in the World Is […]
Worried about anti-Asian violence? The U.S. is preparing for war with China.
Despite losing disastrously in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the U.S. is actively preparing for war with China, a technologically advanced nation with four times our population. And it’s planning to fight it in China’s own backyard: the South China Sea. Donald Trump ramped up the racist rhetoric against China (“Chinese virus” and “Kung Flu”). But […]
Competing bills for universal healthcare in Washington State
Two bills to establish universal health care in Washington State are under consideration by the state senate this session. The Whole Washington’s Health Trust (SB 5204), sponsored by Senators Hasegawa, Kuderer, Liias, Lovelett, Nguyen, Stanford, and Wilson, C., “is fully realized, universal healthcare legislation, complete with specific funding mechanisms and a transition plan. If passed, […]
Stopping war with China
The following youtube video by the U.S. military documents the training exercises of the US and Philippines militaries in preparation for war with China, regarding contested islands claimed by both China and Philippines. The film has rousing martial music, with beating drums. It shows military equipment and soldiers landing on islands — reminiscent of […]
Yes, Nader and his supporters DID cause Gore to lose to Bush
Some progressive writers have claimed that it’s a myth that Ralph Nader caused Al Gore to lose the 2000 presidential election to Bush. They say there were other reasons for the loss: the Supreme Court, bad ballots in Florida, Gore’s losing in his home state, etc. They fail to realize two things. First, events can […]
Notes on 41st LD Town Hall at Bellevue College on 2020-02-22
Rep. Tana Senn said she’d start with a “light” topic: taxes. There was a recent encouraging news: high revenue for the state. Someone in the audience asked if the legislature would return some money to the citizens. Senn said it’s unlikely, because the money won’t be available til next year, it may be a one-time […]
Conversion story
A former colleague wrote about his conversion from Mormon to atheist and from Republican to Democrat. I realized a few years back that my religion was a bunch of made-up nonsense, and my wife and I left the Mormon church in 2016. I’m an atheist now and happier than before I think, but I do […]
Visualization of U.S. Military Bases (Version 2)
This is a 3d visualization of U.S. military bases worldwide. The data is approximate and does not cover all bases. Source of data: https://public.opendatasoft.com/explore/dataset/military-bases/export/ https://worldbeyondwar.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/basesabroad.xlsx https://worldbeyondwar.org/bases/ Suggestions for improvements?
A Warning, by Anonymous: a summary
Anonymous, a self-styled “senior Trump administration official,” has written a book A Warning (Hachette Book Groups, Inc., 2019) as a follow-up to his (or her) September, 2018 op-ed in the New York Times, “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.” Anonymous describes himself as a committed Republican and not a never-Trumper. He […]