War

Ukraine war: Putin calls up more Troops and threatens Nuclear Option – But is it a Sign of Weakness?

By Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham and Tatyana Malyarenko, National University Odesa Law Academy | – Declaring a partial mobilisation and threatening the use of “lots of Russian weapons” in response to alleged western nuclear blackmail, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has upped the ante once more in his war against Ukraine. Indeed, Putin nearly went […]

Europe

As Falls Russia, So Falls the World: Exceptionalism Goes Global

John Feffer

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Here’s a nightmare scenario: Unable to recruit enough soldiers from the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin takes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un up on his recent offer to send 100,000 North Koreans to join the Russian president’s ill-fated attempt to seize Ukraine. Kim has also promised to send North Korean workers to […]

Climate Crisis

All the Victims of the Ukraine War

H. Patricia Hynes

“They will beat their swords into plowshares . . . Nor will they train for war anymore.” Isaiah2:3-4. Greenfield, Mass. (Special to Informed Comment) – What’s wrong, so profoundly wrong with war that compelled Isaiah to implore for peace (without debate over just and unjust war) almost 3,000 years ago? War breeds a plague of […]

Pentagon

US Smug about Russia’s Failures in Ukraine, Forgetting the Iraq and Afghanistan Quagmires

Andrew J. Bacevich

(Tomdispatch.com) – In Washington, wide agreement exists that the Russian army’s performance in the Kremlin’s ongoing Ukraine “special military operation” ranks somewhere between lousy and truly abysmal. The question is: Why? The answer in American policy circles, both civilian and military, appears all but self-evident. Vladimir Putin’s Russia has stubbornly insisted on ignoring the principles, […]

Arms Sales

Spending Unlimited: Contractors Cash in as Congress Adds Billions to the Pentagon Budget

Tomdispatch

By Julia Gledhill and William D. Hartung | – ( Tomdispatch.com) – Congress has spoken when it comes to next year’s Pentagon budget and the results, if they weren’t so in line with past practices, should astonish us all. The House of Representatives voted to add $37 billion and the Senate $45 billion to the […]

Nuclear Energy

Ukraine War being Fought around Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant: What could Possibly Go wrong?

The Conversation

By Najmedin Meshkati, University of Southern California | – Russian forces occupy Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar. Russian and Ukrainian forces are fighting nearby, and shelling has damaged power and communication lines to the plant, prompting fears for the plant’s safety and evoking painful […]

slavery

Slavery and War are tightly Connected – but we had no Idea just how Much until we crunched the Data

The Conversation

By Monti Datta, University of Richmond; Angharad Smith, United Nations University and Kevin Bales, University of Nottingham | – Some 40 million people are enslaved around the world today, though estimates vary. Modern slavery takes many different forms, including child soldiers, sex trafficking and forced labor, and no country is immune. From cases of family […]

Natural Disasters

Shelling of Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant exposes multiple risks – a nuclear expert tells us what they are

The Conversation

By Ross Peel, King’s College London | – Shelling has recently intensified at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, raising international safety concerns. Ukrainian staff continue to operate the massive plant under strict control and stressful conditions. Both Russia and Ukraine are blaming one another for the continued attacks, and damage. Disinformation and fake news […]