Skip to main content

Mikhail Gorbachev: 'It All Looks as if the World Is Preparing for War'

Mikhail Gorbachev Time Magazine
The world today is overwhelmed with problems. Policymakers seem to be confused and at a loss. But no problem is more urgent today than the militarization of politics and the new arms race. Stopping and reversing this ruinous race must be our top priority. While state budgets are struggling to fund people's essential social needs, military spending is growing.

What Happens When All We Have Left is the Pentagon? - Trump's Vision of a Militarized America

William D. Hartung Tom Dispatch
Last Friday, Donald Trump made his first visit to the Pentagon where he spoke of signing an order to begin "a great rebuilding of the armed services of the United States." This will mean a massive surge in federal dollars pouring into the abyss of the Pentagon, which has shown itself quite capable of absorbing such moneys in the past and seems to lack the slightest ability to account for what's done with them. (The Pentagon has never even managed to pass an audit.)

A Pentagon Rising: Is a Trump Presidency Good News for the Military-Industrial Complex?

William Hartung TomDispatch
As we enter the new era of Donald Trump, amid a welter of conflicting signals, only one thing seems clear when it comes to the U.S. military. Whatever extreme figures end up in key posts in the Trump version of the national security state, as TomDispatch regular William Hartung indicates today, yet more money will be sent swirling down the Pentagon's drain.

Navy's New Laser Weapon: Hype or Reality?

Subrata Ghoshroy Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The path to laser weapons is littered with dead lasers. The December 2014 tests on the US Navy's laser weapon were underwhelming. They reminded me of an old cartoon in which someone shot an arrow at the side of a barn, then painted a bulls-eye around the spot where the arrow landed. To add to the questionability of the December tests, they look like they were conjured up in a hurry—perhaps to impress those in charge of the purse strings.

MLK's Call to Honor Peace, Justice and Our Planet Still Challenges Us

Jacqueline Cabasso, Joseph Gerson and Kevin Martin Truthout Op-Ed
Thousands of peace, social justice and environmental activists from around the world will gather in New York City from April 24-26 for the Peace and Planet Mobilization for a Nuclear-Free, Peaceful, Just and Sustainable World - challenges articulated by Dr. Martin Luther King. Peace and Planet convenes prior to the April 27 - May 22 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference at the United Nations, bringing the voice of civil society to the governmental confab.

REWIND - A Week of Quotes and Cartoons

Portside
Ending Poverty vs. Paul Ryan's Budget; Military Spending; Immigrant Workers; CIA Detentions, Guantanamo and now Spying on Congress; Beyond Capitalism; GM Recall; Tony Benn; Social Media and Drones...

The Pentagon is Bloated While Americans Have Empty Stomachs

Kevin Martin Peace Action
As the December 13 budget deadline approaches, let us act together to demand a federal budget that reflects our values. We need a budget that lifts the quality of life for all of us. We don't need a war machine.

The American Exceptionalism Sweepstakes

Tom Engelhardt TomDispatch.com
Ripped from the headlines! America is exceptional! So the president said at the U.N. two days ago and two weeks ago in his address to the nation on the Syrian crisis. Tho show how exceptional we are is a list of eight exceptional(ly dumb) American achievements of the twenty-first century -- all ripped from the headlines, all Ripley's Believe It or Not material, none made up, none conceivable for any other nation on the planet.
Subscribe to military budget