Earlier this month, I was arrested, along with more than 1,300 others from across the political spectrum, in a sit-in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to get big money out of politics and protect voting rights.
What’s next for Democracy Spring?
Last week, I was arrested at a sit-in to get big money out of politics and protect voting rights in Washington, D.C. With more than 1,300 people arrested on the steps of the Capitol since April 11 — including The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur, Harvard law professor and former presidential candidate Lawrence Lessig, Ben and Jerry’s cofounders and actress Rosario Dawson — the Democracy Spring campaign has pulled off one of the largest acts of civil disobedience this century.
Students nix IMF chief’s commencement address at Smith College
On Monday, International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde withdrew as the 2014 commencement speaker at Smith College after a petition opposing the decision gathered hundreds of signatures.
Artists target drone operators with a giant portrait of one of their victims
In a brilliant creative action, an art collective with the help of enthusiastic locals unfurled an enormous poster in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of a young girl who lost her parents and two younger siblings to a drone strike in August 2009.
5 reasons the already obscene national security budget is larger than it appears
When President Obama released his budget for 2015 on Tuesday, which included $495.6 billion for the Pentagon, the likely suspects screamed that the sky is going to fall. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon said the funding level is so low that it’s “immoral,” while the notorious climate denier Sen. James Inhofe — who is a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee — declared that: “Today our enemies don’t fear us and our allies no longer respect us.” Strong words. Also, completely disconnected from reality.
Learning from shortcomings and other movements
Mobilizing Ideas The 10-year anniversary for the movement that sprung up against the war in Iraq is on the horizon, and it presents an opportune time to reflect on its progress, and more importantly, the lessons that can be learned from its shortcomings. While activists were busy organizing in the fall of 2002, the dramatic … Continue reading Learning from shortcomings and other movements
Participation is everything — a conversation with Erica Chenoweth
Waging Nonviolence Over the last year and a half, an historic wave of uprisings and revolutions has engulfed much of the world and done more to legitimize the power of nonviolence than anything since the fall of the Soviet Union. Just as Tunisians kicked off this global nonviolent upheaval, Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan were … Continue reading Participation is everything — a conversation with Erica Chenoweth
Pillars of Support
Beautiful Trouble Conventional wisdom tells us that power resides in the hands of those at the top, and that when push comes to shove, “power grows out of the barrel of a gun,” as Mao famously said. If so, then the only way to defeat a violent opponent is through the use of even greater … Continue reading Pillars of Support
Nonviolence, Muslim Style: From Ghaffar Khan to Tahrir Square
Religion Dispatches “Islam” Means Peace: Understanding the Muslim Principle of Nonviolence Today Amitabh Pal Praeger (2011) When the mass nonviolent movements that brought down longtime U.S.-backed dictators in Tunisia and Egypt this year captured the world’s attention, The Progressive’s managing editor Amitabh Pal joked that it made his new book, “Islam” Means Peace: Understanding the … Continue reading Nonviolence, Muslim Style: From Ghaffar Khan to Tahrir Square
RT interview on Yemen
I was on RT, Russia’s 24/7 English-language news channel, today to talk about the news that the US has stepped up its covert war in Yemen in recent weeks with increased strikes by fighter jets and armed drones. Click here to watch the video.
Eric Stoner 