by John M Repp Nonviolent occupation is one of the methods of nonviolent action, specifically number 173, that Gene Sharp mentioned in the second volume of his book The Politics of Nonviolent Action (Boston, Ma. Porter Sargent Publishers, 1973). He lists 198 methods that have been used throughout history and agrees that new ones can be created in the future. In The Seattle Times of March 16, 2025, the headline on the front page told of a young man, Antonio Mays Jr., who was killed during the CHOP, Capitol Hill Organized (or Occupied) Protest of 2020. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, there was an occupation of an 8-block area on Capitol Hill from June 8 to…

by John M Repp Uruguay has a lot of Pampas, the extensive treeless plains, like its neighbors Brazil and Argentina. Thus, agricultural products, especially beef, and some wood products were mainstays of their exports. Now those grassland plains have some new additions: white wind turbines and glistening solar panels. Uruguay does not have any oil or coal like its big neighboring countries. As Uruguay started to develop, in the age of modern industry, after 1825, they had to buy oil and coal on the open market. The volatility of the oil price caused problems for them. In an extreme example from recent times, in 2001 they could buy oil for $20 a barrel, but six years later, on July 3,…

By John M Repp The victory of Trump in the recent presidential election has been a shock for many people. How could anyone vote for a pathological liar, a convicted felon, an adjudicated sexual abuser, climate change denier, and a man who attempted to overthrow the Federal government and change the result of an election? Why did the voters reject Kamela Harris, an intelligent, honest, woman with a successful record as a public prosecutor? Is there something I don’t understand about our nation? Michael Tomasky, an editor of The New Republic, published the article entitled “Why Does No One Understand the Real Reason Trump Won?” on November 8, 2024. His answer is “the right wing media.” Specifically, “Fox News (and…

Letter to the Editor, Cascadia Daily News, week of Dec 11, 2024 Editor, The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Nihon Hidankyo. Nihon Hidankyo is a Japanese grassroots movement initiated in 1956. It is dedicated to eliminating nuclear weapons. Japanese citizens known as hibakusha, or “bomb-affected people” have been speaking out for 75 years to tell us to not forget. Delegations attend international conferences and events to promote nuclear disarmament. They share firsthand accounts of the destruction and horror. Nuclear weapons are certainly a topic our current world leaders speak to in their use of threats and violence. We hear of it with the news of the Russia-Ukraine War; North Korea/South Korea conflicts; the concern of Iran’s nuclear program; and Israel…

By John M Repp (written November 4, 2024) On September 26, 2024, hurricane Helene made landfall and then on October 9, 2024 hurricane Milton made landfall, both coming up from the Gulf of Mexico. They killed hundreds of people and destroyed many people’s lives and property. 2023 was the hottest year on record and the greenhouse gas percentages in our atmosphere is higher than at anytime humans have been alive on this planet. Nature magazine is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, the oldest in the United States. Peer-reviewing is where many scientists read the article, discuss it and check for it errors. It is one of the best ways to try and find the truth. In a recent article in Nature,…

direct quotes from page 26 and 27 of the new comic book “Move Beyond Nuclear Weapons” “The campaign against the Trident submarine in the Northwest began in 1975, when Californian Bob Aldridge warned his friends in Washington state and British Columbia that the nuclear arms race was about to take a dangerous, new direction, and that we in the Pacific Northwest were going to be part of it. Robert C. (“Bob”) Aldridge began working for Lockheed (now the largest corporation in the “military-industrial complex”) in 1957. For years, he designed submarine-launched missiles, thinking that he was helping to preserve the peace by working on America’s invulnerable deterrent force. In 1970, he began working on plans for a new Trident missile…….and…

by Sean Arent My first full day in Hiroshima I had many thoughts about what I was expected to feel and where. I thought, perhaps, I would break down in tears in the Hiroshima Peace Museum or at the iconic dome in the Peace Park. But I did not. These were quiet spaces for reflection. I had seen many of these images before, but there is a gravitas to being here where it happened. Instead, it was in a small room at the beginning of my first presentation as I explained why I dedicated this presentation to the late Glen Anderson and Dr. David Hall, who has now entered hospice care. I shared that Glen passed after his 40th year…

By Michael Jacobsen On October 10, 2024 in the Masafer Yatta region of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arbitrarily arrested 78 year old, US citizen and Veteran For Peace (VFP) member, Michael Jacobsen (in blue shirt above). Jacobsen was there in the role as a non-violent, unarmed, civilian accompaniment to witness and report on any escalation of violence he observed. Typically, the violence is perpetrated by illegal settlers against the indigenous Palestinian population with the intent of stealing their land. This illegal settler violence is habitually supported by the militarized Israeli Occupation Forces. Ironically, The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel itself is illegally exerting military control over the Palestinian territory. At the time…

NUCLEAR WAR IS IMMINENT :Unless The U.S. Embraces Peace – And Soon! by Gerry Condon, original article at  Antiwar.com.  Gerry Condon is a Vietnam-era veteran and war resister who serves on the Board of Directors of Veterans For Peace and coordinates its Nuclear Abolition Working Group.  The world is headed toward nuclear war.  The horrific nightmare of global destruction that has haunted humanity ever since Hiroshima and Nagasaki is nearly upon us. For decades, peace activists and nuclear experts have warned about the “growing danger of nuclear war.” The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has moved the hands of their Doomsday Clock all the way to 90 seconds! How much closer can we get? Are these dire warnings being dismissed like the man with the sign…

5 great new articles compiled and some written by newsletter editor, John M Repp! You can read or download the full Pacific Call June 2024 issue in pdf format by clicking here. [Full URL https://wwfor.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Sept2024PacificCall.pdf] Contents [page numbers refer to pdf version] include: Nuclear War is Imminent by Gerry Condon pp. 1-2. Gerry is a Vietnam-era veteran and war resister who serves on the Board of Directors of Veterans For Peace and coordinates its Nuclear Abolition Working Group. Read his sobering peice. Glen Anderson Presente! p. 3. Co-Founder of Olympia Chapter Fellowship of Reconciliation, activist on many justice and peace issues, died in July. He was also a prolific writer, educator on nonviolent activism, and TV producer. Trying to Make…