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Today's Stories March 1 / 2, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts The Political Trial of Don Siegelman February 29, 2008 Matt Gonzalez The Obama Craze Jonathan Cook Academic Freedom? Not for Arabs in Israel Joshua Frank Obama and Israel Anthony DiMaggio The Unilateral Presidency: Signing Statements and the Rollback of American Law Linn Washington, Jr. Cop Abuse in America Binoy Kampmark Hubris and Nemesis Robert Bryce Energy Efficiency May be a Good Thing, But It Won't Cut Energy Use Sonja Karkar Australia's Government Continues Its Love Affair with Israel Dave Lindorff A Manchurian Candidate in the White House? Obama or Bush? Website of the Day Olduvai George   February 28, 2008 Patrick Cockburn "Iraq" Falls Apart Fred Gardner The Birth of NAFTA Michael Levitin The Crisis in Kosovo is Just Beginning William S. Lind The Fake State of Kosovo David Macaray A Ray of Hope for Organized Labor Stephen Fleischman Nader's Latest Run: Monkey Wrench or Cattle Prod? George Wuerthner The Myths of Forest Health: Why Ecological Logging is an Oxymoron Laura Carlsen The North American Union Farce Carl Finamore Why the Delta-Northwest Deal Hasn't Taken Off Michael Dickinson The Day I Bombed the House of Commons Website of the Day Plane Stupid   February 27, 2008 David Rosen Playing the Race Card: Obama, Love Across the Color Line and Political Dirty Tricks Vijay Prashad Bomber John: McCain and the 100 Year War Harvey Wasserman Incident at Turkey Point: Did Florida Go to the Radioactive Brink? Andy Worthington Guantánamo's Shambolic Trials: Pentagon Boss Resigns, Ex-Prosecutor Joins Defense Wajahat Ali Pakistan for Sale: an Interview with Ayesha Siddiqa on Pakistan's Military Economy Peter Morici The Auction-Rate Securities Fiasco: a Drama of Greed and Betrayal Stephen Philion Conspiracy Theory, Fears of Betrayal and Today's Anti-War Movement Michael Donnelly Obama by Unanimous Decision Erica Rosenberg / Janine Blaeloch After the Land Deals: Will There be Any Wilderness Left to Protect? Website of the Day Dress Blues   February 26, 2008 Debbie Nathan Confessions of a Gitmo Guard Alan Dershowitz v. Frank Menetrez On Finkelstein Harvey Wasserman How Ohio Got Nuked Michael Colby Ralph Nader vs. the Fundamentalist Liberals Gary Leupp Condi vs. Putin on Bullying Belgrade David Orchard The New Conquistadors: Canada in Afghanistan Martha Rosenberg The Big HRT Fran Shor The Electoral Circus and Nader's Sideshow Serge Halimi The Dom Perignon Socialist Manifesto: Bernard Henri-Levy's Plan for the French Left Global Balkans Neo-Liberalism and Protectorate States in the Post-Yugoslav Balkans: an Interview with Tariq Ali Website of the Day Texistentialism   February 25, 2008 Roger Morris A Death in Damascus Anthony DiMaggio Military Bases, the Media and the Democrats Ralph Nader Why I'm Running Patrick Cockburn Iraq Broils Paul Craig Roberts Kosovo and the Empire Crazies Peter Morici Bernanke's Failing Policies: a Long Recession Looms Dave Lindorff General Welch's Whitewash: What We Still Don't Know About That Minot Nuke Incident Saul Landau / Farrah Hassen Fanatics, Mountebanks and Drillers: a Bloody Oil Film Heather Gray James Orange, Civil Rights Legend Robert Weitzel Accomodating Torture John Halle Kucinich Goes Down Website of the Day Do the Trunk Monkey! February 23 / 4, 2008 Alexander Cockburn The Mushrooming Clouds That Hang Over McCain Paul Craig Roberts Obama and Global Trade Wajahat Ali Omissions of the Commission: an Interview with Phillip Shenon on the 9/11 Commission Ralph Nader Neutering the FDA Jürgen Vsych "What Was Ralph Nader Thinking?" Fidel Castro Watching the US Presidential Campaign from Havana Andy Worthington Britain's Guantánamo David Macaray Unions Under Assault Jeremy Scahill The Real Story Behind Kosovo's Independence David Krieger Stanley Sheinbaum Caging the Cold War Monster Ron Jacobs Building for the Future Michael Garrity The Last, Best Hope for the Northern Rockies Brian McKenna Higher Ed's "Civic Engagements" Get Dumbed Down Missy Beattie Over the Hill with John McCain Fred Gardner American College of Physicians Takes Pro-Cannabis Stand (Mostly) Boris Kagarlitsky The Growth of the Russian Labor Movement Mike Ferner Kick That Barrel Dan Bacher On the Trail with the Border Angels Christopher Ketcham Hillary Goes Where Obama Fears to Tread Poets' Basement Davies and Buknatski Website of the Weekend Obama Mariachi   February 22, 2008 Mike Whitney The Bonfire of Capital Jason Hribal Elephants and the Circus: The Story of Janet Liaquat Ali Khan Arresting Musharraf Joshua Frank That Obama Glow: the Nuclear Industry's Golden Child Dave Lindorff Vicki's John: Ask Not What She Did for Him, Ask What He Did for Her! Liliana Segura When Torture is Old News: McCain's Blonde Diversion Robert Fantina Castro, Bush and Cuba: a Fiasco Waiting to Happen? Yifat Susskind The ABCs of Death: Bush vs. Africa's Women Norm Kent Pushing 60 with Pot Website of the Day Bush Gets Down in Liberia February 21, 2008 Saul Landau Fidel Steps Aside Elizabeth Schulte Left Behind, With No End in Sight: America's Long-Term Unemployed Helen Redmond Health Care as a Human Right Benjamin Dangl Undermining Bolivia Michael Levitin Kosovo's Dilemma Liam Leonard Fear and Loathing on the Emerald Isle Patrick Irelan Land and Food in Venezuela Linn Cohen-Cole Poor Ohio: a Second Letter to Hillary on Her Ties to Monsanto Michael Simmons Daydream Believer: John Stewart, the Miles Davis of Folk Music CounterPunch News Service A Message from the Women of Okinawa to US GIs Website of the Day Cop Abuse in Shreveport   February 20, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Lies and Spies Paul Krassner My Brief Encounter with Fidel Castro Fawzia Afzal-Khan The Pakistani Elections Farzana Versey The Great Dictator: Musharraf, Peace and the Autumn of the Patriarch Allan Nairn Dying for a Second Round: Israel's New Plan to Attack Lebanon John V. Whitbeck If Kosovo, Why Not Palestine? Niranjan Ramakrishnan A Balcony Seat to Our Own Balkanization? Steve Eckardt Cuba Sans Fidel: No News is Big News Lee Sustar Union-Busting at Freightliner Mike Ferner How Sick of It are You? Website of the Day The US Military Index   February 19, 2008 Uri Avnery Blood and Champagne Paul Craig Roberts Paying Insurgents Not to Fight Gary Leupp The Independence of Kosovo Fidel Castro The Moment Has Come David Macaray Management's Dirty Little Secret Reza Fiyouzat Buck the Circus! The Left and the Elections Valerie Morse The New Zealand Terror Raids: Land of the Long White Lie Walter Brasch Bush on Safari Website of the Day Don't Think Twice, It's Alright   February 18, 2008 Wajahat Ali Free Pakistan: an Interview with Imran Khan Diana Johnstone NATO's Kosovo Colony Paul Craig Roberts What Do We Stand For? Andy Worthington Gitmo: "We're Making This Up as We Go Along" Debbie Nathan Bernie Ward's Sex Tapes Anthony DiMaggio Following the Money Trail: the Democratic Party and the Business of Elections Bill Simpich Ten Years Ago, People Power Stopped Clinton in Iraq Eva Liddell A Short History of Super-Delegates: Hope, Yes! But Pay in Cash Christopher Brauchli The President Who Couldn't Keep His Word: Short-Changing Veterans Stephen Soldz Wikileaks is Under Attack! Johann Rossouw The Ouster of Thabo Mbeki: South Africa and the Costs of Neoliberalism Website of the Day Sick of It Day!   February 16 / 17, 2008 Alexander Cockburn The Terrorists Still at Ground Zero, 7 World Trade Tower, Lower Manhattan Ralph Nader We the Corporations ... David Macaray The Big Buy Out: Did GM Drive Another Nail in Labor's Coffin? William J. Peace Wheelchair Dumping Ron Jacobs War on the Psyche: Shellshock and Redemption Diane Christian War Corrupts Alan Maass Oil, Blood and Greed: Taking Upton Sinclair to the Big Screen (and Beyond) Ramzy Baroud Iraq and the US Elections Michael Donnelly Genitalia First! Old Guard Feminists Play the XX Card Cpt. Paul Watson The Art of Finding Whalers James L. Secor China Diary: Spring Festival and New Year 2008 Eve Bachrach Bush Returns to Africa Nikolas Kozloff Hugo Chávez's Anti-Imperialist Army Stephen Gowans Steven Spielberg, Faux-Humanitarian Missy Beattie To Vote or Not to Vote? David Michael Green Warming Slowly to Obama Wajahat Ali Attack of the Info-tainment Circus Poets' Basement Gibbons, Willson, Mickey Z., Orloski and Reuther Website of the Day Yellowstone's Bison Need Your Help--NOW!     February 15, 2008 George Szamuely The Absurdity of "Independent" Kosovo Patrick Cockburn Ground-Truthing the Surge: Is the US Really Bringing Stability to Baghdad? Wajahat Ali Pakistan is Burning: an Interview with Steve Coll on the Taliban, Bin Laden and the Bush Administration Mike Whitney Henry Paulsen's Wild Ride on the Economic Hindenberg Alan Farago God and the Democrats Chris Genovali Alberta's Black Gold Rush Jacob Hornberger Courting Injustice: Scalia on Torture Dave Lindorff Snoops Always Ring Twice: Bush's Protect America Bill Bull Website of the Day Live From the Land of Hopes and Dreams     February 14, 2008 Kathleen and Bill Christison Palestine in the Mind of America Mike Whitney Swan Song for NATO Clancy Sigal Strike Notes from a Screenwriter George Wuerthner A Bloody Sham: the Yellowstone Bison Slaughter Peter Morici Is Bernanke Headed for the Exit? John Ross Drug War Mayhem Boils Over from Border to Border Allan Nairn Mafia Rules in the Middle East: If You're Big Enough, You Can Whack Anyone Rannie Amiri Lebanon's Warmongers Niranjan Ramakrishnan The New Tractatus: Where Wittgenstein Meets Feinstein Donna Volatile Be Careful What You Vote For, You Just Might Get It Seth Sandronsky The Student Squeeze: Fighting California's Tuition Hikes Website of the Day Conventions: the Land Around Us   February 13, 2008 Nikolas Kozloff Meet John McCain: Mr. Big Stick in Latin America Alan Farago Hell to Pay: Warren Buffett on the Goal Line Christina Kasica King's Dream Foreclosed: the Subprime Crisis in Black America Vicente Navarro How to Read the U.S. Primaries Hall Greenland Australia's Finest Hour Lee Sustar Strange Stimulation: Too Little for Those Who Need It Most David Macaray The Writers' Strike Finally Ends Roderick Frazier Nash Celebrating Wilderness Patrick Irelan Hugo Chávez and High Anxiety at the NYT Anthony Papa Mean Mister Mukasey: AG Tries to Block Crack Cocaine Releases Carl Finamore Another Parade Passes Me By: Don't Let Your Movement be Coopted by Politicians Website of the Day John He Is   February 12, 2008 Frank J. Menetrez The Case Against Alan Dershowitz Paul Craig Roberts War Without End Dr. Trudy Bond The Elephant at Gitmo: Camp 7 and the Torturer's Shrink Andy Worthington The Guantánamo Six: Why Charge Them Now? What About the Torture? Col. Dan Smith The Psychology of Killing: Close In or Far Away? Ronnie Cummins Globalization: Standing at the End of the Road Ralph Nader Open the Government John V. Walsh Antiwarriors, Divided and Conquered Dave Lindorff Obama and Progressive Change: Let's Hope the Movement Transforms the Candidate Michael Donnelly Who's Pimping Whom? The Clintons' Selective No Talk Rules Ron Jacobs La Lucha Continua: Castro's "Life" Ben Tripp Beggars Collide Website of the Day Springsteen and Youngstown   February 11, 2008 Cockburn / St. Clair Lessons for Obama: When is a Delegate Not a Delegate? Wajahat Ali A Discussion with Walt and Mearsheimer on the Israel Lobby Ray McGovern Waterboarding for God and Country Allan Nairn The Shooting of Jose Ramos Horta Uri Avnery An End Foreseen? Chris Floyd American Psycho: the Meaning of Mitt Romney's Exit Speech Martha Rosenberg School Lessons in a Lunchbox: Lunchmeat from Tortured Cows Stephen Fleischman The Bonnie and Clyde of American Politics Marc Lamont Hill Not My Brand of Hope Liliana Segura Obama and Torture: the Sounds of Silence and Equivocation Peter Morici Challenges for the New President Christopher Brauchli A Drug Rant from a Former Taker Website of the Day Annie vs. the Blue Angels   February 8 / 10, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Does the GOP Have Aces Up Its Sleeves? Patrick Cockburn Will Moqtada al-Sadr's Truce Hold? Mike Whitney The Great Bust of '08 Anthony DiMaggio How the Press Covers Waterboarding Andy Worthington The Guántanamo Trials: Where are the Terrorists? Linn Cohen-Cole Hillary, Will You Renounce Your Ties to Monsanto? Firmin DeBrabander Notes from the Foreclosure Front: Suing Your Way to Solvency Cpt. Paul Watson The Other Whaling Industry: How Greenpeace Cashes In on the Suffering and Deaths of the Great Whales Kenneth S. Pope Why I Resigned from the American Psychological Association Jacob G. Hornberger American Soldiers Will Pay the Price for Bush's Torture Policy Robert Bryce Beyond Group Think on Climate Change: If More CO2 is Bad ... Then What? P. Sainath The Last of the Buccaneer Editors Allan Nairn Give Me Back My Land Fred Gardner / Pebbles Trippet "The District Attorney of Shasta County Doesn't Know the Law!" Andrew Wimmer Growing Up Catholic: Ignorance is Death Robert Fantina America's Disgrace: the Case of Omar Khadr David Michael Green Partycide in Six Easy Steps: Watch the Democrats Destroy Themselves Kevin Zeese Is Dennis Kucinich Being McKinney'd? Peter Morici Wall Street Gives Bernacke a Vote of No Confidence Chris Driscoll Could Nader be the Come-Back Kid of 2008? Prairie Miller Black August: Bringing George Jackson's Life to the Screen Poets Basement Davies and Buknatski   February 7, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Why Baghdad Will Explode Again Bill Christison Potholes Bigger Than Ever for Palestinians David Anderson NBC's "To Entrap" a Predator: Perverting Justice for the Sake of Ratings Ron Jacobs Innocent Flesh: Recruiting Kids to Kill Nikolas Kozloff Hugo Chávez's Coca: It's the Real Thing Jane Rockefeller The Moral Economy of an Anti-Poverty Foundation Andy Worthington On Waterboarding: Two Questions for Michael Hayden Dave Zirin Instep Intifada Saul Landau The "Honestest" Candidate Since Lincoln Susie Day Our Blob in the White House Website of the Day George Carlin on Voting   February 6, 2008 Cockburn / St. Clair Super Tuesday's Vote for Chaos Ben Rosenfeld Informant Games: The Disturbing GreenScare Case of Briana Waters Vijay Prashad An Intellectual Hustler Lays It All Out Joe Bageant Nine Billion Little Feet on the Highway of the Damned Michael Donnelly What White Women Do In Private Voting Booths Allan Nairn Does the US Need a Civilizing Mayan Invasion? Kathryn Gray Wilderness on Edge: The Fate of Donner Summit Ray McGovern Powell's UN Fiasco Sheldon Richman The Whining Empire Paul Cantor / Roger Sparks A Presidential Aptitude Examination John Chuckman Political Bits and Pieces Website of the Day Save the Albatross February 5, 2008 Winslow T. Wheeler The Chaos in America's Vast Security Budget Tariq Ali Why I Will Not Participate in the Turin Book Fair Stephen Soldz The Secret Rules of Engagement in Iraq: Did Rumsfeld Authorize War Crimes? Chris Floyd Strange Fruit: America's Gulag and the Good War William S. Lind Saddam's Secret War Strategy: Die and Win Martha Rosenberg Live From the Killing Floor Heather Gray Conversations with Georgia Voters Ayesha Ijaz Khan Obama, Bhagwandas and the Battle for a Secular Politics David Macaray Unions Need to Stop Being So Nice Eliza Ernshire Making Music and Laughing Till the Tears Run Brenda Norrell Hated Nation Website of the Day The Things I Used to Do     February 4, 2008 Marc Levy Winter in America Patrick Cockburn The Bird Market Bombings Saree Makdisi Strangling Gaza Uri Avnery From Stalingrad to Winograd Alan Farago Let's Get Bambi! Someone is Slaughtering Florida's Key Deer Ben Tripp Spare Change: the Whine of the Progressive Voter Paul Wolf Civil Wars North and South Paul Craig Roberts Why Were the 9/11 Tapes Destroyed? Joshua Frank MoveOn's Obama Endorsement: Why There's No Hope for Change John Halle Whither Progressive Democrats? Website of the Day How to Cheat in School   February 2 / 3, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Hot Democratic Properties Pam Martens Bankers Gone Bonkers: Global Finance and the Insanity Defense Ralph Nader The Great Clinton-Obama Debate: Questions They Weren't Asked John Ross Hilaria vs. "El Moreno" Wajahat Ali Hillary, Obama and the Clash of Civilizations: an Interview with Imam Zaid Shakir Robert Fantina A Colony by Any Other Name: Iraq as Stepchild of the American Empire B. R. Gowani Not All Veils and Guns James L. Secor China in Winter: On the Western Edge of the Great Snow John V. Walsh The Invisible Green Primary Niranjan Ramakrishnan Barack's Bubble, Bubba's Trouble Dave Zirin Who Stole the Super Bowl's Soul? Jeremy Scahill Blackwater and Blood Fidel Castro Reflections on Lula Joe Allen Tet Reconsidered: the Turning Point in the Vietnam War Stephen Lendman Life in Occupied Gaza Patrick Irelan What Happened to the Streetcars? Andrej Grubacic Ziga Vodovnik Caligula's Horse: the USA, New Europe and Kosovo Josh Karpoff Dead Soldiers and the Antiwar Movement Ron Jacobs Carl Oglesby's War Paul Krassner Tom Waits Meets Super-Joel Website of the Weekend Company Woman: Hillary and Wal-Mart   February 1, 2008 Ray McGovern The Iniquities and Inequalities of War Diane Farsetta The Wild Career of James "Dow 36,000" Glassman Patrick Cockburn The Most Dangerous Country in the World for Journalists Tariq Ali Et Tu, New York Times? Allan Nairn Eating Dirt for Lunch in Haiti Rannie Amiri Collective Punishment in Beirut Ramzy Baroud People Power in Gaza: They Simply Did It Kenneth Couesbouc The Mother of All Snowballs Peter Morici Recession Looms Mumia Abu-Jamal Witha "Brutha" Like This: Bill Clinton as White Negro Rosemary Jackowski 27 Reasons Nader Should Run for President Scott Campbell Direct Action to Stop the War Re-emerges Website of the Day Betes et Hommes   January 31, 2008 Saul Landau Return to Afghanistan Andy Worthington Horror at Guantánamo Mike Whitney Rate Cut as Dagger: America's Teetering Banking System Jeff Ballinger Sustainability for Dictators Initiative? Clinton Praises the "Suharto of the Steppe" Tiffany Ten Eyck The Saga of the Freightliner Five William Loren Katz Waterboarding: Torure or Mystery? Alan Farago Why the Republicans are in Deep Trouble Col. Dan Smith Oh Say Can You See the 2009 Budget? China Hand Slouching Toward Islamabad Dave Lindorff The Usual Suspects Once Again Wadner Pierre Fake Democracy in Haiti Website of the Day One Big Union   January 30, 2008 Cockburn / St. Clair McCain vs. Clinton? Christopher Ketcham The Genius of the Development Industrial-Complex Robert Weissman America By the Numbers: The Shameful State of the Union Neve Gordon An Experiment in Famine Paul Craig Roberts Regulation or Deregulation, Which is Worse? Joanne Mariner How Anti-Terror Laws Threaten Free Speech David Macaray Labor's Only Real Weapon Liaquat Ali Khan Is NATO Committing Genocide in Afghanistan? Raymond J. Lawrence Prankster-in-Chief: Bush's Troubling Non-Verbal Communication Dan Bacher The Collapse of the Central Valley Salmon Website of the Day Onward Through the Fog   January 29, 2008 Franklin C. Spinney Bush's New War Budget: the $70 Billion Hand-Off Mike Whitney The Great Credit Unwind of 2008 Alan Farago Buyer Beware: Florida, the Candidates and the Latin Builders Association Patrick Cockburn "The Americans Bring Us Only Destruction" Gary Leupp "We Can't Afford to Let Them Spill the Beans:" a Sibel Edmonds Timeline R. F. Blader A World Without Abortion: USA v. Romania Ahmad Faruqui Musharraf's Post-Electoral Prospect Fran Shor Obama, the Kennedys and "Change We Can Believe In" Jeremy Scahill Secret Trials and Criminal Convictions: the Ordeal of the Blackwater Protesters Allan Nairn Bush's SOTU: Entitlement, Justice and the War of All Against All Website of the Day The Ghost of Rambo   January 28, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Return to Fallujah Paul Craig Roberts The End of American Liberty Allan Nairn The Breaking of the Gaza Wall Eyad al-Sarraj / Sara Roy Ending the Stranglehold on Gaza Martha Rosenberg Obit for the "Front Page" City Corporate Crime Reporter How They Rip Us Off David Michael Green Kristolizing Iraq: What a Great Freakin' War Jennifer Van Bergen What's Left? Nancy Oden Survival Tips for Hard Times Divya Karnad Saving India's Sea Turtles James L. Secor Pissed About Pistorious: Why the Olympics Needs a Gimp Website of the Day Yellow Journalism?         Subscribe Online

Weekend Edition March 1 / 2, 2008 Bomb Making at Oak Ridge Inside the Secret City By RON JACOBS On February 26, 2008 a public hearing was held at the city that bills itself as "the Secret City"--Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This meeting was but one of eight held around the country at the nation's nuclear weapons labs. The purpose of the hearings was to discuss what the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) calls "Complex Transformation." Established by Congress in 2000, the NNSA is an agency within the U.S. Department of Energy that is responsible for maintaining and expanding the military application of nuclear energy. Behind its terminology are four proposals regarding the development of nuclear weapons. In a perfect example of governmental doublespeak, even the proposal labeled the "No Action Alternative" calls for the continued construction of nuclear bombs. The primary difference between this proposal and the other three proposals is simple. The so-called "No Action Alternative" lists the number of new bombs to be built annually as classified. The other proposals, with the names "Distributed Centers of Excellence," "Consolidated centers of Excellence," and "Capability Based Alternative" call for anywhere from fifty to one hundred fifty new bombs to be built each year. I haven't done the math, but that is one hell of a lot of Hiroshimas. The hearings themselves are being held under the auspices of the various plans and their environmental impact. Of course, the impact this is referring to is not the impact of the weapons should they be used, but the impact that their storage and manufacture would have on the environment and its inhabitants in the areas around the eight sites. Either way, the outcome is wracked with implicit danger and death. When one reads the draft Environmental Statement, they discover that it looks at two possible actions. The first would restructure facilities that use plutonium and highly enriched uranium to produce components for the nuclear weapons stockpile (SNM facilities). The second would restructure research and development (R&D) and testing facilities. The two actions differ in their magnitude and timing. The restructuring of SNM facilities would take 10 years or more and address issues such as where to locate these facilities and whether to construct new facilities or renovate existing ones for these functions. As regards the R&D facilities, NNSA wants to restructure these facilities in the near-term, independent of decisions it may make as to restructuring of SNM facilities. Furthermore, the proposals offer the following choices that would be incorporated into the two overall actions mentioned above. The first, called Distributed Centers of Excellence, which would continue the uranium mission at Y-12 with the new Uranium Processing Facility; the second. titled Consolidated Centers of Excellence, would consolidate uranium and plutonium missions at a single site; the third, labeled Capability Based Alternative, would involve reduced capability and limited new facilities. The fourth would leave things as they are. All of the proposals would build a new plant in Oak Ridge for the development and construction of new nuclear weapons. The current plant, known as Y-12, employs around 4000 individuals. Consequently, the future of the plant is important to the locals, especially given the otherwise lackluster employment opportunities in the region. This unfortunate dynamic creates a situation where folks defend that very same thing they oppose in other nations like Iran-the development of nuclear weapons. One could go even further and draw a parallel between the nature of communities whose continued existence depends on nuclear weapons and those communities in other warmongering nations of the past whose citizens were employed in the development of weaponry and other instruments designed to destroy whole peoples. One element of the proposals discussed February 26th is something the NNSA calls the "Life Extension Program." Now, this program has nothing to do with extending the life of any human. It does however have plenty to do with extending the life of the NNSA bureaucracy and, even more ominously, the "lives" of existing nuclear weapons. According to a November 2004 press release from NNSA, the purpose of the program is to extend the warhead's life by 30 years and to provide structural enhancements. In other words, to maintain and expand the weapon's lethal capabilities. Other elements of the various proposals besides those mentioned include consolidating plutonium and other nuclear weapons materials stockpiles and the designing of new bombs. All of this is proposed in spite of the 1970 US signature on the non-proliferation treaty. Bombs For Us, But Not For You In what can only be a restatement of the obvious, this plan to build more nuclear weapons is incredibly hypocritical when considered in relation to the current campaign by Washington to prevent Iran from even considering developing one. Indeed, if the US nuclear weapons industry were held to the standards its government demands of those it considers enemies, than US residents would be wondering if and when an armed attack on its nuclear facilities in Oak Ridge and elsewhere around the nation was going to occur. Instead, with a duplicity few even question, Washington continues to threaten Tehran over its possible interest in nuclear weapons while publicly declaring that it plans to began building eighty to two hundred new bombs a year, even if no other country ever builds another nuclear weapons device of any kind. The National Director of Intelligence Michael McConnell testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week regarding, among other things, Iran's situation and northern Korea's adherence to the six-party agreement signed last year that would end its nuclear weapons program. This testimony was part of what is called the "Annual Threat Assessment." McConnell was joined by the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in claiming that although the US intelligence services have no evidence that Iran has any nuclear weapons capability and has proven in the intelligence community's mind that it is susceptible to outside pressures regarding that program, the possibility that "Iran has acquired from abroad-or will acquire in the future-a nuclear weapon or enough fissile material for a weapon." This caveat is nothing more than keeping open the door for a potential armed attack on Iran should the White House decide to go down that road. The only reason for including this undocumented and pointless statement is to maintain a level of fear that helps justify the largest defense budget in the history of the United States. In his testimony about northern Korea, McConnell repeated that Pyongyang exported missile technology in the past and might do so again. Of course, the US has always done so and will continue to. McConnell did acknowledge that Pyongyang maintains its military force and any weapons programs for deterrence and coercive diplomacy, which does not seem to be the case with the US. If it were, one has to wonder why it sees a need to build more when its nuclear arsenal is several times larger than the rest of the world's combined. I mention McConnell's testimony to provide perspective, so please read it with that in mind. It is also important to remember that this is Washington's version of reality and represents not only Washington's fears but is also part of an effort to justify spending several hundred billion dollars on destruction. What Happened At the Hearing Back to Oak Ridge. The local newspaper The Oak Ridger, over ninety people spoke at the public hearings on February 26, 2008. The newspaper, which has featured editorials in favor of continued bomb production, reported that the majority of those speaking were in favor of the plan called Consolidated Centers of Excellence. This is the plan that is apparently also favored by the NNSA and would upgrade facilities at Los Alamos and build a new facility at either Oak Ridge's Y-12, the Savannah River Site, Pantex, the Nevada Test Site or Los Alamos. It would also include the continuation of Pantex's assembly/disassembly operations and Y-12 would continue enriched uranium operations with an upgrade to existing enriched uranium facilities. The rest of the speakers spoke in favor of the No Action plan, which would leave things essentially as they are. The newspaper also reported that several workers and their families showed up in support of the Consolidated Centers of Excellence plan. They wore t-shirts bearing the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) logo and a short slogan that said "Why build it somewhere else?" The article featured a photo of a young girl (whose parent apparently works at the plant) wearing one of these shirts. The article discussed the presence of members of peace and environmental groups, reporting that these individuals spoke about the plant in terms that included the greater costs of continuing nuclear weapons development and included residents from around the entire region from western North Carolina to Georgia and eastern Tennessee. The nature of the military-industrial complex was obvious in a very real way, both at the hearing and in the reportage. Patriotism was called on by some speakers in favor of expanding the plant and the question of well-paying jobs in a region that has few other similar wage earning opportunities was front and center. I was able to contact Ralph Hutchison of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA), which is a local group in eastern Tennessee that currently describes its mission as one of raising awareness about ongoing nuclear weapons production. He answered a few questions I had regarding OREPA's take on the hearings. The transcript of the exchange follows. Ron: What occurred at the hearing? Ralph: The Oak Ridge C-Trans SPEIS hearings drew hundreds, but not 400 as the press reported. There was ample space for us to display our stuff-Hiroshima posters and other materials-and Ted Wyka's staff were quite solicitous. "If you need anything else, more tables or anything, let us know." The weather was cold and threatening-the building intercom announced winter storm watches mid afternoon, but most of the bad weather held off until evening. i drove home at 10:30 in driving snow. It was a good hearing from OREPA's standpoint. The workers packed the place-a large auditorium-and wore bright green Y12 YES! stickers. IBEW seemed to be the most prominent group. The DOE Site manager said they were trying to cycle workers through to have 100 at any given time, but actually they all came for the first hour and a half and left. OREPA did a press conference at which we presented a No Production Alternative, said it was reasonable, said it had to be included-we had the biggest local TV station (wbir), AP, and the News Sentinel. I didn't see the TV coverage. We also had brief statements from the Detroit, MI delegation and the folks from Footprints for Peace in Cincinnati; they criticized DOE for not making an effort to get comments from a broader community, noting that it is a national issue. Arriving just a minute too late for the press conference was Glenn Caroll and the Altanta delegation, and folks from North Carolina came for the evening session. It was really great to have such strong support from distant points. Thanks, Glenn, for making the trip; I hope Ted Wyka is wondering if you are going to haunt him at every hearing! Highlights included great speeches from students from the Farm School in Summertown, TN (a four hour drive). One nine year old declared the idea of new bomb INSANE! In the evening, more than 30 students from three colleges (Carson Newman, Maryville and Tusculum) came for two hours as part of their Bonner Scholars program. They didn't get there in time to sign up to speak, but they listened and got some education. Students from Tennessee Tech Students for a Democratic Society came and spoke and were articulate and clever. DOE didn't offer much to hope for, but the young people did. The evening also featured speeches by nine year olds Emma McLeod (I have nightmares about my house being bombed; these nightmares come true for lots of innocent children all around the world) and Evora Kreis. And the OREPA players presented a twenty minute skit in which Uncle Sammy Scrooge was confronted by the Ghosts of Bombs Past, Present and Future. It was an excellent drama developed by Kevin and Cindy Collins and Lissa McLeod and involved a dozen players. They signed up for four consecutive slots and were given the time. (As an aside, Barry Lawson was our moderator and we have a good history with him. He'll be doing a couple of the other hearings as well. When I arrived in the morning I went up to greet him and he said, "I have to come to Oak Ridge once a year to make sure everyone is still on script," and I said, "I don't think you'll be disappointed." He laughed and said, "I'm looking forward to it." When the giant cockroach skittered across the stage at the end of the skit, I felt confident that we had met his expectations. There was poetry and a ululation from Elisabeth Barger, doctors spoke to oppose continuing weapons production along with a philosophy professor, clergy, several nurses, teachers, some Oak Ridgers, writers, Catholic Worker activists, Beth Brockman who said, "I came under orders from the Assistant District Attorney who told me, just before I was sentenced to 22 days in jail, that I should write letters and go to hearings instead of blocking the road," retired missionaries, World War 2 Conscientious Objectors, community organizers, six strong voices from Detroit, Michigan; Buddhists chanting in vigil outside the New Hope Center There was a gentleman whose name I've lost who came from Atlanta with Glenn and Steven Wing who jolted the workers a little in the midst of their bread and butter parade. He stood and said, "My father built the V2 rocket for Germany. He joined the Nazi party to get the job. When we asked him why, he said he did it for his children. I don't honor him for that." It was a good way to get them to think, if they are ever going to, about their motives from a broader perspective. All in all, I think the speakers broke at 65% opposed to DOE's plan and in favor of a No Production Alternative, 35% with that East Tennessee Volunteer can-do spirit. I hope others will present the No Production Alternative idea at your hearing; its a good vehicle to note that events, Congressional disapproval, the Kissinger, Shultz, Nunn cabal have pulled the rug out from under this scheme. If it gives the EIS preparation team pause, and we bump this into a New Administration, we stand a decent chance of winning. There were ninety speakers in the afternoon, and we finished just before 5:00. A dozen or so anti-Bombplex people gave up or left without speaking. There were fifty speakers in the evening and we finished at 10:00 on the dot; the crowd had dwindled to three dozen by then. My impression from Savannah River was that only federal officials got preferential treatment; in Oak Ridge any elected official was moved to the head of the line, so we heard eight or nine pathetic paeans to weapons of mass destruction. They even let one Chamber of Commerce type booster slip in and I went to the sign up table and called them on it. It didn't happen again. That's the report. Glad to entertain questions. Ron: How many people (in your estimate) spoke against the proposed plans and what were their objections? Ralph:I believe about 90 of the 130 speakers were opposed to continuing weapons production at Oak Ridge or anywhere else. Objections were primarily that there is no need for a new weapons complex; it undermines nonproliferation efforts, it violates the NPT, it will cost billions of dollars we need to be spending on true security. The Kissinger/Shultz/Nunn/Perry initiative was cited repeatedly, as was the Us double standard on proliferation. Specific exception was taken to the Stockpile Life Extension Program-the US ongoing program to maintain an enduring stockpile by refurbishing old warheads. This work happens at Y12 in Oak Ridge, so there was a special focus on it. OREPA's proposed "No Production Alternative" was cited by dozens of speakers at this hearing and was presented on Thursday (yesterday) at the Pantex hearing as well. We expect this alternative to be entered into the record at each public hearing. Ron: What was the rationale from the NNSA representative for the proposed changes? Ralph: A requirement in the 2001 Nuclear Posture Review (now clearly outdated) that requires them to protect national security with the least possible number of nuclear weapons. Current design, testing and production facilities are old and dilapidated and spread out all over the place, so NNSA wants to reduce the footprint, consolidate some operations, save money and increase efficiency. And, in all cases, build more bombs Ron:What happens next? Ralph: There are a series of hearings which will continue around the country. Details available at DOE's complex transformation web site. The timeline calls for a Final EIS to be published in October (this will slip) and a Record of Decision to follow thirty days later. They are desperate to try to ram this through during the Bush Administration since there is no real driver for this other than pork delivery to the bomb communities and their Congressional grocers know they stand little chance of making deliveries once Bush is out of office. Ron: Does the NNSA choose one of the plans and go ahead or does the public continue to have some input? Ralph: The public can continue to comment until April 10 (complextransformation@nnsa.doe.gov). After that, DOE tries to finalize the document and make it bulletproof and the only recourse to the public is to challenge the final EIS in court if there are deficiencies and lawyers available. Ron: What are OREPA's plans for the near future regarding this effort to begin building more bombs? Ralph:OREPA will continue to educate and organize to stop continuing weapons production in Oak Ridge. We will be mobilizing people to get comments in during this EIS process and expect to have letters from local academic and clergy leaders. We also have a major peace action planned at the Y12 Nuclear Weapons Plant for mid-April-a nonviolence workshop in Knoxville on April 12 and a peace rally, march and demonstration against nuclear weapons production in Oak Ridge on April 13. When/If a final EIS is issued, OREPA will be part of discussions about legal challenges to the plan if it includes continued weapons production. Also, on a separate track (hedging their bets) DOE is preparing a Y12 Site-Wide EIS which intends to provide NEPA coverage for a new $3billion Uranium Processing Facility (that's a new bomb plant) to continue Life Extension on the W76 warhead. This EIS was started two years ago, but according to DOE, the schedule for releasing a draft is indefinite. They have a bit of a cart-and-horse problem, since the Programmatic EIS, which should make some recommendation or decision about where Uranium work will happen (even though we all know it is at Y12), was started AFTER the Y12 EIS was already underway. Our position is that the Programmatic EIS may not site a facility at Y12 until a site-specific EIS in completed. Any decision in the Programmatic EIS must be provisional. Anyway, we will have another education/organizing job to do when the Draft Y12 Site-Wide EIS is published because it will include money for a new bomb plant in Oak Ridge. Ron Jacobs is author of The Way the Wind Blew: a history of the Weather Underground, which is just republished by Verso. Jacobs' essay on Big Bill Broonzy is featured in CounterPunch's collection on music, art and sex, Serpents in the Garden. His first novel, Short Order Frame Up, is published by Mainstay Press. He can be reached at: rjacobs3625@charter.net

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