We just returned from nine days in Iran with a 28-person peace delegation organized by CODE PINK. It is clear that people in Iran want two things:

1. To be respected as an independent, sovereign nation
2. To have peace with the United States without threats of war or economic sanctions seeking to dominate them.

One of the lessons from our recent visit to Iran as a Peace Delegation is that Iran is a mature country. It is 2,500 years old, ten times as old as the United States and one of the world’s oldest continuous major civilizations with settlements dating back to 7,000 BC. It was an empire that controlled almost half the Earth for over 1,000 years. It is hard not to see the US-Iran relationship as one between an adolescent bully and a mature nation.

Edwin Starr, in his 1970 hit single asked "War, what is it good for?" His catchy answer was "absolutely nothing!"

On the face of it Mr. Starr's point seems obvious. But if so why has the United States engaged in seemingly endless war in places like Vietnam, Panama, Grenada, Afghanistan and Iraq, since Mr. Starr's song hit the charts? Why are policy makers in Washington D.C. fomenting for more war in Venezuela and Iran? Apparently, war is good for something as the U.S. continues engaging it.

A rabbi in Youngstown, Ohio, who is running for the Green Party’s presidential nomination, was fired from his part-time job as spiritual leader of a local congregation because, he says, of comments he made criticizing Israel.

Dario Hunter, in an interview published on Feb. 19 on Cleveland.com about his bid for president of the United States, had said that the United States should stop providing any aid to Israel because of its’ “horribly atrocious” treatment of Palestinians.

By now, most of us have noticed a paradigm shift that has made traditional political labels obsolete.

Red versus Blue (Republican conservative right-wing versus Democrat liberal left-wing) seemed to work for the last century, but it’s not working for the mess we’re in now.

Editors’ Note: The following is an excerpt from "Last Western Empire. A History of the U.S. From Spring to Fall" by Anthony Gronowicz. This includes notes on the current situation.  Published by McGraw-Hill in 2006, it provides valuable background to the current manufactured crisis in Venezuela.

CHAPTER 11: THE ROCKEFELLERS TARGET VENEZUELA AND BRAZIL

The Rockefeller dynasty ranged freely in Latin America. As soon as oil was discovered beneath the waters of Lake Maracaibo in 1922, the Rockefellers set their sights on Venezuela.  Over 100 oil companies descended upon the lake, and by 1928, Venezuela was the world’s largest oil producer. The normal corporate cutthroat competition ensued, and by 1935, just three remained— British-owned Shell, Mellon-owned Gulf, and Creole Oil purchased by Standard Oil of New Jersey with the largest share at 49%. 

Two things stand out about the US coup in Venezuela. First, it is unusually open. Typically, the US tries to hide its coups. Second, the coup is built on a series of obvious falsehoods, yet the bi-partisans in Washington, with a few exceptions, keep repeating them.

First, we will correct the falsehoods so readers are all working from the same facts. Second, we will describe how this coup is being defeated. It will be another major embarrassment for the Trump administration and US foreign policy.

This week, the Trump military parade, planned for November 10, was canceled for 2018. In February, a coalition of groups went public, announcing we would organize to stop the military parade and, if it went forward, to mobilize more people at the parade calling for peace and an end to war than supporting militarism. The coalition called for “ending the wars at home and abroad.”

The No Trump Military Parade coalition intended to show the world that the people of the United States do not support war. The coalition has been meeting regularly to build toward organized mass opposition to the proposed parade. People were working to make this protest a take-off for a renewed peace movement in a country exhausted by never-ending wars and massive military spending, but our first goal was to stop the parade from happening.

All of humanity is being put at risk by the duopoly of Democrats and Republicans opposition to dialogue with Russia. The combination of Russophobia and the Democratic Party's compulsion to criticize Trump's every action, even when he accidentally does something sensible, is preventing the two largest nuclear powers, with the two most advanced militaries in the world, from working together to create a safer and more secure world.

President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin finally met for a lengthy meeting. Not much was accomplished, but it might be the beginning of an important dialogue, which could have significant positive impacts.

Note: The good news this morning that President Trump and Chairman Kim reached an agreement was an important first step to peace on the Korean Peninsula. The agreement was vague but promised more discussions between the nations. The one specific promise of the United States was to stop the military exercises that practiced military attacks, including  nuclear attack and the asssasination of North Korean political leadership, would be halted. North Korea has always opposed these war games, Popular Resistance has consistently called for them to end.