“President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly hinted that a treaty of neutrality may be on offer; and he is right to do so. For two things have been made absolutely clear by this war: that Russia will fight to prevent Ukraine becoming a military ally of the West, and the West will not fight to defend…

“Putin was very clear about a path to deescalation: He called on the West to halt NATO expansion, negotiate Ukrainian neutrality in the East/West rivalry, remove U.S. nuclear weapons from non proliferating countries, and remove missiles, troops and bases near Russia. These are demands the U.S. would surely have made were it in Russia’s position.…

“The whiteness of Ukrainians may make it easier for Western governments to sell to their publics escalation and intervention instead of urgent negotiations to defuse a potentially catastrophic crisis between nuclear superpowers.

The CDC’s new guidelines, which allow around 70 percent of Americans to stop wearing masks indoors, place a double burden on the medically vulnerable, asking them to exclude themselves from society and bear the cost of buying PPE. Disability advocates have decried the agency’s shift. Beatrice Adler-Bolton says, “We should be honest that a lot…

After Joe Biden suggests his son’s fatal cancer could be attributed to toxic “burn pits,” experts and activists question their continued use. Laura Olah of the Cease Fire Campaign said that “Nationwide, there are approximately 60 active private and public sector facilities that routinely conduct OB/OD [open burn/open demolition] of hazardous waste. All are currently…

“What’s needed above all is a courageous and transnational citizens’ movement demanding not simply the end of the war on Ukraine but also an end to perpetual wars. We need political leaders who will speak out about our real security needs and resist the reflex to fall into old patterns that distract from the threats…

Justin Feldman: “When Omicron first hit the U.S., pundits and government officials painted a misleading picture that downplayed the severe public health consequences of the variant. The truth is that even while people infected with Omicron are less likely to die compared to Delta, it is hardly mild. The narrative of ‘mildness’ provided cover for…

“Now, sadly, Russia’s illegal actions will embolden the hawks and armament mongers on all sides. Already armchair strategists are calling for doubling the US military budget, for grasping the ‘strategic opportunity’ to bleed Putin in Ukraine while pushing the Europeans to build up their military forces.”

ANDREW COCKBURN, [email protected], @andrewmcockburn Cockburn is author of the new book The Spoils of War: Power, Profit and the American War MachineAndrew Cockburn’s new book reports on how “Washington expanded NATO to satisfy an arms manufacturer’s urgent financial requirements; the U.S. Navy’s Pacific fleet deployments were for years dictated by a corrupt contractor who bribed high-ranking officers with cash…

Nonviolence International released a staetment last week: “A Chane for Peace: OSCE Must Strengthen the Ukraine Peace Monitoring Mission. The U.S. must reverse its withdrawal of OSCE peace observers.” Its director said today: “The escalation in these territories means that peace monitoring to monitor the conflict is needed more than ever.”