Which came first, the oil business or the war machine that protects it? Who started this madness, the military that consumes so much of the oil or the corporations that distribute and profit from the filthy stuff?

An answer of sorts can be found in Timothy Mitchell's book, "Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil."

Western oil corporations were never strong enough, Mitchell finds, to monopolize the flow or stoppage of Middle Eastern oil without major military and financial assistance. So, they began talking about their control of Middle Eastern oil as being an imperial interest. When "imperial" went out of fashion, the phrase shifted to "strategic interest."

A coalition of student and youth groups have called a national conference, the Student Power Convergence 2012, for August 10-14 in Columbus, Ohio, to bring together youth and student groups fighting for progressive changes across the nation.

“We expect hundreds of folks to be at the Convergence in August,” said Stuart McIntyre, an organizer who worked to build the OSU Student Union this past year at Ohio State University in Columbus. “Young people are in the front ranks of people fighting against the corporate attacks on the 99% across our nation. Young people are among those most hard-hit by cuts in programs that aid regular people. Young people are just trying to get starting in their work-lives, they have less savings, seniority, no job history and are now burdened by massive student loans, almost impossible to repay in many cases. They are some of the most vulnerable, but also some of those most ready to fight for their rights. We want to bring young folks who’ve been in these fights together and strengthen all of our movements.”

I am writing to express my support for the Department of Health and Human Services’ birth control mandate and the Affordable Care Act. Recently across the nation and in Ohio, there have been many efforts to limit women’s access to birth control. Birth control is more than a sex issue: it is also a health issue. Women do not only take birth control for the purpose of preventing pregnancy, but also to help with endometriosis, severe cramps, heavy and debilitating periods, extremely irregular periods, ovarian cysts, and a number of other conditions. Birth control is a necessity for many women. To oppose birth control without copays is to oppose women’s access to healthcare. Within religious institutions, women still need birth control for conditions previously listed. Franciscan University’s decision to eliminate their health insurance in order to avoid birth control coverage is an attack not just on women, but now all of their students. Although many students will still be covered under their parents’ health care, a large number will not be—those with unemployed or disabled parents will not have such a benefit. Independent students will have to go elsewhere to acquire health care.

A magazine asked me this morning for my thoughts on Iraq and the peace movement. What did this war produce? I replied:
· Over a million human beings killed plus extensive structural and cultural damage amounting to sociocide, which we could have prevented and didn't, which we could regret and make reparations for but instead are largely uninformed about.

· A lesson taught to other nations that nuclear weapons are needed to prevent a U.S. invasion, a lesson also taught by the assault on Libya.

· A lesson taught to other nations that might makes right and aggressive killing and torture are to be used when one can get away with it.

· Entrenchment of a fossil fuel / war industry, environmental damage, economic damage, damage to international relations, and a huge rollback in civil liberties and the right to assemble and protest.

· Enormous enlargement of the war industry, privatization of the military, and a strengthened ability to legally bribe politicians and control them.

In the peace movement, there's good and bad: