WBW News & Action: What A Racket

Dear Friend,

There is a lot of great news from all over the world below, but much of it deals with addressing the war racket. Smedley Butler defined a racket as something that is not what it appears to most people. I’ve just published a new book called War Is Still A Racket. You can buy the book, get it free and signed when you join an online book club at which we’ll discuss it, or read and share a short excerpt on the WBW website.

—David Swanson, Executive Director, World BEYOND War

Visit WBW’s Global Events Calendar to find events and add your own events!

On Wednesday, April 29 at 12:00pm ET (find the time in your time zone), the Women in Conflict Zones webinar will focus on the widening war in the SWANA/Middle East region launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran. Featuring women’s voices from Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, and the West Bank.

• May: Online Book Club: ONE: One Earth, One Humanity, One Future
• May 9: Webinar: Stop Using Drone Warfare to Perpetrate Genocides
• Oct. 23-25: #NoWar2026 Conference: Beyond Borders

All upcoming book clubs are at https://worldbeyondwar.org/bookclubs

People Who Oppose War Must Not Be Compelled to Pay for War

• Tell the World’s Governments to End the Genocide
• Global Appeal to Nine Nuclear Governments
• No More Foreign Military Forces in Haiti
• BDS the U.S.
• No War on Venezuela
• Petición al Gobierno de España
• Irish Americans Stand for Irish Neutrality

This “pen light” peace movement in Japan could soon rival the peace movement of the 1960s, in terms of significance.

WORLD:

• Civil Society Demands World Bank Withdraw from the So-Called Board of Peace
• Peace Museum Launches Web Archive, Preserves Two Peace Websites
• Peace Trolling
• How Do We Transcend War?
• Will Youth Prisons Be Found Only in History Books? Could War Meet Same Fate?

EUROPE:

• Global Sumud Flotilla Departs Italy for Gaza on April 26, 2026
• Civilians Seize the Sea: Global Sumud Flotilla Obstructs Mega-Vessel
• Peace Dialog Norway–Russia

ASIA:

• Audio: Call It Warfare Against Civilians, says Kathy Kelly
• Iran’s 10-point Plan Is Still a Workable Basis for Negotiations
• How Many People Have the United States and Israel Killed in Iran?

NORTH AMERICA:

• Report from New York City: No More War! No More Nukes! No More Militarism!
• Veterans Groups Protest U.S. War on Iran
• Ontario Teachers Disrupt Pension CEO, Demand Divestment from War
• Stop the Global War Bank: Launch of an Open Letter
• Just Try to Find a Book About Peace on Audible or Amazon
• Boycott Success: The Giller Prize Is No Longer Partnered