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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Acknowledging history of Gaza, Ukraine key to understanding today’s wars
The United States is heavily invested in two major wars. Either one could spiral out of control and turn nuclear.
Stories by Art Hobson
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Subscriber ExclusiveOPINION | ART HOBSON: War unsustainable, the answer for Israel is a two-state solution
We've now seen five weeks of war in Gaza. Hamas, in a horrific attack, killed 1,400 innocent Israelis and captured an additional 242. The Palestinian Ministry …
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Subscriber ExclusiveOPINION | ART HOBSON: Northwest Arkansas housing crunch demands big decisions for the future
Fayetteville needs more housing. The current shortage creates high prices that force poor people into homelessness, eat up middle-class income and make it fina…
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Subscriber ExclusiveOPINION | ART HOBSON: Younger people, unpleased with what prior generations have done, are ready for change in 2024
The nation and the world are not doing well. Many Americans, especially young people, think we can do better. They will be heard in the 2024 elections.
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Subscriber ExclusiveOPINION | ART HOBSON: Deterrence no longer a rational approach; the United States and others must support UN treaty
In the wake of the anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings and the release of the movie "Oppenheimer," it's a good time to talk about ending…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: See “Oppenheimer,” then consider real-world implications of nation’s history
Aug. 6 is Hiroshima Day, marking the anniversary of the date the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city.
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: In nations’ battle against climate warming, there’s a global credibility gap
Humankind has finally achieved the first goal required to prevent disastrous global warming: Civilized people finally recognize this as a real threat caused by…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Invasion wrong, but claim Russia was “unprovoked” doesn’t hold up
Pro-war propaganda has been bellicose and omnipresent since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Although Russia should not have invaded, the incessant U.S. refrain t…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Everyone could use some serious talk about religion; here’s how I became an atheist
I hope you read Gwen Faulkenberry's May 1 column (nwaonline.com/51refugee/) relating her religious story. We too often keep religious views to ourselves. World…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Northwest Arkansas’ auto-driven culture needs to change; a tax for expanded mass transit will help
Among many good books about city planning, "How Cities Work" by journalist and urban designer Alex Marshall is tops. He writes in his introduction that "the st…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Liberal dominance will prevail despite gains of conservatives
Some of my friends will disagree, but it would have been better for the long-term interests of peace and justice if New York City had not arrested former Presi…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: War with Russia, Ukraine triggered by many avoidable disputes
The costs of a year of warfare in Ukraine have been enormous. Casualties (dead and wounded) include 20,000 Ukrainian civilians, 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers, 200…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON | Fossil fuel industry faces lawsuits over what they knew, hid about climate change
I've been involved with global warming since the 1970s when I began developing a new kind of physics course called "Physics and Human Affairs" that is still ta…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Fusion breakthrough shows real promise for energy, but not soon enough to address climate change
It is one o'clock on the morning of Dec. 5, 2022, at the Lawrence-Livermore nuclear weapons laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF). A powerful laser hou…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: U.S. policy in eastern Europe pushed Russia into war
The war in Ukraine drags on. Russia and Ukraine have each suffered more than 100,000 soldiers wounded and dead well before their time.
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Populution projections, progressive attitudes and the decline of religion point toward a better future
Although there are plenty of global and U.S. threats to worry about these days, three demographic trends offer grounds for long-term optimism.
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Experimenting with quantum spookiness leads to the Nobel Prize in physics
This year's physics Nobel Prize was awarded for quantum physics experiments investigating "entangled quantum states." These are situations in which a pair of m…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Putin’s nuclear threat presents very real dangers to the world
Ten days ago, President Vladimir Putin announced that "any means necessary" will be used to defend the Ukrainian Donbas regions that Russia recently annexed. H…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Tipping points signal the catestrophic threats of global warming
Mother Earth has finally awakened most of us to the reality of global warming. As epic wildfires, unprecedented flooding, record heatwaves and devastating drou…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: On abortion, the political debate is full of misconceptions
One of my favorite magazines, Science News, recently published an article titled "Misconceptions cloud abortion debate." It summarizes four misunderstood issue…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Webb telescope boldly looking more powerfully than any device has looked before
Following a 30-year effort involving 20,000 people around the globe at a cost of $10 billion, the James Webb Space Telescope is now at work imaging the cosmos.…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: The American love affair with owning automobiles is an overwhelming burden
Americans are famous for driving everywhere and, indeed, we have one of the highest per capita vehicle ownership rates in the world. Yet few drivers are aware …
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Erosion of America’s gun fetish will take a long time and a consistent push for cultural change
"Typically American" has taken on a menacing tone in the wake of gun violence since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. Mass shootings happen every day…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Nothing but stronger gun controls will rid nation of mass shootings
These days, I shudder as I switch on the PBS evening news. It often brings me to tears. The Ukraine tragedy, which could have been avoided by a more judicious …
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Humans continue irrational march toward more war
This is my sixth, and hopefully last, consecutive column about Ukraine. War, in particular the irrational (on both sides) conflict in Ukraine, is the most depr…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Why must we make war?
Since Russia's immoral and foolish invasion, the world has been all too "interesting." This is my sixth (and hopefully last) consecutive column about Ukraine. …
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: U.S. must be willing to examine Russia’s actions through the same lens it considers its own
Our president gave away the store last week. He just came right out and stated, "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power." He was, of course, referring…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: As the planet remains on high alert, does it make sense to risk global destruction to preserve Ukraine’s option to join NATO?
On Feb. 8, during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an alarming answer to a reporter's ques…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Neutrality is a more peace-inducing option than Ukraine’s NATO membership
European historian Richard Sakwa has stated that NATO's prime mission is "to manage the risks created by its existence." This applies today in spades.
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: The United States should support neutrality for Ukraine
Americans seem to have no idea of the degree to which fear of attack by the West motivates Russian behavior toward Ukraine.
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: U.S. interests in Europe aren't always aligned with other NATO nations' strategies
As I've said before in these pages, U.S. global "leadership" is overly aggressive and militaristic. America cannot run the world.
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: A new era in astronomy
Humans have long been fascinated with the sky . Our earliest stories speak of heroes laid to rest amidst the stars. Ancient structures such as Stonehenge were …
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Glasgow results reflect need for carbon fee to protect the planet, humanity
The recent two-week Glasgow meeting on global warming didn't move the needle significantly, but it did reflect a public alarmed by environmental catastrophes. …
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: When it comes to filling a life with joyful experiences, it's good advice to get on a bicycle
British writer and historian H. G. Wells once said "Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." What with gl…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: World would benefit from deeper understanding of humans' development
Humankind's understanding of who we are has expanded enormously in recent decades, but educational institutions are failing to keep up. This applies in spades …
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: The unvaccinated blew it for everyone
We were doing so well. After covid rose to grotesque levels last winter, medical science developed vaccines that rescued us. Arkansas, for example, experienced…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Was Hiroshima bombing just the beginning of the end?
On Aug. 6, 1945, a single B-29 dropped one bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, a city of 400,000. Moments later the entire city, three miles across, lay in ruins. On Aug…
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OPINION | ART HOBSON: Through the bottleneck
Now more than ever, and for better or worse, the world is in rapid transition. As the great scientist and naturalist Edward O. Wilson noted in his book "The Fu…
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ART HOBSON: Freedom in the modern age
A key claim of those on the political right is that over-regulation, bloated government and taxation have robbed us of our freedom -- our ability to pursue lif…
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ART HOBSON: Stop at two
If you are, like me, a newspaper addict who wants to keep a finger on the American pulse, you should follow the daily letters to the editor. Reg Edwards of Com…
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ART HOBSON: Pondering the universe
Humans have long gazed at the starry sky, wondering how it works, what it means. We've probably pondered such matters since at least the evolution of the genus…
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ART HOBSON: U.S. can't run the world
Like an interminable re-enactment of the Vietnam War, the Afghan war drags on as we continue propping up yet another unsustainable government.
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ART HOBSON: America's wild streak
America's weaknesses were sorely exposed during the riot on our U.S. Capitol building. Who are these people? With nods to Pogo, on Jan. 6 we met the enemy and …
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ART HOBSON: Hopes, temps rise on Earth
The political atmosphere since Jan. 20 has been like a breath of fresh air. A rational fact-based national administration has replaced four years of brainless,…
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ART HOBSON: Biden must renew Iran deal
Tomorrow's inauguration of Joe Biden as President brings partial relief from President Trump's foreign policy confusion. My previous column argued that the Ira…
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ART HOBSON: A return to the Iran nuclear deal
In July 2015, the Obama Administration signed an agreement limiting Iran's nuclear weapons and ensuring enhanced monitoring in exchange for Iran's relief from …
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ART HOBSON: A push for "Big History"
During the past century, science has revealed enormous new realms of history: the universe's 13.8 billion years, Earth's 4.5 billion years, not to mention 5 mi…
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ART HOBSON: Black hole knowledge expands
Cultural historian Jacques Barzun once described science as "the glorious entertainment." There could be no better example than black holes.
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ART HOBSON: What's up, America?
The United States accounts for 4 percent of world population but 25 percent of covid-19 deaths. Although individual Americans pay twice what individual Europea…
