David Swanson's Blog, page 184
March 24, 2012
The Drone
Listen.
Listen.
Listen to the endless steady droning
To the buzzing almost moaning
Of the invisible unmanned plane,
The imminent howling pain,
Or is it death?
Or will that omnipotent thing refrain?
Will the humans who make it kill
Change their minds and make it stop?
It buzzes still!
It's the sound of murder unseen,
The sound of the dying of the American dream,
The relentless sound of streets unclean
Full of homeless people and limousines.
It is the sound of the war machine.
It is the sound of an empire drowning.
March 23, 2012
Taking a Mother's Child Away
One of the good things about speaking at big conferences is that people come up to you afterwards believing you have the power to change the world.
One of the bad things about speaking at big conferences is that people come up to you afterwards believing you have the power to change the world.
A mother with tears in her eyes just asked me to help free her son, a young man with an IQ of 78 who was apparently set up by the NYPD. He is Muslim. This was 8 years ago. He's in prison for 30 years. I went online and found this letter that his mother has written to the Mayor of New York.
The Shifting Strategies of Empire
Remarks at the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) Conference:
President Obama this week declared the war on Iraq to be an honorable success that has given us a brighter future. Are you fired up? Ready to go?
Eric Holder this month explained that it's legal for a president to kill anyone anywhere, or to imprison them, or to spy on them. I started to get upset about this, but then I remembered that Holder is a Democrat. That made me feel much better.
Why I'm Now Endorsing Occupy the RNC
Three weeks ago I blogged that I would not endorse Occupy the RNC or DNC because both groups were refusing to state that they opposed violence.
Occupy the RNC has now put this on its website:
"We are not organizing actions, especially violent ones. That would just be stupid. We exist to provide information and facilitate logistics for people resisting the RNC."
Not how I would have put it. Nor would I have added:
"Don't fuck with us. We'll sue you."
But foreswearing violence and calling it stupid is enough for me. I wish Occupy DNC could bring itself to do as much. Better yet, just add "We oppose violence and will not use it."
March 22, 2012
March 21, 2012
Robots Kill, But the Blood Is on Our Hands
In her spare time, between nonstop peace activism and leading international exchanges, Medea Benjamin has somehow managed to write the best book yet on the most inhuman form of war yet. The book is called "Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control." The foreword by Barbara Ehrenreich and a form to pre-order the book are here.
March 20, 2012
Would You Stop a Friend from Destroying the Earth?
What would you do if someone had a button that could destroy the earth and they were walking across the room to push it? Would you stand in the way? Would you talk them out of it? Would you sit by and watch, maybe make a sarcastic remark or two? What if the button might destroy the earth or might just destroy part of it? What if it might leave most of the earth intact but kill millions of people, but what if you had no way of being sure how far the destruction would spread?
Talk Nation Radio: The Power of Theater to End Militarism
Antiwar playwrite Karen Malpede, whose play Another Life is the focus of a Festival of Conscience now running in Brooklyn, N.Y., explains the development of drama as katharsis for antiwar veterans in ancient Greece and the power that the theater has to oppose militarism today.
Total run time: 29:00
Host: David Swanson.
Producer: David Swanson.
Engineer: Christiane Brown.
Music by Duke Ellington.
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March 19, 2012
Obama Declares War on Iraq an Honorable Success 2 Weeks Early for April Fool's Day
President Proclaims 'National Day of Honor'WASHINGTON, March 19, 2012 – On the ninth anniversary of U.S. forces moving into Iraq, President Barack Obama has proclaimed today to be "A National Day of Honor."
Here's is the text of the president's proclamation:
