David Swanson's Blog, page 199
November 15, 2011
AUDIO: David Swanson and Coy Barefoot Discuss Dick Cheney's Chickening Out of Charlottesville Event
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Charlottesville Right Now: 11-15-11 David Swanson
David Swanson joins Coy to discuss Dick Cheney postponing his visit to The University of Virginia and Occupy Charlottesville.
One Veteran's Rough Path from Killing and Torturing to Peace
Not yet 30, Evan Knappenberger has already lived several lives. His story destroys the U.S. government's case against whistleblower Bradley Manning, exposes the toxic mix of fraud and incompetence that creates U.S. war policies, and highlights the damage so often done to soldiers who come home without visible injuries.
November 14, 2011
Top 5 Reasons Dick Cheney Won't Speak in Charlottesville VA This Week
Number 5. When John Yoo came here, he got a good rowdy rule-of-law unwelcome, which no doubt made the Miller Center hesitate to promise Cheney a room free of decent human beings.
Number 4. Our brothers and sisters in San Francisco confronted Cheney with his crimes last week.
Number 3. It's a heck of a lot of crimes.
Number 2. Cheney just might have found himself face-to-face with a set of handcuffs.
And the Number 1 reason Cheney won't be seen at the University of Virginia this week: The first part of a Chicken Hawk is the chicken.
November 13, 2011
BOOK REVIEW: 'When the World Outlawed War': 83-Year-Old Treaty Signed by U.S., France, Dozens of Other Nations, Actually Did That!
Reviewed by David M. Kinchen — Huntington News
Wouldn't it be great if war was a crime? If it could be prosecuted like murder, rape, child abuse and other crimes against humanity?
Actually, 83 years ago the U.S. signed a treaty that did that, writes David Swanson in "When the World Outlawed War" (David Swanson self-published paperback, no index, 174 pages, ordered from 100Fires, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powells, other sellers, or your local independent bookstore, which can order it through Ingram., $15.00 -- bulk discounts available).
Swanson, a peace advocate who has been arrested for his beliefs, says in his very readable book that when he asks students if they've ever heard of the Kellogg-Briand Treaty of 1928, ratified by the U.S. Senate on Aug. 27, 1928, he rarely sees a hand raised. Named for U.S. Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg (1856-1937) and French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand, the treaty is still in force, the law of the land, according to the State Department.
It's been honored or dishonored more in the breach than in the observance, unfortunately for the tens of millions of people who've been murdered in wars since it was passed.
Swanson's account of the "Outlawry" peace movement in the wake of the meaningless slaughter of the First World War -- called the World War or Great War at the time of the treaty's passage -- is vital as endless wars bedevil the human species.
I get a chuckle when I loudly proclaim to all and sundry that my beautiful shelter cat Greta belongs to a higher species than humans, but quite a few people agree with me when I ask them to point to ONE WAR that cats -- or dogs or horses -- started.
Erik Larson writes in his masterful "In the Garden of Beasts" (reviewed on this site, link: www.huntingtonnews.net/13224) that Nazi Germany had strict laws against abusing horses and dogs -- the happiest creatures in the Third Reich -- but ended up slaughtering or causing to be slaughtered 60 million people in the second "Great War" because there was no law against killing people in the guise of war.
In fact, as Swanson points out, the Nuremburg War Crimes tribunals that followed the war -- as well as similar trials against Japanese militarists -- had their legal roots in the Kellogg-Briand Treaty, also known as the Pact of Paris, where it was signed. Japan and Germany -- the Weimar Republic democratic version -- were among the many nations that signed it.
November 10, 2011
AUDIO: David Swanson and Coy Barefoot Discuss Dick Cheney, War, and Peace
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Charlottesville Right Now: 11-10-11 David Swanson
David Swanson joins Coy to discuss Occupy Charlottesville, protesting Dick Cheney's visit to the University of Virginia, and his new book.
Occupy Movement Demands Home Mortgages Correction
On Thursday, OccupyWashingtonDC.org teamed up with the Backbone Campaign, National People's Action, and the New Economy Working Group in a march from Freedom Plaza to the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA).
The demand they brought, along with giant props including a foreclosed house under water, was for a correction. The 1%, they said, inflated house values and made off with ill-gotten gains, but those left with underwater mortgages when the house values were brought back down have suffered. The demand is for mortgage values to be adjusted to match the current market values of houses.
Protest Dick Cheney in Charlottesville, Va., November 16th
Open flyer: PDF.
Another year, another war criminal book-touring at the Miller Center. This time, on Wednesday, November 16th, it'll be Dick Cheney, who . . .
lied to the public and Congress to launch a war on Iraq;
pressured the CIA to assist in fraud;
threatened and worked to promote war on Iran;
lied to the public and Congress in an effort to launch war on Iran;
led a campaign of retribution against a whistleblower;
refused a Congressional subpoena;
obstructed DOJ investigations;
profited from his own war making;
led the creation of programs of warrantless spying, lawless imprisonment, and torture;
created a secret energy task force that violated open-government laws;
mishandled classified information and destroyed visitors logs;
suppressed evidence in the California energy crisis;
continues to make false claims and to openly brag about his offenses.
The Miller Center is making people contact dcforum@virginia.edu for permission to attend, and appears to be screening out those who oppose the policies listed above.
But the Miller Center cannot prevent us protesting outside.
Bring posters.
9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011
Lawn in front of Miller Center
2201 Old Ivy Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Park at University Hall or Lannigan Field or in a nearby parking lot on Old Ivy Road.
November 9, 2011
November 8, 2011
Cheney Comes to Town
Another year, another war criminal book-touring at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia.
This time, at 11 a.m. on November 16th, it'll be Dick Cheney.
The Miller Center is not allowing members of the public to attend on a first-come basis, as is the standard practice. Instead, it is asking people to send an email to dcforum@virginia.edu and then wait for approval to attend.
Whether any or some or all people not known by the Miller Center to be welcoming of war criminals are being screened out we do not yet know.
Reasons some might ask Cheney uncomfortable questions during his Q&A include:
--Cheney lied to and defrauded the public and the Congress to launch a war on Iraq.
--Cheney pressured the CIA to assist in that fraud.
--Cheney threatened and worked to promote war on Iran.
--Cheney lied to the public and Congress in an effort to launch a war on Iran.
--Cheney led a campaign of retribution against whistleblower Joseph Wilson, including the outing of a covert CIA operative.
--Cheney refused to comply with Congressional subpoenas and obstructed Department of Justice investigations.
--Cheney profited financially from his war-making through compensation from Halliburton.
--Cheney led efforts to create programs of warrantless spying, lawless imprisonment, and torture.
--Cheney created the secret Energy Task Force which operated in defiance of open-government laws.
--Cheney violated laws on the handling of classified information and destroyed official visitors logs.
--Cheney Suppressed Evidence in the California Energy Crisis.
--Cheney continues to make false claims as well as to openly brag about many of these offenses.
For more information, see http://warisacrime.org/cheneycrimes
