David Swanson's Blog, page 215
June 11, 2011
Imperialism in the 21st Century
Remarks from a session at the Stop the War Coalition's June 11, 2011, conference in London on "Afghanistan and the War on Terror: 10 Years On."
I want to thank the Stop the War Coalition and Lindsey German in particular for having invited me here. And it is an honor to speak together with Steve Bell and Kevin Ovenden, and I'm sorry Joe Glenton was unable to be here. Kevin and I will be on "The Real Deal" with George Galloway tomorrow, so please watch.
June 10, 2011
How Should The West Engage With the Muslim World?
By David Swanson
Opening Remarks at a Dialogue With Islam.
I want to thank Shahinoor Ali and http://dialoguewithislam.org for inviting me and I'm honored to speak together with Dr. Azzam Tamami.
I don't know about the West, but I have some thoughts on the United States. I recently flew from California to Washington, D.C., and when the plane landed, the pilot came on the intercom to tell everyone to celebrate: our government had killed Osama bin Laden. This was better than winning the Super Bowl, he said.
Set aside for a moment the morality of cheering for the killing of a human being -- which despite the pilot's prompting nobody on the plane did. In purely Realpolitik terms, killing prominent individuals whom we've previously supported has never resolved anything.
June 9, 2011
Poetry in the UK Antiwar and Social Justice Movements
Over here in London, I'm hanging out with some terrific activists, including Andrew Burgin and Celia Mitchell:
Celia Mitchell reading Cutting it up by Adrian... by Fourman-Films
This was Adrian Mitchell:
And this:
June 6, 2011
Our Tahrir Square: DC's Freedom Plaza on October 6th
When other nations' governments go off track, their people do something about it. In Tunisia and Egypt people have nonviolently claimed power in a way that has inspired Americans in Wisconsin and other states, as well as the people of Spain and the rest of the world.
Washington, D.C., is the weakest point in our democracy, without which state-level reform cannot succeed. Most Americans want our wars ended, our corporations and billionaires taxed, and our rights expanded rather than curtailed. We want our money invested in jobs and green energy, not a global military that can't stop itself. Our government in Washington goes in the opposite direction, opposing popular will on these major issues, regardless of personality or party.
June 3, 2011
Boehner Repairs Constitution Using Spray-on Suntan
Speaker of the House John Boehner is expected to bring to a vote on Friday a remarkable resolution called H. Res. 292. This document restores a damaged U.S. Constitution to its full glory in much the way that a spray-on sunless tanning product could restore a collaterally damaged victim who had been liberated by white phosphorous.
Boehner has delayed a vote on a straightforward resolution (H.C.R. 51) that would end U.S. war in Libya. Here's the full text:
June 2, 2011
Poverty Is A Lie
Yes, yes, poverty exists, just as war does, and the two feed off each other. When I titled a book "War Is A Lie" I meant that the justifications offered for wars were false and that the idea that we must always have wars is false. Our government doesn't market new poverty campaigns in the same way it does wars. It markets campaigns to dismantle healthcare and pension systems or to eliminate foreign aid or to restrict organizing rights. But our culture pushes the false notion that poverty must always be with us.
Is That Even Legal?
If the U.S. Constitution says one thing, a treaty ratified by the United States says another, a law passed by Congress yet another, and another law passed by Congress another thing still, while a signing statement radically changes that last law but itself differs with an executive order, all of which statements of law conflict with a number of memos drafted by the Office of Legal Council (some secret and some leaked), but a President has announced that the law is something completely different from all of this, and in practice the government defies all of the above including the presidential announcement . . . in such a case, the obvious but possibly pointless question arises: what's legal?
June 1, 2011
WHAT OBAMA'S AFGHANISTAN "PROGRESS" LOOKS LIKE
STOP THE WAR COALITION
Newsletter No. 1207
01 June 2011
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
Tel: 020 7801 2768
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stopthewarcoalition
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) WHAT OBAMA'S AFGHANISTAN "PROGRESS" LOOKS LIKE
2) INTERNATIONAL MUSICIANS RELEASE PALESTINE SINGLE
3) BOOK: WAR IS A LIE BY DAVID SWANSON
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1) WHAT OBAMA'S AFGHANISTAN "PROGRESS" LOOKS LIKE
Stop the War's day conference on Afghanistan on Saturday 11 June
could not be more timely. Since President Obama told the British
Parliament on 25 May that the US/Nato forces were "preparing to
turn a corner" and the Taliban's momentum had been "broken",
