David Swanson's Blog, page 246
November 28, 2010
AUDIO: Antiwar.com Scott Horton With David Swanson
Scott Horton Interviews David Swanson
David Swanson, author of War is a Lie, discusses the lies routinely made before, during and after a war; how FDR provoked and allowed the Pearl Harbor attack out of desperation to get the US into WWII; the contradictory narratives required to convince both the Left and the Right a particular war is worth fighting; how continued popular reverence for military service keeps the war machine going; why courage and valor are not commendable attributes when used for evil purposes; how private government and military deliberations on war never consider troop support but public appeals always do; and how Americans routinely underestimate the depravity of their imperial government.
MP3 here. (19:51)
David Swanson is Co-Founder of AfterDowningStreet.org, creator of ProsecuteBushCheney.org, Washington Director of Democrats.com and a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, the Backbone Campaign, Voters for Peace and the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution. He was the press secretary for Dennis Kucinich’s 2004 presidential campaign, media coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and worked three years as communications coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.
November 27, 2010
AUDIO: Brad Friedman: WWII Was a Good War; David Swanson: No, It Was Not
From BradBlog
(Each "Hour" actually 38 mins, now that commercials are removed.)
HOUR 1: The show started out light enough, with a bunch of wacky news. Then David Swanson joined us
Don't miss this really interesting --- and undoubtedly, controversial, discussion!...
Download MP3 or listen online below...
HOUR 2: Swanson stays with us for another two segments. Then, new revelations from Germany about Bush's latest lies in his memoirs Decision Points...
Download MP3 or listen online below...
HOUR 3: The new WikiLeaks leaks, your calls, including one caller who can't believe I called George W. Bush a liar...Funny. I can't believe he called him "President"...
Download MP3 or listen online below...
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November 26, 2010
COUNTERSPIN Radio: Robert Kuttner on the deficit obsession; David Swanson on 'War is a Lie.'
Robert Kuttner on the deficit obsession; David Swanson on 'War is a Lie.'
CounterSpin (11/26/10-12/2/10)
Listen: [mp3] [RealAudio not avalailable]
Note: Please feel free to download the mp3 by right-clicking the mp3 link and choose the "Save Target As" function.
This week on CounterSpin: Elites including within the corporate media insist, against the evidence, that voters are highly concerned about the deficit. This is one of the reasons the draconian plan put forth by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, co-chairs of the president's deficit commission, got such a friendly reception in the media. We'll talk to economist Robert Kuttner about coverage of the Bowles Simpson plan and about a media that obsesses over future deficits in the midst of economic hard times.
Also on CounterSpin today: War is a lie. That's the title of activist and writer David Swanson's new book, which takes a sweeping look at the lies we're told—and we tell ourselves—about American wars. And of course many of those lies are transmitted by a corporate media eager to support war. David Swanson will join us to tell us more.
Stream this week's show:
LINKS:
--"What Planet Are Deficit Hawks Living on?," by Robert Kuttner (Huffington Post, 11/14/10)
--War Is A Lie
CounterSpin Homepage
Swanson: "'Freedom Watch' Threw a War and Nobody Came"
David Swanson writes in a guest column for Informed Comment
The Neoconservatives, despite wandering in the wilderness after their Iraq debacle, are trying to keep the dream of serial wars in the Middle East alive. Freedom Watch and the Foundation for Democracy in Iran sponsored a National Press Club event on November 17, in which former CIA director James Woolsey, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, and former UN ambassador Alan Keyes demanded war on Iran.
November 25, 2010
November 24, 2010
Peace Presents for Holidays -- Half Price
War Is A Lie, just published by David Swanson, is topping the charts and being translated for publication in other countries. Thank you, if you've purchased it!
Did you know that you can get this soon-to-be classic book for half-price with free shipping in time for the holidays if you buy 10 or more?
If you want a single copy (or kindle version), you can buy it at Amazon, which ships the books right away despite what it says, and you can manually change the quantity in your cart if you want more than three.
But if you'd like a holiday bargain on 10 or more, with the books shipped right away for free, or an audio book or other ebook versions, you can go straight to http://warisalie.org
We made the book available almost at cost so that peace groups can resell it for a profit, but there's no reason for you not to take advantage of the opportunity to get presents for friends, family, elected officials, libraries, and activist organizations.
Watch for Swanson on Wednesday on Thom Hartmann's TV show, and join him for a discussion on Sunday 5-7 p.m. ET at the FireDogLake Book Salon.
"Not a single thing that we commonly believe about wars that helps keep them around is true. Wars cannot be good or glorious. Nor can they be justified as a means of achieving peace or anything else of value. The reasons given for wars, before, during, and after them (often three very different sets of reasons for the same war) are all false." -- From the Introduction
Let's make War Is A Lie #1 on Amazon.
The reviews of War Is A Lie already are phenomenal. Rob Kall of OpEdNews calls it "an important, destined to be classic book." He adds, "If there are awards for brilliant books that explode new ways to oppose the evils of this world, then David should sweep the field this year."
Norman Solomon, author of War Made Easy, says "David Swanson is an antidote to the toxins of complacency and evasion. He insists on rousing the sleepwalkers, confronting the deadly prevaricators and shining a bright light on possibilities for a truly better world."
And Geoff Millard of Iraq Veterans Against the War concludes, "Not since General Smedley Butler's War is a Racket has a simpler, more brilliant, or truer book been published."
Make this book #1 on Amazon right now!
Thanks for all you do!
Happy holidays!
November 23, 2010
Mickey Z. Interviews David Swanson on War Lies
War Is Over (If You Want It)
My interview with David Swanson
By Mickey Z.
If Dwight D. Eisenhower was correct when he declared, "Public opinion wins war," then public opinion can also end or prevent wars…but this would require us, as a first step, to see past the superficial allure of wartime propaganda and make the entire system transparent. To do so requires rebuttal, e.g. information that challenges the myopia and amnesia cultivated by State and corporate misinformation.
Die for a Tie: How the Korean War Began
An excerpt from the just published book "War Is A Lie" http://warisalie.org
After two world wars with a depression in between, none of which Americans had submitted to voluntarily, President Harry S Truman had some bad news. If we didn't set off immediately to fight communists in Korea, they would shortly invade the United States. That this was recognized as patent nonsense is perhaps suggested by the fact that, once again, Americans had to be drafted if they were going to go off and fight. The Korean War was waged in supposed defense of the way of life in the United States and in supposed defense of South Korea against aggression by North Korea. Of course it had been the arrogant genius of the Allies to slice the Korean nation in half at the end of World War II.
