Author name: davidswanson

Many years ago, it occurred to me to try teaching foreign policy in preschool.

In a typical preschool, anywhere on Earth, when children have disputes, there can be pushing, shoving, crying, screaming, and all sorts of unpleasantness. The teacher cannot always know what happened from the beginning. He or she may only see the ending. The general theory is that first one must stop any physical altercation, next comfort each child, and finally — when things have calmed down — teach each child to read more

The Nobel Committee has yet again awarded a peace prize that violates the will of Alfred Nobel and the purpose for which the prize was created, selecting a recipient who blatantly is not “the person who has done the most or best to advance fellowship among nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and the establishment and promotion of peace congresses.”

There is no question that advocating for human rights is a good thing, or that doing so under an oppressive government is a read more

I suppose it's important to find a balance between imaging the new and fantasizing about the highly improbable, but if you're not going to imagine anything at all, then why write a book?

Here’s a new response to a 1930s propaganda movie about the glories of the Monroe Doctrine.

By World BEYOND War, October 2, 2023

First published by Pressenza.

In this 1.5 hour friendly debate, moderated by Marcy Winograd (coordinator of CODEPINK Congress and co-chair of the Peace in Ukraine Coalition), we hear 3 perspectives debated: 1) Russia had no choice but to invade Ukraine, argued by former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, 2) Ukraine had no read more

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, September 27, 2023
Remarks in Charlottesville, Va — Video here.

War and peace could be a very simple issue. We make it very complicated. People say and do things that I simultaneously want to cheer for and condemn.

This week Senator Rand Paul said he wants to stop supporting Ukraine in order to support the United States. The phrase “support Ukraine” is shorthand for fueling a war that is destroying Ukraine, damaging the world, and threatening nuclear apocalypse. read more

A public discussion featuring Medea Benjamin, Helena Cobban, Ray McGovern, and David Swanson.