If At First You Don't Secede

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By David Swanson

When I think about secession, my first thought is of the Conch Republic (motto: “We Seceded Where Others Failed”), the briefly lived independent nation of Key West, Florida, now reduced to a joke and a tourist attraction. But would it necessarily be a joke to have an independent nation with some conchs, if you know what I mean, holding BP to higher standards than BO is willing to?

Or I think of Jesus Land and the United States of Canada, the division of the United States read more

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The Longest US War, The Harshest Blow to the Rule of Law

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By David Swanson

The Afghanistan war has now lasted longer than the Vietnam war or any other US war, be it one of those overwhelmingly seen as criminal or “misguided” or one of those people still try to justify. Regardless, they’ve all been shorter than this one.

Of course, the United States had been criminally and forcefully harming both Vietnam and Afghanistan for many years before the official start of the wars. Here’s how the USA Today does the calculation:

“The read more

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Prophecies Are For Violating

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By David Swanson

I wrote a review of Karen Malpede’s new play “Prophecy” when I had only read but not yet seen it. Karen read the review and invited me to lead the first in a series of talk-back discussions following performances in New York, and I did so on Wednesday. For that incredible privilege I’m glad I wrote that early review, but I’m sorry it was so insufficient as an attempt to convey the intensity of the phenomenon that is “Prophecy.”

“Prophecy” read more

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100 Candidates and Organizations Say No to War $

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100 Congressional Candidates and National Organizations Oppose War Spending No Matter What Lipstick Is Applied to It

Seventy-six congressional candidates and 24 national organizations are opposing any more funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, no matter what unrelated measures are packaged into the same bill, and no matter whether the bill appears likely to pass or not.  This position contrasts strongly with that of most incumbent congress members read more

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For a Year and a Half, No Signs of Torture Ending, Willful Self-Delusion That Torture Has Ended

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For the past year and a half we’ve watched the White House announce the end of torture and immunity for torturers, two policies that appear incompatible and have proven to be so.  We’ve seen the White House claim the right to torture, and seen that greeted with silence and an averted gaze by those pretending torture is over.  We’ve seen report after report of ongoing torture greeted with silence from the same pretenders, among whom we must read more

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After Throwing Shoes at Bush, Where Is al-Zaidi Now?

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By David Swanson

Muntadhar al-Zaidi famously threw his shoes at President George W. Bush in December 2008, kicking off a stream of shoe-throwing protests around Iraq and the world. He then spent nine months in jail. TheRealNews.com has now posted a four-part video interview in which al-Zaidi reveals, to the certain bewilderment of many Americans, that he has absolutely no notion of “hating us for our freedoms.” In fact, al-Zaidi lists completely read more

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The Wonders of the American Way of War

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By David Swanson

If a person could approach you on the street, gently caress your cheek, and walk away leaving you with the feeling of having been violently slapped and dowsed with a bucket of ice water, they would approximate Tom Engelhardt’s writing, including that in his newest book “The American Way of War: How Bush’s Wars Became Obama’s.”

Let me stipulate from the start that at least three-quarters of the book has nothing to do with Obama, but deals purely with read more

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The Common Culture of Turkey, the United States, and Iran

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By David Swanson

I’d guess roughly 3% of the Americans who watch the new Disney movie Prince of Persia have any idea that Persia and Iran are the same place. A similar number are probably aware of Iranians’ demonstrations of sympathy following 9-11 and of Iran’s assistance to the United States in Afghanistan in 2001. But surely an even smaller percentage of Americans know that Iran, Turkey, and our own country read more

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