Peace and War

CHALLENGING THE WARFARE STATE

Nationally syndicated columnist Norman Solomon and national radio host Laura Flanders will speak in Charlottesville, Va.

Solomon’s latest books are “War Made Easy,” and “Made Love, Got War.” Flanders’ are “Blue Grit,” and “Bush Women.”

October 7 at 7 p.m.

Albemarle County Office Bldg., 401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, VA

$5 donation requested / no one turned away

Sponsored by Charlottesville Center for Peace read more

By David Swanson

I spent a day meeting with Congress Members and their staffers, urging them to end the occupation of Iraq, and having them tell me they would never “defund our troops.” In the evening I watched Paul Haggis’s new film “In the Valley of Elah.” I walked out stunned, shaken, far more angry than I’d been, and convinced that we shouldn’t be asking Congress Members to end the occupation, we should be asking them to watch this movie. If any Congress read more

http://narocinema.com

Tuesday, Sept 11 at 7:15pm at Naro Cinema in Norfolk, Va.

NO END IN SIGHT The first film of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq’s descent into guerilla warfare, warlord rule, criminality, and anarchy, writer/director Charles Ferguson’s jaw-dropping documentary is an insider’s tale of wholesale incompetence, recklessness, and venality. Ferguson examines how the principal errors of U.S. policy largely created the insurgency and chaos that engulf Iraq read more

By David Swanson

[Remarks at Peace Vigil in Charlottesville, VA, on August 28, 2007]

Thank you all for coming. My name is David Swanson.

Ken Zelin who organized tonight’s vigil asked me to welcome everyone and say a few words.

This event is one of over 500 taking place today all over the country organized by Moveon and many other organizations.

Moveon provided me with suggested things to say, but – for better or worse – and with gratitude for their organizing work, I’m going to make read more

By David Swanson

“Made Love, Got War” is the title of Norman Solomon’s latest book, an autobiographical account of the peace and disarmament movements in the United States over the past half century. Better than his other books, I think, this one achieves the level of artistic composition found in Solomon’s brilliant and frequent columns on the media, war, and peace. But the value of “Made Love, Not War” lies in the lessons it provides for current and future read more

By David Swanson

I made the following remarks in front of Rep. Virgil Goode’s office in Charlottesville, Va., today. This is a substantially modified version of a script provided by Moveon.org.

Thank you all so much for coming. It’s so great to see you all out here. It’s the middle of August. Lots of folks are on vacation. And yet we’re all here. Our group today may be relatively small, but it’s mighty. We’re representing MoveOn members and other citizens and activist read more

By David Swanson

Public pressure on Congress to end the occupation of Iraq resulted in a fundamental breakthrough on July 19th when 70 congress members sent a letter to the president. The key sentence in the letter was the first one:

“We are writing to inform you that we will only support appropriating additional funds for U.S. military operations in Iraq during Fiscal Year 2008 and beyond for the protection and safe redeployment of all our troops out of Iraq before you leave office.”

Now, read more

By David Swanson

There is something else we can try. If you’ve given up on staging marches and rallies, or if – like me – you haven’t but you want to try something else as well, and if you’ve given up on lobbying Congress as pointless, or if – like me – you haven’t but you want to try something else as well, and if educating your fellow citizens as to exactly how completely corrupt the whole system is seems like an incomplete answer, and if staging a general strike read more

By David Swanson

On Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C., a five-member group of Americans reported on their just-completed 12-day trip through Iran. As with other delegations of this sort, they reported on a country that bears very little resemblance to the horrifying axis-of-evil member we hear about on U.S. television.

Phil Wileto of the Virginia Antiwar Network and the Richmond Defender said the Iranian people were extremely welcoming. They were mobbed by 80 school children wanting to practice read more

By David Swanson

John Cavanagh of the Institute for Policy Studies opened an event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Cavanagh announced that with the recent addition of Santa Fe, N.M., a total of exactly 300 towns, cities, and states have passed resolutions against the occupation of Iraq. These governments, he said, represent about 50% of the people in the United States.

Karen Dolan, the director of Cities for Peace, explained the project. Arrayed behind her were dozens read more

By David Swanson

Remember the last NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) that made really big news? Remember how it helped defraud a nation into an aggressive war and occupation that has left nearly a million Iraqis and 4,000 Americans dead? Remember how the declassified bits distorted the truth much further than the full report?

If you do remember that document, one thing is certain: You are not Senator Jay Rockefeller. While the Democrats were in the minority in 2005 and 2006, Rockefeller read more

http://mensprojectforpeace.com