King George Was More Democratic Than American Revolutionaries

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, October 22, 2021

According to the Smithsonian Magazine — brought to you by the folks with museums up and down the National Mall in Washington D.C. — King George III was the democrat and humanitarian in 1776.

I’d hate for this to really feel like a bite in the ass, coming right on the heels of the dying of Colin Powell, who did so much for the idea that a war can be based on solid facts. It’s fortunate, perhaps, that World War II has largely replaced the read more

Irresponsible Hatecraft and Proper Drone Murders

A friend asked if I could “refute” an article about drones published by “Responsible Statecraft,” and I’m not really sure I can. If an article were to oppose certain types of rape or torture or animal cruelty or environmental destruction but build in the assumption that one simply must have those things, albeit reformed versions of them, I couldn’t refute the need to oppose the particular atrocities. I could, however, question the assumption that that was good enough.

And if people read more

Talk World Radio: Margaret Kimberley on Powell, Obama, and Assange

Talk World Radio is recorded as audio and video on Riverside.fm. Here is this week’s video and all the videos on Youtube.

Margaret Kimberley is a co-founder and Executive Editor and Senior Columnist for Black Agenda Report, a recipient of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromising Integrity in Journalism, a board member of Consortium News, and a recipient of a 2021 Women and Media Award from the Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press. Ms. Kimberley is author of the book “Prejudential: read more

Climate and Militarism Event Planned for 4 November in Glasgow, Scotland

By World BEYOND War, October 14, 2021

A broad and growing coalition of peace and environmental organizations has announced plans for an event on Thursday, 4 November, in Glasgow.

WHAT: Announcement of a Petition to COP26 Demanding that Militaries Be Included in Climate Agreement; colorful banners and light projection.
WHEN: 4 November 2021, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
WHERE: Buchanan Steps, on Buchanan Street, in front of the Royal Concert Hall, north of Bath Street, Glasgow.

Over 300 organizations and read more

The Empires That Brought Us Here

Image from https://worldbeyondwar.org/militarism-mapped

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, October 13, 2021

Empire is still (or newly, as it wasn’t always) a touchy subject in the U.S. Empire. Most people in the United States would deny that the United States has ever had an empire, just because they’ve never heard of it, and so it must not exist. And those who tend to talk about the U.S. empire the most either tend to be supporters of violent anti-imperial struggles (as outdated a notion as read more

Talk World Radio: Yves Engler on the Canadian Military

Talk World Radio is recorded as audio and video on Riverside.fm. Here is this week’s video and all the videos on Youtube.

This week on Talk World Radio: Stand on Guard for Whom? — A People’s History of the Canadian Military. That’s the title of the new book, his twelfth, from our guest Yves Engler. His website is YvesEngler.com

Total run time: 29:00
Host: David Swanson.
Producer: David Swanson.
Music by Duke Ellington.

Download from LetsTryDemocracy.

Download from Internet Archive.

Pacifica read more

Harry Potter and the Secret of COP26

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, October 10, 2021

“Blimey, Harry!” exclaimed Ronald Weasley, his face pressed to the window, peering out at the swiftly passing countryside as the glistening red Hogwarts Express belched coal smoke into the sky on its way north to Glasgow for the COP26 climate conference. “If the secret that you have to find is both known and unknown to all Muggles, then it follows that it’s known to a lot of us too. And it also follows” — Ron turned to face his friend read more

CrossTalk | Military accountability?

“The Biden administration’s decision to leave Afghanistan was correct and long overdue. However, the way America’s longest war ended is a different question. It was a botched affair. The generals will most likely never be held to account. But a lone Marine lieutenant colonel does face a court martial. Is this justice? CrossTalking with Medea Benjamin, David Swanson, and Sara Flounders.”