Author: David Swanson

I saw a criticism of NPR for reporting on claims that coronavirus is being used to set up a world government. The criticism was that NPR never mentioned that the claims are nonsense lacking any documentation. I have an additional criticism: neither NPR nor its critics mentions that it might be a very good thing if such claims were true.

There’s nothing completely new here. Often the very best ideas in U.S. politics are things that paranoid rightwingers allege are happening. But it’s worth explaining read more

In September 2018, I wrote an article about four women who were running for Congress in four separate districts, each speaking against wars and militarism in highly unusual ways. They later all won their elections, joined together, and called themselves a squad. Since taking office, they’ve all been far superior to the average Congress member, and often been real standouts.

Who are likely to be the big-party, general-election, antiwar candidates in 2020? It’s possible that there will be more read more

We don’t know what the long-term damage is of coronavirus in those who recover. We don’t know who will die among those who catch it. We do know that we each have a responsibility to avoid catching it and avoid spreading it. Here are some ways to do that.

1) If you can’t relocate to a well-run country, do get booked for a meeting with Donald Trump or Mike Pence, so that you qualify to be tested; but don’t actually go to such a meeting because,

a) The White House is a hotbed.
b) The read more

There are two brand new ways to avoid any military draft that should come along.

(I know you’re not worried about a draft, but the numbers of failed coup attempts in Venezuela and of failed attempts to start a war on Iran are both approaching the number of years of war in Afghanistan, so frustration may be building. Two candidates for U.S. President are competing in hostility toward China. Plus, military recruitment is faltering, and even corporate mainstream politicians are being brought around read more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XgQU3rof7k

I’m not quite as big a fan of the new film “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” as Jon Schwarz is but think he makes some great points about it, as he usually does. The film doesn’t tell a story with characters and drama. It’s a documentary that tries to recount the economic history of the past few centuries from a European/American read more

By Mickey Huff, May 4, 2020

For the 50th anniversary, Professor Mickey Huff of Project Censored, interviewed academics, socio-political historians, protesters, and massacre survivors on the many issues related to the May 4, 1970 Kent and Jackson State massacres.  Tune into the discussions never before explored about May 4, 1970, and what it means to all of us now.

History Matters. We hope these perspectives enrich your understanding of this important historical event and provide context for where we are as read more

This week on Talk Nation Radio, our guest is Grant Smith whose latest and ninth book about the Israel Lobby is called The Israel Lobby Enters State Government: Rise Of The Virginia Israel Advisory Board. You can find it at https://virginia.israellobby.org. Smith is director of the nonprofit Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy.

In 2014, Smith sued the Department of Defense in federal court and won release of a detailed report, contracted in 1987, about the advanced state of Israel’s read more

By David Swanson, World BEYOND War, May 1, 2020

A new collection of maps found here displays what militarism looks like in the world. Here’s a brief guide to using and understanding them.

Across the top are 10 drop-down menus on these topics: Wars, Weapons, U.S. Weapons, Money, Nukes, Chemical and Biological, U.S. Military, Air Strikes, Law, and Promotes Peace and Security.

Some of the topics only include one map, others multiple maps. The one with the most has eight maps. When you click on read more

This week on Talk Nation Radio we talk with Richard Tucker, who is one of the editors of the new book, Nature at War: American Environments and World War II. Richard Tucker is an environmental historian at the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. He is the founder and manager of a research network on the environmental consequences of military operations through history. See environmentandmilitary.com.

Total run time: 29:00
Host: David Swanson.
Producer: read more