by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
warisacrime.org
December 12, 2013
Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
With 196 nations in the world and U.S. troops already in at least 177 of them, there aren’t all that many available to make war against. Yet it looks like both Syria and Iran will be spared any major Western assault for the moment. Could this become a trend? Is peace on the horizon? Are celebrations of Nelson Mandela’s nonviolence sincere?
by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
warisacrime.org
November 26, 2013
Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
When Barack Obama became president, there were 32,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. He escalated to over 100,000 troops, plus contractors. Now there are 47,000 troops these five years later. Measured in financial cost, or death and destruction, Afghanistan is more President Obama’s war than President Bush’s. Now the White House is trying to keep troops in Afghanistan until “2024 and beyond.”
by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
warisacrime.org
October 24, 2013
Image by Abode of Chaos via Flickr
Remarks at New York University forum with http://NYACT.net.
The primary problem with weaponized drones is that the weapons murder people. And they murder people in a way that looks more like murder to a lot of observers than other forms of military murder do — such as murder by indiscriminate bombing or artillery or infantry or dropping white phosphorous on people. Continue reading
by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
warisacrime.org
October 22, 2013
Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr
There’s a dark side to the flurry of reports and testimony on drones, helpful as they are in many ways. When we read that Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch oppose drone strikes that violate international law, some of us may be inclined to interpret that as a declaration that, in fact, drone strikes violate international law. On the contrary, what these human rights groups mean is that some drone strikes violate the law and some do not, and they want to oppose the ones that do.
Image by Scalino via Flickr
by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
warisacrime.org
August 29, 2013
Evidence of “weapons of mass destruction” is “no slam dunk,” U.S. officials are saying this time around, reversing the claim made about Iraq by then-CIA director George Tenet.
Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr
with David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
warisacrime.org
August 21, 2013
TheRealNews on Aug 21, 2013
David Swanson: Private Manning becomes latest victim of President Obama’s war on whistleblowers and efforts should be made to remember him as a hero not a traitor. Continue reading
Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
warisacrime.org
August 16, 2013
You’ve heard people say they want to be spied on, as long as it means that other people will be spied on too. I know you’ve heard people say this, and which people it was, and how your face looked when you heard it, and what your next telephone call was. Or, rather, I could know all of that if I were one of the thousands and thousands of low-level snoops it will take for our government to accomplish its surveillance goals.
Image by Vertigogen via Flickr
by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
warisacrime.org
August 15, 2013
I sat in the courtroom all day on Wednesday as Bradley Manning’s trial wound its way to a tragic and demoralizing conclusion. I wanted to hear Eugene Debs, and instead I was trapped there, watching Socrates reach for the hemlock and gulp it down. Just a few minutes in and I wanted to scream or shout.
I don’t blame Bradley Manning for apologizing for his actions and effectively begging for the court’s mercy. He’s on trial in a system rigged against him. The commander in chief declared him guilty long ago. He’s been convicted. Continue reading
Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
http://warisacrime.org
July 21, 2013
Remarks July 21, 2013 at an Occupy Harrisonburg (Va.) Event.
Make your voice heard here.
Thanks to Michael Feikema and Doug Hendren for inviting me. Like most of you I do not spend my life studying trade agreements, but the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is disturbing enough to make me devote a little time to it, and I hope you will do the same and get your neighbors to do the same and get them to get their friends to do the same — as soon as possible.
Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr
with David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
http://warisacrime.org
May 19, 2013
TheRealNews May 19, 2013
David Swanson: Activists succeeding in turning public opinion against drone strikes; other forms of actions on the rise.
Image by Eman Jueid for Aslan Media via Flickr
by Leah Bolger and David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
http://greenshadowcabinet.us
May 5, 2013
Statement of Leah Bolger, Secretary of Defense and David Swanson, Secretary of Peace, of the Foreign Affairs Branch of the Green Shadow Cabinet:
The Obama administration has seemingly painted itself into yet another military corner by announcing that use of chemical weapons by Syria would constitute a red line that would mandate military action on the part of the United States. Now we are hearing reports that the red line may have been crossed, and some prominent officials are calling for the U.S. to step up its aid to the rebels and/or impose a no-fly zone. Continue reading
by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
http://warisacrime.org
May 5, 2013
Image by Sir_Dave_Gross via Flickr
This past Saturday morning felt like mid-winter in Asheville, North Carolina, but was actually some weeks past tax day, and dozens of people were gathered in front of a federal building to say something about what federal income taxes are used for — something much more unusual than one would expect.
Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
RussiaToday– Apr 7, 2013
At least 11 children are reported to have been among 18 people killed today in the latest airstrike by U.S. led forces in Afghanistan. The raid was allegedly called in by troops on the ground, after bitter fighting nearby. RT’s Tariq Muhi-yuddin reports.
Image by AK Rockefeller via Flickr
by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
http://warisacrime.org
23 February 2013
This coming Wednesday the House Judiciary Committee plans to hold a hearing on “Drones and the War On Terror: When Can the U.S. Target Alleged American Terrorists Overseas?”
This is odd for a number of reasons.
1. Congressional committees usually don’t do anything at all on such matters.
by Cindy Sheehan
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox Blog
February 17, 2013
Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
Long before it was “cool,” our family home in Norwalk, Ca (where my three youngest children were born) had solar space and water heating. We recycled and combined errands to try to use the least amount of fossil fuel as possible. Still, in California, (as in most other places in our nation), it’s almost impossible to live and work without a car: reliable, cheap, and useful public transportation just isn’t here.
However, when my son, Casey, was killed in Iraq in a war waged for the major, international oil companies and other profiteers, my opposition to fossil fuel usage grew along with my guilt for my own oil gluttony.
Dandelion Salad 