"We make war that we may live in peace," according to Aristotle. Yet, after millennia of war, when will we finally see that peace? After a fiery, no-win debate amongst Swans contributors that began over the use of pilotless drones, Raju Peddada came out fighting in one corner on behalf of the merits of war as a means to peace and as an inherent part of the natural world, while naturalist Martin Murie countered that it is civilized, proper, and timely to oppose wars in the service of empire. Warriors, we are told, are peace-loving individuals, and you always find people lauding their virile courage and even justifying torture in its name. Michael Doliner invokes, with the help of a dark-humorous allegory, the kind of mindset and power structure that it takes to use torture despite its ineffectiveness and unintended consequences. Louis Proyect exposes that very mindset and power structure that has brought us slavery and racism in his review of David Roediger's How Race Survived U.S. History. Those versed in French should read the 1861 Victor Hugo letter regarding the destruction and spoilage of the Chinese Summer Palace by the French and the British in the name of "civilization" and the cherished freedom to accumulate.
To counter the war proponents, we find it fitting to republish works by Boris Vian and Tiziano Terzani -- a powerful collection from two dissidents that spans from the 1950s to 2002 and which serves as a good reminder of the corner in which these editors stand.
From the frontline of activism, Michael Barker takes on the mainstream environmental organizations that ostensibly promote biodiversity and global conservation while maintaining close connections to the mining industry. For those in line at the box office, Charles Marowitz recommends swearing off Ron Howard's Angels & Demons, and Peter Byrne reports from the Tenth Festival of European Cinema on the political films of Costa-Gavras. Alison Phipps responds poetically to Guido Monte's last multilingual creation, and the French Corner is decorated with new works by Marie Rennard and Simone Alié-Daram, along with an old classic by Guy de Maupassant in addition to Hugo. We close with your letters on Boris Vian, Gore Vidal, Swans' economics and politics, and more.
As always, please form your OWN opinion, and let your friends (and foes) know about Swans. It's your voice that makes ours grow.
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Raju Peddada: The Innate Nature Of War
Raju Peddada posits that war is a natural, survivalist state of being and that peace treaties and antiwar movements have failed, by nature's design, to prevent it. More...
Martin Murie: Empires Always Die
Wars and Empires struggling to survive. Let us follow the guidance of Martin Murie, a Veteran for Peace, who demonstrates that it is civilized and proper and timely to oppose wars in the service of empire. More...
Michael Doliner: My Good Neighbor Policy
A dark and creative allegory of America's ruthless use of torture, the forces behind such policy, and its effectiveness at creating enemies while failing to garner information. More...
Louis Proyect: Are We In A Post-Racial America?
David Roediger's How Race Survived U.S. History: from settlement and slavery to the Obama phenomenon demonstrates that we are far from "beyond race" in America, where the capitalist system continues to unite millions against the minorities. More...
Boris Vian: Le Déserteur (The Deserter)
The famous 1954 song, in French with English translation. (First published on Swans in December 2001.) More...
Boris Vian & Harold B. Berg: Music Sheet Of Le Déserteur
Pictures of the original music sheet of the famous 1954 song, with introduction by Gilles d'Amery. (First published on Swans in May 2007.) More...
Boris Vian: Open Letter To Mr. Paul Faber, City Councilman
Antiwar letter in defense of the famous 1954 song, translated by Gilles d'Aymery. (First published on Swans in May 2007.) More...
Boris Vian: I'll Die from a Cancer of the Spine
Antiwar poem in French & English, translated by Marie Rennard. (First published on Swans in May 2007.) More...
Gilles d'Aymery: Ode To Peace And Life
Introduction to Tiziano Terzani's Letters Against the War. (First published on Swans in September 2008.) More...
Tiziano Terzani: LETTERS AGAINST THE WAR
Front cover, prologue, and table of contents of Tiziano Terzani's exceptional book. (First published on Swans in September 2008.) More...
Michael Barker: Greenwashing Eden: The Uses And Abuses Of Biodiversity
A critique of mainstream environmental organizations and their close connections to the mining industry. More...
Charles Marowitz: Angels & Demons
Ron Howard's one-dimensional summer film Angels & Demons depicts Tom Hanks as a superhero set out to cleanse a church infested with heretics, but instead threatens to cleanse theatergoers of their sensibilities. More...
Peter Byrne: Costa-Gavras And The Z-To-Amen Of Political Cinema
Peter Byrne examines the political cinema of filmmaker Constantin Costa-Gravas at Italy's Tenth Festival of European Cinema. More...
Alison Phipps: Conversazioni: Fortress Europe
Alison Phipps describes her thoughts about hell, in a reply to Guido Monte's multilingual poem of May 18th 2009. More...
Marie Rennard: Ange Gardien
Dieu n'abandonne jamais complètement les siens, et quand il ne peut être là en personne, il délègue ses anges. More...
Simone Alié-Daram: Les sursauts gamma (Gamma Ray Burst) ou la fin des étoiles
Nous vivons dans un monde dangereux où les plus grandes violences sont exercées par la matière. Simone nous parle des sursauts gamma et de la poésie des étoiles. More...
Victor Hugo: la civilisation de la spoliation
Lettre de Victor Hugo dénonçant l'expédition franco-britannique de 1860 contre la Chine et la destruction et spoliation du fameux Palais d'été. More...
Guy de Maupassant: La chanson du Rayon de Lune
Poème de Guy de Maupassant publié en 1880 dand Des vers. More...
One reader happily discovers Gilles d'Aymery's comments on Boris Vian, another hates Peter Byrnes's coverage of Gore Vidal, and a third thinks we've simply lost our political principles -- just in time for the June-July issue of the Canyon Country Zephyr. More...
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