Citizen Power

In my spare time I produce an anti-war podcast called “Civilianism”, so I figure I might as well write about it here, since it’s my last one of 2008. They will return in 2009, or at least that’s the plan. I’ve been doing a podcast since 2005, and while it was a lot of fun for two years, it’s gotten to be a lot of work. But it’s the only real “activism” I do, especially in the winter, besides writing on websites. The following is typical of what I usually post for each podcast. The current one is about Obama’s plan for a continued war in Afghanistan. I’m totally against this idea, but then, I’m not the president. (Since Sarah Palin ran, though, I’m now convinced I’m as qualified to be president as anyone). These notes were for the podcast I just finished today. Even if you don’t listen to the podcast, the links are all to good articles about what people now are thinking about Afghanistan. Many people previously in favor of that war are now against it.

What can we expect from foreign policy in the Obama administration in 2009 - will U.S. imperialism take precedence, or will peace? We can’t have both. The U.S. continues to impose its will by force around the world, and there is no sign of this stopping any time soon, because our new president says he will increase troops to fight the so-called “War on Terror”.

Gore Vidal, Andrew Bacevich, and Arundhati Roy strongly disagree with U.S. imperialist policy, and so do I. I play portions of all three, and a portion of an interview from KBOO radio. You can listen from the following link.
Download this episode here

Here’s one article I talk about:  “The Taliban Control 72% of Afghanistan, Surround Kabul, and NATO is in Denial”

“Armed clashes in Afghanistan have reached the highest level since the Taliban was ousted by American-led forces in 2001, according to the United Nations. Taliban leader Mullah Omar today warned violence will rise and urged foreign forces to withdraw, Agence France-Presse reported, in his first public statement in a year. Pakistan militants torched 50 NATO trucks carrying supplies for troops in Afghanistan, the second such attack in as many days, AFP reported today, citing a police official.”

More…

BBC article: Drivers halt Afghan supply route — Lorry Drivers in north-west Pakistan say they will no longer deliver supplies to NATO. If this means the war will have to end, that’s OK.
BBC: Countering the Taleban’s 20-year war
The Taleban is planning for a 20-year war in Afghanistan, so we must too, the article argues. I hope they are completely wrong.

Gore Vidal’s interview was about his book Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace
(here is another interview with him, for more information, not the one I played)
Arundhati Roy’s anti-war talk Come September can be downloaded from iTunes
You can read the transcript here.

Times Online: US accuses Britain over military failings in Afghanistan.

(The In These Times magazine article, “Obama’s Burden” that I read from, is not online.)

Also see: More U.S. troops to Afghanistan? by Russ Feingold

Also see: Official Calls for Sensitivity to Afghan Demands

Also see: Brzezinski: Surge In Afghanistan Risky, Some McCain Backers Want World War IV
Obviously, let’s not let them have it.

It’s time for American imperialism to end and peace to prevail.

This is the last episode of Civilianism for 2008 — Happy New Year!”

And that’s how the show notes end. I used to post every bit of music I included, but that really is too much work, and sometimes I don’t even know where I got bits of audio that I include, so I just stopped doing that. If anyone really wondered, I suppose I could find it. The music in this episode in the 2nd half is all from the documentary “We” that is about Arundhati Roy’s speech “Come September”. “We” is a documentary that you can find online just by googling it. There are many clips of it on Youtube too. Basically, it’s just an anti-war speech with a lot of U.S. history thrown in.