Liberal or Conservative, War Made Easy is a must see film; especially in our culture of 5 minute attention spans.  History matters, no matter how inconvenient it may be.

During World War I, 10% of all casualties were civilian.

During World War II, the number of civilian deaths rose to 50%.

During the Vietnam War, 70% of all casualties were civilians.

In the war in Iraq, civilians account for 90% of all deaths.

-mike

Given that it was ANZAC day on the weekend, in Oz and NZ, I felt a rant or two about war was in order. I came across a grammar and comprehension book for upper Primary students the other day which thoroughly appalled me. There are many things that I abhor but few do I find more loathsome than when people take undue credit. In the pages of this libelous text, amidst many other innocuous seeming short stories and articles, I cam across one entitled “When was the first atomic bomb used in war” which piqued my interest.

According to this article, clearly aimed at indoctrinating the impressionable minds of pre-teens which right-wing propaganda with the one hand while teaching verb tense with the other, the explanation (not a justification, mind you, for that would be admitting culpability for something reprehensible) for the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is as follows:

“In May 1945, Germany capitulated and the war in Europe was over. The allies had finally defeated both Italy and Germany. Meanwhile, the Americans, aided by forces from Australia and Britain, had pushed Japanese invading forces back almost to their homeland. It seemed possible that this war might continue for years.“

Right. And apparently, that’s supposed to be just cause for killing and maiming unsuspecting civilians. Because we were simply taking preventative measures. So, I suppose then, by that rationale the attacks of September 11, 2001, were perfectly justified – some extremist Jihadi Muslims were simply trying to expedite the process of the world becoming an Islamic utopia.

I love that the whole tone of this educational article confers not only responsibility for almost single-handedly winning the Second World War to the Americans. But that is also smacks of the self-satisfaction of having “save[d] thousands of allied servicemen and women’s‘” lives. Because our lives are worth more, didn’t you know?

Plus, Italy was not defeated by the Americans. They surrendered in 1943 – having realised their situation to be untenable and switched allegiances. The were fighting with the Americans when the War in the Pacific ended. But that’s just details. Details. Small potatoes, really.

And, as always when demonising Asian enemies (whether they be Far Eastern, Central or Middle-Eastern), the article does not neglect the opportunity to drill the crazed suicide bomber story into the heads of these kids. “The Japanese were willing to fanatically defend their homeland…blowing themselves up against the sides of army tanks“. Fanatically defend? I thought that was a good thing. Plus, it sounds an awful lot like those crazy NRA members and regular ol’ gun-nuts who rushed out to buy more guns when Obama got elected because they fear he’s soft on defence.

And, wait a minute, don’t we have a religion built on the worship of martyrdom? Yeh, that’s right. That’s why there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Bruce Willis sacrificed himself at the end of Armageddon. Or why church and worship groups insisted that their otherwise straight-laced and clean-living clergy sit through Mel Gibson’s two and a half hour snuff film.

And isn’t self-sacrificing, as in giving up your life for your country and the freedom of its citizens, what we’re celebrating on ANZAC day? And on Memorial Day. And on Remembrance Day. And on Thanksgiving. And Easter. And Pesach. And so on. So why is it only bad to kill yourself or go willingly to your demise in defence of your country when foreigners do it? Oh, that’s right. Or lives are worth more. Didn’t you know?

Is this really the sort of crap we should be teaching our children ???

1.    Name five (5) wars that the U.S. has been involved in since WWII.

2.    “We fight for the principle of self-determination” – so that other countries can be free (justification for U.S. involvement in Vietnam War). Explain how this justification for many of the wars in the late 20th and early 21st century is both erroneous and hypocritical.

3.    Explain how Propaganda is used to invoke public support for war. Refer to both U.S. Propaganda from the Vietnam war and the War on Terror (Afghanistan/Iraq).

4.    Why do U.S. leaders compare their enemies to Hitler?

5.    Name two enemies of the U.S. that used to be friends of the U.S. government. E.g. Saddam Hussein. Name two others.

6.    How is repetition used in war propaganda? Explain its effect on the populous.

7.    Explain the paradox of a War fought for Peace (4-6 lines will be required).

If you have forgotten any of the above information from the first 20 minutes of the documentary, I have embedded the YouTube video below:

Anmerkung

Die zahlreichen, zweifelsohne sehenswerten Dokus von Alex Jones habe ich in einem separaten Eintrag aufgelistet und zwar hier.

Deutsch / mit deutschen Untertiteln

dt. – 1:56:23 – ZEITGEIST :: GANZER FILM (dt.!)
http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=1338572241371195960
dt. – 0:36:56 – ZEITGEIST :: In drei parts aufgegliedert. (1/3)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2394247001276662890&hl=de
dt. – 0:34:07 – ZEITGEIST :: In drei parts aufgegliedert. (2/3)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6742879200088176930&hl=de
dt. – 0:45:21 – ZEITGEIST :: In drei parts aufgegliedert. (3/3)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5352246495880531634&hl=de
dt. – 1:04:26 – Freiheit der Wahl (Freedom Of Choice)
http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=3666924948715933910
dt. – 1:13:05 – Unter falscher Flagge (Frank Höfer)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-284935711307957334&hl=de
dt. – 1:49:26 – America :: Freedom To Fascism (Aaron Russo)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2944018862821391727&hl=de
dt. – 1:17:13 – OUTFOXED (Ausgefuchst) :: Propagandasender Fox
http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=5961496076580102802
dt. – 1:25:20 – 9/11 Mysteries :: Die Zerstörung des World Trade Centers
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7872840623587188614&hl=de
dt. – 0:42:46 – War Made Easy :: Lügen und Methoden der US-Präsidenten
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7277676864019416774&hl=de
dt. – 1:32:12 – Globale Täuschung :: 11. September 2001
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7403439805203318977&hl=en
dt. – 1:32:12 – RFID :: Auf Nummer Sicher?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1613673958640419555
dt. – 1:40:08 – Why We Fight :: War Sells :: Kriegsgeschäfte der USA
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7774666473557571983&hl=de
dt. – 0:10:58 – Why We Fight :: Die guten Kriege der USA (1/9)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exzU-CaqrLs
dt. – 0:08:59 – Why We Fight :: Die guten Kriege der USA (2/9)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM58skLXhbE&feature=related
dt. – 0:09:59 – Why We Fight :: Die guten Kriege der USA (3/9)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auHUnTiN4H8&feature=related
dt. – 0:09:58 – Why We Fight :: Die guten Kriege der USA (4/9)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNJHjBbm_eQ&feature=related
dt. – 0:09:58 – Why We Fight :: Die guten Kriege der USA (5/9)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G9A2Ys52KA&feature=related
dt. – 0:10:10 – Why We Fight :: Die guten Kriege der USA (6/9)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTXKj117Vdg&feature=related
dt. – 0:09:59 – Why We Fight :: Die guten Kriege der USA (7/9)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gapAjyHmecQ&feature=related
dt. – 0:09:51 – Why We Fight :: Die guten Kriege der USA (8/9)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmBR8kwBDgM&feature=related
dt. – 0:06:13 – Why We Fight :: Die guten Kriege der USA (9/9)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzjzsvnUgNY&feature=related
dt. – ?:??:?? – Walter Veith :: Offenbarung, NWO, diverse Videos
http://video.google.de/videosearch?q=walter+veith&sitesearch=video.google.com
dt. UT – 1:13:03 – 9/11 Revisited
http://www.videocommunity.com/pc/pc/display/4475/laurin/undefined
dt. UT – 1:24:25 – 9/11 Press For Truth (dt. Untertitel)
http://www.videocommunity.com/pc/pc/display/5312/laurin/undefined
dt. UT – 0:44:22 – The Illuminati [2005] (1/2)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2319292189534926761&hl=de
dt. UT – 0:38:01 – The Illuminati [2005] (2/2)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1717002381639875976&hl=de

Englisch

en. – 0:47:06 – The Capitalist Conspiracy :: … International Banking
http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=449294564876413449
en. – 0:53:21 – The History Of Freemasonry
http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=-3923632392892449905
en. – 0:56:56 – 7/7 :: The Ripple Effect
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2655098606138392501&hl=de
en. – 0:27:53 – Ludicrous Diversion 7/7 (London Bombings)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8367988479129485276
en. – 0:40:49 – 7/7 :: Mind The Gap
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2001897549763616199
en. – 1:56:19 – Fool Me Twice (Bali Bombings)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4135706276167925924&hl=de
en. – 1:04:19 – Arundhati Roy :: We
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4631324857495646397&hl=de
en. – 1:33:36 – The War On Democracy (John Pilger)
http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=-3739500579629840148
en. – x:xx:xx – Big Brother State
http://www.huesforalice.com/bbs/

Friday, October 19th will be a Peninsula/South Bay Peace Procession along El Camino Real. A procession of vehicles–cars, hybrids, electric vehicles, bicycles–will travel the length of the Peninsula to symbolize the unity of all of our local communities in saying, “Troops out now!”
At 2:30 PM, we will gather at the starting point, the Methodist Church at the corner of Howard Ave. and El Camino Real in Burlingame (view map). The Peace Procession will begin at 3 PM, and will arrive at the Palo Alto Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto at around 4:10 PM. There will then be a closing rally at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Palo Alto.
For more information, call (650) 342-8244 or e-mail smpa@sanmateopeaceaction.org.

On Tuesday, October 23rd, Norman Solomon will present his new film, War Made Easy. This film reaches into the Orwellian memory hole to expose a fifty-year pattern of government deception and media spin that has dragged the United States into one war after another from Vietnam to IRaq. Narrated by actor and activist Sean Penn, the film exhumes remarkable archival footage of official distortion and exaggeration from LBJ to George W. Bush, revealing in stunning detail how the American news media have uncritically disseminated the pro-war messages of successive presidential administrations.

The film wil be presented on October 23rd, starting at 7 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Church of San Mateo at the corner of Ellsworth and Santa Inez Ave. (view map). We definitely hope you can be there!

Finally, on Saturday, October 27th, there will be an Anti-War Rally in San Francisco. The rally begins at the Civic Center at 11:00 AM, followed by a march to Dolores Park. More information will be posted here next week.

Morgen ist große Filmvorführung! Die Macher des Films werden alle da sein und die grassroots werden gepflegt. Bald gibts wieder was neues, bis dahin!

War Made Easy

gruß christian

If you’re going to be in Austin, Texas, this coming Thursday, September 11, 2008 (09/11/08), 7:00 pm, you’re in luck.  It’s perfect timing for a Jensen Encounter:

Never slowing down nor deviating from his chosen path of exposing truth, the diligent, authentic, humble role model Robert Jensen, UT journalism professor and author of Citizens of the Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity, will deliver a lecture on “Arrogance, Ignorance, and Cowardice: What we should learn from 9/11.” The talk will be followed by a screening of the film War Made Easy. Jensen was widely criticized for his anti-war writings after 9/11, which led many to call for his dismissal from his teaching job. Jensen’s talk is the opening event of a four day series, “Struggle for Global Justice: Screenings in Solidarity with Dr. Binayak Sen,” details can be found by visiting http://www.thirdcoastactivist.org.

In One Ear… Out the Other is happy to welcome a new guest blogger, Katie. Katie is a journalism grad student who also works as the assistant editor for Afterimage, a journal of media studies and cultural criticism. She has also worked as an intern in the state assembly of New York.

……………………….

First and foremost, I would like to say that the Constitution does not guarantee a free and unbiased press, despite what elementary and high school text books may try to suggest. The Bill of Rights only states that we as individuals (or collectives) have a right to say what we want, even if it is misleading or an outright lie (there are limits like clear and present danger). In this profit-based country, the news is now a commodity and is not only pre-packaged and then sold with fun graphics, but what is usually most important is what is left out of the gripping headlines (to which Mike�s post about �Daylight Robbery� attests). Also, the most prominent news networks are owned and controlled by corporate conglomerates (NBC is owned by GE, so try getting an accurate story concerning the environmental impacts of one of GE�s many factories or waste sites from that network).

With this in mind, it is important to criticize every piece of news reporting that is thrown in front of your face and it is why I am recommending to all of this blog�s readers a certain documentary. War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death (2007, by Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp) is narrated by Sean Penn and features the author of the book of the same title, Norman Soloman. While the premise of the film�media spin re: the Iraq War�has been hashed out so often the film may seem redundant, it is especially poignant to see the archived C-SPAN footage of both Republican and Democrats announce their support of the war with the same statements, over and over. Here is the film�s trailer.

The film also draws especially frightening parallels to all rhetoric concerning wars fought since the conclusion of WWII. The best part of the documentary is the differences between the American and European media portrayals of the events surrounding the invasion of Iraq. Commentary on Colin Powell�s testimony to the U.N. is the primary focus and a poignant example of the inadequacies of American news reporting. This documentary effectively undermines the portrayal of the mainstream media as �liberal,� especially considering the fact that the only licensed war correspondents were approved by officials at the Pentagon and the only American critic of the war, Phil Donahue, was fired by NBC for actually doing his job and questioning the Presidential byline.

Another great criticism of the Mainstream Media is a collection of essays by Sut Jhally, a professor of media studies at UMASS at Amherst and the founder and executive director of the Media Education Foundation, entitled Spectacle of Accumulation. Not only does Jhally illustrate the difference between a free, unbiased press and the freedom of speech, his essays concerning the media and his predictions of the future of politics (most were written in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before the YouTube revolution and before the internet was prominent in most people�s lives) are especially staggering. (Also, while I have not read anything else by Jhally, his other books look very interesting).

The combination of these two sources of media criticism is a powerful tool in opening one�s mind to the shortfalls of the American press. Other eye-opening sources are Covering Islam by Edward Said (focus is obviously on portrayals of Islam by the American Media) and Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen (not particularly media criticism but is a way to re-program preconceived misinformation concerning American history). I strongly recommend at least perusing what is mentioned above in order to become a more educated member of the American electorate.

-Katie-

]]> http://politicalpoet.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/on-the-national-conference-on-media-reform/ Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:42:48 +0000 naxal http://politicalpoet.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/on-the-national-conference-on-media-reform/ http://svnlsenetter.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/norman-solomon-war-made-easy/ Tue, 13 May 2008 20:20:20 +0000 Anders http://svnlsenetter.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/norman-solomon-war-made-easy/ http://svnlsenetter.wordpress.com/2008/05/11/video-war-made-easy/ Sun, 11 May 2008 11:08:26 +0000 Anders http://svnlsenetter.wordpress.com/2008/05/11/video-war-made-easy/ http://alterwords.wordpress.com/2008/04/26/disinformation/ Sat, 26 Apr 2008 05:57:32 +0000 hysperia http://alterwords.wordpress.com/2008/04/26/disinformation/

Norman Solomon: 

While it’s a positive step, the big front-page New York Times article on Sunday – “Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand” – is tardy by several years and now makes a remarkable detour around the active role of the television networks themselves in implementing systemic disinformation efforts for starting and continuing war. As I say in the documentary film War Made Easy, “Nobody forced the major networks like CNN to do so much commentary from retired generals and admirals and all the rest of it.” And that just begins to tell the sordid and bloody tale.

This kind of stuff is 24/7 wartime wallpaper for cable news. The extent of the war-propaganda problem is such that the Times just scratched the surface. For a look at some grim media cases-in-point and samples from War Made Easy, go to: www.WarMadeEasyTheMovie.org

Here is David Barstow’s New York Times article

Note that the Pentagon suspended their practise of providing analysts to news media, not the news media, according to Barstow’s follow-up here