I don't post too many videos but this by Howard Zinn and read by Viggo Mortensen is just too cool to miss. If anybody wants please feel free to post it yourself.
The article was on Tom Dispatch per Alternet today. At the moment nothing more needs to be said.
Susan - Thanks for sharing this. Howard Zinn is one of those voices Americans seldom get to hear. I think his "People's History of the United States" should be required reading for all Americans. This new book looks fascinating, too.
Hi Susan The idea of empire in history attributed to the British does not seem to be recognized as applying equally more recently to the US, and its “coalition of the willing”. Such ideas as empire and imperialism are further comprehensively illustrated in the remarkable book entitled “Freedom Next time”, written by film maker John Pilger. Pilger has for over 30 years exposed deception and dedicated his life to improving human rights. At various times he served as a war correspondent, broadcaster and reporter winning numerous awards including the United Nations Association Peace Prize. He is visiting Professor at Cornell University, New York. If you would like me to post you that particular book, send me an email at rach3095@ozemail.com.au with your address or alternatively if it is of interest his website is www.johnpilger.com
spartacus - I'm glad you enjoyed it too. I agree with you about his other book.
lindsay - I don't think Jer and I would have managed the last few years here without having access to John Pilger's books and articles. He's a very sane man. We're also big fans of Robert Fisk. Thanks so much for the offer and I'll save your address for future reference.
In my junior year in high school, I took an AP American History class. My teacher used A People's History of the United States as our textbook. That's when I decided I would be a History major when I went to college. My freshman year in college, I briefly declared Economics as my major and I liked it... but I discovered that I was much more interested in the social and historical context of economic theories and events, so I switched back to History. My concentration was in US Foreign Relations. If you like Zinn's stuff, you should also check out the Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations, particularly volumes 2 and 3. Nothing going on in our domestic and foreign policies today is anything new. It's always been about manifest destiny and a desire to control foreign markets.
suzi - I will check out the Cambridge History as you advise. You're a genius and a shining light foe intellectual honesty. Sometimes my best hope is that all of us talking together and sharing the the ideas we have as well as the neat things we find might mean there's some kind of paradigm shift happening. A move away from manifest destiny and control is a worthy thing to wish for.
gary - The artwork in the book looks really wonderful too but the video was special and I hoped a few interested people would get to enjoy it as much as we did. So glad one of them was you :-)
susan, I just posted the same thing! I haven't been around your site for ages and I was alerted to the book Gary described (the skul one) that you introduced him to. I have to find it at my library now! Great find..I hope I like it too. I got into the golden compass/subtle knife/amber spyglass books and I just had to read them one after the other. Anyhow, I have Howard Zinn's book SOMEwhere but we had our flooring done in the Fall and there are still oodles of books in boxes.. anyhow..I soo need to do a proper blogroll on my 'ol' site..yours will definitely have to be in it. hope all is well,
Susan - Thanks for sharing this. Howard Zinn is one of those voices Americans seldom get to hear. I think his "People's History of the United States" should be required reading for all Americans. This new book looks fascinating, too.
ReplyDeleteHi Susan
ReplyDeleteThe idea of empire in history attributed to the British does not seem to be recognized as applying equally more recently to the US, and its “coalition of the willing”.
Such ideas as empire and imperialism are further comprehensively illustrated in the remarkable book entitled “Freedom Next time”, written by film maker John Pilger. Pilger has for over 30 years exposed deception and dedicated his life to improving human rights. At various times he served as a war correspondent, broadcaster and reporter winning numerous awards including the United Nations Association Peace Prize. He is visiting Professor at Cornell University, New York.
If you would like me to post you that particular book, send me an email at
rach3095@ozemail.com.au
with your address or alternatively if it is of interest his website is www.johnpilger.com
best wishes
spartacus - I'm glad you enjoyed it too. I agree with you about his other book.
ReplyDeletelindsay - I don't think Jer and I would have managed the last few years here without having access to John Pilger's books and articles. He's a very sane man. We're also big fans of Robert Fisk. Thanks so much for the offer and I'll save your address for future reference.
Howard Zinn is an important voice of dissent in this country. I think more people are aware of him lately, or maybe it's just me?
ReplyDeletescarlet - I'm hoping it's not just you and me ..and sparatacus :-) Would we be enough for the anti-empire revolution?
ReplyDeleteIn my junior year in high school, I took an AP American History class. My teacher used A People's History of the United States as our textbook. That's when I decided I would be a History major when I went to college. My freshman year in college, I briefly declared Economics as my major and I liked it... but I discovered that I was much more interested in the social and historical context of economic theories and events, so I switched back to History. My concentration was in US Foreign Relations. If you like Zinn's stuff, you should also check out the Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations, particularly volumes 2 and 3. Nothing going on in our domestic and foreign policies today is anything new. It's always been about manifest destiny and a desire to control foreign markets.
ReplyDeleteI think I feel a new post coming on!
Thanks Susan. I love Howard Zinn and Viggo's a great voice.
ReplyDeleteGreat final line...
suzi - I will check out the Cambridge History as you advise. You're a genius and a shining light foe intellectual honesty. Sometimes my best hope is that all of us talking together and sharing the the ideas we have as well as the neat things we find might mean there's some kind of paradigm shift happening. A move away from manifest destiny and control is a worthy thing to wish for.
ReplyDeletegary - The artwork in the book looks really wonderful too but the video was special and I hoped a few interested people would get to enjoy it as much as we did. So glad one of them was you :-)
"expanding our humanity" .... what a concept! now there's something to hang our hopes on. good stuff.
ReplyDeletesusan, I just posted the same thing! I haven't been around your site for ages and I was alerted to the book Gary described (the skul one) that you introduced him to. I have to find it at my library now! Great find..I hope I like it too. I got into the golden compass/subtle knife/amber spyglass books and I just had to read them one after the other. Anyhow, I have Howard Zinn's book SOMEwhere but we had our flooring done in the Fall and there are still oodles of books in boxes..
ReplyDeleteanyhow..I soo need to do a proper blogroll on my 'ol' site..yours will definitely have to be in it.
hope all is well,
Ingrid
Gfid - It's an idea whose time has come if we're going to continue sharing the place.
ReplyDeleteingrid - I just left a comment at your blog. We'll visit again :-)