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July 17, 2006 -- In this issue:
Note from the Editor: With the proliferation of imperial chaos in
Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Occupied Territories in
mind, let's visit the splendor and detritus of past imperial centers on
the old continent through the perspicacious and subtle eyes of an
American tourist in Amsterdam and Paris, Fran Shor, a scholar and veteran
political activist from Detroit, Michigan. Shor sees what the locals born
with their own historical blinders can't: A past of imperial conquests
morphed into the present daily lives of amnesic bystanders. From the city
to the park, nature manages to survive in spite of the imperial madness
imposed upon her, thanks to her Systemic Stubbornness, according to
Martin Murie. Unfortunately, as is often the case and as Deck Deckert is
experiencing first hand, nature is being relentlessly exploited by short-
sighted developers, in the name of "progress," of course.
Just as America's role in the destabilization of the Middle East is a
raging success, so too is the export of capitalism to China, who, as
Charles Marowitz explains, has globalized itself into one of the most
successful economic empires that will soon own the US of A, thanks again
to a short-sighted, what's-in-it-for-me mentality. These trends will
proceed unchecked as long as we continue to live in our Myspace bubbles
unconcerned with anything beyond Number One, all the while believing the
propaganda that the "others" hate us because of our freedoms. Jan
Baughman and Philip Greenspan have some thoughts on these two issues,
respectively.
In further chaos, the war of choice that the Israeli bully declared on
Gaza and Lebanon while the West was immersed in World Cup, Wimbledon, and
Tour de France bubbles remains literally unopposed by the U.S. and
Europe, save for the increased demonization of the Palestinians, Hamas,
and Hizbollah, and now Syria and Iran. One is well advised to read the
press conference given by French President Charles de Gaulle on November
17, 1967, in the wake of the Six-Day War and prescient of the current
vicious mayhem unleashed on, for all practical purposes, defenseless
people. Meanwhile, when we don't play Dante's Inferno in distant lands,
we prepare for another electoral farce. Milo Clark has a few discerning
thoughts on the upcoming 2006 elections, in which Republicans, though
currently not winning any popularity contests, have quietly stacked the
cards in their favor.
For a taste of culture seasoned with politics, Peter Byrne composed a
short story set in Istanbul with three consulate workers, modern-day
political disputes, the Italian resistance, and a 1949 neo-realist film;
and Gerard Donnelly Smith shares a poem on the tragic toll of war, while
life goes on with athletes' sport and editors' spin.
Finally, we close with your letters, with a defense of consumerism in
response to Shimshon Bichler and Jonathan Nitzan's "Imperialism and
Plagiarism"; a challenge to Peter Byrne's take on Turkish writer Orhan
Pamuk; trading PayPal for...Amazon.com?; and praise for Philip
Greenspan's exposé on the Founding Fathers and Michael Doliner's insight
into the life of an insurgent.
As always, please form your OWN opinion, and let your friends (and foes)
know about Swans.
*****
http://www.swans.com/library/art12/fshor01.html
Imperial Residues And Resonances In Amsterdam And Paris
- Fran Shor
http://www.swans.com/library/art12/murie08.html
State Of Nature - Martin Murie
http://www.swans.com/library/art12/rdeck066.html
Chainsaw Massacre - Deck Deckert
http://www.swans.com/library/art12/cmarow51.html
The China Syndrome - Charles Marowitz
http://www.swans.com/library/art12/jeb158.html
Looking Out For Number One - Jan Baughman
http://www.swans.com/library/art12/pgreen93.html
What Do The US Enemies Want? - Philip Greenspan
http://www.swans.com/library/art12/ga212.html
Operation Summer Rains: Gaza, Lebanon... Where Next?
- Gilles d'Aymery
http://www.swans.com/library/dossiers/gaulle67.html
November 1967 Press Conference on Israel
- Général de Gaulle, President of France (in French)
http://www.swans.com/library/art12/mgc187.html
Confusion And Frustration In The Mid-Term Elections - Milo Clark
http://www.swans.com/library/art12/pbyrne08.html
The Pictures - Short Story by Peter Byrne
http://www.swans.com/library/art12/gsmith70.html
Visions Of Evil - Poem by Gerard Donnelly Smith
http://www.swans.com/library/art12/letter95.htm
Your Letters
#####
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