http://www.swans.com/
June 6, 2005 -- In this issue:
Note from the Editor: "We need somebody like that who is highly
placed to tell us what's really going on. We know that we were misled
on Iraq," said George McGovern, when interviewed about the Deep
Throat revelation. "I wish there were somebody of the Deep Throat
time in this administration who are [sic] aware of what's going on."
Actually, we seem to have a pretty good handle on what's going on --
it's not a Deep Throat we need. It's journalists and a media willing to
actually investigate and report the real news; to follow the money
along a trail that leads all the way to the upper echelon of power -- to
the Old Set, with their unrelenting efforts to gain at any cost from what
others lose, as aptly described by Milo Clark. If you believe that
George W. Bush is campaigning so voraciously for an overhaul (not
"reform") of the Social Security system with your best interests at
heart, well, be sure to read the Editor's Blips for some insight into our
great leader's approach to propaganda... The meanings of words have
indeed been hijacked by the Old Set and are merely repeated by a
compliant and supine media. Philip Greenspan brings his usual keen
eye and sharp wit to this topic.
Think that the Old Set cares a whit about the safety of the water we
drink or the plastic-wrapped food we eat? Read how John Steppling
imagines a world in which exposure to phthalates in plastic may just
turn the Old Set into Girly Men and lead to the end of Empire. Does
the Old Set care that we and our children are getting fatter by the
minute and developing costly chronic diseases, while physical
education is slashed from schools for lack of funding, fast-food profits
are soaring, and pharmaceutical companies are spending billions of
dollars to find the magic weight-loss bullet? They could care less, as
Jan Baughman explains.
And do you think that the US antiwar movement or Democrats in the
form of Howard Dean, John Edwards, and Hillary Clinton can take
down the Old Set? Think again. As Joe Davison aptly points out,
"when the best thing that's happened to a movement after three years
is the appearance of a maverick British MP in front of a US Senate
Subcommittee, then you know you've got problems." Well, we've got
serious problems... See Gerard Donnelly Smith's poem, Stalin's
Dream State, for a sobering look at the Old Set's New World Order.
The role of art in society and politics has been a topic of recent
conversations at Swans Café. So, here is more: Louis Proyect
provides a keen insight into the life and works of writer Saul Bellow,
whose literature reflected the struggles of his times but who lost touch
with his roots upon achieving insider status. In contrast, Charles
Marowitz offers an insider look at Peter Brook, with whom he
collaborated at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Brook, who
recently turned 80, remains unchanged in his intellectual acuity.
One publication that will not lose touch with the reality on the ground
is Swans. Read the "Boonville News" in the Blips for some thoughts
on independent publications and the "alternative media." Last but not
least, John Steppling's amusing review of our previous edition (which,
hopefully, won't be his last...John's computer has melted down...) and,
of course, your letters, with usual support and gentle corrections.
As always, please form your OWN opinion, and let your friends (and
foes) know about Swans.
*****
Here are the links to all the pieces:
http://www.swans.com/library/art11/mgc160.html
Old Set, Establishment And The Rest Of Us
- by Milo Clark
http://www.swans.com/library/art11/pgreen66.html
Have The Meanings Of Words Been Hijacked?
- by Philip Greenspan
http://www.swans.com/library/art11/johns08.html
Decline And Fall Of The Plastic Empire
- by John Steppling
http://www.swans.com/library/art11/jeb146.html
Funding A Rational Treatment For Obesity
- by Jan Baughman
http://www.swans.com/library/art11/lproy25.html
Saul Bellow In Retrospect
- by Louis Proyect
http://www.swans.com/library/art11/cmarow19.html
Peter Brook At Eighty
- by Charles Marowitz
http://www.swans.com/library/art11/gsmith49.html
Stalin's Dream State
- Poem by Gerard Donnelly Smith
http://www.swans.com/library/art11/oedav11.html
A Plea To The US Antiwar Movement
- by Joe Davison
http://www.swans.com/library/art11/desk020.html
Blips #20
- by Gilles d'Aymery
http://www.swans.com/library/art11/letter68.html
Letters
#####
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Swans
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