Swans Commentary http://www.swans.com/ November 30, 2009
FUNDRAISING TIME: We have gone a long way toward reaching our modest
2009 fundraising goal, but we are not yet there. Please help us reach
it. Be there for us now as we will be here for you next year. Oh, it
may mean little, but have you ever received a hand-written thank you
note -- whether you send $10 or $200 -- from any other publication to
which you've sent your hard-earned money? The care with which we put
Swans together 26 times a year equals the attention we have for each of
you. So, shall you or shall you not help this publication, which is
deeply and intrinsically rooted in the rich terroir of solidarity, stay
alive? A quaint word indeed -- *solidarity*; but it's a word (and an
attitude) that may well come back to the forefront of human
consciousness as the world is further challenged by a dire structural
and ecological crisis. You do understand the difference between the
public good and the private interests, don't you? And you know where
Swans stands on that difference, right? So, please help. Donate now! --
http://www.swans.com/about/donate.html
Our heartfelt gratitude to Roger Baker, Louis Wilker, Beverly Holley,
Roland Chrisjohn, Ernest Boyd, James Farmelant, Ranganathan
Ravishankar, Richard Brand, Paul Buhle, Michael DeLang & Phyllis
Feigenbaum, Michael Jerro, Aleksandra Krilic, Karen Moller, Deborah
Eage, and Gregory Adler for their generous contributions.
# # # # #
Note from the Editors: Oops, we missed the Thanksgiving consumption
orgy, and steered clear of the Black Friday consumer stampede -- a sign
of GDP un- Americanism par excellence...as is our continued opposition
to the Afghan and Iraqi invasions and occupations. Of course, when
Americanism (or white Westernism, for that matter -- aka, supremacism)
is defined as war without end, consumerism to death, and self-centered
navelism (aka, the "hidden hand" of the *nonexistent* free-market
paradigm, and the sum of the selves that miraculously delivers the
wisdom of the whole -- ask the Redwoods or the Bluefish tunas...) we
are indeed un-American. That's why money is hard coming...but that's
another story, which both Don Durivan and Louis Proyect consider in
their generous perspectives on why Swans is worthy of your financial
support. Please read their words and click on "Donate" before moving on
to resident political economist Gilles d'Aymery's shocking statistics
on the state of the US economy, some global rankings that may surprise
you, a shout-out to the Redwood Credit Union, and more.
If you wonder why liberal philanthropists don't throw their monetary
weight behind Swans, Michael Barker's essay on a typical "humanitarian"
foundation that has played a key role in sustaining our psychopathic
capitalist world order will give you some insight. In Africa, where the
corrupt elites are in cahoots with their Western partners, magnate Mo
Ibrahim established a generous award to promote excellence in African
leadership; this year there were no suitable candidates, as Femi
Akomolafe laments. Writing from India, Jay Tripathi considers the
repression of Kashmiris under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act; and
as world leaders prepare for the UN Climate Change Conference in
Copenhagen, Martin Murie invokes the extinct Dodo to send a Dickensian
message to the "deciders" who are bargaining our planet's future.
On a lighter note, Art Shay shows off his new Talking Atomic Watch,
accurate to a billionth of a second and quite possibly equipped to set
off remote explosive devices, while Steve Shay has some doggone
intelligent marketing advice for General Motors. Peter Byrne revisits
photographer Robert Frank, whose seminal book "The Americans" appeared
50 years ago; while Charles Marowitz reviews Bill Cain's imaginative
play on the life of Shakespeare and Geddeth Smith's biography of
American theater's Walter Hampden. From the French Corner, Marie
Rennard finds it necessary to give a refresher course on freedom of the
press (in French), and also shares a poem (in English). We close with
the passionate poetry of Jeffrey Klaehn and your much-appreciated
impassioned letters on the death of our dearly missed Priam, and more.
# # # # #
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/dduriv03.html A Fundraising Appeal
- Don L. Durivan
http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/why-you-should-contribute-to-
swans/ Why you should contribute to Swans - Louis Proyect (This article
is posted on the author's personal Blog. The above link will direct you
to its original location.)
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/desk092.html Blips #92 - From the
Martian Desk - Gilles d'Aymery
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/barker37.html The Russell Sage
Foundation And The Manufacture Of Reform - Michael Barker
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/femia24.html Mo Ibrahim Africa
Leadership Award - Femi Akomolafe
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/tripathi02.html Kashmir And AFSPA -
Jay Tripathi
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/murie83.html The Return Of The Dodo
- Martin Murie
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/ashay17.html My Atomic Talking
Watch - Art Shay
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/sshay03.html Pet Project - Steve Shay
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/pbyrne114.html Never On Time:
Robert Frank And "The Americans" - Peter Byrne
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/cmarow153.html Shakespeare
Refertilized - Charles Marowitz
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/cmarow152.html Geddeth Smith's
"Walter Hampden" - Book Review by Charles Marowitz
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/marier40.html Liberté de la Presse,
la nécessaire piqûre de rappel - par Marie Rennard (FR)
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/marier41.html He's Gone - Poem by
Marie Rennard
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/klaehn08.html Our Lips Are Barely
Touching - Poem by Jeffery Klaehn
http://www.swans.com/library/art15/letter179.html Letters to the Editor
# # # # #
Swans (aka Swans Commentary), ISSN: 1554-4915, is a bi-weekly non-
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Cordially, Gilles d'Aymery
-- Swans
"Hungry man, reach for the book: It is a weapon." B. Brecht
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