[haw-info] HAW Notes 1/20/12: City council resolutions; links to recent articles of interest

1.  Last month a great many people on our e-mail list responded to a request from Margaret Power of HAW and the Illinois Coalition Against Torture (http://illinoiscat.wordpress.com) to sign an on-line petition supporting a resolution in the Chicago City Council condemning torture by government at all levels, domestically and overseas.  On January 18 the Council passed the resolution unanimously, becoming the first city governing body in the country to pass a resolution on this topic.

2.  Another apparent first was a resolution adopted by the Charlottesville, Va., City Council on January 17 opposing the launching of a war against Iran, calling for an end to current U.S. ground and drone wars, and advocating a significant reduction of military spending.  David Swanson describes the resolution and its background at
http://warisacrime.org/content/charlottesville-va-city-council-passes-resolution-opposing-war-iran.
 

Links to Recent Articles of Interest

"Blood on Whose Hands? Bradley Manning, Washington, and the Blood of Civilians"
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175491
By Chase Madar, TomDispatch.com, posted January 19

"Marines Urinating on Taliban Corpses: Putting Words to the Picture"
http://ncronline.org/news/peace/marines-urinating-taliban-corpses-putting-words-picture
By Jerry Lembcke, National Catholic Reporter, posted January 18
Relates Vietnam and Afghanistan wars

"Cult of Personality"
http://www.fpif.org/articles/cult_of_personality
By John Feffer, Foreign Policy in Focus, posted January 17

"The Myth of 'Isolated' Iran: Following the Money in the Iran Crisis"
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175490
By Pepe Escobar, TomDispatch.com, posted January 17

"The U.S.: Still the Protector of Mideast Strongmen [Blowback]"
http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2012/01/mideast-military-aid-obama-mubarak-arab-spring-blowback.html
By Mark LeVine, Los Angeles Times, posted January 16
The author teaches history at the University of California, Riverside

"How Beijing Sees Us"
http://hnn.us/articles/how-beijing-sees-us
By Michael H. Hunt, History News Network, posted January 16
The author is a professor of history emeritus at the University of North Carolina

"Americans are Less Nationalistic than Flag-Waving Politicians Think"
http://hnn.us/articles/americans-are-less-nationalistic-flag-waving-politicians-think
By Lawrence S. Wittner, History News Network, posted January 16
The author is a professor of history emeritus at SUNY Albany

"10 Reasons the U.S. Is No Longer the Land of the Free"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-the-united-states-still-the-land-of-the-free/2012/01/04/gIQAvcD1wP_story.html
By Jonathan Turley, Washington Post, posted January 13

"Obama's Revolution in American Strategy"
http://www.salon.com/2012/01/10/obamas_revolution_in_american_strategy/singleton
By Michael Lind, Salon, posted January 10

"The Bouazizi Spark: The Beginning of a Long Revolutionary Process"
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/bouazizi-spark-beginning-long-revolutionary-process
By Gilbert Achcar, Al-Akhbar English, posted

Thanks to Rusti Eisenberg, Ros Baxandall, Jerry Lembcke, and Larry Wittner for suggesting articles that are included in the above list.  Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.