[Marxism] Swans Release: April 21, 2008

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.swans.com
April 21, 2008

In this issue:

Note from the Editors: Long after America turned its attention away from
endless war and toward endless elections, The New York Times has published a
shocking, surely Pulitzer Prize-worthy exposé revealing that the Pentagon has
been embedding an army of military analysts in the press, known as "message
force multipliers," to win and maintain support for the Iraq War, torture,
and the like. Who knew! Of course, the article politely refrained from
labeling the MFMs as propagandists (but one such analyst did use the term
Psyops) and though they noted that most had direct ties to defense
contractors, they also didn't reference the military-industrial-congressional
complex. Perhaps that will come in Part 2... Meantime, the Pope is going to
have to step up his prayer schedule to counter this deeply entrenched, for-
profit cosmarchy; as Aaron Karmin points out, the antiwar prayers have not
been answered, and we on the ground need to save ourselves from our country's
misguided policies. Which brings us to Carol Warner Christen's perspective on
disproportional representation by corporate capitalists... forget all those
presidential signing statements; Carol rewrote the Preamble to the
Constitution so that it accurately reflects, for all to see, just how the
system works. Another voice of reason is heard in the form of Joel Hirschhorn
on delusional democracy and voting for change, and by Gilles d'Aymery in
search of meaningful dialogue -- any dialogue! -- on the entire mess we're
in.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bush is putting the finishing touches on his legacy as the
green president, revealing his bold new plan to stop the growth of US
greenhouse gases...by 2025 -- long after he, the polar bears, and the right
whales are gone from sight. Martin Murie assesses the environmental legacy of
the Shrubite era. If all that's not enough to make you laugh, then perhaps
Peter Byrne's comic play, in which an uber-shopper husband is pitted against
his buy-local wife, will do. And who else but Charles Marowitz could use
"Nature's boobs" in verse, as he pokes poetic fun at the faux reality of
plastic surgery and breast implants. Of course, never straying too far from
his Shakespearean roots, he also brings a book review on one of the many
thousands of Bard biographies worth a read. Finally, Guido Monte and
Francesca Saieva share the multilingual poetry that burns inside their
chests, and we close with your letters on the Article V convention; Philip
Greenspan and Kurt Vonnegut's words of wisdom; thoughts on Peter Handke and
the high-priced propaganda that paved the way for the Yugoslav War; and more.

                                         # # # # #

http://www.swans.com/library/art14/karmin02.html
Different Gods  -  Aaron Karmin

http://www.swans.com/library/art14/carenc34.html
It's Not Over Until The States Sing - Carol Warner Christen

http://www.swans.com/library/art14/joelh03.html
Nightmare Political Scenario - Joel S. Hirschhorn

http://www.swans.com/library/art14/desk069.html
Blips #69 - From the Martian Desk - Gilles d'Aymery

http://www.swans.com/library/art14/murie49.html
Polar Bear Stand-Off - Martin Murie

http://www.swans.com/library/art14/pbyrne68.html
I Shop, You Shop, Why Won't She Shop? - Humor by Peter Byrne

http://www.swans.com/library/art14/cmarow105.html
Work Done - Humorous Poem by Charles Marowitz

http://www.swans.com/library/art14/cmarow104.html
Bill Bryson's "Shakespeare: The World As Stage"
  - Book Review by Charles Marowitz

http://www.swans.com/library/art14/gmonte42.html
Journey... n.6: Words Through A Deep Night
  - Poem by Guido Monte & Francesca Saieva

http://www.swans.com/library/art14/letter138.html
Letters to the Editor

                                            # # # # #

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Swans

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