Norman Solomon's Peaceful Call to Action
After a two hour discussion about his recent trip to Afghanistan, Norman Solomon was kind enough to sit down and talk about the ways community-oriented news sites like Empire Report can help.
Questions and comments were followed by a call to action
Wednesday night a large crowd packed Mill Valley's The Redwoods to talk about the Afghanistan War with noted author and activist Norman Solomon.
Expanding upon the themes in his latest commentaries, Solomon spoke about his recent trip to Afghanistan, the destructive toll the U.S. war is having on the Afghan people, and our country's failure to acknowledge these effects and end its misguided military efforts.
Audience comments and questions largely focused on indentifying and analyzing the U.S. war's strategic goals, which Solomon proposed were best understood as a loosely related collection of fears, miscalculations, and institutional interests deriving from our country's military-industrial complex.
The discussion ended with democratic calls for grassroots organization ...
... and humanitarian support for Afghanistan's war refugees.
Afterward, Solomon sat down and talked about the role community-oriented news sites like Empire Report can play in our efforts to understand and address international issues such as the war:
Norman Solomon is executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy and the author of many books including “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death.” Readers who wish to assist residents of refugee camps in Kabul can make a tax-deductible donation to PARSA, a nongovernmental organization that provides vocational training and employment placement for displaced Afghans. The contributions can be made via the website www.afghanistan-parsa.org or by check to: PARSA, P.O. Box 31292, Seattle, WA 98103.
Michael Aparicio teaches philosophy at Santa Rosa Junior College. He's a regular contributor to, and editor for, Empire Report. "Rojo Reports" is our collection of his news articles. "The Gadfly" is our collection of his news commentaries. Taken together, they are Michael's attempt to provide a balance of newsworthy reporting and thought-provoking questioning.
