A variety of links to articles/interviews on current topics that may, or may not, be of interest.

Joe Burns’ incredibly important new book seems to me much larger than the labor movement. I hope he will share with us today some insights into his view of U.S. labor history and the potential for a U.S. labor future, but also his perspective on how this impacts our society as a whole. Are we right to look to the labor movement as a possible ally in the struggle for justice and maybe even peace?

At 2pm EDT we’ll begin broadcasting live from Quantico Marine Base in Virginia, where a protest for accused WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning will take place with veterans and supporters, including former Pentagon whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg.

Daniel Ellsberg, Kevin Zeese, Margaret Flowers, David Swanson, Medea Benjamin, Mike Malloy and over a hundred others were arrested in front of the White House today to protest President Obama’s torture of Bradley Manning.

Clearly, War Is A Lie is an ambitious effort, organized around ideas rather than chronology, taking in, albeit briefly, most of the wars we talk about, from Iraq and Afghanistan to the two World Wars, back to the Civil War and even to antiquity. It is full of eye-opening facts that cast doubt on the school textbook version of events, and “wow” moments where we are made to question our deepest assumptions. David Swanson whets my appetite for a much more discerning look at particular wars I thought I knew much about, and more importantly, about war itself. He is particularly effective in demonstrating the cynicism and duplicity of leaders who tell us that war is for one purpose, while knowing full well that it is for another.

Swanson’s passion for the topic, his compassion for all peoples, his fresh thinking and his commitment to questioning conventional attitudes toward war and exposing popular myths and fallacies are what stand out. He presents many significant pieces of history that are not widely known and effectively assumes the mantle of moral guide. Swanson makes a compelling case for our re-examining our own knowledge about why we make war, and underlines the deception and folly that is almost always at the core of such violent adventures. Compared to traditional histories and analyses, and even with its drawbacks, I consider War Is A Lie an important work and one worthy of our attention. I’m glad to moderate this conversation.

Justin Krebs is the cofounder of Drinking Liberally and its spin-offs Eating Liberally, Screening Liberally, Laughing Liberally, Reading Liberally, and Living Liberally. Over 50,000 people take part in weekly gatherings in 300 communities around the country (and some outside it), including in my town, where liberal political talk is on the agenda. Given the inclination of many, if not most, Americans to avoid politics, and the lack of any support groups for liberals in the most right-wing communities, this has to be a good thing.

Tom Engelhardt should be well known to anyone who’s looked online for information on U.S. militarism during the past several years. His website, TomDispatch.com, has been invaluable, publishing new articles every few days, either edited by Tom (I’ve written a few of those myself) or written by Tom. And it’s Tom’s own writing, I’m sure, that brings people back.

If a person could approach you on the street, gently caress your cheek, and walk away leaving you with the feeling of having been violently slapped and dowsed with a bucket of ice water, they would approximate Tom Engelhardt’s writing, including that in his newest book “The American Way of War: How Bush’s Wars Became Obama’s.” And it’s all perfectly composed, edited, and triple-proof-read. So, here today is our unique chance to read Tom Engelhardt unscripted by asking him about just about anything related to our wars, our empire, our media, or probably any other topic. I can’t imagine Tom Engelhardt lacking for an insightful and informative opinion on anything.

New York has only an appointed senator at the moment, Kirsten Gillibrand, filling in for Hillary Clinton who left to become Secretary of State. This is a terrific opportunity to elect a new leader, and I can’t imagine anyone better than Jonathan Tasini to place in the United States Senate, an institution — if ever there was one — in need of shaking up, rattling about, hosing down, and radically redirecting.