Is the US Readying for More War?

There is new work in the gallery! Check it out. And if you are an anti-war artist, please contact me using the contact form above. The world needs to see your art now more than ever.

Even as the Iraq occupation is ending, it seems the U.S. is preparing to start new wars. The disturbing news below comes from RT News, just in time to cheer us all up for the New Year. Of course, getting ready for a new war is anything but cheery news.  Unfortunately, it seems that whoever is the American “Commander in Chief” –  it hardly matters when it comes to invading, bombing and policing the world. The election next year will probably not change anything, since someone from one of the two War Parties is sure to be elected. The story from RT News:

“Without much media attention, thousands of American troops are being deployed to Israel, and Iranian officials believe that this is the latest and most blatant warning that the US will soon be attacking Tehran.

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Has War with Iran already Started?

The Iraq War officially ends today!  But don’t get too excited — another one is (probably) just around the corner.

The U.S. is currently engaged in drone strikes in at least six countries.

It seems like no matter who is in the White House in the US, there is an unofficial devotion to the idea of “perpetual war”.  Pursuing peace seems almost quaint to the politicians in charge.  There is an entire generation of American children growing up who don’t know what it’s like for their country to be at peace or even to pursue peace.  Our politicians don’t talk about peace anymore — they talk about war, and “defense spending”, and our “warriors” and “homeland security”. When did talk about peace stop? I don’t remember exactly when, but it did stop.

With all the current meddling and unrest in the Middle East and beyond, US politicians now seem determined to start yet another war, or at least help with one that our “special ally” wants to start.  The question is whether or not it’s even avoidable at this point. It may have already started. According to The Independent: (another article submitted by one of our artists)

Paul Vallely: War on Iran has begun. And it is madness

The parallels with Iraq are disturbing: we are convinced of a sinister threat to the West and we have a dodgy dossier to prove it

It’s no secret that Israel wants to bomb “nuclear facilities” in Iran, which would not be an easy task, since they are scattered all over the place.

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Exhibition for Freda in Las Vegas

New exhibit in Las Vegas — “Keep on the Sunnyside”

An exhibition of new paintings by Anthony Freda (an artist at Antiwarartists.com) will be appearing at Trifecta Gallery in Las Vegas from November 3-25th, 2011.

Freda’s images of wry humor and ironic social commentary have been published in Time, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, The New York Times OpEd page and many other publications. He has received recognition from American Illustration, The Society of Illustrators and Communication Arts illustration annuals.

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American War Machine Videos

Thanks to Mort Cohn for this first video.  NSFW.

This brings up the question: what will it take to stop the American war machine? I don’t know. Our voting doesn’t stop it. Our participating in government doesn’t do it either.

Another interesting thing to listen to is General Wesley Clark in 2007, talking about a classified memo he was told about that laid out plans for the US to attack 5 or 6 countries in five years. That speech was given to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. The video is below.
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War Poem

Below is the best-known poem of the First World War. Submitted by artist Mort Cohn.

DULCE ET DECORUM EST

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime . . .
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori.

Wilfred Owen
8 October 1917 – March, 1918

See notes here.

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Sculptor Joins AntiWar Artists

Announcing a new artist that has joined our ranks here at Antiwar Artists. He is sculptor Morton Cohn. His website is here and above you can see an example of his ceramic art. You can read more about his art background here.

All artists are welcome to send in new artwork for your gallery whenever you have some you’d like to add and new artists are welcome too. I know there is a lot of anti-war artwork out there now, more than ever.

New additions from Anthony Freda are also in the galleries.

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Navigating the Aftermath Arrives

The first anti-war art show (to my knowledge) to come to central Minnesota has arrived right in the heart of downtown.  The reception is at the Paramount Theatre on Wednesday, September 28th.  The art show is free of course, as is the movie about the war refugees called The Unreturned.

I have two paintings in the Navigating the Aftermath art show, one of which is shown in this ad for the event, which has been touring Minnesota all year. If you are in central Minnesota, you are invited! The aftermath is that of the Iraq War, and the movie, which is also free, is called The Unreturned. It’s a good movie, socially relevant and important, and most people who see it learn a sad truth about the Iraq war. It created 4.5 million displaced people who now have nowhere to live. In that respect this will be an eye-opening event for some people.

Though most of the artists in this show are from Iraq or the Minneapolis area, there are several local artists who have work in the show too. My contributing artist page for this tour is here, where you can see some of my other anti-war artwork. These pieces are all shown in the Antiwar Artists gallery too.

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Children and Others Killed by American Wars

This graphic image was sent to me by Sean from toobbox.com.  He writes:

The civilian death toll of Iraq is now over 109,000 people.  That’s pretty mind boggling considering the entire reason for going to war with Iraq was fabricated. And here we are in peaceful and quiet America, and very few of us can relate to 109,000 deaths. Well 3,000 deaths shook us up pretty hard when 9/11 happened, so we should really feel for the Iraqi citizens…

You can read more about it here.  His are very sobering statistics, (not that people are statistics) and the worst part is that the number hasn’t stopped rising.

Actually, I have read many places that the war dead in Iraq is much higher, possibly as high as a million people dead from the American and Iraqi civil wars combined.  Of course, the civil war would not have occurred without the American invasion.

Other Iraq war dead estimates can also be found here.

Hundreds of people continue to be killed by the American war machine in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other countries like Somalia and Libya, where the numbers of war dead are so far officially uncounted.  Obviously, a political solution is not going to happen any time soon.

According to Information Clearing House, the numbers are higher:

Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered In US War And Occupation Of Iraq “1,455,590″

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America’s War On Iraq:  4,792 www.icasualties.org/oif/

Number Of  International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 2,693

They update their numbers on a constant basis.  The reason for all the differing numbers is, of course, because America no longer counts the number of people it kills.

If any of these numbers bother you, consider this:

Take The Pledge

“I pledge that if any U.S. troops, contractors, or mercenaries remain in Afghanistan on Thursday, October 6, 2011, as that occupation goes into its 11th year, I will commit to being in Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., with others on that day or the days immediately following, for as long as I can, with the intention of making it our Tahrir Square, Cairo, our Madison, Wisconsin, where we will NONVIOLENTLY resist the corporate machine by occupying Freedom Plaza until our resources are invested in human needs and environmental protection instead of war and exploitation. We can do this together. We will be the beginning.”

http://october2011.org/welcome

 

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Antiwar Art Show on Tour

Navigating the Aftermath is touring the U.S. state of Minnesota this summer. It is a tour of anti-war art from both Iraqi artists and American artists.

Interested artists can go to the website and upload their own related artwork.  (Click on painting below)

There is still plenty of time to catch this tour, which includes a film about Iraqi refugees, and in some locations, a play.  In September it will be coming to my city in central Minnesota, St. Cloud.  Then it will travel to Duluth.   That will be the end of the tour this year — for now.  See schedule here.

Here is more information on the tour.

They need donations to continue the tour. If you can donate, please visit this page.

This is a very important art show and tour and needs support.

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New Artwork and New Artist

We have new artwork by Anthony Freda to announce and also a new artist has joined AntiwarArtists.com.

James Cianciaruso is from the UK and does intriguing digital art that makes a statement.

His regular website is here and you can find his gallery at AntiwarArtists here.

Anthony Freda is a regular contributor to AntiwarArtists.com and has recently added some new work to his gallery.

His most recent work is “Peace Prize” and can be seen here.

All artists here are welcome to submit  work as often as you would like.  Send me an email or use the contact form here.

Thanks to everyone for your submissions. Antiwarartists.com is also looking for environmental and other social justice issue artwork.

 

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