[Peace] Discuss Durbin's talk on AWARE's tv program

[C. G. Estabrook]

Members and friends of AWARE are invited to participate in an open &  
unrehearsed discussion of today's talk* by Sen. Durbin, on Urbana  
Public Television.

The program, in the series "AWARE on the Air," will be recorded 1-2pm  
Tuesday 13 March in the Urbana City Council chambers, for cablecast  
(channels 6 & 99) that evening at 10pm.  Anyone who wants to talk (or  
not) about what Durbin said today is welcome to join us.

The talk was a whitewash of administration war policy, an exercise in  
covering sin with smooth names, as the scriptures say. The senator  
forbore to mention President Obama's child-killing by illegal drone  
attacks in six countries, or his assassination of American citizens  
including the Al-Awlaki family, father and son. He did not mention  
Obama's escalation and expansion of the Mideast war, except to try to  
justify the US/Israeli belligerence against Iran. He did not discuss  
the president's seizing the power to to imprison people indefinitely  
with no charges, or his establishment of extreme levels of secrecy to  
hide what he does and persecute those who reveal it (like Manning and  
Assange), or his prosecution of wars even after Congress votes against  
their authorization.

Durbin backed the US/Israeli propaganda line that Iran's mere ability  
to build a nuclear weapon justified sanctions and war because "it  
might set off an arms race in the Mideast"! And he repeated the lie  
that Iran wouldn't "come to the table," when it's the US that sets the  
unacceptable conditions for talks.

There was more, equally bad. When issues were not simply ignored, the  
talk was a road-company version of the administration's scandalous  
arguments. We'll try to analyze the stinking mess on Tuesday: the  
corporate media won't do it. Join us if you're able.   --CGE


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*This was the announcement of the event:

"Urbana-Champaign Peace Initiative (UCPI) invites you to a talk by  
Senator Dick Durbin on current developments and conflicts in the  
Middle East and North Africa and their implications for American  
Foreign Policy.  After the talk, the Senator will respond to questions  
from the audience. Senator Durbin is the senior United States Senator  
from Illinois and the Senate Majority Whip, the second highest  
position in the Democratic Party leadership in the Senate. He is a  
member of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee. For further  
information, please write to UCPI ucpinitiative at gmail.com or contact  
John Setterlund at (217) 828-1038."