xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx	published the fall of 2008 This War Won't Cost Much - I'm Already Against the Next One The worst thing in the world is war and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. A few years ago, I penned a book of essays - never published - and one of the topics was "Good war," certainly an oxymoron. Obviously, this book can't come out soon enough. excerpt press release
Swiatek Press - ISBN: 0-9817843-3-X $14.95		bring them home now

Citizens of London Lynne Olson
	xx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx	This outstanding book is about another type of patriot: those who stood up against the establishment. One chapter of the book mentions those in the military who refused to continue fighting the war in Iraq. These were the men and women who acted like all the other conscientious objectors throughout previous wars. These are the trues heroes.

Based on a true incident, this 2007 movie tells of Stanley Phillips, played brilliantly by John Cusack. He raises his two young daughters, 12 year-old Heidi (Shélan O'Keefe) and 8 year-old Dawn (Gracie Bednarczyk,) while mom is away serving her country in Iraq. When Stanley hears the news of his wife's death he can't deal with telling the girls, and the motion picture is all about his grief and his coming to terms with reality. It's a sad movie that will inflame viewers against Bush and Cheney and their cronies, but it also about family and love. Writer director James C. Strouse echoes my thoughts when he says that for the death of one person because of war, tens and hundreds of people are changed forever - family and friends - resulting in generations of people being affected. Multiply those individuals by the number of casualties and there are very few people who will not suffer because of conflict. Stanley is no exception in his grief. When he is talks to Heidi and mentions that you have trust and believe that you are doing the right thing, she asks, "What if you can't?" He then replies, "Then we are all lost."

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One of the reasons why Iraq experienced the insurgency was due to the presence of contractors there. Many people on the outside were under the impression that these were mostly civilians cooking meals, cleaning up and doing other peacekeeping stuff. In reality, the Blackwater crew were anything but that, as those who signed on were in it for adventure and the joy ride. Any impression that I had was much too kind about those from Halliburton or any other group who weren't part of the United States military. I believe I figured out where all the millions of dollars that couldn't be located wound up. Unfortunately, Blackwater also had a hand in Afghanistan, both places where they shouldn't have been deployed, resulting in the recruitment of more terrorists. Their presence in Darfur and New Orleans after the disaster of Katrina was also ill advised, but certainly the corporation wasn't complaining with all the money flowing in. It needs to be noted what the first part of the name of that mercenary group is, and though you can find all the letters of the word mercy in the word mercenary, the last effect that has been rendered on the people of Iraq is mercy. Kudos to Jeremy Scahill on a best seller that should be read by more people - keep up the good work, Jeremy

After This War Won't Cost Much was published, I was relieved that I was done reading books and viewing flicks on war. However, sitting down to a DVD on too many occasions brought home the fact that I would be seeing more of the same as far as movies went, and I would be free of books on war if only I stopped reading. Beyond the Call is a Showtime movie that seemed appealing with its three-star rating, but it really is about the lingering effects of the Vietnam War. Despite the specific connection to that conflict, it could apply to any war and displays the fact that people never escape from what happpened in battle, even if they remained miles away from the action. Beyond the Call is a love story and a tale of redemption and reckoning, but a similar movie could have been made without war.

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I recently heard about writer Barbara Kingsolver and read a few of her novels, including The Poisonwood Bible - which I really loved. You'll want to read The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven. Her 2002 book, Small Wonder, is one of the best books I read so far this year, and it's only January. Dealing with nature and ecology, you'll find some great suggestions for having a better life as well as for helping save the planet. Yes, this book does cover war - maybe I should start reading more books on astonomy and bears! Here is one of many great quotes from that book: "If I got to make just one law, it would be that men who make the decisions to drop bombs would first, every time, have to spend one day taking care of a baby. We were not made to do this killing thing, I swear. Back up. It's a big mistake." I couldn't agree more.

Across the Universe is a 2007 movie that is many things. It is a musical of Beatle songs updated with the twenty-first century sound, while at the same time a look at the 1960s. If you read my 2007 book, This Page Intentionally Left Blank, you know that I truly hated that decade. One of the reasons was the Vietnam War, which plays a great part in the movie. Julie Taymor has created a great commentary on that period, which somehow reflects today, except that during the 60s, people were more attuned to what was happening in the world - at least until the last election. If you haven't see the flick, please do so and get involved with ending both the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. This action will save resources and human beings.

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War Journal: My Five Years in Iraq by journalist Richard Engel is an eye-opener that I hope convinces you that the Bush-Cheney decision was dumb, unjust, unnecessary and illogical. Their removing of the police and army of the country made no sense, and their lack of a plan for peace after the invasion was one of the reasons for the insurgency. Not learning from the lessons of history - particularly Vietnam - and other attempts by European countries to take over Iraq without success resulted in the mess that can't too easily be cleaned up. Engel's courage on more than one level is to be applauded for a war that no journalist or photographer should ever have been forced to cover. Perhaps leaders of countries about to embark on a similar mission will learn the lesson from this book of the war begun in March 2003, which intelligent people all across the unverse warned about initiating.

		xxxxx		xxxx							The Forever War Dexter Filkins What's the difference between the effects war has on a soldier and those experienced by a journalist covering it? Very little.
more movies										an unforgettable book