maandag 12 februari 2007

Chalmers Johnson 6

'In another “wake-up call for America” (John Dower), Chalmers Johnson confronts the overreaching of the U.S. empire and the threat it poses to the republic.

In his prophetic book Blowback, Chalmers Johnson linked the CIA’s clandestine activities abroad to disaster at home. In The Sorrows of Empire, he explored how the growth of American militarism and the garrisoning of the planet have actually jeopardized our safety. Now, in Nemesis, the final volume in what has become the Blowback trilogy, he shows how imperial overstretch is undermining the republic itself, both economically and politically.
Delving into new areas -- from plans to militarize outer space to Constitution-breaking presidential activities at home -- Nemesis offers a striking description of the trap into which the grandiose dreams of America’s leaders have taken us. Drawing comparisons to the Roman and British empires, Johnson explores in vivid detail just what the unintended consequences of our dependence on a permanent war economy are likely to be. What does it mean when a nation’s main intelligence organization becomes the president’s private army? Or when the globe’s sole “hyperpower,” no longer capable of paying for the vaulting ambitions of its leaders, becomes the greatest hyper-debtor of all time? Or when dreams of domination take off for the heavens?
A staggering tale of American hubris, Nemesis details the world of secrecy surrounding Capitol Hill from government-sanctioned domestic spying, to unacknowledged CIA prisons, to the dubious budgeting to back it all up. Johnson documents the crippling militarism that has left what was once the greatest industrial power in the world producing mainly weaponry, and the corruption of a toothless Congress that is undermining checks and balances so crucial to American democracy. In his stunning conclusion, Johnson suggests that a coming financial bankruptcy could herald the breakdown of constitutional government in America -- a crisis that may ultimately prove to be the only path to a renewed nation.
Chalmers Johnson, president of the Japan Policy Research Institute, is the author of the best-selling Blowback and The Sorrows of Empire. A contributor to the Los Angeles Times, the London Review of Books, Harper’s Magazine, and The Nation among others, he appears in the 2005 prize-winning documentary film Why We Fight. He lives near San Diego.
More on Chalmers Johnson...
Nemesis is available at all fine bookstores. Here are some links to help you.'

Zie: http://www.americanempireproject.com/bookpage.asp?ISBN=9780805079111

Mijn interview met Chalmers Johnson kunt u hier beluisteren: http://www.stanvanhoucke.net/audioblog/pivot/entry.php?id=16#body

Geen opmerkingen:

Peter Flik en Chuck Berry-Promised Land

mijn unieke collega Peter Flik, die de vrijzinnig protestantse radio omroep de VPRO maakte is niet meer. ik koester duizenden herinneringen ...