Contact info:
Doug Olson
E-mail: djo819@hotmail.com
Phone Number: 218-963-2736

Movies:

• All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)     DVD

  Lew Ayres plays Paul Baumer, an idealistic German soldier who fights in World War I (1914-1918). Paul discovers the horrors of war as most of his classmates who joined him in the Army at the beginning of the war are killed or terribly wounded. Paul becomes disillusioned with war. He gives a compelling speech decrying war to a new group of students at his former school.

  All Quiet on the Western Front inspired peace activism in the 1930s. Ayres became a lifelong pacifist. His refusal to fight in World War II (1939-1945) nearly ended his acting career. All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the greatest films ever made. Highly recommended.

• Born on the Fourth of July (1989)          VHS

  Born on the Fourth of July is about Ron Kovic, a young Marine paralyzed by gunfire in the Vietnam War (1964-1973). Kovic's life is changed forever as a result. The film chronicles Kovic's journey from a staunch anti-communist to a bitter disabled Vietnam veteran to a passionate peace activist protesting the war. Kovic remains a dedicated peace activist today.

  Born on the Fourth of July contains scenes of graphic violence, strong language, and sexual content. It may not be suitable for younger viewers.

• Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)           VHS (two tapes)

  Loosely based on the Judges' Trial held in 1948, Judgment at Nuremberg examines the issue of how to hold accountable officials who made the commission of horrific crimes possible. Should judges, following the orders of their government, be convicted of war crimes, even though they neither designed the policies nor personally carried out the crimes? The film also delves into the question of how governments should respond to major crises which may endanger society. Judgment at Nuremberg addresses issues all too relevant to the United States today.

• Romero (1989)                    VHS

  Raul Julia delivers an outstanding performance as Archbishop Oscar Romero. Romero served as Archbishop of El Salvador from 1977 to 1980. He became an outspoken opponent of the military regime's brutality. Romero advocated respect for human rights and economic justice. Reactionaries tied to the oligarchy and the military regime murdered Archbishop Romero on March 24, 1980. His life inspired activism throughout Latin America.

• The Truman Show (1998)               VHS          

  The Truman Show, made in 1998 right before reality TV became extremely popular in America, is a thought provoking film. Jim Carrey plays Truman Burbank, a mild-mannered insurance salesman whose quaint life is turned upside down when he discovers he is the star of his own reality show. His entire life has been broadcast on TV. Everyone he knows, including his best friend, wife, and parents, are actors. Will Truman leave this artificial reality and enter the real world, with all of its risks, or embrace his new-found celebrity status?

Books:

• Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War: How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World. Patrick J. Buchanan (2008)

  Patrick Buchanan, well-known conservative writer and former Republican Presidential candidate, makes a compelling case in his book that Great Britain should have stayed out of both World Wars. His book explores the disastrous consequences of Britain's interventions, not only for Great Britain, but for other nations as well.

• Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq. Stephen Kinzer (2006)

  Overthrow is the chronicle of American regime changes from the toppling of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Kinzer documents how several U.S. administrations used regime change to increase the fortunes of American multinationals, even to the extreme of removing genuine democracies and replacing them with cruel dictatorships. A great exposé of U.S. foreign policy.

• A People's History. Howard Zinn (1995 edition)

  Howard Zinn's classic work of revisionist history. A People's History is told from the perspective of American Indians, slaves, abolitionists, suffragists, radical workers, civil rights and peace activists, feminists, environmentalists, and other groups many mainstream histories neglect . A People's History changed the way many people viewed history.

• People Power: Fifty Peacemakers and Their Communities. Michael True (2007)

  A wonderful book providing short biographies of fifty peace activists. Many of the activists, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are famous, while others, such as writer Randolph Bourne, who opposed World War I and spoke out against massive civil liberties violations, are more obscure. A great introduction to many incredible peace activists.

• War is a Racket. Major General USMC (Ret.) Smedley D. Butler (1935)

  Smedley Butler fought in major wars such as the Spanish-American War (1898), the Philippine-American War (1899-1902), and World War I and took part in the occupations of several Latin American nations in the first three decades of the Twentieth Century. He became a peace activist in the 1930s.
  War is a Racket is Butler's masterful denunciation of war and the powerful figures who benefit from it. Butler's recommendations on how to prevent war and remove the profit from it are every bit as applicable today as they were in 1935.

Documentaries:

• Why We Fight (2006) Not to be confused with Frank Capra's pro-war World War II propaganda series!

  Why We Fight is a great documentary exploring American foreign policy post-World War II. The film exposes how the military-industrial complex pushes the United States into wars. Why We Fight features interviews with, among others: one of the pilots to drop the first bombs on Baghdad in March 2003; a desperate young man who enlists in the military to escape poverty; a retired New York City police officer who lost his firefighter son on September 11, 2001; and Lt. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski, who resigned from the military to protest the pending invasion of Iraq. Highly recommended documentary.

• Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006)

  In the late 1990s, General Motors (GM) introduced an electric car which could have revolutionized transportation in the United States. The car was efficient, clean, and safe. Then, in 2003, GM recalled all of the electric cars. Who Killed the Electric Car? explores why GM made this decision and the ramifications. The documentary also discusses the possibility of reintroducing the electric car.

Contact info:
Elaine Kain
E-mail: elainekain@gmail.com
Phone Number: 218-829-7576

DVDs / CDs / Books:

• Apocalypse Africa: Made in America. Documents the U.S. involvement in Africa from archives and documents that connect to the collapse of Africa

• Beyond Treason. Documentary of U.S. military drug and chemical exposure - researchers and vets speak out on experiences; afflictions, diseases, and questionable care of U.S. vets

• Fahrenheit 9/11. Michael Moore documentary on questions raised by the 9/11 attacks

• In Lies We Trust. Documentary examines the military-medical-petrochemical-pharmaceutical profiteers behind medical madness

• Loose Change (2nd Ed.). Questions 9/11 and those that profited from the attacks

• The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair. Iraqi cameraman Yunis Khatayer Abbas was arrested and held in Abu Ghraib on the claim that he was a threat to Blair.

• Standard Operating Procedure. Errol Morris documentary on Abu Ghraib

• Why We Fight. Eugene Jarecki documentary stemming from President Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address warning of the military-industrial complex - interviews with John McCain, Gore Vidal, Richard Perele and others, along with everyday Americans affected by war

• 911 In Plane Sight. Questions surrounding the 9/11 attacks and government actions

• The Creature from Jekyll Island. (Audio edition (CD), also online) G. Edward Griffin's historical account of the Federal Reserve System and Federal Reserve Act of 1913 (recommended by Ron Paul)

• No End in Sight: Iraq's Descent into Chaos. Charles Ferguson book. A lengthy historical account following the fall of Baghdad in 2003, including interviews with military personnel, civilians and politicians from Iraq and U.S.

• War is a Racket. Gen. Smedley Butler wrote this book based on his experiences of W W I, published in 1935, also online as a PDF file
  Quotes from the book:

  "War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small 'inside' group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes."

  "I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. 1 helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. 1 brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. 1 helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."

Contact info:
Richard Schiller
E-mail: schiller@blackcoat.info
Phone Number: 218-763-2891

• Vetspeak. The voices of Minnesota veterans from WWII through the war in Iraq - "No matter what you think war is like, it is completely different from what you imagine it to be!" - DVD (2 discs)

• Sir! No Sir! The suppressed story of the GI movement to end the war in Vietnam - tells an almost entirely forgotten story of the military men and women who helped force the U.S. government to end the Vietnam War. - DVD

• Weapons of Mass Deception. The uses of propaganda in Bush's war on Iraq - exposes the aggressive public relations campaign used to sell the American public on the war with Iraq. - book

• Addicted to War: Why the U.S. Can't Kick Militarism. Chronicles over two centuries of U.S. foreign wars. During this time, America's machinery of war has grown into a behemoth that dominates our economy and society and extends around globe. - book

• In Search of the Good Life: The Ethics of Globalization. Rebecca Todd Peters. 2004. A comprehensive and reader-friendly explanation of globalization. Asks whether globalization helps or harms society. Written from a faith perspective but for anyone examining the necessary conditions for a just world. - book