9/11 and the Rise of Fascism in America. Smitten Gate: The First Antiwar Novel
Two Author Interviews: Stan Goff and George Grundy, Global Research News Hour episode 218
“Did I just shoot one of my former comrades for f___in’ AT&T?” – Excerpt from Smitten Gate [1]
“The true nature of 9/11 means that many of the events that followed are based on one very big lie.” – George Grundy from his book: Death of a Nation [2]
LISTEN TO THE SHOW
Click to download the audio (MP3 format)
The normalization of war and militarism is a sad fact of life, especially in the post 9/11 era.
Expenditures on the U.S. military have swollen to grotesque levels in the U.S. On Veterans Day, a grand military parade is in the works celebrating the American Armed Forces and its might.
For much of the first two decades of the twenty-first century, fear of Islamic terror in the wake of the 9/11 attacks provided an adequate excuse for America’s diversion of resources towards permanent warfare.
Mainstream media has played a key role in magnifying this public acceptance of war. One of the more notorious examples of this trend would be MSNBC anchor Brian Williams’ description of a U.S. Tomahawk missile strike in Syria last year as ‘beautiful.’ There is of course a general tendency of mainstream media to “play an important role propagandizing for war, not admitting mistakes and lies about war, helping maintain support for a war and being slow to end the war.” [3]
By presenting alternatives to pro-war narratives in public discourse, independent media, including sites like Global Research, have an important role to play in reversing the tide of war, and ushering in a course toward a humane and just peace. In this spirit, the Global Research News Hour radio program offers up two recently published books.
Smitten Gate has been billed “the first American antiwar novel to be published in decades.” It is the first work of fiction by previous guest, military veteran, and peace activist Stan Goff. Smitten Gate is notable for capturing a realistic portrait of the life of a career soldier without the glorifying and mythologizing that often saturates the writing of those ‘who have been there.’ At the same time, with its critical portrait of America’s role in foreign conflict, the narrative does not sink into stereotypes and tropes. As Goff explains on this week’s broadcast, “I wanted to write a book that looked like a war novel, that people who read war novels would pick up, and then maybe dislocate ’em a little bit, once they actually read the story.”
Smitten Gate is published by Club Orlov Press.
The follow up interview is with English-Australian author George Grundy. Grundy’s book, Death of a Nation: 9/11 and the Rise of Fascism in America recalls the most devastating attack on U.S. soil in living memory. This 500 page volume not only presents one of the most comprehensive challenges yet to the official 9/11 narrative, it details the legislative changes in American society that led to a sequence of deadly military conflicts, domestic surveillance, and a general curtailment on civil liberties. Grundy notes the xenophobia, Islamophobia, and mendacity exemplified by the Trump Administration as the latest signposts on a two decade road trip toward a fascist America.
Death of a Nation is published by Skyhorse Publishing.
Author interviews are conducted by special guest host Jonathan Wilson.
Stan Goff is an American author and a member of Veterans for Peace. During the period from January 1970 to February 1996, he served as an active duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces, including infantry and special operations.
George W. Grundy is an English-Australian author, media professional blogger and businessman. He has worked in television production and international broadcast rights at the London offices of IMG.
LISTEN TO THE SHOW
Click to download the audio (MP3 format)
The Global Research News Hour airs every Friday at 1pm CT on CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg. The programme is also podcast at globalresearch.ca . Excerpts of the show have begun airing on Rabble Radio and appear as podcasts at rabble.ca.
Community Radio Stations carrying the Global Research News Hour:
CHLY 101.7fm in Nanaimo, B.C – Thursdays at 1pm PT
Boston College Radio WZBC 90.3FM NEWTONS during the Truth and Justice Radio Programming slot -Sundays at 7am ET.
Port Perry Radio in Port Perry, Ontario –1 Thursdays at 1pm ET
Burnaby Radio Station CJSF out of Simon Fraser University. 90.1FM to most of Greater Vancouver, from Langley to Point Grey and from the North Shore to the US Border.
It is also available on 93.9 FM cable in the communities of SFU, Burnaby, New Westminister, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Surrey and Delta, in British Columbia, Canada. – Tune in at its new time – Wednesdays at 4pm PT.
Radio station CFUV 101.9FM based at the University of Victoria airs the Global Research News Hour every Sunday from 7 to 8am PT.
CORTES COMMUNITY RADIO CKTZ 89.5 out of Manson’s Landing, B.C airs the show Tuesday mornings at 10am Pacific time.
Cowichan Valley Community Radio CICV 98.7 FM serving the Cowichan Lake area of Vancouver Island, BC airs the program Thursdays at 6am pacific time.
Campus and community radio CFMH 107.3fm in Saint John, N.B. airs the Global Research News Hour Fridays at 10am.
Caper Radio CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia airs the Global Research News Hour starting Wednesday Morning from 8:00 to 9:00am. Find more details at www.caperradio.ca
RIOT RADIO, the visual radio station based out of Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario has begun airing the Global Research News Hour on an occasional basis. Tune in at dcstudentsinc.ca/services/riot-radio/
Notes:
- Stan Goff (2017), p. 50, Smitten Gate, Club Orlov Press
- George Grundy (2017), p. xvi, Death of a Nation: 9/11 and the Rise of Fascism in America
- http://hope.journ.wwu.edu/tpilgrim/j190/J190findings.html
