A note from
Norman Solomon...

Norman Solomon is one of the country's leading thinkers and writers
about the military-industrial-media complex. He also spent significant
time in Iraq prior to the run-up to war (most notably as 'guide' to Sean
Penn when he visited Iraq). Please check out what he has to say below:


June 2, 2005
 

Dear online readers,

While writing columns about U.S. media coverage of the war in Iraq, I've
been working on a book to analyze and challenge the kinds of pro-war
propaganda that come from top government officials and news media. Now
the book -- "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us
to Death" -- is about to come off the press, and I want to ask for your
help.

In the introduction to "War Made Easy," I summarize the book's purpose
this way: "The following chapters probe and scrutinize key 'perception
management' techniques that have played huge roles in the promotion of
American wars during recent decades. The better we understand those
ongoing techniques, the more clearly we'll be able to see wars coming
and understand what's really behind them. Hopefully, 'War Made Easy'
will help to blow away the fog of media war and enhance possibilities
for democratic participation in decisions that are truly matters of life
and death."

Please take a look at this new website, which includes the book's first
chapter:
www.WarMadeEasy.com

I hope you'll suggest to friends and colleagues that they visit
www.WarMadeEasy.com -- and consider forwarding this email message along
to others who might be interested... People who order "War Made Easy"
online will receive a copy before the book starts arriving in stores at
the end of June... As you'd guess, "War Made Easy" is very tough on the
country's biggest news outlets, and I don't expect positive reviews from
them. But any help you provide for the launch of "War Made Easy" will
improve the chances that the book can make its way into a lot of
people's hands and effectively challenge the military-industrial-media
complex.

Thanks --
Norman Solomon

P.S. -- Links to a couple of recent columns are below.

___________________________________________

* The Silent Media Curse of Memorial Day
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0526-24.htm

* News Media and "the Madness of Militarism"
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0516-21.htm