79. WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS

 

79.  WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS, June 22, 2022

Rick Steves.  Fascism in Europe Film and Travel as a Political Act Book.
David Swanson (World Beyond War).  US Participation in WWII not justifiable. 
The Mapping Project. U.S. Imperialism since World War 2.
Kate Hudson.   “Nine World Leaders Hold Trigger to Nuclear War.”

Rick Steves.  Fascism in Europe.  The well-known tourism film-maker deliberately created this film to warn his viewers in the West of authoritarianism, of the atrocious consequences of Mussolini’s Fascism and Hitler’s Nazism, of cults of leaders-- the Duce, the Führer--, and their imperial nationalism.  Mussolini’s motto was “believe, obey, fight” for leader and state.  To oppose or disobey Hitler meant imprisonment, torture, death.   To accompany the film, Steves wrote a book, Travel as a Political Act.  Steves argues that these totalitarians arose out of ignorance, anti-intellectualism, and fear.  Thus he seeks in his films and book to prevent their recurrence via knowledge, understanding, and empathy of other nations and cultures.  All of his travel films, we can hope, no matter how indirectly, influence for peace.   See J. William Fulbright’s books and Exchange Program.—D

 

Understanding the Second World War to Make Sure It's the Last

World BEYOND War	Jun 9, 2022,
From June 20 - July 31, World BEYOND War will be teaching an online course on the accurate history of, and debunking myths about, the Second World War -- with an eye to preventing a (very different) third and final one. The course is not live or set on any time schedule. The videos, graphics, text, interactive online forums, discussions, and exchanges with the facilitators are all on your schedule at whatever times of day or night you find most convenient. The incredible lineup of facilitators, and all the details, including how to reserve your spot, are at this link. Everyone registered for the course will receive PDF, ePub, and/or mobi (kindle) versions of David Swanson's book Leaving World War II Behind, which will provide additional reading to those who want to go beyond the written, video, and graphic materials provided in the course. This book documents the case that World War II happened in such a different world that it has little relevance to today’s foreign policy, as well as the case that U.S. participation in WWII was not justifiable. Specifically, WWII was not fought to rescue anyone from persecution, was not necessary for defense, was the most damaging and destructive event yet to occur, and would not have happened had any one of these factors been missing: World War I, the manner in which WWI was ended, U.S. funding and arming of Nazis, a U.S. arms race with Japan, U.S. development of racial segregation, U.S. development of eugenics, U.S. development of genocide and ethnic cleansing, or the U.S. and British prioritization of opposing the Soviet Union at all costs. The author corrects numerous misconceptions about the most popular and misunderstood war in western culture, in order to build a case for moving to a world beyond war. “Mapping U.S. Imperialism.” The Mapping Project.  Mronline.org (6-7-22).   Click on title for map. This article deals with U.S. imperialism since World War 2. It is critical to acknowledge that U.S. imperialism emanates both ideologically and materially from the crime of colonialism on this continent which has killed over 100 million indigenous people and approximately 150 million African people over the past 500 years. By The Mapping Project (Posted Jun 06, 2022) Empire, Globalization, Imperialism, StrategyAmericas, Global, United StatesCommentary, Monthly Review EssaysFeatured.   The United States Military is arguably the largest force of ecological devastation the world has ever known.  –Xoài Pham U.S. imperialism is the greatest threat to life on the planet, a force of ecological devastation and disaster impacting not only human beings, but also our non-human relatives. How can we organize to dismantle the vast and complicated network of U.S. imperialism which includes U.S. war and militarism, CIA intervention, U.S. weapons/technology/surveillance corporations, political and economic support for dictatorships, military juntas, death squads and U.S. trained global police forces favorable to U.S. geopolitical interests, U.S. imposed sanctions, so-called “humanitarian interventions,” genetically modified grassroots organizations, corporate media’s manipulation of spontaneous protest, and U.S. corporate sponsorship of political repression and regime change favorable to U.S. corporate interests?  MORE https://mronline.org/2022/06/06/mapping-u-s-imperialism/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mapping-u-s-imperialism&mc_cid=7d0e4a8c6f&mc_eid=ab2f7bf95e

Nine World leaders hold trigger to nuclear war

Editor.  Mronline.org (6-20-22). 

Kate Hudson.   “Nine World leaders hold trigger to nuclear war.”
Originally published: Big News Network,  June 14, 2022  (more by Big News Network) (Posted Jun 17, 2022).  Produced by the Morning Star and Globetrotter.
  WarGlobalNewswireInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Nuclear War, Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)

As our world spirals toward the catastrophe of nuclear war, there has never been a greater need for a new global balancing, a rejection of great power, war, exploitation, and aggression. MORE click on title.