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Rolla Peace News August 15, 2024 |
Dear Friends:Editor's notes:In this newsletter is: 1. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Gaza Analogies b) Ukraine: The Other War c) Climate Catastrophe Highlights Gaza Analogies I like historical analogies. I think they can help us to understand current events. But don't expect too much of these analogies. Remember Stephen Kinzer's maxim: In the past, I've used the Warsaw Ghetto as an historical analogy to Gaza. The Warsaw Ghetto was, like Gaza, an open-air prison. Some 400,000 Jews died in the Ghetto or in the subsequent uprising or were deported from the Ghetto to Nazi death camps“History does not repeat itself, but it delights in patterns and symmetries.” It's still a good analogy; but here's another: The Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. As Utah Phillips remarks in his introduction to Eddy's Song: Spain had a republican government in 1936. After a partially successful military coup, the Spanish Civil War broke out. The Nationalists were supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, while the Western democracies, except Mexico, adopted a “hands-off” policy.“That's the war [The Spanish Civil War] we've all got to understand, if we really want to understand what's going on in the world today. ... So, you study that. You study that. That's where so much of what's happening in the modern world actually began.” By mid-1939 it was all over. The Republic was defeated and Francisco Franco and the Nationalists were is control. The Spanish Civil War was only a precursor. A few months later, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, starting World War II in Europe Pablo Picasso's famous painting, Guernica, depicts the total destruction of the City of Guernica by the German and Italian airforce, in support of the Nationalists. Eddy's Song is about Edward Balchowsky. Balchowsky gave up a budding career as a concert pianist to join the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and fight on the side of the Republic in Spain. He lost his right hand on the Ebro River. On returning to the United States, he taught himself to play classical piano with one hand. This song has haunted me since I first heard it, decades ago. So how does this relate to the world today? With support from the United States and allies, Israel has killed at least 40,000 in Gaza, mostly women and children, bombing hospitals, schools, water purification facilities and more, creating the conditions for famine and disease. Meanwhile, most of the rest of world, including Russia, Turkey, China, Iran and Egypt, not to mention the United Nations, all of which should know better, have allowed the massacre to continue. Neither of the two major candidates for US president appears willing to stop the flow of US weapons to Israel. Now recall that a few months after the Spanish Civil War ended, World War II broke out in Europe. Will World War III break out in the wake of the massacre in Gaza? It's not cast in stone. But, with the recent Israeli assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders and the increased involvement of Yemen and Hezbollah on the side of Gaza, it looks more and more likely all the time. Again, as Stephen Kinzer reminds us: So what can you do? Be visible and vocal for Peace. Here are three organizations working for Peace in Gaza. There are others.“History does not repeat itself, but it delights in patterns and symmetries.” Jewish Voice for PeaceUkraine: The Other War Then there's that other war in the Ukraine. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear complex, which is under Russian control was damaged Sunday, possibly due to a Ukrainian drone attack, causing a fire in the cooling system, although Ukraine denies responsibility. This could have caused a serious radiation release, although fortunately, the reactor had been shut down and the fire was contained, without a significant release of radiation. The International Atomic Energy Agency has not been able to establish a cause for the fire. So, we dodged a bullet this time. Next time we may not be so fortunate. I think we better end this war now. Continuing this war is simply nuclear terrorism, not only on the part of the participants, but also those who supply weapons and encourage the participants. Climate Catastrophe Highlights With July 2024, we now have 14 months in a row with temperature anomalies higher then any previous month with that same name, respectively. The 12 month running average of global temperature anomalies is 1.49°C. The 12 month running average of CO2 comcentrations in the atmosphere has reached 423.16 ppm. As extreme heat, fire, drought and flooding blanket planet Earth, the world spends close to $2.5 trillion on its militaries which are estimated to be responsible for over 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Many more recent climate highlights are listed here. So which will get us first: Climate Change or War? Likely both together. They are not separate adversaries. They feed on each other in a positive loop. However, the die is not yet cast. We have the power to avoid this outcome. It will not be easy and will take all of us working together. Rolla Peace News is distributed by email once a week on Tuesdays (except on rare occasions) and is posted on the web at http://tomsager.org (click on Rollaites for Peace: near the top of rightmost column).Wage peace, Tom yushasager (at) yahoo.com |