«The newspapers—going mad from all the contradictory rumors—willingly printed all this nonsense…These rumors lost their direct purpose of reporting fictitious “facts”…They turned into a means of self-soothing or a powerful narcotic medicine. Only in rumors, people found hope for the future.
Edward Curtin My title comes from a song sung by soldiers as they marched to hell in the trenches of World War I and the same song my sisters and I sang in the car as our parents drove us to our summer vacation in paradise at Edgewater Farm. I think of this as we march to …
James Corbett’s latest “flashback” episode focuses on the Marine General who described war as a “racket”, and revealed an attempted coup against FDR. It’s an episode which has an ageless topicality with Armistice Day fast approaching, and a fresh relevance given the war in Ukraine and the massive profits it’s generating for the usual suspects. …
Philip Roddis And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day. Shakespeare – Henry V, Act IV, scene iii Today marks the hundred and third anniversary of the ending of World War One. That …
Mythology of humans’ natural impulse for empathy Warfare has been a plague haunting the human species ever since our evolution to become Homo Sapiens, finally, around 300,000 years ago in Africa. Etymologically, homo means human and sapiens means wise or knowledgeable. One can see that in this 18th century anthropocentric characterization of our species, the […]
Exits of Netanyahu & Trump: chance to dial down Mideast tensions The Iraqi geopolitical analyst, Ali Fahim, recently said in an interview with The Tehran Times: “The arrival of [newly elected Iranian President] Ebrahim Raisi at the helm of power gives a great moral impetus to the resistance axis.” Further, with new administrations in the […]
It is shameful that the people of 1918 were far more responsible in dealing with a pandemic – with their relatively limited information resources – than people are today with a wealth of information gadgetry at their disposal.
Whatever Trump may be, there's no denying he's been the least militarily aggressive president in recent memory. For the first time in nearly 40 years, a President did not start a new war in his term. That is likely to change.
Take Private Silver, a pre-WWI recruit whose diary opens with his delight at his shiny red uniform. Bitter at having to exchange it for khaki in 1914, Silver turned his displeasure to the deplorable state of the food.
Patrick COCKBURN
Government leaders everywhere are calling for their people to wage war against the coronavirus outbreak, recalling past victories in an effort to boost public morale. In Britain, politicians cite the Second World War as a suitable example of determined and successful resistance to a terrifying enemy.
