Surviving Capitalism (Not) : For the first time since the Cuban crisis, nuclear war threat is real

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

For the first time since the Cuban crisis, nuclear war threat is real – Stephen Cohen

(I thank an activist for alerting me to this post.)
(Edited at 10:25 AM CT for errors and added last paragraph.)

(Warning: you may be brainwashed into serving Russian authorities if you view/read the following post from RT, a Russian website!) [sarcasm]

Click here to access article an interview with Stephen F. Cohen, a longtime US specialist in Russian affairs, conducted by RT's Sophie Shevardnadze, granddaughter of Eduard Shevardnadze who held many important posts in the former Soviet Union and its republic of Georgia (now an independent country). (The post also contains a transcript of the interview.)

During the interview Cohen expresses his grave concern about the deterioration of the relations between Russia and USA dating from the Syrian conflicts, and specifically with Trump's recent cancellation of the INF treaty (not to be confused with his cancellation of the nuclear deal with Iran--JCPOA) which ...

... eliminated all nuclear and conventional missiles, as well as their launchers, with ranges of 500–1,000 kilometers (310–620 mi) (short-range) and 1,000–5,500 km (620–3,420 mi) (intermediate-range).

Cohen goes on later in the interview to remind us that in contrast to the earlier Cold War, there is no longer a fear of a nuclear war in this country and no anti-nuclear movement.

... a generation ago we worried about nuclear weapons and nuclear war all the time. Just look at the movies that were made back then, in Russia and in the United States. The fear of the apocalypse, the fear that somehow intentionally or unintentionally a nuclear war would end civilisation… I mean, our kids grew up with that. It was part of our lives. We don’t hear much about it.

Notice that CounterPunch puts lipstick on the pig of nuclear proliferation, the cancellation of the INF treaty, and an increasing bellicosity of the US Empire as it descends into fascism by publishing today an article entitled "Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty Could Become Law Next Year".