Note: The UMass Amherst virtual conference on “Truth, Dissent & the Legacy of Daniel Ellsberg” takes place this Friday and Saturday, April 30 and May 1. Among the many speakers are Ellsberg himself, Edward Snowden, John Dean, Frances Fitzgerald, Rusti Eisenberg, Bill Ehrhardt, Ngo Vinh Long, and others. The schedule of sessions is here and registration (which is free and makes available any or all sessions) is here.
Links to Recent Articles of Interest
By Lawrence Wittner, CounterPunch.org, posted April 28
Presents statistics both on the continued increase in military spending in the pandemic year by the US, China, and Russia and on the state of poverty and inequality in all three countries. China's spiral in military spending has been the fastest, but the US “remained by far the most lavish spender on the military in the world.”
The author is a professor of history emeritus at SUNY Albany.
The author is a professor of history emeritus at SUNY Albany.
By Rajan Menon, TomDispatch.com, posted April 25
An overview of the costs and results of the US war in Afghanistan, with parallels to the Soviet Union's earlier war there and a critique of the current drumbeat of warnings from military and some civilian leaders about the consequences of US withdrawal. The author teaches international relations at City College of New York and has written, among other books, The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention (Oxford U. Press, 2016).
By Stephen Hahn, Boston Review, posted April 24
An extensive review essay on three recent books: Julius S. Scott's The Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of the Haitian Revolution, Vincent Brown's Tacky's Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War, and Niklas Frykman's The Bloody Flag: Mutiny in the Age of Atlantic Revolution. The author teaches history at New York University and is a former winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History.
By Christian Appy, The Conversation, posted April 23
The author teaches history at the University of Massachusetts Boston and has written three books on the American experience of the Vietnam War, most recently American Reckoning: The Vietnam War and Our National Identity (Penguin Press, 2015). He is a principal organizer of the upcoming conference described at the beginning of this email message.
By Robert P. Baird, The Guardian, posted April 20
“Before the 17th century, people did not think of themselves as belonging to something called the white race. But once the idea was invented, it quickly began to reshape the modern world.” The author is a freelance writer and editor who has contributed to the New Yorker, the New York Times and the London Review of Books.
By Alice Speri, The Intercept, posted April 10
On the Koch-funded Leadership Institute and the “Campus Reform” website that it sponsors. The site's spotlighting of left-of-center faculty members (with contact information provided) often leads to an avalanche of denunciatory email messages, letters, and phone calls.
By Kevin A. Young, TruthOut.org, posted April 9
Draws lessons from past anti-racist boycotts. The author teaches history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is the author, with Tarun Banerjee and Michael Schwartz, of Levers of Power: How the 1% Rules and What the 99% Can Do About It (Verso Books, 2020).
By Judy Berman, Time magazine, posted April 7
On Raoul Peck's four-part experimental documentary on the history of white supremacy since the Age of Discovery, which “may well be the most politically radical and intellectually challenging work of nonfiction ever made for television.”
Thanks fo Mim Jackson and an anonymous reader for suggesting articles included in the above list. Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.