Canada, Get Out of NATO !

On January 18th, 2022, a coalition of Canadian peace groups issued a press release and petition that urgently demands the Canadian government and the public to take immediate action for a peaceful nonkilling settlement with Russia.

About 30 peace groups in Canada formed a joint initiative, led by the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, World Beyond War, the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute, and more, to urge the Government of Canada to take immediate steps to de-escalate and demilitarize Ukraine, and to engage diplomatically in long-term peace and security with Russia, and throughout Europe. 

Please sign this petition << CLICK

Government of Canada: Stop arming Ukraine End Operation UNIFIER  End Operation REASURRANCE Withdraw all Canadian Armed Forces from Eastern Europe

And please START WRITING to your government.
Do your part to stop the Armageddon from happening.

Joan Kazakoff Parker (1934–2021)

 Joan Parker (née Kazakoff) of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, died June 10, 2021 of stage 4 lung cancer. 

She phoned me a few days earlier saying that she was alive and in good humour. 

Joan was born in the Kamsack area of Saskatchewan to Doukhobor parents.

Her son Jeff was looking after her in the home where he was raised and where her husband George, a professional engineer, died May 5, 2018. 

Surviving are two children Jeff and Wendy, and Wendy’s son Aaron who is а professional chef in London, England.

Her father George Kazakoff miraculously survived the as-yet-unsolved train explosion near Farron, British Columbia in October 1924 which took the lives of Peter V. Verigin and eight others. 

Joan lived in central California where she attended college. She learned of a cousin, Allan Zolnekoff (1953–), adopted by a Dukh-i-zhiznik family near Los Angeles. His mother was her aunt Dunya "Doe" Samoyloff. And, Allan is an adopted cousin of Koozma's webmaster, Andrei Conovaloff, who shared the same step-grandmother. Small world.

In 1984 she toured the Soviet Union with a group that included my mother Anastasia. Smaller world.

Joan was an interesting personality that I have known for many years by email. Though we never met, I interviewed her and published five stories (below). 

Joan did watercolour and acrylic painting, she made jewelry, and became interested in the culinary arts. At the age of 76, Joan Parker published Joan’s Favourites, a cookbook of 350 recipes from around the world including a section from her Russian Doukhobor heritage. The book is liberally embellished with 28 colourful wisdom proverbs I liked so much that I gathered them into a list posted in 2011.

Items I published about Joan:

• 2002 — ‘Digging Into Family History’. Spirit Wrestlers: Doukhobor Pioneers’ Strategies for Living, pages 99-100.
• 2010 October 29 — Joan's Favourites, cookbook by Joan Kazakoff Parker.
• 2011 April 3,16, 30 — Book Signing by Joan Kazakoff-Parker in Ontario.  
• 2011 April 19 — Joan Kazakoff Parker Interview —  Father survived 1924 train explosion. Grandmother remarried a Prygun in Los Angeles. 
• 2011 May 5 — Is Kamsack-born woman related to Russian tsar?, Kamsack Times, pages 9, 20.

Doukhobor Arms Burning is Relevant Today

126 years ago tomorrow, June 28, 2021, one-third of the Doukbohors in the Russian Caucasus joined in a daring protest of burning guns — all their killing weapons.

The significance of the Burning of Arms event for the Spirit Wrestlers / Doukhobors is enormous then and now.  Why?

This concrete act catapulted the Russian group into the international arena. Civilization was presented with a nonkilling alternative strategy of living instead of the use of violence from the gun, the bomb and other weapons of mass destruction.

'Arms Burning by Russian Doukhobors in 1895
by William Perehudoff, 1969. Click picture to enlarge.

This first ever event took place June 28-29 (Old Calendar, New Calendar July 12-13), 1895 in three places of Transcaucasia in southern Russia, with 7,000 people involved. It was inspired by Russian writer and philosopher Lev N. Tolstoy by way of Doukhobor leader Peter V. Verigin. 

Today the precarious international relations with world nations demands the same serious attention that Doukhobors applied to guns 126 years ago.  No more killing! No more wars! It's time for the leaders of the world to make war illegal as a crime. 

More

• List of all my previous Peace Day Messages.
• Russia: The Doukhobor 1895 Arms Burning is Relevant. Posted by Transcend Media Service, June 28, 2021.
• 'Does Canada Contribute to World Peace?' An open letter to the Prime Minister of Canada. Posted in World Beyond War, April 28, 2021.
• 'Historic 1895  Burning of Guns, selections and translations.' June 26, 2020.
• 'Tolstoy and the Doukhobors. Lessons from Nonkilling Leadership Experiences', at the First Global Leadership Forum, Hawaii, November 1-4, 2007. 
• Peter's Day Commemorations, Doukhobor Calendar of Events Throughout Canada, USCC Doukhobors website.
• The Doukhobor Arms Burning of 1895, by Larry Ewashen.

'Guns to butter' for a Better Future

There are many ideas towards a plan for world peace and development. See 'More' below.

I summarized two proposals posted in March 2021 which I believe are fresh, feasible and authentic regarding converting 'guns to butter' for a better future.

1.  Close all USA military bases

The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft (QI), has been brave enough to tell the world that some 750 US military bases around the world appear to have little or no usefulness in keeping the country safe and prosperous. 

In a one-hour webinar 'Taps for America's Empire of Bases?', QI president Andrew Bacevich moderated David Vine, Christine Ahn, and John Glaser.

These 3 experts agreed:

• There are NO exaggerated threats to the USA from the Middle East and elsewhere.
• The greatest threat to peace is the military-industrial complex.
• All bases abroad should be closed and the troops sent home. Open Letter to President Biden, March 4, 2021.
• Funding for peace diplomacy and domestic infrastructure (health care, transportation, education, clean water, housing, etc.) should be greatly increased.

The Quincy Institute is a new US 'think tank' founded in December 2019. It is 'the most truthful and daring of the dozens of these entities that exist in the Washington DC area', according to Sharon Tennison, Founder and Director of Center for Citizen Initiatives, in a March 11th letter to its members.

2.  Putin's 'open system'

Matthew Ehret, Senior Fellow at the American University in Moscow and editor-in-chief of the Canadian Patriot Review explains global 'win-win cooperation' for the future in 'Putin's Vision for an Anti-Fascist/ Open System Future and You' (The Canadian Patriot, March 10, 2021).

Ehret reports that President Putin speaks about an 'open system' of international behaviour that would avoid wars and instead would focus on cooperative efforts of multi world nations for joint security and development, such as the following:

• Space diplomacy among Russia, USA, and China. Increase working together to explore space.
• Asteroid defense. Implement a proposal by the Chief of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin, nick named the 'Strategic Defense of Earth'. by aiming US President Reagan's 'Star Wars' Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) away from targets on earth to aim for incoming meteors and asteroids.
• Arctic and Far East Development. By further expanding the 'Silk Road' on rails as proposed 150 years ago, but from South America, north across the Bering Strait, to Europe. Ships are now crossing the thawed Arctic Circle. Development of new cities, mining, transport corridors and energy benefits all nations connected.
• 'Guns to butter' in an 'open system' world. If all nations cooperate to divert military spending to social needs, poverty can end and global warming stopped.

Ehret concludes: 'If Russia, America, China and other nations of the UN Security Council and BRICS were to apply their best minds to solving these problems rather than fall into a new arms race, then not only would either country benefit immensely, but so too would humanity more broadly.' Agreed! Let's hope it becomes a reality.

This means that we all need to look inward and have the moral courage to make this happen. Peace starts with us. Yes, 'Guns to butter' for a better future!

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More

Peace Quest, Rideau Institute, World Federalists. Webinar: 'Peace Prospects in the Biden Era (Thursday, April 1, 2021, 6:30 PM ET). — Free webinar on Zoom. Featuring Douglas Roche.

Canadian Foreign Policy Institute and World Beyond War Canada. Free webinar on Zoom: 'Why Canada Should Leave NATO'. Saturday, April 3, 2021, 3 PM ET. — Free webinar on Zoom.

New Hampshire Peace Action. 'Peace & Justice Conversations:Is Russia truly our enemy? Should we risk nuclear war?' April 12, 2021, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm ET. — Free webinar on Zoom.

Escobar, Pepe. Welcome to shocked & awed 21st century geopolitics. In Information Clearing House, March 23, 2021.

Fry, Stephen. The Terrifying $1.2 Trillion Plan That Could Kill 90% of Humanity, March 16, 2021. YouTube, 11.16 minutes.

O’Connor, Taylor. 10 Global Peacebuilding Networks. In Transcend Media Service, March 15, 2021. [We can add to this list many others, such as: Center for Global Nonkilling, World Beyond War, Project Ploughshares, Center for Citizen Initiatives, Coalition to Oppose Arms Trade, Voice of Women for Peace, and PeaceQuest. For alternative news sources see Honest World News.]

Zuesse, Eric. Why It’s Especially Necessary to End NATO Now. In Modern Diplomacy, March 15, 2021.

Benjamin, Medea and Nicolas J.S. Davies. Biden’s Foreign Policy — Ten Problems, One Solution. In The Progressive, March 13, 2021.

Healy, Hazel. 10 Steps to World Peace. In New Internationalist, September 18, 2018.

Glaser, John. 'Withdrawing from Overseas Bases: Why a Forward ‐ Deployed Military Posture Is Unnecessary, Outdated, and Dangerous'. Cato Institute, Policy Analysis No. 816, July 18, 2017.

United Nations. Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs. Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Adopted September 25, 2015. Preamble: This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom….The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets which we are announcing today demonstrate the scale and ambition of this new universal Agenda….'

World Beyond War.org. A global movement to end all wars.

Center for Global Nonkilling. Promoting change toward the measurable goal of a killing-free world.

Updates

Sahiounie,  Steven.  US-NATO provocation in Ukraine to stop Russian pipeline.  The Duran, April 7, 2021.

Paul, Ron. Why Is the Biden Administration Pushing Ukraine to Attack Russia? OpEdNews Op Eds, April 5, 2021. 

Lavelle, Peter, CrossTalk, RT, April 2021. The End of Ukraine? YouTube, 25 minutes. — Lavelle hosts three panelists: Mary Dejevsky,  Independent columnist, London; Earl Rasmussen, Executive Vice-President, The Eurasia Centre, Washington, DC; and Gabriel Gavin, journalist, policy consultant, Moscow, Russia.

Baldwin, Natylie. The Situation in the Donbass, In Natylie's Place: Understanding Russia, April 3, 2021. — The situation in the Ukraine is extremely dangerous. Heavily armed Ukrainian soldiers with USA weapons are threatening the Russian Republic, as Russian soldiers stand by ready to respond if attacked.

Defunding the Myths and Cults of Cold War Canada, by Richard Sanders

I met Richard Sanders about 40 years ago at a peace rally in Ottawa, and we remained friends. Like me, he opposed war, attended rallies, and studied anthropology. He founded the Coalition Against Arms Trade (COAT) and maintains the website which I read. He aims to educate us how the roots of war are perpetuated today.

Richard Sanders illustrated himself.

I recommend his latest article: ‘Defunding the Myths and Cults of Cold War Canada: Ongoing state support for East European émigré groups with deep fascist roots’, Press for Conversion, Issue #70, 2020.

Richard says: ‘In this 64-page exposé (with 600+ footnotes) I have documented the 70-year history of collaboration of the Canadian government (and the corporate media) with pro-NATO, East European émigré groups that killed millions of innocent people.

I show that the ethno-nationalist cult founders, leaders and heroes include: 

• veterans of various Waffen SS divisions and other fascist military formations that fought our allies,
• perpetrators of the Holocaust and other ethnic-cleansing war crimes, 
• officials from and apologists for various Nazi puppet regimes, 
• postwar CIA propaganda assets, 
• proponents of Cold War terrorist paramilitaries (such as the US-armed Nicaraguan contras and Afghan mujahideen), and 
• other virulently anticommunist 'freedom fighters' and their ideologues.'

Articles detailing Canadian government funding of East European émigré groups with deep fascist roots

Almost half of my report is now available online. 

To receive a free sample copy of Press for Conversion in the mail, send your street address in Canada to: overcoat@rogers.com, or in Facebook. 

Tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Tōrō nagashi — floating paper lanterns — began August 6, 1947. It was copied from the traditional August Buddhist Obon festival as a consolation to the souls of the millions of Japanese citizens who perished during World War II. 

Photo by Brent Patterson.

Due to my caution about CoVid-19 at my age, I chose to not attend this year’s annual 1945 A-bombing of Japan Memorial, hosted in Ottawa by the Society of Friends. I only missed 2 since 2009. About 60 people attended.

Photo by Brent Patterson.

This year the event was held at a pond along the Rideau Canal Western Pathway, a few meters east of Queen Elizabeth Parkway, at Third Ave, a few meters north of the new Flora Footbridge that crosses the Rideau Canal. (Google map) 

The proposed footbridge with labels added and red arrow pointing to location of
the Tōrō nagashi ceremony (Image from: Support Flora Footbridge, Facebook) 

It has been 75 years since the atomic bomb was dropped by the USA on Hiroshima, followed three days later with another one on Nagasaki, resulting in over 200,000 instant deaths and many more injured and dying.

In Special coverage: Hiroshima & Nagasaki at 75, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, warns us that we are all living in a ‘particularly dangerous period of our nuclear age’. Civilization is at stake. Time left in January 2020 : 100 seconds to midnight.

Though there are many fine books and articles for this 75th year milestone, I don’t find convincing evidence for preventing nuclear war. Concerned citizens and world leaders need to stand up and prevent a world holocaust that would take us back to the Stone Age. These are just 6 items online that reflect my thinking:

Robert Freeman. 75 Years On: Reflections and Preflections on Hiroshima. Common Dreams, August 7, 2020. — ‘We cannot change what happened, neither the heinous military nor the tragic moral stains that indelibly mark its occurrence. But we can transcend it, rise above it, by naming it, acknowledging it, repudiating it, and committing ourselves to a greater expression of the people and society we imagine and hope ourselves to be. It is the only option for a sane, safe, and civilized future.’

PBS. 75 years after Hiroshima, should the U.S. president have the authority to launch a nuclear attack?, (USA Public television), August 5, 2020. — No U.S. President should have absolute authority to initiate a nuclear attack. Too many were mentally impaired while in office. William Parry, former Secretary of State, concluded: ‘Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev said it best, which is, a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.’

Helen Caldicott. The Lessons We Haven’t Learned. The Progressive, August 3, 2020. — ‘... make friends with ... all nations and reinvest the trillions of dollars spent on war, killing, and death, saving the ... world with renewable energy including solar, wind, and geothermal, and planting trillions of trees. ... free medical care for all U.S. citizens, along with free education, housing for the homeless, and care for those with mental illness.’

Gary G. Kohls, MD. Why Americans Believe That Bombing Hiroshima Was Necessary. LewRockwell, August 1, 2015. — The American government was ‘... fully aware of Japan’s search for ways to honorably surrender months before Truman gave the fateful order to incinerate Hiroshima. Japan was working on peace negotiations through its ambassador in Moscow as early as April of 1945, with surrender feelers from Japan occurring as far back as 1944. ... all of Japan’s military and diplomatic messages were being intercepted. On July 13, 1945, Foreign Minister Togo wrote: “Unconditional surrender ... is the only obstacle to peace.” …(BUT) … ‘profiteers … Wall Street, the Pentagon, the weapons industries and their lapdogs in Congress … (did) … what is profitable or advantageous for our over-privileged, over-consumptive, toxic and unsustainable American way of life, …’

Amy Goodman and David Goodman. Atomic Bombing at 75: Hiroshima Cover-up -- How Timesman Won a Pulitzer While on War Dept. Payroll. Consortium News, August 4, 2020. Enhanced from: Hiroshima Cover-up: How the War Department's Timesman Won a Pulitzer, Common Dreams, August 10, 2004 — By boldly disobeying US military orders and censors, Australian journalist Wilfred Burchett was the first western reporter to get to Hiroshima, 30 days after the bomb, and have an uncensored eye-witness report published about an ‘atomic plague’. Burchett was extensively bullied by US agents. To negate the story, the US War Department used their hired propagandist, William L. Laurence, the Pulitzer Prize-winning science reporter for The New York Times, to deny massive deaths from radiation. ‘“Atomic Bill” Laurence revered atomic weapons.’ In 2003 the Times discussed removing a 1932 Pulitzer awarded to their Moscow bureau chief (1922–1936) Walter Duranty, but did not. This prompted the authors to recommend that Laurence’s prize be ‘stripped’.

Setsuko Thurlow. Hiroshima survivor, anti-bomb activist, and 2017 Nobel Prize winner living in Toronto, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on June 22, 2020, urging him to ‘acknowledge Canada’s involvement in and contributions to the two atomic bombings and issue a statement of regret on behalf of the Canadian Government for the immense deaths and suffering caused by the atom bombs that utterly destroyed two Japanese cities.’ She also urged him to sign the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

My Conclusion

Prevention. Prevention. Prevention of nuclear war is the key to world survival. Atomic wars must never be fought. Hiroshima and Nagasaki warn us of the danger if we do not act urgently and sensibly to prohibit atomic weapons development and wars.

I was 13 years old in 1945. I got the censored news on radio and newsreels at cinema. Let’s give hope to our children and grandchildren and everyone else that atomic wars must never take place, and that wars be banned as criminal behaviour.

I want an international War Prohibition Treaty! — like the 1920 League of Nations, the 1928 General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy,  the 1933 Anti-war Treaty of Non-aggression and Conciliation, and the 2017 United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Every country should have a well-funded Department of Peace and a nonkilling foreign and domestic policy.

See all my reports since 2009: 1945 A-bombing of Japan Memorials.

——————

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Remembering Micheal Lucas (1926–2020)

Michael Lucas was a charismatic political activist, author, professional graphic designer, accomplished musician, and advocate of peace and socialism.

See 68 photos

He immigrated from Slovenia, and worked in Toronto. He served as chair and editor of Northstar Compass, the publication of the ‘International Council for Friendship and Solidarity with Soviet People’, Canada.

Michael was a lifetime advocate of East-West understanding, and chaired the USSR-Canada Friendship Society from 1972 to 1991. The organization had branches in 35 cities across Canada, and I served for several years as president of the Ottawa Branch. Doukhobors participated in other branches in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Michael and I both agreed that friendship between the Soviets and the West was critical to prevent war, and organized meetings with Soviets in Canada and tourist groups to the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Cold War in the 1980s was a very scary time. A popular slogan and bumper sticker in Canada and the USA was ‘Better Dead Than Red’. We needed to bring Soviets and Canadians face-to-face to mitigate hate, and approached the Canadian Department of External Affairs (now Global Affairs Canada) and other departments to see if we can use their reception rooms to host Soviet athletes and scientists for public meetings. ‘This was never done’, they said. ‘We can’t set a precedent.’

Living Room Discussion at the Tarasoff house, Ottawa, March 23, 1985, led by
Alexei Melnikov (right), a Soviet journalist in Canada who produced a short
documentary: 'Russian Doukhobors in Canada'. Photo 837-31A, (c) K.J. Tarasoff.

Where to meet? I volunteered using my home which could accommodate up to 60 people. Beginning in 1984 we began Living Room Discussions on Saturday afternoons, and hosted 17 sessions for about a year. In 1985 Michael and his wife Helen led 34 of us on a friendship tour of the Soviet Union.

Today, during this Second Cold War, we need to revitalize exchanges like Michael advocated since the 1940s. Since 1983 the USA Center for Citizen Initiatives has been organizing similar citizen diplomacy with 1000s of person-to-person bridges between Russia and the USA.

Bravo to Michael for helping to lead the way.

More

• Michael Lucas (political activist). Wikipedia, May 20, 2020.
• In Celebration of: Michael Lukac, March 7 1926 May 4 2020. Turner & Porter Funeral Directors.
• Greg Butterfield. On the passing of Michael Lucas, immigrant organizer and friend of Soviet people. Fightback News, July 20, 2020.
• Jed Lehman. ‘Remembering Toronto Peace Activist Michael Lucas’. Global Research, May 25, 2020.
• Koozma J. Tarasoff. Opening Doors for Survival During the Cold War. 150 Canadian Stories of Peace (2017): 101-102.
• Communists globally mourn the passing of Comrade Michael Lucas in Toronto, The Communists (UK), May 23, 2020
• Comrade Michael Lucas from Canada passed away peacefully on 4th May morning. (video, 4 minute) Youth Television, Youtube, May 9, 2020. — 2017 video showing Micheal receiving gifts and a $1000 donation from a representative of the Nepal Workers Peasants Party (NWPP).

'Wake up' — Let's Prevent Nuclear War

Why is the threat of WW3 at an all time high?

The Doomsday Clock, maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1947, shows the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe. During the past 3 decades it has steadily moved to an all time danger. Why? What can we do?

August 6 will be the 74th anniversary of the bloody 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. By educating ourselves about the global politics and propaganda of war, I hope we will prevent WW3 and a nuclear holocaust, by protesting war industries, writing our governments, alerting our family and friends — anything to protect future generations.

The chart (click to enlarge) shows minutes to doom. The lower, the worse. It got worse from the end of WW2 (1945) through the Korean Conflict (1951-1953), then relaxed after the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), and remained fairly steady during the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) decade (1969-1979). Again it got worse, until President Reagan (1981-1989) and Secretary/President Gorbachev of Russia (1985-1991) began peace negotiations, which ended with the breakup of the Soviet Union (1991). Since then, for nearly 3 decades, threats have steadily escalated to an all time closeness to doomsday.

How did this nearly 30-year decline happen? Evidence points to the expansion of NATO and the USA foreign policy of perpetuating wars.

I believe that Russia is not our enemy, we are. To explain, I recommend three videos online. The first is in English, and two are in Russian on YouTube.

1. The Putin Interviews : Vladimir Putin & Oliver Stone Discuss NATO, by Oliver Stone, Information Clearing House, July 22, 2019 — Many short videos with English subtitles, and text.

2. В Борьбе за Украину. Нерассказанnая История Украины;(2019) [The Struggle for Ukraine. (or) The Untold Story of Ukraine]. (Russian: 83 minutes), by Oliver Stone. (Wikipedia Russian) — The film shows how the USA and the West were directly involved in the 2014 Maidan coup in Ukraine. Snipers killed 100+ people to entice Ukraine and Western countries to blame Russia and President Putin. A tragic flop! Due to NATO circling Russia, the film concludes a higher probability of a nuclear war. Putin and his Ukrainian associate Viktor Medvedchuk are interviewed, and Professor of Political Science at the University of Ottawa, Ivan Kachanovsky, who for five years has been investigating this story.

3. Голливуд как источник мужество [Hollywood as source of manhood], Бесогон ТВ (Besogon TV), Channel 24. (Russian, 55 minutes). — Explains how Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin sold out the USSR to the West on the promise that the West was ready to help the Russians, instead the USA wanted to destroy Russia. While the USSR disarmed and became ‘pacifist’, USA did not. USA propaganda claimed to spread ‘freedom and democracy’ but murdered tens of thousands, fooling most Americans to believe they were ‘victims’ of the uncivilized ‘them’ — like heroes in a Hollywood movie. On March 1st, 2018, Putin was reelected President of the Russian Federation, with a majority 77% of the votes. Due to the broken promise, on that day Putin announced the development of superior atomic weapons, so as to wake the sleeping world up to what is happening today. Narrator Nikita Mikhalkov shows that Hollywood created fictional heroes who defeat 'Chinese, Russians, animals', and others in the interests of the American Empire. War is shown, not 'democracy'. In contrast, Putin says the real heroes were those who lost their lives defending their motherland.

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More

• Stephanie Savell and 5W Infographics. 'This Map Shows Where in the World the U.S. Military Is Combatting Terrorism', Smithsonian Magazine, January 2019. — The infographic reveals for the first time that the USA is now operating in 40 percent of the world’s nations.
• Elaine Scarry and Rachel Ablow. 'Sleeping Through the Alarm'. Boston Review, 24 July 2019. 'With virtually no democratic oversight and over 6,500 missiles in the United States alone, the use of nuclear weapons is almost inevitable. So why is it so hard to think about nuclear war?'
• Paul Craig Roberts. 'America's Collapse: An Economy Based on Plunder', Information Clearing House, August 1, 2019. The long history of American capitalism fed by plunder seems to be coming to an end.
• Fred Weir. 'Trust deficit: The roots of Russia's standoff with the West', Christian Science Monitor, April 29, 2020.
• I have written many times about the threat of war and how to achieve nonkilling world peace, and will continue to write.

Q82 — Does Our Civilization Have a Future?

From a Russian scholar, Moscow, Russian Federation.

Дорогой Кузьма!
Вот и еще один год прошел, пролетел, подхваченный ветром времён. И наступает новый 2019 год - таинственный и немного страшный, потому что жить в этом мире становится всё страшнее и страшнее. Ощущение приближающейся 3 Мировой войны становится всё более явственным. Мне кажется, что мы все никогда не были от нее так близко. Это ощущение постоянно рождает в голове мысль: а надо ли вообще что-то делать, к чему-то стремиться и чего-то добиваться, если все в один момент может исчезнуть, и тогда ничего и никому будет уже не нужно. На меня эта мысль действует очень плохо, хотя вопреки ей я стараюсь продолжать работать.

My Translation:

Dear Koozma!
So another year has passed, it flew by, caught up by the wind of times. And the new year 2019 is coming — mysterious and a bit scary, because living in this world is getting more and more dangerous. The feeling of the approaching World War 3 is becoming more pronounced. It seems to me that we have never been so close to this. This feeling constantly gives birth to the idea: is it necessary to do something at all, to strive for something and to achieve something, if everything can disappear in one moment and then nothing will be necessary for anyone. This thought has a very bad effect on me, although in spite of it I try to keep working.

---

In 2019, The Doomsday Clock reaffirmed
the "two minutes to midnight" time.

Koozma’s Answer

I agree and have extensively written about our future (list below).

A similar view was expressed in (‘We’re Headed To War With Russia, and No One Seems to Care’, Russia Insider, March 26, 2018).

How can I give hope and optimism to my Russian friend in 2019 when The Doomsday Clock by concerned scientists warn us of eminent danger of nuclear weapons to our civilization, when many politicians continue to rely on NATO to protect their empires, and when the US threatens world peace with its rage for endless wars? With the New Cold War in process, fueled by the military industrial complex and elites drunk with making money from the killing field, what hope can we provide to ensure a real future for humanity? Let’s remember that the former Soviet Union lost over 27 million citizens in fighting the Nazi invaders. We need to respect Russia because it won the war at great cost to protect our world from destruction.

We all need to Wake Up, Become Educated and Act Humanly to save our beautiful world from catastrophe.

2018 October 13 — World Beyond War Conference 2018, Toronto, Ontario, September 21-22.
2018 May 9 — Celebrating a World Without Wars : Russian Victory Day
2018 April 4 — Issues for the World Peace Forum
2018 March 17 — Peace Networking with Professor Beissel
2017 November 13 — Remember peace and nuclear disarmament on ‘Remembrance Day’
2017 August 9 — Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembered — What are we waiting for?
2017 May-August — What I Have Learned From Peace Activism in the World

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See all Questions and Answers.

Lev Tolstoy and American Philosophy

“Lev Tolstoy and American Philosophy” (Лев Толстой и американская философия), including Canadian Doukhobors, was an open lecture with a Microsoft PowerPoint slide presentation given in Russia on October 11, 2018, at 5 pm by Dr. Irina A. Anosova.

This lecture stems from her 1995 PhD dissertation: "American Philosophy in the Context of Leo Tolstoy’s Spiritual Legacy." While researching Tolstoy, she became interested in Doukhobors, contacted Koozma, and came to Canada in 2005 and 2010 for field research. This short lecture was an overview of her message to appreciate Tolstoy and Doukhobors.

She was the second speaker for the event “Tolstoy Library: a century-long project” (Библиотека Толстого: проект длиною в век) celebrating the 190th birthday of Lev Tolstoy and the 100th anniversary of the Lev Tolstoy Library (No 2) on Vasilievsky Island, a bourough in the center of St. Petersburg, Russia.

Tolstoy Library and event poster.

The library was founded in 1918 and named in 1920 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of L.N. Tolstoy. The library displays history, art, film and video, has meeting rooms and about 89,000 books.

Anosova's 23-slide presentation was in Russian, which she sent to Koozma to post online. We translated, edited, and added links. Slide #18 (Doukhobor meetings) was added because she mislabled slide #17 (USCC dove formation, 1999) as a “regular Doukhobor meeting.”

Download the enhanced Microsoft PowerPoint slide file (PPT 5,436 KB). <2018_Anosova_Tolstoy_American_Philosophy.ppt>

Dr. Anosova (centre) showing title slide in the library "green room".

Dr. Anosova reviewed the many American philosophers who influenced Tolstoy, and explained Tolstoy's connection with Canadian Doukhobors. She began with American transcendentalism from the 1700s through the mid 1800s (Franklin, Jefferson, Paine, Channing, Emerson, Thoreau); progressed to nonresisters (Mennonites, Quakers, Ballou, Garrison); then introduced Doukhobors.

Several photos gathered during her 2010 trip across Canada were used — women pulling plow, painting of a village in Saskatchewan, USCC centennial, USCC human dove formation, staff of the Doukhobor Discovery Centre, and a tribute to Koozma J. Tarasoff for all his help.

Other speakers presented the website “All of Tolstoy in one click” (Весь Толстой в один клик), readings from Tolstoy's three novels, the exhibit “Discovering Tolstoy again” (Открывая Толстого заново), and a Tolstoy family tree poster.

The event was announced in a poster (above), formal press release (below), then reported on a news blog with 6 photos (below) taken at the event attended by about 15 people. We hope many will see this story and the slides.

• Встреча «Библиотека им. Л. Н. Толстого: проект длиною в век» (Meeting: “Tolstoy Library: a century-long project”), Министерство культуры Российской Федерации (Минкультуры России) (Ministry of Culture, Russian Federation), 5 October 2018.
• Встреча «Библиотека им. Л. Н. Толстого: проект длиною в век» (Meeting: “Tolstoy Library: a century-long project”), Библиотеке №2 им. Л.Н. Толстого, 11 October 2018.
• Толстовские чтения на Васильевском острове (Tolstoy readings on Vasilyevsky Island), «РусРегионИнфо» (Russian regional information), ~12 October 2018. — Anosova is in photos 4 and 6.

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More by Dr. Irina Anosova,
Dept.of Philosophy, St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts, Russian Federation.

• 2019 — “Lev Tolstoy and American Philosophy” (Лев Толстой и американская философия), translated, Microsoft PowerPoint slide file (PPT 5,436 KB).
• 2017 — 'Canadian Doukhobor Culture' Presented at Russian Conference — Abstract (Russian, English)
• 2010 — Doukhobors of Western Canada 2010 : Field Research for "The Canadian Doukhobors Present Lifestyle as the Synthesis of Russian and Canadian Cultural Traditions"
• 2009 — Three Canadian Scholars Presented at Russian Conference: Donskov, Glagoleva, Tarasoff
• 2006 — Канада — вторая Родина Духоборцев: философия любви как путь культурной интерграции (Canada is the Second Motherland of the Doukhobors: The Philosophy of Love as the Way for Cultural Integration), Mir Rossii (Universe of Russia), vol. XV, no. 4, 2006, pp. 171-184. — English abstract, Russian text.18 citations.
• 1995 — PhD dissertation: Балаева* Ирина Аполлоновна. Американская философия в контексте духовного наследия Л.Н.Толстого. Автореферат на соискание ученой степени кандидата философских наук. Санкт-Петербург, 1995 — "The American Philosophy in the context of Leo Tolstoy's Spiritual Legacy," St. Petersburg State University, 30 November 1995.       * Maiden name.

Q73: Am I Biased Towards Russia and Putin?

A friend in Ottawa recently asked me (August 17, 2016): ‘As a peace journalist, are you biased towards Russia instead of being objective?’ While starting to write him a reply, I decided to answer the question here, and he wished to not be identified.

"Media bias", Danielle's Journalism Portfolio, March 24, 2015

Answer

No. I prefer to say that I am ‘friendly’ rather than ‘biased’. I understand that because my ancestors immigrated from Russia 117 years ago, some readers may be suspicious of my intentions.

I have a degree in anthropology where I learned that the first step in learning about the stranger is gaining rapport. We need to carefully listen, watch and learn, and gently walk on this earth.

I visited Russia and Europe 13 times since 1957. I feel like a citizen of the world and recognize all people as members of one human family.

My favourite motto is ‘In search of truth and a nonkilling society’ — which pretty well sums up the intent of my storytelling over the years.

‘As a peace journalist’ I have tried to be fair to all sides including Russia and the West — using many sources since the 1950s when I began publishing.

I recognize that propaganda, disinformation, information warfare, lies, fear mongering, etc. are varieties of verbal warfare and are obstacles for reporting the truth.

Because my writing often focuses on facts avoided by western media, I may appear biased to those who don’t know the rest of the story. Some examples:

• No More Hiroshima, No More Wars!, 6 August 2016.
• Russophobia and the Olympics, 31 July 2016.
• Will Business Start a War With Russia?, 6 June 2016.
• Honest World News, 16 February 2016.
• War in Ukraine and NATO, 4 December 2015.
• Ukraine: Zbig’s Grand Chessboard & How the West was Checkmated, 15 August 2015.
• Avoid ‘Cold War’ With Russia — How?, 21 December 2014.
• Writers in Their Society: Soviet and Canadian Writers, March 1989. Posted 20 January 2007.

Other investigative journalists, whom I admire, have also defended Russia, with facts:

• Leupp, Gary. An Urgent Necessary Briefing on Syria. Information Clearing House, October 15, 2016.
• Leupp, Gary. Reaping the whirlwind: Kerry, al-Nusra, Russia and Syria. Counter Punch, October 6, 2016.
• Buchanan, Patrick. ISIS, Not Russia, Is the Enemy in Syria. Information Clearing House, October 7, 2016.
• Hiro, Delip. US Power at the Crossroads: A Snapshot of a Multipolar World in Action. TomDispatch.com, October 11, 2016.
• Cunningham, Finian. Stop Interfering With My Freedom. Strategic Culture, October 13, 2016.
• Watson Institute of International & Public Affairs, Brown University. Costs of War, 2016.
• Garcia, Emanual D. 'The Russians Are Coming...Again?' Intrepid Report, August 29, 2016.
• Pilger, John. 'Provoking Nuclear War by Media'. Transcend Media Service, August 29, 2016.
• Vitchek, Andre. 'Western Propaganda So Simple but So Effective'. New Eastern Outlook, August 29, 2016.
• Softpanorama. 'Neoliberal Brainwashing — Journalism in the Service of the Powerful Few'. Softpanorama, August 2016.
• Unz, Ron. ‘The US Planned to Nuke Russia In the Early 60s —Then Kennedy Nixed It’. Russia News Now, August 19, 2016.
• MarketStart Editor. ‘Barack Obama: From Peace Prize to World’s Biggest Arms Dealer in 8 Short Years’. MarketStart, August 17, 2016.
• Parry, Robert. ‘America’s Journalistic Hypocrites Clearing House’. International Clearing House, August 17, 2016.
• Cartalucci, Tony. ‘New Armenia Protests, Same US-Backed Mobs’. NEO New Eastern Outlook, April 28, 2016.
• Parry, Robert. ‘A Western media unmoored from facts’. Consortium News, April 7, 2016.
• Winter, Tom and Joaquin Flores. 'What you believe if NPR is your news source, and why it matters'. Fort Russ News, August 22, 2016.
• Petro, Nicolai. 'What is the Real Status of Democracy in Russia? An Interview with Professor Nicolai Petro', Natylie's Place blog, October 14, 2019.

Center for Citizen Initiatives speaks up:

Sharon Tennison, founder and head of the Center for Citizen Initiative has posted an article on President Vladimir Putin in how he is using graceful language that is human and friendly and invites people to work together. See Putin: Martial Arts Philosophy in Action. Sharon writes:

'It certainly is putting out a message to the world about the value of a classical man who attempts to be honest, straightforward and leaves doors open for dialogue.'

Ultimately a non-military solution is needed to create a peaceful world. But the first step is good quality diplomacy beginning with compassion within. Let's step back, breathe deeply and normalize the rhetoric and become civil.

Three informative videos:

• Sinchougova, Inessa. How Putin exposed the West: Part 1 (IMF/World Bank). Fort Russ News, September 28, 2016. Video 7.55 minutes.
• Sinchougova, Inessa. How Putin exposed the West: Part 2 (Economic Hitmen). Fort Russ News, October 1, 2016. Video.
• Sinchougova, Inessa. How Putin exposed the West: Part 3 (Georgian Aggression). Fort Russ News, October 2, 2016. Video.

Postscript

Here’s another little known fact that exposes the rest of the story. Though my ancestors came in 1899-1930 with 8,300 Doukhobors from Russia, they were invited to settle western Canada in 1899 primarily to prevent annexation of Canada by the USA.

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See all Questions and Answers.

American 'Citizen Diplomats' in Russia

Peace and Friendship Tour — June 15-30, 2016.

An unofficial group of 20 Americans, who disagree with the official US government policy, are conducting their own 'grassroots' citizen diplomacy in Russia for 2 weeks.

Volunteer American public figures, former government officials, teachers, doctors from Washington, Salem OR, San Francisco and New York, are traveling through Moscow, Crimea (Yalta, Simferopol, and Sevastopol), Krasnodar, and St. Petersburg.

Center for Citizen Initiatives peace tour in Crimea, ~20 June 2016.

The trip was organized by the Center for Citizen Initiatives (CCI), San Mateo, California, headed by Sharon Tennison, president and founder. CCI did similar trips in February to St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Volgograd; and in previous years. The CCI website states:

'Our chief objective will be to get a realistic understanding of Russia today, from students at their universities to policy makers in their offices. We will engage in informal discussions with Russian businessmen and women, NGO organizers, physicians, educators, working journalists and families in their homes. Dividing up in groups of four Americans each day, we will have different experiences which will later develop into a composite picture of what collectively we have learned.'

To unite Russians and Americans in Crimea, they are meeting local officials and citizens, will do a short tour of the South Coast, and swim for peace and friendship in the Black Sea at Yalta.

Among the 20 citizen delegates are:

• Robert Gould, a physician and professor at the University of California
• David Hearst, and activist and peacemaker
• Ann Wright, a retired US Army colonel and a retired US State Department official
• Raymond McGovern, former CIA analyst
• Elizabeth Murray, retired Deputy National Intelligence Officer
• List of 16 names with descriptions

Dr. Gould and 3 others probably joined after the list was published, bringing the total count to the 20 reported in the Russian news.

Col. Wright acknowledged:

'Sanctions policy never works, ...'; and 'I admire the courage of the Crimean people who despite all sanctions, they say that they will do what they see fit, and not what everyone wants from them.'

Raymond McGovern described the distorted view Americans have of Russia and stressed:

'It is very important for us to come here ourselves and to see and hear about events from their direct participants, because we can not fully rely on the information that we presented to the American media.'

'People shape our policy towards Russia seems to have no idea of ​​what threatens escalation.'

Elizabeth Murray added that 'in her country, there is no complete and objective information on how Crimeans live and what has changed in their lives over the past two years.'

The Crimean newspaper South-Yalta reported:

'Our American colleagues wanted to make sure that the Crimeans do not live under the pressure of the authorities [and] that it is their personal choice. They are very surprised to see just such Yalta, because their media show peninsula in a different light. Upon arrival in America, these public figures will share their experiences in the local press.'

Video reports should be posted at CCI, as they did for previous trips. See 21 videos, most aired on 'Present!', KMVT 15, Mountain View Community Television, Silicon Valley, California. The videos feature 1.5 hours with Vladimir Posner, who explains the danger of NATO aggression, American mistreatment, misunderstanding and other topics.

The Americans are following delegations to Crimea from France (June 2015), Israel (Feb 2016), Italy (May 2016), Germany (May 2016), China (May 2016), Greece and Iraq who were seeking business and trade relations, which initially confused some Russian reporters and is repeated in secondary reports.

Tennison is a 30-year citizen diplomat and advocate for peace with Russia, and owns an apartment in St. Petersburg. Though an advocate trying to help Russia, in February she was arrested and detained until Russian officials realized the CCI 'were Americans of goodwill just trying to find a way to build bridges with Russian citizens.'

Primary Russian News, 21 June 2016

Экс-аналитик ЦРУ в Крыму призывает к диалогу между РФ и США
(Former CIA analyst in the Crimea calls for dialogue between the Russian Federation and the United States)

Делегаты из США считают нарушением прав людей "блокады" Крыма
(Delegates from the United States considers a violation of the rights of people 'blockade' of the Crimea)

Делегация из США прибыла с деловым визитом в Крым
(The US delegation arrived on a business trip to the Crimea)

Американская делегация предложила создать общество дружбы Крыма и США
(The American delegation proposed to create a Crimea and US friendship society)

Американцы в Ялте устроят заплыв за мир и дружбу
(Americans in Yalta will swim for peace and friendship)

Полковник США в отставке: восхищаюсь мужеством крымчан
(A retired US Colonel admires the courage of Crimeans)

Правозащитница из США: мы не боимся санкций за посещение Крыма
(The human rights activist from the United States: 'We are not afraid of sanctions for visiting Crimea')

Общественница из США: в Крыму видны позитивные изменения
(Social activist from the United States: 'Positive changes can be seen in the Crimea')

Американская делегация восхищается мужеством крымчан
(The American delegation admires the courage of Crimean).

Мэр американского города поприветствовал симферопольцев
(The mayor of Simferopol welcomed the Americans)

Делегат из США рассказал, что американцы знают о Второй мировой войне
(A delegate from the United States said that the Americans know about World War II)

US Delegation Visiting Crimea to Promote Citizen-to-Citizen Dialogue, Sputnik International

В Крым приехали американские общественники [фото]
(American public figures arrived in Crimea [photo]), "Искра"

Member of US delegation says its visit of Crimea symbolically breaks sanctions, TASS.

Делегация из США встретится в Крыму со столичными властями (The U.S. delegation will meet with the Belarusian authorities in Crimea ), РИА Крым, 19 June 2016.

American Blogs

Russians Ask "Why Do Do You Demonize Us When We Are So Much Like You?". Center for Citizen Initiatives, 4 July 2016.

We Just Arrived Back From Russia, Center for Civil Initiatives (CCI), 2 July 2016.

Call for a National Debate on U.S. “Regime Change” Policy, Center for Civil Initiatives (CCI), 20 June 2016.

St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Volgograd, February 4-19, Center for Civil Initiatives (CCI), February 19, 2016.

Defender of Putin, Detained in Russia: American Activist Deemed U.S. 'Agent', Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, 17 February 2016.

On the Ground in Russia, Huffington Post, 28 July 2015. — Summary of 2015 trip.

Russia Report on Putin, by Sharon Tennison, Johnson's Russia List, 21 April 2014

Books

The Power of Impossible Ideas: Ordinary Citizens' Extraordinary Efforts to Avert International Crises, by Sharon Tennison, 2012.

Discovering Soviet-West Cooperation. A Handbook on Soviet-West Bridge-Building Initiatives, by Koozma J. Tarasoff. First limited edition publication by Peace Train Foundation, Ottawa, Canada, October 1991.

Will Business Start a War With Russia?

STOP, DANGEROUS FOR LIFE

A few days ago I read this article: Warning! Neocons Are Close To Starting a Nuclear War With Russia, Dmitry Orlov in Russian Insider, June 1, 2016.

Neocons is short for neoconservativism, a political term coined in 1973 to label politicians who hire big businesses to fight communism and conduct wars so the US can police the world.

Here’s what I think and want to add to simplify the article:

Trust — Russia can no longer trust most of the American-managed rhetoric of so-called democracy, superiority, justice and truth. The US dominated NATO lied to Russia in the early 1990s when it promised not to advance towards Russia. The US now encircles Western Russia and is a threat to its security.

Media — The Western media takes every opportunity to demonize Russia and President Putin. That is not honest journalism, but a takeover by western corporate interests. The West must acknowledge that the USSR won World War II, with 27 million deaths and defeating fascism. 90% do know know this fact.

More dangerous signs:

• The US is undoubtedly the biggest threat to world peace.
• Russia will not be bullied to break up Russian states or giving up Crimea.
• If US or its allies begin to use nuclear weapons against Russia, Russia will attack the US. This is not a conspiracy theory.

What is needed is a major change of orientation by the West from war thinking to peace, from extreme capitalism to a form of democratic socialism, working together instead of fighting each other. Hopefully we in the West will wake up and help our people to change the orientation towards a more respectful relationship with other members of the human family.

You see how complicated and dangerous the world is today.

US Superpower — The United States (US) insists in remaining the world's superpower. It has over 1,000 military bases around the world, a CIA, Pentagon, many NGOs, and a media too often spreading propaganda and lies. But other countries have legitimate interests. The superpower model should be replaced by regionalism and equality of nations.

Huge budget — The US annually spends US $1.7 trillion on its military, because big business needs to profit from war and government needs to perpetuate the notion of a superpower, and regime changer if necessary. More spending should go to social services, infrastructure, etc.

Problems — The US is facing formidable problems not well known or understood.

• Its economy is in bad shape (debt to China is $1.24 trillion, January 2015).
• It has the largest prison population in the world, 2.2 million, and many work like slaves for private companies.
• Its deteriorating physical infrastructure such as railroads and bridges is horrendous.
• Gun violence is endemic with more private weapons than any country; 32,000 people killed yearly with guns.
• Many lack adequate health care.
• Public education is often narrow and expensive.

And we can go on. The American Empire is on the way to collapse within a decade or two unless drastic changes are made.

Extreme capitalism is doomed. Profit at any costs (even war) cannot be sustained. The rich cannot maintain gross inequality. Too much money for a small portion of the top 1% disrespects the worth of the wider humanity. A cooperative sharing relationship is urgently needed.

See next blog: Canada — Stop Aggression Abroad !, 19 June 2016.

Film review: Where to Invade Next

Where to Invade Next is a provocative and humorous film about how to improve American life with proven successful examples from other countries.

The 110-minute documentary was produced, directed and narrated by Academy Award winner Michael Moore.

Moore visits Italy, France, Finland, Portugal, Norway, Slovenia, Germany, Tunisia, and Iceland to show how those countries successfully deal with social issues by spending less on war, more on citizens.

He meets with CEOs, Ministers of Education, a former President of Iceland, an American teacher in Finland, and others, to reveal fascinating simple solutions, such as:

• Focussing more on the ‘we’ rather than the ‘I’. This means working for the common good of all instead of working to become rich.
• Favourable working conditions and good wages which allow for paid maternity leave for women that give birth to babies, and provide free paid vacation time to the workers.
• Gourmet meals for school children.
• Free education to all.
• Equality in work and opportunity for women.
• Enlightened rehabilitation of prisoners.
• Liberal attitude to drugs.
• The application of the rule of law to all, including bankers and CEOs who take advantage of the public good. Equality is the way to ensure that the gap between the rich and the poor is greatly narrowed.
• Universal medical, hospitalization, and drug services to all citizens.
• Infrastructure of public facilities have to be based largely on human needs rather than on profit.

The film was released in 2015 months before the national elections in November 2016, to challenge Americans to follow proven policies used by other countries. Moore says: ‘If they can do it, surely we can.’