Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime conversation between UA Professor Noam Chomsky and Daniel Ellsberg. Daniel Ellsberg, best known as the whistleblower who released the Pentagon Papers, has authored a new book titled The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner. The discussion will be moderated by Betsy Reed, the editor-in-chief of The Intercept.
First Look Media, the parent company of The Intercept, will broadcast a free livestream so viewers from around the world can watch. https://chomsky.arizona.edu/livestream. Click here to be notified on your calendar.
That was a fascinating event. It will probably be available later by The Intercept, but not sure when. I found it interesting that this was mostly a conversation by Noam and Daniel; the moderator mostly was there to say, "time is almost up."
ReplyDeleteSome scary stuff. The way Noam reads books and was able to articulate what was in Daniel's book is what always amazes me about him. The conversation with two long-time friends talking about nuclear war was so enjoyable, except the topic was about how countries lie about the nuclear arsenal, or delude themselves into thinking false narratives, or don't talk about enough to know any better.
That's a bit brief. What did you think?
For those who missed it but want to watch it, you can go to the livestream link and watch it whenever you want. The good stuffs start at around 42:00.
ReplyDeleteKevin.
I thought the event overall was really interesting, for starters I was surprised to hear someone so outspoken against the actions our country is taking.
ReplyDeleteI also liked that Daniel seemed to really have this idea that he was protecting the American people from the start, like when he was collecting the papers for the pentagon papers he knew that it would get him in trouble but he felt like he needed to do it anyway.
Finally, I was honestly pretty scared when they talked about the amount of people that have the ability to launch a nuclear weapon. They mentioned that of a course a few of the generals have that power in case Washington gets hit. The problem is that this ideal flows through the chain of command all the way to some bomber pilots. Because of this we have been on the cusp of nuclear war multiple times.
The conversation that occurred in this event was incredibly interesting and parts of it were just plain scary. With what has been happening in the United States, since the most recent election, etc., there have been many outspoken opinions and beliefs shared by various individuals. To respond to Christian's point, I was not too surprised to hear that he was so outspoken regarding the actions our country is taking. I am from California, but (obviously) go to school in Arizona. The two states have very different political beliefs, outlooks, etc., and it is clear from the second you cross the border into each state. This is just an example of someone who truly disagrees and is against what the US is doing.
ReplyDeleteEdward Snowden is someone my generation knows a lot more about. So when I hear Daniel speak and listen to his opinions, beliefs and more, I am constantly reminded of Snowden. These two men really took the safety of our people and of our country seriously and I have the utmost respect for that.
Lastly, these concepts are incredibly scary. The book Origin by Dan Brown discusses the next progression of human beings to be one with technology. The advancement of technology over the past two plus decades has been extreme and will only continue to skyrocket. With this advancement, the reality of nuclear weapons becomes more real than ever and the number of individuals/countries with that access to that danger only increases. I wish there was something the world could do to combat that threat.
While the introduction of the stream starts out a bit slow, I started to find myself very engaged about a quarter of the way through. Mr. Ellsberg knew there would be repercussions, along with the possibility of public backlash, but that did not stop him from doing what he felt was right. That to me speaks volumes as to the character and integrity of Mr. Ellsberg. The fact that the papers took nearly 50 years to be released really shows how determined he was, and where he stands with the American people. As Kendra mentioned in a previous reply, he too reminds me of Edward Snowden with his act of bringing the truth to the surface.
ReplyDeleteAll political views aside, whether you are a Trump supporter, or Anti-Trump, it is clear that regardless of whoever holds the power to start a nuclear war with the single push of a button is an individual who holds a scary amount of power and influence over the rest of us. I think that regardless of who that individual is, we really should consider if one person should be accountable for the lives of everyone else. This discussion made me realize that we are always a lot closer to a nuclear war than we might think.
I saw the event at The Loft with Daniel Ellsberg. They started by showing bits that involved Mr. Ellsberg, starting with a clip from "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb," directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1964. Daniel Ellsberg referred to this movie as a documentary. The Doomsday Machine is the title of his book, and Dr. Strangelove worked for the Bland Corporation (aka Rand). Other films included The Pentagon Papers, Oliver Stone's "Nixon" and recently, "The Post."
ReplyDeleteAnyway, in his talk (which you can find on YouTube in other talks), he referred to Chelsea Manning and Ed Snowden as heroes, that the only way the public will learn about covert operations that can affect their lives is through whistleblowing. Chelsea paid the price with 7 years in prison, including solitary confinement. Snowden, as you know, sacrificed his chances of ever coming home. Ellsberg thought he was going to jail for 115 years. The government is never really keen on employees revealing secret information. Heck, corporations aren't that keen on doing so, either. Consider tobacco, oil, Facebook, to name but a few.
In answering questions from the audience, Ellsberg said he hoped more citizens would alert the public about wrongdoing. He cited the Parkland students as a good example.
Has anyone seen Dr. Strangelove? Listening to clips from it, the President (also played by Peter Sellers) is shocked that bombs cannot be stopped or turned back. One deranged bomber can set the whole thing in motion... George C. Scott is incredible, too. I see this movie so much differently now.
I found it amazing that a random storm washed away the buried top-secret documents about the nuclear plan and that he wrote the book from his memory with no document. It’s sad really, why didn’t his brother just make some copies and buried them in different locations?
ReplyDeleteI think the reason for having only one plan is because of the nature of nuclear war where you have a split-second to react, I am not sure having multiple plans is a good idea since there would be no time to go through the decision-making process.
It is funny to hear, again, that back then the amount of threats was exaggerated. In fact, we are experiencing it right now! Demonizing the enemy and mongering fear are how we justify extra-investments in military.
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