{"ops":[{"insert":"Many people across the world are justifiably horrified at the destruction, murders, rapes, and other "},{"attributes":{"background":"#e2ebf5","color":"black"},"insert":"terrifying actions in Ukraine at the hands of the Russian government and soldiers operating under their direction. Unfortunately, our usual human inclination is to uncritically accept the agreed-upon story fed to us through mainstream media."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"#e2ebf5","color":"black"},"insert":"I just read an excellent interview of Noam Chomsky by C.J. Polychroniou entitled "},{"attributes":{"background":"#e2ebf5","color":"black","italic":true},"insert":"Noam Chomsky: Russia’s War Against Ukraine Has Accelerated the Doomsday Clock "},{"attributes":{"background":"#e2ebf5","color":"black"},"insert":"("},{"attributes":{"color":"black"},"insert":"March 30, 2022. "},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"color":"#5189aa","link":"https://truthout.org/articles/noam-chomsky-russias-war-against-ukraine-has-accelerated-the-doomsday-clock/"},"insert":"Truthout"},{"attributes":{"color":"black","italic":true},"insert":")"},{"attributes":{"background":"#e2ebf5","color":"black","italic":true},"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"background":"#e2ebf5","color":"black"},"insert":"in which Chomsky delineates some of the complexities in this war and the lead-up to the war. In this interview Chomsky also points out some of the responsibilities of the United States government that remain unfulfilled, leading to tremendous suffering. Toward the end of the interview, Chomsky says:"},{"insert":"\n \n“We live in dangerous times. We may recall that the Doomsday Clock abandoned minutes and shifted to seconds under Trump, and is now set at 100 seconds to midnight — termination. The analysts who set the clock give three reasons: nuclear war, environmental destruction, and collapse of democracy and a free public sphere, which undermines the hope that informed and aroused citizens will compel their governments to overcome the dual race to disaster."},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The war in Ukraine has exacerbated all three of these disastrous tendencies. The nuclear threat has sharply increased. The dire necessity of sharply reducing fossil fuel use had been reversed by adulation of the destroyers of life on Earth for saving civilization from the Russians. And democracy and a free public sphere are in ominous decline."},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"It is all too reminiscent of 90 years ago, though the stakes are far higher today. Then, the U.S. responded to the crisis by leading the way to social democracy, largely under the impetus of a revived labor movement. Europe sank into fascist darkness."},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"What will happen now is uncertain. The one certainty is that it is up to us.”"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" \nI highly recommend this interview to you, which you can read here: "},{"attributes":{"color":"#0563c1","link":"https://chomsky.info/20220330/"},"insert":"https://chomsky.info/20220330/"},{"insert":"\n \n"},{"attributes":{"align":"center"},"insert":"\n"}]}