World War – Sommer Season all year

You may have noticed that I (#blogger #blog #somseason #YA #authors) haven’t written a post since September 21. There is a reason for that. World events are changing so fast that each time I a plan a post, it is already old news. Let me explain.

Initially, I planned to write about the wildfires (I know, it’s old news). Beginning in March 2023, the news was consumed with wildfires. As the article, North America’s summer of wildfire smoke: 2023 was only the beginning, says, “Canada’s seemingly endless wildfires in 2023 introduced millions of people across North America to the health hazards of wildfire smoke.” The article blames climate change and makes the statement “global warming means more fires.” Legacy Media amped up the climate change rhetoric, claiming Climate change made weather conditions that powered Quebec fires twice as likely, scientists say. Yet, Alberta’s premier downplays link between wildfires and climate change, commits to arson investigations. Is climate change the problem? These headlines suggest otherwise. Quebec man arrested for starting multiple wildfires, RCMP charge Alberta woman with 32 counts of arson after spring wildfires, Arsonists Behind More than Half of Italy’s Wildfires, Officials Say, Italy arrests two Sicilian sheep farmers for lighting wildfires, and Greek police arrest dozens for arson as EU’s largest-ever wildfires rage. How can climate change be the cause, when arsonists are lighting the fires? Why are arsonists lighting these fires? Are they being paid? It doesn’t make sense. Or, to use the old adage; Things “do not add up,” meaning things do not seem plausible, logical, or believable. All I can say, is we are NOT being told the full story.

Then came the Maui wildfires when in August, we heard non stop reporting on them. The Hawaiian Electric says power lines started morning fire on August 8, but not afternoon Lahaina Fire, so humans once again are to blame. What about the devastating Lahaina fire? Were humans to blame—and I’m not talking about the climate change narrative? Some are blaming Direct Energy Weapons (DEWs), as in the articles, Were Maui wildfires caused by a US weapons test? and the Video: Maui Wildfires: Evidence of Direct Energy Weapon? Of course, Legacy Media were quick to call the DEW story conspiracy. Things “do not add up.” More is going on than meets the eye.

Then the headlines changed to what some called Nazigate, and the stories about wildfires disappeared. In case you don’t know what Nazigate is, on Sept. 22, 2023. the Canadian parliament accidentally honours Nazi – with Zelensky and Trudeau applauding, and reporting that the Speaker of the House apologized for calling Nazi SS soldier a ‘Ukrainian hero.’ That’s honouring a bully (#bullying, #antibullying)! How do you accidentally honour someone? Someone please explain it to me. Of course, some Legacy Media try to downplay the incident with articles like, Last week’s Nazi incident in parliament was framed by some as a learning opportunity. Canada’s Immigration minister claims ‘Canada has a really dark history with Nazis in Canada’ and some say Canada has a long history of soft-pedalling the Ukrainian Waffen-SS Galicia Division. Our deputy Prime Minster, Chrystia Freeland says she has nothing to be ashamed of about her grandfather’s ‘Nazi’ ties. It’s true, Chrystia Freeland has a Nazi history according to the Civilian Intelligence Network.

Now I agree that this Nazigate event is Canada’s disgrace and parliament’s Nazi celebration cannot be forgotten or forgiven. Don’t try to convince me this is a mistake. Things just don’t add up. Why would Canadian parliamentarians applaud a former Nazi like he is a hero? Watch the video where all Canadian Parliamentarians give Yaroslav Hunka, 98, an ex-Waffen SS fighter, a standing ovation. What is really going on? As this article asks, How did a Nazi fighter end up in Parliament? Things “do not add up.” There has got to be more to this story.

Then the Nazigate news disappeared. as on October 3, the US speaker was ousted starting a US government crisis as U.S. Congress is headless after a first-in-history ouster of House Speaker. It is said to be the first-ever ejection of a sitting Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. News broadcasts were consumed with this crisis. Twenty three days later, on October 25, 2023, Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana elected speaker of the House. But little was said about that event as October 7, 2023 Hamas launched a surprise attack in the south of Israel. We are still hearing about this as it is all Legacy Media talks about. Read Background to War in Israel if you don’t know what that is about. The rhetoric is building as The US is mounting a frantic effort to head off a wider Middle East war. Watch the video below: Can President Biden prevent World War III?

I find it comical that the world’s fate is put into the hands of a man who seems to be senile. It is said that the New Middle East war delivers a new threat to world economy. The scariest rhetoric Is Middle East Closer to World War 3 After Israel-Palestine Conflict? I have to wonder, Are we heading for World War Three?

I am confused though. According to the article, A detailed look at how Hamas secretly crossed into Israel, Hamas militants broke through Israel’s complex border security systems, attacking towns, killing hundreds of people and taking at least 150 hostages. CNN asks, Why didn’t Israel’s sophisticated border security stop Saturday’s attack? According to them, Israel’s military found itself caught off-guard, despite decades in which the country became a technology powerhouse that boasts one of the world’s most impressive armed forces and a best intelligence agency. A former international spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said, “The entire system failed. It’s not just one component. It’s the entire defense architecture that evidently failed to provide the necessary defense for Israeli civilians.” How can an entire security system fail? Something doesn’t add up. We’re definitely not being told the real story.

What is even more interesting is the sudden silence on the Ukrainian war. Did that war suddenly end? Back in February 2022, Russia launched a military invasion of Ukraine and that was all we heard for months. For months, billions of dollars from all over the world were being sent to the Ukraine for the war effort. CNN asks since $113 billion was sent to the Ukraine, Where has the US investment in Ukraine aid gone? The World Bank approved $723m financial package, and Canada has promised more than $1.5B in military aid to Ukraine. Why all money for the Ukraine? Why is Ukraine so important? This article says there are 5 reasons America must support Ukraine and help it defeat Russia, but I don’t buy any of it. Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister said, “Canada will stand with Ukraine with whatever it takes, for as long as it takes. As Ukrainians continue to fight for their freedom and their democracy, our support will be unequivocal until they are victorious,” yet the article, Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy it says:

New coups and other attempts to undermine representative government destabilized Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Peru, and Brazil. Previous years’ coups and ongoing repression continued to diminish basic liberties in Guinea and constrain those in Turkey, Myanmar, and Thailand, among others.

Why aren’t we sending money to these countries as they “fight for their freedom and their democracy?” That argument doesn’t make sense. Things “do not add up.” Are we being fed propaganda? Are we being told what they—whoever they are—want us to think and believe. We are not being told the real story, that’s for sure. What is really going on in this world? As Haruki Murakami, a Japanese writer says, “Please remember: things are not what they seem.”

November 11th Remembrance Day is once again upon us. This is a commemorative day to remember the members of our armed forces who have died serving their country. The observation of Remembrance Day in most countries is to remember the end of World War I, which ended on the eleventh hour of November 11 in 1918.

Since visiting Vimy Ridge and the Normandy Beaches in France five years ago, my wife and I (#blogger #blog #somseason #YA #authors) have a much stronger appreciation for all soldiers and the sacrifice they made to maintain peace and freedom in our world. Visiting both WWI and WWII military cemeteries was a humbling experience to say the least. What shocked us the most was the age of many of the soldiers, some as young as 17 years old. We now attend the Remembrance Day ceremonies with much more gratitude and appreciation for all soldiers. It is essential that we remember the soldiers who have lost their lives, or put their lives on the line, to protect the rights and freedoms of its citizens.

WWII was a war to stop fascism. I speak about WWII because it was the war I taught about the most as a teacher and am most familiar with. During that time in history Italy was ruled by Benito Mussolini, a fascist leader. The Nazi Party, led by the best known fascist, Adolf Hitler, a leader who adopted a form of fascism that incorporated fanatical racism against Jews. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.” An interesting thought. During the pre-1945 period, Japan moved into political totalitarianism, ultranationalism (extreme nationalism), and fascism ending in Japan’s invasion and of China in 1937. According to some accounts, thousands of Chinese civilians were buried alive, machine-gunned or used for bayonet practice. Females were taken and forced into labour as “comfort women” (sex slaves for Japanese officers and soldiers). There were other fascist leaders during that time.

What is fascism? Fascism is a term coined by Benito Mussolini in 1919, who described it as a belief system for his political movement. Merriam Webster defines fascism as:

a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

I would define fascism as bullying (#bullying #antibullying) especially since it involves suppression of opposition. When you get down to the root cause of both World Wars, and all conflicts, the cause is division. With COVID and the US election, the world—I believe—has never been this divided. What is happening in our world today is a reminder to humanity to unify as a human family, or once again fall into the chaos of war and other atrocities. We must be able to hold our truths and still respect other people’s truths. As Alexandre Dumas, one of the Three Musketeers says, “All for one and one for all, united we stand divided we fall.” If division continues to pervade in our world, we are headed for trouble.

Fascism is a term that seems to be used a lot these days. Just last night, my wife and I were watching a series called, This is Us, and a character’s teenage daughter in anger calls her dad a fascist. President Trump has been accused of being a fascist (see Trump a fascist). There are those who say Democrats are fascists (see Democratic Party). Some even argue that fascism is creeping into Canada (see Blogger Mark). Is fascism alive and well today? I don’t know but it feels like it with our rights and freedoms being removed because of COVID. The National Post has an opinion piece titled: We are giving up our freedoms in the fight against COVID-19, which questions whether those freedoms will be returned to us.

What I find disturbing is what the Huffpost’s 2014 article, Government of the Rich, by the Rich and for the Rich, says:

We now live in a two-tiered system of governance. There are two sets of laws: one set for the government and its corporate allies, and another set for you and me.

I always intuitively felt that was true. One set of rules for the wealthy elites, and one for the rest of us. There are many who argue that elected governments have little power and are merely puppets of a shadow government known as the Deep State. Mainstream Media calls the Deep State a conspiracy theory. Interestingly, Newsweek’s article, The Unraveling of the Deep State’s Coup Against President Trump, speaks about the Deep State as real and not conspiracy theory. Could this be true?

Italian fascist leader, Benito Mussolini once said, “Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power” Wiktionary defines corporatism as “The influence of large business corporations in politics.” Is this what is happening?

Nephew of John F Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says: “While communism is the control of business by government, fascism is the control of government by business.” American politician, Henry A. Wallace, once said:

A fascist is one whose lust for money or power is combined with such an intensity of intolerance toward those of other races, parties, classes, religions, cultures, regions or nations as to make him ruthless in his use of deceit or violence to attain his ends.

That is a scary quote. Is fascism reappearing in our world today? I don’t know, but I see a lot of disturbing things happening in our world right now. I would like to believe fascism was eliminated at the end of WWII. As I said in my last post, How Do You Know What is Truth? it is time for us to start thinking critically.

The truth is humanity must learn how to unify in a divided world. As J.K. Rowling said in her book, ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,’ We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” Mahatma Gandhi, who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India’s independence from British rule, once said: “Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.” That is so true! To unify means to step out of that mind-set that ‘I am right and you are wrong;’ the mindset of I must convince you of my truth. You are sovereign individual and I am sovereign individual, and I may not agree with you and you may not agree with me, but that is okay. That is very different from you are wrong, you’re ignorant, or you are stupid. Richard Twiss, a Native American educator and author, says: “You can’t have unity without diversity.”I believe that to be true. We will never live in a world where everyone thinks the same, or believes the same. Besides, wouldn’t that be a boring world. The fact is, everyone is entitled to their truth (perspective, beliefs). The challenge is: Can I/you respect other people’s truth? If we can do that, unity will be achieved. If we can’t do that, we are headed for troubling times; a time filled with bullying. I am convinced we humans can create a better world, but first we must achieve unity in diversity to do that.