Animation fascinates me. Like painters, animators can create images of stunning beauty. Being free from the limitations of human actors or physical locations, animators can also depart from strict realism and create images that are fantastical, metaphorical, or otherwise stylized. Animation’s stylization can allow animated films to deal with darker, more serious topics such as … Continue reading Comprehending Horror through Animation: The Art of the Anti-War Animated Movie
Category: Russia
Act before We Reach “Midnight”: The Need to Seek a Cease-Fire in Ukraine
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists recently announced that they had adjusted their “Doomsday Clock,” a symbolic measure of threats to humanity, to 90 seconds to “midnight”—that is, global catastrophe. This current status is the closest to midnight the Doomsday Clock has been in its 75-odd-year history. This dire prediction, the Bulletin has explained, is … Continue reading Act before We Reach “Midnight”: The Need to Seek a Cease-Fire in Ukraine
The Need for Peacemakers: Two Urgent Dangers That Require a Response
Peacemaking is urgently needed today. Peacemaking is needed in response to a variety of ongoing violent conflicts in the world. I will highlight just two conflicts that my own country, the United States, is currently involved in and that demand particular attention from peacemakers. The first is the ongoing conflict with Russia over Ukraine. The … Continue reading The Need for Peacemakers: Two Urgent Dangers That Require a Response
Stepping Back from the Brink: The Cuban Missile Crisis and Lessons for Today
We are now 60 years away from the Cuban Missile Crisis. The October 1962 confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet nuclear missiles stationed in Cuba was a moment when the world came perilously close to nuclear war. The episode’s extraordinary danger has understandably made the crisis the subject of much … Continue reading Stepping Back from the Brink: The Cuban Missile Crisis and Lessons for Today
The Wisdom to Quit While Ahead: The Case for a Cease-Fire in Ukraine
Two dramatic developments have recently changed the now seven-month-long war between Ukraine and Russia. First, the Ukrainians counter-attacked against the Russian military forces occupying eastern regions of their country, re-taking significant territory and inflicting a major defeat on the Russians. Second, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his response to this set-back on September 21. He … Continue reading The Wisdom to Quit While Ahead: The Case for a Cease-Fire in Ukraine
A Hungry World: How the Ukraine War Worsens a Global Food Crisis
One terrible consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been a disruption of the global food supply. The war has obstructed the export of crops and other materials from both Ukraine and Russia. This obstruction has worsened a world food situation already made precarious by climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic. Millions of people are … Continue reading A Hungry World: How the Ukraine War Worsens a Global Food Crisis
Buy the Time to Make Peace: Seeking a Cease-Fire in the Ukraine War
The Ukraine-Russia war recently passed its 100-day mark. In those 100 days, the war has killed huge numbers of people (precise numbers are unclear) and displaced millions.[1] The war also still threatens to cause harm beyond Ukraine’s borders, whether through a broader conflict between Russia and the west or through an international food crisis. Yet … Continue reading Buy the Time to Make Peace: Seeking a Cease-Fire in the Ukraine War
Untying the Knot of War: Seek Negotiation, Not Escalation, in Ukraine
The Russian war against Ukraine is nearing its two-month mark with no clear end in sight. The human suffering caused by the war, including reported human rights violations by Russian forces, is terrible to contemplate.[1] Further, the ongoing US confrontation with Russia over Ukraine carries its own set of dangers: a more uncompromising stance toward … Continue reading Untying the Knot of War: Seek Negotiation, Not Escalation, in Ukraine
A Hidden Cost of the Ukraine War: How Russia’s Invasion Encourages the Spread of Nuclear Weapons
The terrible toll of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is plain to see: thousands killed and millions driven from their homes.[1] The invasion also threatens to bring about a nuclear disaster. Fighting around Ukraine’s nuclear power plants might cause an accident like that at Chernobyl almost 36 years ago.[2] The war also might draw NATO into … Continue reading A Hidden Cost of the Ukraine War: How Russia’s Invasion Encourages the Spread of Nuclear Weapons
Opposing War amid Repression: Anti-War Efforts in Russia
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has rightly provoked widespread condemnation. Perhaps the most important source of such condemnation has been the Russian people, many of whom have protested or otherwise dissented from their government’s actions. Peace-minded people around the world would do well to acknowledge anti-war efforts in Russia and to recognize our allies in … Continue reading Opposing War amid Repression: Anti-War Efforts in Russia