A Telling Book: The Struggle for Mastery in Europe

For a change of pace if not subject, herewith, a book review:

The Struggle for Mastery in Europe by A J P Taylor takes
Europe from 1848 to 1918. The plethora of multiple treaties,
small and larger wars, meddling in each other's affairs ad
infinitum, not forgetting the constant lying and pride puffing up
is alarming, outrageous and depressing. What strikes the
reader most is how none of the issues which caused such
behavior has been resolved, just as the Civil War here
(-1865!) has not completely brought the races together.

Author Taylor, a British intellectual, provides generous
footnotes, bibliography and an explanatory index. He
also enjoys a sly sense of humor when recounting the
motives and actions of the various monarchs and
ministers of the European nations. It is shocking to
learn how these leaders thought they could simply
take over smaller countries at their whim, haggling
over who got what at whim--who cared about the
hapless millions in their wake? They ventured far
from Europe with adventures in Asia and Africa,
sometimes with little practical to gain except some
illusory prestige.

This is an important book, one I recommend,
with lessons to learn for today's tensions and
actions.

...still struggling for mastery, yet rarely achieving
it, our world leaders really ought to read Taylor's
work. They might be surprised to find themselves
therein.

Ever After: Beware of World Wars

The  after effects of both world wars are still with us, many
decades later. WWII directly led to the Cold War and the
Korean War, 70 years ago. The combatants in 1953
signed an armistice, NOT a peace treaty; hostilities have
broken out along the DMZ and the 38th parallel on
occasion, with tensions now at their most inflamed.

The Most Worrying Facts:

(1) The United States has an official first nuclear strike
policy, enacted in 1980 by President Carter as PD 59,
followed by PD 60 and PD 61.

(2) We are technically still at war with North Korea,
have been since 1953.

(3)  Mr. Un has increased his nuclear capabilities.
North Korea's Mr. Un  is unstable and young, a
bad combination in a nuclear-enabled adversary.

...an unholy brew, requiring great deft statecraft which
neither Trump nor Un possesses.

Isn't it high time to sign the definitive peace treaty
ending this last hot ember of the Cold War and
World War Two?

Do North Korea and the United States Want War?

World War III, here we come: one irresponsible statement after
another by Un and Trump, both of whom I regard as sanity
challenged. They seem to find bellicose rants and threats as
a form of fun for them, taking the rest of us along for a ride,
unwilling as we all may be. We must stop these two lunatics
to ensure our own safety and that of the generations to come.

It is time to impeach the Donald and find ways to "deactivate"
Mr. Un, likely through a mechanism in the U.N. Security
Council. It is also the moment for Russia and China to step
up, as they are in danger from Un's nukes as well, even
though they aren't actually being targeted. Missiles gone
awry could well land in China or Russia--as we have seen,
many of North Korea's missiles end up in unexpected places.

Wake up, world! The very future of the planet and all who
live here are in great peril; every adult in each country must
make themselves heard. If we want peace and not war,
ACT NOW..