[H-PAD] H-PAD Notes 4/28/21: on-line conference this weekend; links to recent articles of interest

[Jim O'Brien]

*Note: *The UMass Amherst virtual conference on "Truth, Dissent & the
Legacy of Daniel  Ellsberg" <https://www.ellsbergpapers.org/conference/>
takes place this Friday and Saturday, April 30 and May 1. Among the many
speakers are Ellsberg himself, Edward Snowden, John Dean, Frances
Fitzgerald, Rusti Eisenberg, Bill Ehrhardt, Ngo Vinh Long, and others. The
schedule of sessions is here
<https://www.ellsbergpapers.org/conference/schedule/> and registration
(which is free and makes available any or all sessions) is here
<https://www.umass.edu/history/ellsberg-conference/registration>.

Links to Recent Articles of Interest
*"Amid Widespread Disease, Death, and Poverty, the Major Powers Increased
Their Military Spending in 2020"*
<https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/04/28/amid-widespread-disease-death-and-poverty-the-major-powers-increased-their-military-spending-in-2020>
By *Lawrence Wittner, *CounterPunch.org, posted April 28
*Presents statistics both on the continued increase in military spending in
the pandemic year by the US, China, and Russia and on the state of poverty
and inequality in all three countries. China's spiral in military spending
has been the fastest, but the US  "remained by far the most lavish spender
on the military in the world." The author is a professor of history
emeritus at SUNY Albany. *

*"The Graveyard of Empires Redux: America's Ruinous Pursuit of Mission
Impossible in Afghanistan"*
<https://tomdispatch.com/the-graveyard-of-empires-redux>
By *Rajan Menon,* TomDispatch.com, posted April 25
*An overview of the costs and results of the US war in Afghanistan, with
parallels to the Soviet Union's earlier war there and a critique of the
current drumbeat of warnings from military and some civilian leaders about
the consequences of US withdrawal. The author teaches international
relations at City College of New York and has written, among other books, *The
Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention *(Oxford U. Press, 2016).*

*"Slave Rebellions and Mutinies Shaped the Age of Revolution"*
<http://bostonreview.net/race/steven-hahn-slave-rebellions-and-mutinies-shaped-age-revolution>
By *Stephen Hahn, **Boston Review, *posted April 24
*An extensive review essay on three recent books: Julius S. Scott's *The
Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of the Haitian Revolution*,
Vincent Brown's *Tacky's Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War, *and
Niklas Frykman's *The Bloody Flag: Mutiny in the Age of Atlantic Revolution.*
The author teaches history at New York University and is a former winner of
the Pulitzer Prize in History.*

*"How Richard Nixon's Obsession with Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon
Papers Sowed the Seeds for the President's Downfall"*
<https://theconversation.com/how-richard-nixons-obsession-with-daniel-ellsberg-and-the-pentagon-papers-sowed-the-seeds-for-the-presidents-downfall-159113>
By* Christian Appy, **The Conversation, *posted April 23
*The author teaches history at the University of Massachusetts Boston and
has written three books on the American experience of the Vietnam War, most
recently *American Reckoning: The Vietnam War and Our National Identity
*(Penguin Press, 2015). He is a principal organizer of the upcoming
conference described at the beginning of this email message.*

*"The Invention of Whiteness: The Long History of a Dangerous Idea"*
<https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/apr/20/the-invention-of-whiteness-long-history-dangerous-idea>
By* Robert P. Baird, **The Guardian, *posted April 20
*"Before the 17th century, people did not think of themselves as belonging
to something called the white race. But once the idea was invented, it
quickly began to reshape the modern world." The author is a freelance
writer and editor who has contributed to the New Yorker, the New York Times
and the London Review of Books.*

*"A Billionaire-Funded Institute with Ties to the Far Right Is Trying to
'Cancel' University Professors"*
<https://theintercept.com/2021/04/10/campus-reform-koch-young-americans-for-freedom-leadership-institute>
By* Alice Speri, **The Intercept, *posted April 10
*On the Koch-funded Leadership Institute and the "Campus Reform" website
that it sponsors. The site's spotlighting of left-of-center faculty members
(with contact information provided) often leads to an avalanche of
denunciatory email messages, letters, and phone calls.*

*"Georgia's Voter Suppression Is Sparking Boycotts. History Shows They Can
Work"*
<https://truthout.org/articles/georgias-voter-suppression-is-sparking-boycotts-history-shows-they-can-work>
By *Kevin A. Young, *TruthOut.org, posted April 9
*Draws lessons from past anti-racist boycotts. The author teaches history
at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is the author, with Tarun
Banerjee and Michael Schwartz, of* Levers of Power: How the 1% Rules and
What the 99% Can Do About It* (Verso Books, 2020).*


*"HBO's Exterminate All the Brutes Is a Radical Masterpiece about White
Supremacy, Violence and the History of the West"
<https://time.com/5952888/exterminate-all-brutes-review>*
By* Judy Berman, **Time *magazine, posted April 7
*On Raoul Peck's four-part experimental documentary on the history of white
supremacy since the Age of Discovery, which "may well be the most
politically radical and intellectually challenging work of nonfiction ever
made for television."  *

*Thanks fo Mim Jackson and an anonymous reader for suggesting articles
included in the above list. Suggestions can be sent to
jimobrien48 at gmail.com <jimobrien48 at gmail.com>.*
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