With the threat of a nuclear Armageddon and the looming catastrophic consequences of climate change, the Doomsday Clock is now at three minutes to midnight.
Once The Ghosts of Jeju was completed, I knew there was an even bigger story that had to be told and last year I again came to you for assistance to make a return trip to Jeju. Unfortunately, I became ill two weeks before departure and the trip had to be postponed.
This new film will begin with the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and trace the imperial advance of the U.S. throughout the Pacific and its effects not only on the lives and livelihoods of the island peoples, but the degradation of the environment everywhere there are U.S. military bases or where the U.S. has conducted wars and war games.
This film will document the effects of U.S. imperialism, through the personal testimonies and eyewitness accounts of activists and the indigenous peoples whose lives have been ruined or seriously degraded because of the American presence in their lands.
It will also show the effects of the American military presence on their towns and villages and their pristine ecological environments, and it will document the massive popular uprisings against this U.S. presence and the complicity of their own governments in furthering the threat of war not only with China but Russia as well.
If you have been following the news about the US-NATO provocations in Ukraine and along Russia’s border, as well as the so-called Pivot to Asia to check China’s expansion, you undoubtedly realize how dangerous and provocative these actions are. The threat of a nuclear Armageddon ending all life on Earth hangs in the balance.
I’m sure that most of you are as troubled and concerned as I am about the effects of war making here at home and abroad. Millions of innocent people have been massacred throughout the Middle East, Afghanistan and Iraq. Hundreds of children and innocent civilians have already been killed by drone attacks.
Simultaneously, there are no hopeful signs that anything meaningful will be done to mitigate the pending catastrophic effects of Climate Change that will make life on Earth unsustainable. No one can predict just when extinction will happen, but the threat of a nuclear exchange and the expected consequences of climate change are pushing the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight.
The underlying cause of this dire situation is Capitalism and its voracious appetite to consume all of the Earth’s resources without adequate replenishment. In order to maintain its position of a unipolar superpower in the world, the United States, recognizing the economic threat of the emergence of China and a Chinese-Russian partnership, has the largest and most lethal military in the world to maintain that position.
Here at home, as well as throughout NATO countries, and America’s allies in Japan and the Pacific, the costs of endless war are in the trillions of dollars and continue to rise every day. The results are extreme austerity spreading through all levels of society.
Here in America, to pay for the ships, planes, bombs and missiles, and the costs related to keeping hundreds of thousands of troops in over 130 countries, social uplift programs, education, infrastructure improvements, renewable energy investments, light rail development, and even veterans’ benefits are being raided. The current Congress is also coming after Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
This is a global struggle that binds all of us together. And as John Pilger states, “Make no mistake it is an epic struggle. The alternative is not just conquest of far away countries; it is the conquest of us, of our minds, our humanity and our self-respect. If we remain silent, victory over us is assured.”
My goal for this film is to continue to educate and open the eyes of Americans and people around the world about the most pernicious and destructive global forces that are threatening life on the planet. Therefore, the title, “Three Minutes to Midnight.”
With nothing but word-of-mouth and many grassroots organizations, The Ghosts of Jeju is still playing in more than 15 countries, and it has been translated by volunteers into six languages.
My goal for this film is $10,000 and that will cover travel and travel expenses to Kyoto, Hiroshima, Okinawa, Jeju, The Marshall Islands, and Hawaii on the return. I’ve been invited to attend the annual Global Network meeting in Kyoto, Japan from July 28 to August 2. Therefore I will need your help by June 1st.
We already have an offer of a $500 donation to match the first $500 that I can raise.
Your contributions will be completely tax-deductible if you contribute on the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space website: http://www.space4peace.org/
Simply click the “Donate” button, enter the amount you wish to donate and in the comments declare it is for Regis Tremblay’s film.
Should you wish to send a check, make it out to Global Network and mail it to 209 River Rd., Woolwich, Maine 04579. Be sure to put Regis Tremblay in the “for” line.
Some of you contributed last year and I still have $1,000 from that campaign. Please contribute again whatever you can.
Thank you for investing in independent media. I am forever grateful.
Regis Tremblay
Base housing in foreground fronting Tiger Island.
