In 1939, I didn´t hear war coming. Now its thundering approach can´t be ignored | Harry Leslie Smith
(The Guardian North Korea)

As a teenager I would just laugh at newsreels of Hitler and other fascists. I hope what happened next is not witnessed again by my grandchildren´s generationo Author Harry Leslie Smith, 94, is a second world war RAF veteranA chill of remembrance has come over me during this August month. It feels as if the 2017 summer breeze is being scattered by the winds of war blowing from across our world towards Britain, just like they were in 1939.In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia eviscerates Yemen with the same ferocity as Mussolini did to Ethiopia when I was child in 1935. The hypocrisy of Britain´s government and elite class ensures that innocent blood still flows in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Theresa May´s government insists that peace can only be achieved through the proliferation of weapons of war in conflict zones. Venezuela teeters towards anarchy and foreign intervention while in the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte - protected by his alliance with Britain and the US - murders the vulnerable for the crime of trying to escape their poverty through drug addiction.Summer should be comforting, but it isn´t this year Related: It takes just one madman to press the button. We have two | Nick Cohen Continue reading...