The Weekly Watch
Finding Hope in the Chaos
We face two great existential threats today... nuclear war and climate chaos. Hopefully we can keep those tiny hands off the red button, but there is no guarantee. Global warming is so problematic because of our denial combined with the rush to extract as much profit as possible from the fossil fuel industry before its inevitable collapse. Before we despair, it might be wise to reflect on the advice of the fine historian, Howard Zinn:
“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness."
"What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction."
"And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."
We are challenged by crises on many levels. I think climate chaos is perhaps the most difficult problem we face. Given human nature, the primary obstacle in combating climate chaos is the time delay. The ocean and atmosphere are huge. They are slow to heat and cool. So the major effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide accumulation (just what is already in place and locked into the system) are yet to come. I've seen one estimate that 6 meters of sea level rise is already banked in the atmosphere...even if we stopped all fossil fuel use today. People have a difficult time thinking and planning for a future they don't see today. The fact that we are a reactive (rather than a proactive) species may well spell our extinction.
It would seem even the most unconscious would awake (get woke) given the rapid fire extreme hurricanes from Texas to Ireland, fires across the western US and Iberian peninsula, flooding across SE Asia, droughts in Africa, Europe, Australia, and the Americas. As the air warms it can hold more water. That means more droughts and floods. Extreme weather is to be our fate for the foreseeable future. How extreme depends on the actions of the global community.
Farmers, traders and consumers across East and Southern Africa are feeling the impact of consecutive seasons of drought that have scorched harvests and ruined livelihoods. Seventeen countries in Africa are dealing with years of drought. https://www.irinnews.org/feature/2017/03/17/drought-africa-2017
Drought in southern Europe threatens to reduce cereal production in Italy and parts of Spain to its lowest level in at least 20 years, and hit other regional crops including olives and almonds.
https://www.reuters.com/video/2017/07/18/severe-drought-devastates-south... (2 min)
...and record heat this summer...eleven southern and central European countries issued extreme heat warnings amid a brutal heatwave nicknamed Lucifer. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/04/extreme-heat-warnings-issu...
Flooding too...
Widespread monsoon flooding occurred in the South Asian countries of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan this year. Monsoons hit South Asia every year between June and September, but the 2017 monsoon season has been far worse than average, bringing flooding, and associated landslides, of a scale unseen in recent years. Experts have called these the worst South Asian floods in decades, with long-term food supplies in question due to ruined farmland. As of 2 September, 1,288 people have been confirmed killed, and more than 45 million affected. The estimated number of people affected increased from 24 million to 41 million during the last week of August 2017. According to UNICEF, that figure includes 16 million children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_South_Asian_floods
How Critical is our Climate Crisis?
Chris Hedges talks with Dr. James Hansen, former director of NASA’s Goddard Institute and Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, discusses the urgent need for radical change in our relationship with the planet. (27 min)
https://www.rt.com/shows/on-contact/407431-nasa-climate-change-issue/ or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt8EUMu6S7c (youtube may load a little faster)
Climate Scientist Michael Mann shares his views in a 14 min podcast with text
http://loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=17-P13-00042#feature1
There is something positive happening...
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) recently introduced the strongest, most aggressive climate and energy legislation ever written. It’s called the Off Fossil Fuels for a Better Future Act (OFF Act) [https://gabbard.house.gov/sites/gabbard.house.gov/files/H.R.%203671%20OF... and it would move us to 100 percent clean, renewable energy by 2035, with 80 percent of that transition coming in a critical ten-year period. https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/10/27/time-move-fossil-fuels-now
However, it isn't an accident that we refuse to deal with the climate disaster...
Trump, The Koch Brothers and Their War on Climate Science - A documentary special reveals how climate change science has been under systematic attack; the multi-million dollar campaign allowed a climate change denier to be elected president (updated content and music) 30 min with text http://therealnews.com/t2/story:19992:TRNN-SPECIAL%3A-Trump%2C-The-Koch-...
Why don't we think about the costs of continuing Climate Chaos?
Our memory is short. On Superstorm Sandy's fifth anniversary, Lindsay Meiman, US Communications Coordinator with 350.org, and Tamara Shapiro, coordinator of Movement Netlab and one of the lead coordinators of Occupy Sandy, recount lessons learned.
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20314:5-Years-Later%2C-Have-We-Learned-f... (13.5 min)
We can't even remember a month ago...Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican environmental activist Elizabeth Yeampierre describes the issues in Puerto Rico. https://www.democracynow.org/2017/10/24/puerto_rican_climate_activist_ai... (video and text)
Her article with Naomi https://theintercept.com/2017/10/20/puerto-rico-hurricane-debt-relief/
...and the vulture capitalists plan to profit off of Puerto Rico's troubles
https://theintercept.com/2017/10/26/disaster-capitalists-take-big-step-t...
The question remains how a company that had just two full-time employees and no office at the time the contract was granted was given such an immense mission
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/10/24/whitefish_energy_from_...
https://weather.com/news/news/whitefish-energy-contract-puerto-rico-lawm...
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/10/24/can-you-say-corruption-puer...
White House Places All Blame for 'Astonishingly Corrupt' Whitefish Contract on Puerto Rico
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/10/27/white-house-places-all-blam...
Whether it's water or energy, privatization helps Wall Street, not communities in Puerto Rico https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/10/27/warnings-disaster-capitalis...
...but Bernie and Elizabeth are working on a plan for Puerto Rico.
https://theintercept.com/2017/10/27/bernie-sanders-puerto-rico-trip/
So let's ignore all the evidence and stick our heads in the sand. For the sake of the economy we need to squeeze the last bit of profit out of the fossil fuel industry...even if it does kill off our species ...
The E.P.A. will silence government scientists from speaking publicly or conducting work on climate change. The Agency has canceled the speaking appearance of three agency scientists who were scheduled to discuss climate change at a conference last Monday. Scott Pruitt, the agency administrator, has said that he does not believe human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are primarily responsible for the warming of the planet. https://nuclear-news.net/2017/10/23/americas-environmental-protection-ag...
Part of the rush to extract fuels is that the long term economics doesn't look good....(and the debt load of “Frackers” is quite high). Investors bought energy junk bonds in increasing numbers. The borrowing costs for junk bonds remained reasonably low due to the increased supply of credit through QE. However, when the oil price started to drop, the risk of these high yield bonds became immediately apparent, and the interest rate skyrocketed. US exploration companies had a total debt of $128 billion in 2010. By 2014, the debt load had climbed to $199 billion http://blog.ihrdc.com/?p=731
Is it possible to see oil prices fall to as low as $10/barrel? Financial Times has leaked that Saudi Aramco is frustrated over the weak oil prices, so much so that they are considering shelving the IPO. Saudi is considering selling shares privately instead of listing them publicly. About 70% of oil is currently being used for transportation. A paradigm shift of internal-combustion engines to electric vehicles would therefore slash demand for oil. https://www.blogarama.com/finance-blogs/42718-finance-twitter-blog/22254...
Max Keiser explains one of the world’s top energy importers, China, is set to roll out a yuan-denominated oil contract as early as this year. Analysts call the plan, announced by Beijing in September, a huge move against the dollar's global dominance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC7QEqxZCIs (5 min)
What about Agriculture?
Our industrial model is failing.
https://www.alternet.org/environment/argument-industrial-farming-efficie...
More from the Union of Concerned Scientists
http://www.ucsusa.org/our-work/food-agriculture/our-failing-food-system/...
The UK is resisting US style agriculture, but they still have about 800 mega animal farms.
https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2017-07-21/michael-gove-in...
Chris Hedges interviews co-directors Kip Anderson and Keegan Kuhn on their film “Conspiracy: The Sustainability Secret”. Together they discuss the extraordinary impact that the animal agriculture industry has on accelerating climate change and environmental degradation. (26 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynWHUmRzNBA
We are eating more meat than at any other time in history, and the largest environmental impact actually comes from what the animals are being fed, says Duncan Williamson, food policy manager for the World Wildlife Fund UK. http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20254:%27Appetite-for-Destruction%27%3A-... (15 min or text)
Confined animal production is contributing ever more methane....more than we thought. (14 min with text) http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20293:Methane-Emissions-From-Livestock-A...
There are two sides to every coin. Grazing animals are an essential part of the grassland ecosystem. There are ways to manage livestock to actually improve the worlds grasslands. Allan Savory describes how to reverse the degradation happening to about two-thirds of the world's grasslands, accelerating climate change and causing traditional grazing societies to descend into social chaos. (22 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpTHi7O66pI
A new report fails to mention that even if we achieved zero emissions tomorrow, we’re still in big trouble—unless we draw down and sequester the billions of tons of carbon already in the atmosphere. https://www.alternet.org/environment/federal-govt-report-says-global-war...
Managed well, soil’s ability to trap carbon dioxide is potentially much greater than previously estimated, according to Stanford researchers. https://news.stanford.edu/2017/10/05/soil-holds-potential-slow-global-wa...
Analysis of reforestation projects is getting better and expanding tree plantings
https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/frontlines/50-years-and-food-secu...
Environmental policy...plan on escalating degradation...
It was a year ago Friday that the mercenaries ejected the water protectors from Standing Rock. https://theintercept.com/2017/10/27/law-enforcement-descended-on-standin...
Indigenous peoples across the world are standing against environmental destruction. An isolated tribe in the Amazon fights against mines to save their land (2 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G36uG4sJ42Q
Smoke from the western fires is seen all the way in the NE US.
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/10/28/talking-about-our-future-h...
From EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to Energy Secretary Rick Perry, President Trump has filled his administration with a rogue's gallery of fossil fuel-loving climate deniers. Now he's set to sign up another: Kathleen Hartnett White, a longtime critic of climate change policy, to head the White House Council on Environmental Quality, which advises the administration on environmental policy. http://therealnews.com/t2/component/content/article/671-reynard-loki/336...
Pollution causes far more deaths than tobacco, infectious disease or war, and causes 4.6 trillion dollars of economic damage per year, according to a major new study published in the British medical journal The Lancet. Economist Bill Black explains. (9 min with text) http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20303:Pollution-Kills-9-Million-People-a...
Jimmy takes on all the plastic islands floating in the ocean, and finds a 20 year old working to solve the problem https://www.theoceancleanup.com (19 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irgrm_RN-30
War
The US is flexing its military muscle on the Korean Peninsula, sending the USS Ronald Reagan strike group to South Korea. On top of participating in yet another set of naval war games, the Air Force flew two B-1B strategic bombers over Seoul Air Base. (4.5 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4zjHNXwiDI
The new war policy (2 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC_gyOiWAis
The CIA has run covert coups and assassinations all over the world (1 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy5FpH6IZjc
Jimmy Dore tackles our intervention in Syria. US Backed Syrian Rebels Using Chemical Weapons As Confirmed By the U.S. State Dept. (14 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwXgbRCRtbY
Saudis directly order attacks on Assad's troops
https://theintercept.com/2017/10/24/syria-rebels-nsa-saudi-prince-assad/
Seems the Saudis always cheer for war...former Saudi Chief of Intelligence and Ambassador to the U.S. and U.K. Prince Turki al-Faisal is asking the Trump team to defeat “the biggest terrorist in Syria” — the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad — while at the same time praising the clear, ironfisted strategy of the U.S. toward Iran. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/10/22/saudi-ex-intel-chief-says-assad-...
...and Israel has repeatedly bombed troops and other targets in Syria.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/10/israel-attacking-syria...
Larry Wilkerson isn't impressed with the generals with which T-rump has surrounded himself.
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20281:Wilkerson%3A-Trump%27s-Generals-Ar... (15 min with text)
The silence about all our military activities in Africa is beginning to break. Reporter Nick Turse, a fellow at The Nation Institute and contributing writer at The Intercept, discusses his research including these three articles.
https://theintercept.com/2017/10/26/its-not-just-niger-u-s-military-acti...
https://theintercept.com/2017/10/22/the-u-s-will-invade-west-africa-in-2...
https://news.vice.com/story/the-u-s-is-waging-a-massive-shadow-war-in-af...
interview with video and text:
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/10/27/nick_turse_from_niger_to_somalia
Horace Campbell, a peace and justice scholar and professor of African American studies and political science at Syracuse University, and Mark Fancher, an attorney and frequent contributor to Black Agenda Report, discuss the US military presence in Africa. (video and text) https://www.democracynow.org/2017/10/24/expansion_of_imperialist_us_war_on
https://www.blackagendareport.com/us-troop-deaths-niger-africoms-chicken...
Why are we in Africa? "It's about the oil. And the diamonds. And the coltan. But mostly about the oil." Africans demanding a share in their oil, are now routinely, viciously suppressed in eastern Nigeria, in Equatorial Guinea and elsewhere, by African troops trained and equipped with American tax dollars.
https://www.blackagendareport.com/content/africa-%E2%80%93-where-next-us...
Dissolving nations...first Brexit, now Catalonia, is Italy next?
I've been wondering if these succession movements are based in part on greed. We want to keep ours and the hell with you. I find it interesting that Catalonia is a wealthy province as are the Italian regions seeking more autonomy.
First to Spain...
Fascinating AP timeline from Friday
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/live-spain-fires-catalan-government-ha...
Here's an argument for Catalonia's independence.
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2017/10/22/getting-right-catalonia/
Expect to see acts of civil disobedience, resistance from public servants, and election boycotts in the weeks ahead - as well as criminal persecution of Catalonia's political leaders, says Sebastiaan Faber of Oberlin College (19 min with text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20323:Catalonia-Vows-to-Resist-Madrid%27...
The conflict has a lot to do with Spain's economic failure since the world financial crisis of 2008 and its impact on young people and the long-term unemployed, says Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy (13 min with text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20318:Catalonian-Independence%3A-What-ar...
...and now to Italy...
Italy's richest regions, Lombardy and Veneto, held non-binding referendums on autonomy last week. https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201710221058444208-italy-veneto-lombard...
The two wealthy northern regions voted overwhelmingly in favor of greater autonomy in referenda that took place against the backdrop of Catalonia's push for independence from Spain.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/now-italys-veneto-lombardy-want-autonomy...
The Economy
The Swiss financial firm UBS found that the wealth of the world's billionaires grew by 17 percent in 2016, bringing their combined fortune to a record $6 trillion https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/10/27/new-gilded-age-reaches-new-...
I think the US always favored the 1%, Abby Martin interviews Professor Gerald Horne about the creation of the United States in 1776, providing a new, accurate narrative about defending slavery rather than "freedom and democracy." (33 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAHHtVUIHtE
The success of worker coops (4 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Va1tXNGEAE
Venezuela's government and economy discussed by Richard Wolff (4 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ar_JkeNEgk&pbjreload=10
Abby Martin explains why the socialists won big in last Sunday's fair election.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lldKsHpPpBI (23 min)
James Henry of the Tax Justice Network and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston, whose latest piece is titled “Nine Reasons Trump’s Tax Plan Will Hurt You.” discuss the T-rump tax plan. (video and text)
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/10/23/trumps_proposed_tax_overhaul_wou...
This plan only makes sense if you believe, like Trump and many Congressional Republicans, that America’s greatest economic problem is that the rich do not have nearly enough.
https://www.dcreport.org/2017/09/29/nine-reasons-trumps-tax-plan-will-hu... (Johnston's piece)
There is no evidence to support Republican arguments that cutting corporate and small-business taxes will boost the economy or create jobs, says Gerald Epstein of UMass Amherst. 'In the end, the only ones that, of course, are going to gain, are the corporations'
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20287:No-Evidence-that-Trump%27s-Tax-Pla...
The Senate voted 51-50 to repeal a rule that would have made it easier for consumers to sue the financial institutions that defraud them. The move is "outrageous," says white-collar criminologist Bill Black. "It should be a national scandal, and require resignations in disgrace" (13 min with text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20299:Wall-Street-Wins-as-Senate-Blocks-...
...and they just keeping on sneaking 1 percenters into the system like the new head of the IRS.
https://theintercept.com/2017/10/27/david-kautter-trumps-irs-chief-overs...
Education
Typical corporate democraps... The Center for American Progress, originators of the #Resist campaign, issue a “Progressive Case for Charter Schools” that decries the “waning” support for charters among Democrats and scolds charter school skeptics for being against progressive institutions.
http://educationopportunitynetwork.org/center-for-american-progresss-fai...
One of my mentors Deborah Meier, founder of Central park East - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Meier discusses her view of charter schools
https://www.alternet.org/conflating-school-choice-democracy-parent-empow...
While there are objections to Secretary Betsy DeVos and President Trump’s private school voucher and “skinny budget” aspirations, they are missing the far graver threat to public schools—tax reform.
https://democracyjournal.org/briefing-book/the-unnoticed-threat-to-publi...
Anytime you mix money and public service, there is a problem! Ref Rodriguez, the school board president of the LA public school district is accused of laundering money into his 2015 political campaign with the help of his cousin. It was part of a successful multi-million dollar, multi-cycle campaign by pro-charter school advocates to seize control of the board. https://theintercept.com/2017/09/27/la-school-board-ref-rodriguez-money-...
The public is less supportive... a stunning 12-percentage-point drop in support for charters from spring 2016 to spring 2017—from 51 percent to 39 percent. African-American support fell from 46 percent to 37 percent, and Hispanic support fell from 44 percent to 39 percent.
http://prospect.org/article/rift-among-charter-schools
Media
Lee Camp explains NPR's corporate bias and alliance. He missed one of the biggest revelations...NPR board members selected by the Kochs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Bk-8ZBKq4 (10 min)
Max and Stacy discuss the meltup in markets and the meltdown in media as gossip and tittle-tattle rule the airwaves while Rome burns. Great media take down by Stacy. (1st 10 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOXdSxBh6bw
If CNN is truly worried about fake news, the network should deal with the stable of pundits it has hired to provide viewers with knee-jerk defenses of the president.
https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/10/25/study-cnns-paid-trump-shill...
Jimmy Dore explains how Twitter Pushes McCarthyism - Bans Russia News Outlets From Advertising
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k45XZezcJc (8 min)
Max Bloomenthal weighs in on the twitter Russiagate hoopla. (12 min with text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20309:Twitter-Bans-RT-and-Sputnik-Ads%2C...
The Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal the Main Studio Rule, a 77-year-old regulation that required local television and radio broadcasters to maintain physical studios in the communities they serve. https://theintercept.com/2017/10/25/fcc-media-ownership-repeal-local-sta...
The FCC announced plans Wednesday to abolish long-standing media ownership rules. Andy Kroll, senior reporter at Mother Jones magazine, responds. (video and text)
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/10/26/fcc_eliminates_rules_preventing_...
Lee Camp is back to discuss the role of social media censorship. Have you noticed social media is moving further and further away from you finding things out and closer and closer to having things brought to you? (12 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmUG_ZuIUzw
Media freedom doesn't look good in the UK either. They want to restrict websites you can visit.
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20306:British-Government-Wants-to-Crimin...
...and the British public generally distrusts the UK MSM (both with video and text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20324:Real-Media%3A-Media-%26-Mistrust
Owning “The Anarchist Cookbook” is illegal in the UK?
https://theintercept.com/2017/10/28/josh-walker-anarchist-cookbook-terro...
Like many websites that come and go newsanewtv.com quit working, but I found another site listing most English language (and other language) on line news sources. https://wwitv.com/news_tv_live/
I noticed they neglected the news site Telesur English - https://www.telesurtv.net/english
This weeks Intercepted podcast features Investigative journalist Jane Mayer who exposes the Koch-brother puppet masters behind Vice President Mike Pence’s rise to power, Chinese dissident and renowned artist Ai Weiwei, and Greg Saunier on the album “Mountain Moves,” and the power of creativity in the era of Trump. https://theintercept.com/2017/10/25/intercepted-podcast-mike-pence-is-th... (1 hour with text)
What Democracy?
So we just need to vote out all these profiteering war mongers and climate deniers...uh ho …
we don't have free and fair elections. Jimmy Dore and Greg Palast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag31EE32_XY (24 min)
Greg Palast: "I Grew Up With The Vegas Shooter"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peoIBSrZcTo (9 min)
How American Voters Can Start A Revolution NOW!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c49aGMb1AXI (18 min)
Well there's more news from around the world, but I think that's enough for this week. Yes, we face many challenges. I would argue like Zinn, we must have hope that we can create a better world. As I suggested last week, I think we improve the world with acts of kindness...to one another and the planet. I find stories like the Occupy Sandy effort near the top of this post or last week's story from Houston by Abby Martin - http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&I... - prove we, ordinary citizens, are capable of helping one another. The question I have - does it always take a catastrophe like a hurricane to motivate people to do so? If the answer is yes, then we are doomed by climate change because the effects are so slow. If human kindness isn't dependent on immediate catastrophe, then we have hope. Here's to hope!
I look forward to your thoughts and comments...
Comments
There's always more....
Here's another piece...Chris Hedges discusses the geopolitical consequences of climate change with Professor Christian Parenti, author of ""Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence". (26 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELqZe6Xqwzc
Have a good Sunday!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I am ashamed to say I've never read A People's History.
I will.
http://www.historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html
http://library.uniteddiversity.coop/More_Books_and_Reports/Howard_Zinn-A...
I must admit....
that I only read it a couple of years ago. Worth the read. Glad you found an on-line source. I bought my copy on-line...it is a used library book almost like new.
I noted on another thread you said you were learning more about H. A. Wallace. Stone's series "Untold history of the US" has good coverage. How different the world would be had he been VP instead of Truman at FDR's death. I don't think we would have created the cold war. http://www.untoldhistory.com/
The series is currently on netflix https://www.netflix.com/title/80127995
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/oliver-stones-untold-hist...
All the best!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
@Lookout No doubt. Truman was a
No doubt. Truman was a bastard and FDR never wanted him. Too sick and exhausted to play the political game to squash him in '44.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Truman also gifted us with the curse of the CIA
An unconstitutional ruling branch of government!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
@HenryAWallace Henry! So glad to "see"
Henry! So glad to "see" you.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I hope there is a collective hope that can peer around
the corner to pick exit routes from this train. You stated:"The fact that we are a reactive (rather than a proactive) species may well spell our extinction." We are not so different from ants. I think the leap to proactive means we are advancing as H sapiens. Else not so sapient.
Edited for a blank mind
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Our society isn't an ant hill...
...or is it?
From http://www.resilience.org/stories/2017-05-23/make-anthill-great-ant-colo...
Be healthy and take care of yourself RL!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
@Lookout That seems a bit
That seems a bit limited, that interpretation. Sexual competition, great; how about survival in a harsh environment where most things have bigger teeth than you?
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
for a more complete view of brain evolution...
http://psych.colorado.edu/~tito/sp03/7536/Dunbar_1998.pdf
Its a scientific article that's a bit heady, but supports your notion that many factors are involved in brain evolution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Miller_(psychologist)
Sexual selection is an evolutionary theory that comes right out of Darwin...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_selection_in_humans
Regardless of how our large brains evolved, it would be nice if we used them to think about creating a better world.
All the best!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
crux of the biscuit
You hit that nail squarely on the head!
Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel.
-- August Hare
@riverlover Those of us who are
Those of us who are proactive are being muzzled by those who aren't.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Hope springs eternal
Knowing this world can be better encourages resistance to the waves of woe. Thanks for the essay Lookout!
Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel.
-- August Hare
Wash the waves of woe away!
no need to fret...won't change a thing.
However, next Sunday, Nov. 5, there will be a change... when time itself will morph, falling back (and gaining) an hour.
The idea of DST was first introduced in 1784 by Benjamin Franklin.
In 1916, Germany and its allies were the first countries to use DST.
Out of 196 countries in the world only 70 countries observe DST.
Arizona (except some areas) and Hawaii, and, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and, Virgin Islands are the only States and Territories of United States that don't observe DST, respectively.
I really don't understand the rationale for DST.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time
https://longislandweekly.com/sun-setting-on-daylight-savings-rationale/
...the primary rationale for DST has always been to promote energy conservation. Nevertheless, there is surprisingly little evidence that DST actually saves energy.
http://www.nber.org/papers/w14429.pdf
A growing number of states are considering either dropping DST or making it year round.
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/11/daylight-saving-time-2016-wh...
I live on a time cusp, where you always have to ask, "fast time or slow time?" So, I can adapt. I just wish they would leave it one way or the other. My solution? I live Summer on central time and without changing my clock, live on eastern time during the winter.
No matter I hope everyone has a good time!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
My car clock waits with bated breath
It has been running on Standard Time and I apply math.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Good Sunday morning, Lookout ~~
Great roundup, as usual. I look forward to my Sunday mornings, which always increases my knowledge base. I am so very grateful to you for your diligence in bringing truth to us.
I'm especially interested in reviewing the pieces on the meat industry. I mostly stopped eating meat four years ago. I say mostly because I realize there are probably traces of meat in some things I eat in restaurants, where I have no control over food prep. I also gave myself permission to eat turkey at thanksgiving last year and suffered all night! Good to know my body had adjusted to not having to digest meat and had to work really hard at it. I do eat fish, but only 5-7 times a month. I eliminated dairy, back then, but do eat a bit from time to time, but want to cut it out completely. Dairy animals consume water-intensive foods, so I want to contribute to that as little as possible. My soap-box for the day.
Going to the mountain for a hike, later, should be a nice day for it.
Have a beautiful day, everyone!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
great time of year to get out and hike!
Enjoy your day out in the world! It is cool here (48 for a high) today, but back in the sixties tomorrow.
The way we raise our foods, meat, dairy, and crops, is so industrial...designed to maximize profit not health nor well being. That's one reason I'm such a proponent of growing your own. I understand many folks just don't have the situation where they can produce food, but in that case, I recommend visiting some local producers and finding growers that are farming sustainably and producing foods that are healthy.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Oops!
Edited to add Oops! to the subject line.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
The Dems and Repigs will keep punching left.
Because when push comes to shove, the centrist Dems always side with fascism. Hell, this goes double for so-called classical liberals.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
As I keep saying, "The corporate coup is complete".
The politicians have been bought lock stock and barrel, and the oligarchs not only own the politicians, but actually are the politicians (especially in the executive branch). I can't believe working within this corrupt system you can ever clean it. As Palast explains in his series of interviews, we can't vote our way out of this mess either.
I'm with John Prine and his Spanish Pipedream (3 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ6INAayEJI
She was a level-headed dancer on the road to alcohol
And I was just a soldier on my way to Montreal
Well she pressed her chest against me
About the time the juke box broke
Yeah, she gave me a peck on the back of the neck
And these are the words she spoke
Chorus:
Blow up your T.V. throw away your paper
Go to the country, build you a home
Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches
Try an find Jesus on your own
Well, I sat there at the table and I acted real naive
For I knew that topless lady had something up her sleeve
Well, she danced around the bar room and she did the hoochy-coo
Yeah she sang her song all night long, tellin' me what to do
Repeat chorus:
Well, I was young and hungry and about to leave that place
When just as I was leavin', well she looked me in the face
I said "You must know the answer."
"She said, "No but I'll give it a try."
And to this very day we've been livin' our way
And here is the reason why
We blew up our T.V. threw away our paper
Went to the country, built us a home
Had a lot of children, fed 'em on peaches
They all found Jesus on their own
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Yup. Trump's idiot supporters got played.
Most of them either don't realize it or don't care so long as they can see groups of people they don't like suffer under his policies.
Hillary's policies were identical to his, but his supporters see a woman and a Democrat and that's reason enough to whine about 'the left' even though the left doesn't exist in the United States.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
Mis-read that as corporate soup
John Prine had a lot of good ballads: Hello in there (about old folk loneliness), Sam Stone (returning Vietnam vet), and Jesus on the dashboard of my car are some of my favourites.
edited to over ride spell check
Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel.
-- August Hare
Nice piece, Lookout.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Thanks
I hope you find some interesting pieces to read or watch.
Have a good one!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Morning, Lookout, worth asking why not on
occasion and the Telsa project that powered a hospital in Pureto in three weeks time should promote more discussions in high places about going solar everywhere.
"A children's hospital in hurricane-battered Puerto Rico has had its power restored thanks to electric-carmaker Tesla.
The Hospital del Nino in San Juan, which has at least 35 critically ill patients, has been in dire need of electricity ever since the US territory's energy infrastructure was deciminated by Hurricane Maria last month.
"Hospital del Niño is first of many solar+storage projects going live. Grateful to support the recovery of Puerto Rico with Ricardo Rossello," said Tesla, which also sells batteries to consumers to combine with rooftop solar systems." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/10/27/elon-musks-tesla-delive...
Thanks for the work in sharing this week's Watch and have a good day down the spine of the Apps aways; snowing here.
Take care in the snow....
Wouldn't it be wise for PR to go all solar and wind now? If only we would look for opportunities to improve peoples lives instead of focusing on ever more profit for those who have too much already.
Thanks for dropping by!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I think this is a big F. U.
to the oil companies by Musk. They have conspired to keep oil prices low to kill the electric car, in addition to bankrupting Venezuela and Russia.
It would be great if he manages to run them out of P.R. forever. Set the stage worldwide.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Morning Lookout
$10 oil...Even at that price PV solar is now cheaper.
Africa wars... Here is then Senator Obama in the middle of nowhere in the Sahara. Where there is only sand, a military airbase, and ...oh...some 'insurgents'.(I like to bring up Abeche Chad)
Edit: PVC = PV
I want a Pony!
Don't you think it is past time for solar and wind?
I do. When I've been in the tropics, I'm always surprised at the lack of even easy to build solar hot water. For that matter, I'm surprised at the lack of clean water considering how easy a biosand filter is to make - http://www.instructables.com/id/Biosand-Filter/
So much we could do....
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
it's never too late
renewable energy is one of our only hope's to stem the tide, methinks...
Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel.
-- August Hare
Good morning.
If anyone hasn't yet seen the Shock Doctrine movie it's available now on YouTube: The Shock Doctrine (1 hr. 19 min.)
It's a pretty good summary of the history of Neoliberalism.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Thanks!
Naomi is a treasure. Glad her piece is out there for anyone to see!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I don't know if you posted this last week or not,
I was camping and offline for a few days, but with ACA Open Enrollment starting Wednesday Keiser Report 1139 is timely. Max and Stacy are on Obamacare but they make too much money to get a subsidy. They're paying over $20K a year for bullshit high-deductible "coverage". They could be driving a different Porsche every day for that.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
They've made so much money off of bitcoin...
They can afford it. He said the other day he bought in at $300...it's now about $6000
https://www.coindesk.com/price/
They chartered a private jet to avoid hurricane Irma. Max explained it was worth it because he had so much wealth from his bitcoin investments.
I'm still a proponent of medicare for all (including a wealthy Max Keiser).
Thanks for the link I haven't seen it yet!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
@Azazello Thanks! I will watch it
Thanks! I will watch it this afternoon.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
thanks for including the Alan Savory livestock talk
Watched a documentary years ago on his practice of using livestock to improve land. Began applying many of the practices and it jump started increasing the complexity of soil life. Found the cattle recover poor patches of land faster than the sheep. The sheep are better at weed control. Controlled rotation and mixed use is the most beneficial, with the donkeys and chickens in the mixture.
After the soil has improved with the livestock trees and shrubs have been self planting. Prior to to improves soil transplanted trees and shrubs were having a lower growth and survival rate.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Many see the ills of livestock production
because of our industrial confinement production. We forget grazing animals are essential to the grassland ecosystem. High density rotational grazing (ideally with different species as you describe) can help systems. Wishing you, your critters, and farm the best!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I read a book
a few years ago called Cows Can Save Us It's about how grazing animals can help aerate and enrich the soil. In doing so they help restore ruined and degraded soil. The buffalo did this for our grasslands. We thought we learned the lesson of soil destruction with our dustbowl incident in the 20's and 30's. Apparently we have to learn that lesson again. I wonder how many chances we get.
A publication which stuck with me...
is "Conquest of the Land for 7000 years"...I've had a copy since the late 60's...and now I just found it on-line for your enjoyment...
http://epsc413.wustl.edu/Lowdermilk_Conquest_USDA.pdf
“Conquest of the Land through 7,000 Years” is Dr. Walter Clay Lowdermilk’s personal report of a study he made in 1938 and 1939. Despite changes in names of countries, in political boundaries, and in conservation technology, the bulletin still has significance for all people concerned with maintaining and improving farm production
Another interesting book along those lines is ...Farmers of Forty Centuries
https://permaculturenews.org/files/farmers_of_forty_centuries.pdf
Sorry this on line version doesn't have all the cool pictures.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Wow
amazing links, thank you. I will check them out.
alternate for link for farmers of 40 centuries
this link has a copy of farmers of 40 centuries with pictures. https://archive.org/details/farmersoffortyce01king
has inspired multiple ideas on things to try
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Arctic sea ice
Arctic sea ice may be thinning faster than scientists initially predicted
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
with a corresponding increase in methane release
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:19646:How-Much-Will-Methane-From-Thawing...
So as we warm there is more methane released which adds to the warming...ad infinitum
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Great eassay, thanks!
Here's hoping Confess will act!
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Hey
Glad you dropped by. Your spell checker corrected (or was a mistype) congress to confess. Reminds me of this verse...
All them politicians just doing as they please
they better hope that there is time to get down on their knees
cause the devils in the backroom, the devils in the hall
the devils up in Washington just havin' himself a ball
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I'm not suggesting
that you need to add anything to your fantastic list of information. But....I just so happen to be reading a book on healthcare. I'm finding it horrifying and have not been able to put it down. It's called Crooked; outwitting the back pain industry and getting on the road to recovery by Cathryn Jakobson Ramin. Chapter 8 covers opioids.
Here's a snippet from the book where the author interviewed a doctor named Kolodny who explained that ...."physicians who overprescribed to patients with non-cancer chronic pain were largely responsible for having created the epidemic of addiction, not only to prescribed opioids but also to heroin.
Ramin goes on to state that in 2010, enough painkiller prescriptions were written and filled to medicate every American adult around the clock for a month.
Lee Camp has a piece on this worth watching.
@randtntx Lee Camp opioid
Lee Camp opioid link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86kZ1E9yFP4
Thanks for the link
I haven't seen Lee's piece, but I found this to be an interesting interview with Christopher Glazek, author of an investigation by Esquire magazine that reveals how the secretive Sackler family, owners of the company that invented OxyContin, downplayed the risks of addiction and exploited doctors’ confusion over the drug’s strength. (with text or video)
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/10/19/who_profits_from_the_opioid_crisis
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
@Lookout That's a good piece
That's a good piece on 'Democracy Now'. I'll read the Esquire piece as well. Thanks for the links.
There seems to be a Forbes article on the Sackler family as well
It’s behind the Forbes magazine paywall, but Zero Hedge had a summary of it here:
Oxycontin Nation: Meet the billionaire family who helped spark America’s opioid crisis
Thanks for the essay and comments . . .
Lots of food for thought!
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
That because...
you're a thoughtful person. Hope you find some good ideas!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”