@divineorder

Maybe the new mayor can halt the new nationalized tar sands pipeline. Trudeau reminds me of Obama...and so does Macron - all say one thing and do another.

A liitle goid news to share:

Yesterday #Vancouver elected a mayor who was arrested opposing a tar sands pipeline, an unprecedented # of Green councillors + other progressives. Climate chaos + housing justice were the key motivators. Proof that when other levels of gov fail, cities can still lead. Congrats!

— Naomi Klein (@NaomiAKlein) October 21, 2018

Meanwhile, back here in teh States:

"Excited to see how the Democratic Party's innovative "Change absolutely nothing, say Putin a lot' midterm strategy pans out."

Caitlin Johnstone on FB this morning.

Have a great day all. jb and I are off to get in some exercise kayaking on Cochiti Reservoir today while the weather is good.

@mimi

That was an interesting interview. I enjoy Larry's insight into things. I wonder how much he understood when he was in the middle of the Iraq WMD crap. Nice to hear a reformed warrior. We need a department of Peace!

All the best!

interview video, when I saw you posted it here. Definitely worth listening to it twice.
Thanks for your service to we the people... (much nicer service as that one that gets normally been thanked for with those words).
Here I link it again just to be sure people watch it.
[video:https://youtu.be/RBW_0wyuzyo]

@mimi

They passed a law in Switzerland to easy gun sales, but the people voted it down with a referendum. Too bad that can't happen in the US.

[video:https://youtu.be/y6NCZS-lNwI]

Auf Deutsch gesagt: Altmeier's Kabuki Theater

@magiamma

The civil rights struggle I experienced as a child in Alabama

The Labor Movement with Debs running for president from prison

The suffragette movement with women being force fed in prison

The struggle against slavery...

and on and on. People have faced severe challenges in the past. The climate struggle is different in that the very survival of the species is at risk. As you well know we are in the midst of a great extinction. On an individual level death is a certainty. I'm at peace with that outcome of life. Our extinction as a species on Earth is certain no matter what...our star will evolve into a red giant once the hydrogen is used up. In the same way I'm at peace with my own death, I accept our eventual extinction. Now what I find sad is that we are likely to be our own executioner...shit in our own nest. So I do what I've done most of my life...we are creatures of habit you know...and that is to educate. I spit in the ocean. Movements are made up of individuals.

I liked Chris' comment about Ralph-
The corporate state will be overthrown by a citizens’ revolt or we will continue to barrel toward a political and ecological nightmare. Nader dares to dream. We should too.

is excellent. McKenna rose from extremely poor roots to become one of the biggest power brokers in Canada. And, imho, Trudeau is a complete sell out. I had that feeling almost from the day he was elected. 'He' bought (the Canadian government) the pipe line that is planned to go through BC. It has been stopped by the courts, but I will not be surprised if 'they', with Mckenna's help, figure out a way to push it through. Disappointed to my bones, but not surprised.

So, how do you keep on keeping on? I find it increasingly difficult. I appreciate the work that you and others do to expose the ongoing disintegration. And also find the distraction of art and music helpful. Digging deeper and deeper into the morass of insatiable greed is extremely unbalancing. (But, must not put head back in sand, must keep on! Thanks for the ot and thanks for keeping the global warming embers burning. Have a good one...

@Wink

Right out of her interview with Jimmy. And you're both correct.

No need for bonds...no need for the fed either. We pay banks to issue our money when we could just issue it ourselves.

The more you examine money the weirder it becomes...all illusion...based on perceived value.

The way we value work is odd too. Seems the harder the job (more physically demanding) the lower the pay.

Isn't it interesting how debt becomes the issue when public services are discussed?

could easily disappear if 'we' quit selling them.
For some reason Congress still thinks we're on the Gold Standard and therefore need to "borrow" (sell t-bonds) against "debt" accrued by not collecting enough Tax dollars to cover expenses. So, instead of simply raising taxes to cover that "debt" (never a good idea for a politician to propose), Congress simply "borrows" the money to cover that Tax dollar shortfall by selling T-bonds (and then later paying them back with interest). So... it's free money for those rich enough to buy them. Except, of course, the money to pay them back comes from out Tax dollars Congress collects. So, a win for t-bond buyers, a loss for U.S. taxpayers who already can barely pay for the "Budget," let alone "interest on the debt" (those t-bonds). What to do??
Well, first of all stop selling those stupid loser t-bonds. Japan doesn't bother with such nonsense.
There is zero need to "borrow" money from anyone, least of all China and Saudi Arabia.
If Congress spends $100 but only collects $80 to "pay for" what it spends, why do 'we' need to "borrow" the $20 that Congress "lacks" (by selling t-bonds) to pay the $20 difference (shortfall)?? It's ridiculous! Some would say criminal. Why not simply raise taxes another 6%, 7%, and pay that $20 "debt" off like the rest of us do - over the next 4 or 5 years?? No "borrowing" (t-bond sales) required! Or, fuck it, even better, just disregard the $20 "debt" (shortfall) entirely?? Simply "write it off" and add it to our $21 Trillion (and growing) "National Debt." Why not?? Japan does. Simply ignores it, that is. Becuz Japan has discovered that their "National Debt" (at 200% of their GDP - double the size of their total GDP) hasn't caused inflation or any other negative "concerns" affecting their Economy. So... what's the big deal?? Just add that $20 to our $21 Trillion "National Debt" pile, and continue to spend! Like a drunken sailor! Becuz Japan tells us "National Debt" and "Budget Deficits" (that $20 shortfall) don't matter. A twit. So... instead of selling t-bonds to entities that don't need the free money (interest on those t-bonds) (at tax payers expense) to "cover the Budget Deficit" ($20), let's not instead. Let's quit selling those bastids - and save taxpayers the money (to cover interest payments on those t-bonds). And just let that $800 Billion (soon to be a $Trillion) "Budget Deficit" ride, instead. Maybe raise taxes 4% or 5% across the board to reduce it over time. Becuz, realistically, that soon-to-be $Trillion "budget deficit" could Easily be paid off by Billionaires alone over 5 or 6 years. Without breaking a sweat. So, why are the Repubs breaking a sweat over that "deficit??" The ONLY reason I can think of is becuz they want their cake and eat it too. They want their big $2 Trillion Tax Cut next year - and they want the 99% to pay for it. Becuz that $2 Trillion that taxpayers don't have is simply going to be added to the "budget deficit." And, for gawd's sake We Must reduce our "deficit" to Balance the Budget! And, if we do that - attempt to balance the budget - there Will Not be any money "in the budget" for Med4All or any of those Librul BernieBro programs the Libruls keep whining about. None. Not a dime. Fancy Nancy: "we'd LOVE to do it, but there's no money... " So... we stop playing the nonsense game that 'we' somehow need to "borrow money" (sell t-bonds) to cover the $20 "budget deficit" and 'we' suddenly have money to "pay for" Med4All, affordable college, expanded S.S. and all of those goodies on Bernie's wish list! Funny how that works! But, nope! We don't have the money. We Must pay off our "budget deficit" and pay down our "National Debt!" No money for pie-in-the-sky Librul programs. Becuz we gave it all away to our Oligarch overlords. And China. And Saudi Arabia. And... everyone but you dirty hippie bastids. And you ain't gettin' none!
The "Deficit" is harmless, doesn't mean a thing. We do Not need to "borrow money" (sell t-bonds) to cover it. Nor do we need to worry our pretty little heads about our $21 Trillion "National Debt" (all of those $20 "budget deficits" {shortfalls} since 1776). Funny, we never worried about our "National Debt" until O'bummer was elected. hmmm... Nearly 250 years of "national debt," yet nobody much squocked about it until O'bummer occupied the White House. Funny that. And we wouldn't hear a word about the "budget deficit," neither, except Repubs are using it as an excuse to cut S.S. and Medicare. We wouldn't otherwise hear a word about it, becuz a Repub is president. But they want their two-fer. They want their $2 Trillion tax cut for Millionaires - And they want to rub it in the faces of the 99% by having us "pay for it" by cutting our S.S. and Medicare. And, the 99% have to pay for their $2 Trillion tax cut for Millionaires, becuz of the "budget deficit" that their $2 Trillion tax cut for Millionaires creates. That is some damn fine politicking right there! Some damn fine Financial fancy footwork! Enhance the bank accounts of Millionaires while sticking it right up the asses of the 99% at the same time! Two birds with two stones. Brilliant! And if elected Dims fall for that bull$h!t, well, maybe we elected the wrong Dims. Or maybe it doesn't matter who we elect until they know and practice their MMT. Becuz until more like AO-C (who knows her MMT) are elected, we will continue to take it up the ass. "Deficits" don't matter.

@Azazello

...a sucker is born everyday. Ain't it easy to run down the rabbit hole best suited to our prejudice...be it political, scientific, or whatever? Fake news indeed.

Thanks for the links.

The Milgram experiments are of interest to students of human nature too. I enjoyed the movie about him, Experimenter.

Thanks for dropping by!

So, back in the day I always thought post-modernism was a crock of, well, less than academically rigorous, put it that way. At that time a guy named Alan Sokal was something of a hero to me because of the so-called Sokal affair. He managed to get a nonsense paper published in a post-modernist journal. Now, a group of people have done it again and not just one paper in one journal. In what is being called "Sokal squared" they've managed to get several nonsense papers published. Here's a piece about it from the Chronicle of Higher Education: ‘Sokal Squared’: Is Huge Publishing Hoax ‘Hilarious and Delightful’ or an Ugly Example of Dishonesty and Bad Faith?, and here's an interview with one of the participants from WSWS: A discussion with Helen Pluckrose, co-author of “Grievance Studies” hoax article. Interesting, no ?