The Weekly Watch
Seeing the Trees and the Forest
Corporate media are expert at focusing attention on individual trees or items of their choice and ignoring the forests. Climate chaos is a good example. Lots of weather reports, but no focus on the real existential crisis because the fossil fuel corporations and the MIC is in bed with and funds the MSM. All the wars are another excellent example of the nature of the media's effective propaganda. How is it Americans can consider Assad and Maduro so bad, but not the Saudis who beheaded 37 dissidents in April with nary a whisper on US news. The idea that Iran is the world's biggest terrorist ignores the global role of the US. America is the primary terrorist nation provoking war and violence. Or what about the weekly murder of Palestinians protesting their open air prison? Israelis shot a child in the head last week. Another effective media technique is to ignore positive beneficial moves like Medicare for all as benefiting everyone. Rather their focus is "you will lose your private coverage and your taxes will go up!" We are being scammed by these corporate tools driving us ever closer to extinction for more profit. It is a sickness, and I don't see a way out.
Reforestation could be one of the real solutions to our dilemma. Of course you first have to admit we are in a dilemma and say it several times during each news broadcast until the sheeple finally understand. A new recent study confirms that reforestation is the most powerful tool we have to combat climate collapse.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/massive-forest-restoration-co...
Now the data finally exist to show that if the right species of trees are planted in the right soil types across the planet, the emerging forests could capture 205 gigatons of carbon dioxide in the next 40 to 100 years. That's two thirds of all the CO2 humans have generated since the industrial revolution. "Forest restoration is by far our most powerful planetary solution today," says Tom Crowther, a professor of global ecosystem ecology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, and an author of a study published Thursday in Science that generated the eye-opening number.
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-best-technology-fo...
Forests’ power to store carbon dioxide through the simple process of tree growth is staggering: one tree can store an average of about 48 pounds of carbon dioxide in one year. Recent research shows intact forests are capable of storing the equivalent of the carbon dioxide emissions of entire countries such as Peru and Colombia.
However, it is deforestation that is occurring. The policies of Brazil’s right-wing President, Jair Bolsonaro, is placing the Amazon Rainforest under extreme threat once again. For a while, from 2004 to 2016, the Amazon’s destruction had been slowed and even partially halted. However, ever since Bolsonaro has taken over as president, the rainforest destruction has been accelerating again at a frightening pace.
If another 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest is destroyed, it could start a vicious cycle of self-destruction, unleashing enormous amounts of CO2 and massively impacting regional and global climate, says Alexander Zaitchik
https://therealnews.com/stories/amazon-in-danger-of-total-destruction-un...
Glenn Greenwald discusses the corruption and revelations of how Lula was imprisoned and Bolsonaro was elected. (video or text)
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/7/9/glenn_greenwald_sergio_moro_corrup...
There is no silver climate bullet, but step one should be "Leave it in the Ground"! When you realize you're in a hole, stop digging. Both George Monbiot and Bill McKibben have advocated for leaving the fuel in the ground for years. Corporate hunger for profit creates the fundamental barrier to dealing with our great crisis.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-biggest-climate-challenge...
Think we must have gas for transportation? We just need to change our thinking. Look at what's happening in the Netherlands. Utrecht has decided to reduce the number of cars in the city's center. How? Eliminating roadways, reaching nearly 33K bike parking spots downtown, making transition to get to the train easier and safer for people bicycling in their new bike parking facility and hosts of other ways. See it all here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boi0XEm9-4E (13 min)
We could and should replace fossil fuels with renewable energy.
Solar energy is now cheaper than traditional fossil fuels. Solar and wind is now either the same price or cheaper than new fossil fuel capacity in more than 30 countries, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum. The influential foundation has described the change as a "tipping point" that could make fighting climate change into a profitable form of business for energy companies.
https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/solar-and-wind-power-cheaper-t...
Los Angeles Power and Water officials have struck a deal on the largest and cheapest solar + battery-storage project in the world, at prices that leave fossil fuels in the dust and may relegate nuclear power to the dustbin. Later this month the LA Board of Water and Power Commissioners is expected to approve a 25-year contract that will serve 7 percent of the city's electricity demand at 1.997¢/kwh for solar energy and 1.3¢ for power from batteries.
"This is the lowest solar-photovoltaic price in the United States," said James Barner, the agency's manager for strategic initiatives, "and it is the largest and lowest-cost solar and high-capacity battery-storage project in the U.S. and we believe in the world today. So this is, I believe, truly revolutionary in the industry."
It's half the estimated cost of power from a new natural gas plant.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2019/07/01/new-solar--battery-p...
Looking ahead, the biggest challenge facing the movement remains the strength of the opposition. With unlimited cash, it has managed to dominate politics, especially in the US. The Koch Brothers are two of the biggest political donors, as well as the biggest oil and gas barons and biggest leaseholders in the tar sands. Give them, and the larger industry, credit: they have managed to make US the only country on earth not taking part in the Paris Agreement, abandoning the international coordination of emission reductions. They even got the US to backtrack on something as obvious and simple as automobile fuel efficiency standards.
https://www.resilience.org/stories/2019-07-02/what-is-the-climate-moveme...
The rich and powerful, like the Koch brothers, use the media to mislead and ill inform.
https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/opinion/2019/06/16/mindful-whats-motiva...
However, XR and the Friday school strikes (2 min) in Europe (along with the second hot summer in the EU) are having an effect. Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne says he intends to promote the EU's global leadership on climate change as he takes over the 6-month EU council presidency. He appears to be serious about responding to the demands of Europe's young people, who've been calling for action in Fridays for Future demonstrations. (no text, 3 min video)
https://therealnews.com/third_party_content/climate-to-top-agenda-under-...
Starting Monday 15 July, we rise up across the UK in an organic, decentralised and coordinated action with one main message: ACT NOW! (7 min)
They claim we have a capitalist system, a free market, but it is rigged by the banks, fossil fuel corporations and the MIC. Otherwise the move to alternate energy would be proceeding at a rapid rate. It isn't about economics it is about maintaining corporate profits. Sadly oil is the driving force not only of our climate disaster and environmental devestation, but also war.
It’s always the oil. While President Trump was hobnobbing with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G-20 summit in Japan, brushing off a recent U.N. report about the prince’s role in the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Asia and the Middle East, pleading with foreign leaders to support “Sentinel.” The aim of that administration plan: to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. Both Trump and Pompeo insisted that their efforts were driven by concern over Iranian misbehavior in the region and the need to ensure the safety of maritime commerce. Neither, however, mentioned one inconvenient three-letter word — O-I-L — that lay behind their Iranian maneuvering (as it has impelled every other American incursion in the Middle East since World War II).
https://lobelog.com/the-missing-three-letter-word-in-the-iran-crisis/
They don't even try to hide their greed for others oil...
Earlier this year, in an interview on Fox Business, Trump’s hyper-militaristic National Security Adviser John Bolton admitted the US-led coup in Venezuela is motivated by oil and corporate interests. (video or text)
https://thegrayzone.com/2019/01/29/us-coup-venezuela-oil-corporate-john-...
Former lawyer for the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, Alfred de Zayas, says that High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet’s report on human rights in Venezuela mostly ignores the severity and responsibility of US sanctions against Venezuela
He says says the UN Human Rights Council’s report on Venezuela left out essential aspects in its otherwise damning report on Venezuela because the council has increasingly fallen under the sway of the demands of the US government. (video or text)
https://therealnews.com/series/de-zayas-un-human-rights-councils-report-...
US led coups in Central and South America are our normal approach of dealing with our neighbors. Last week I featured an interview with Ousted Honduran President Zelaya. This week Paul Oquist Kelley discusses the Sandinista Revolution, 40 years on, the history of the Nicaraguan fight against US imperialism, accusations of human rights abuses under Daniel Ortega after the failed coup attempt last year. (11 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTfB_exTbYI
US Gov. Meddling Machine Boasts of ‘Laying the Groundwork for Insurrection’ in Nicaragua
https://thegrayzone.com/2018/06/19/ned-nicaragua-protests-us-government/
Ironically it is the Climate Crisis that Is Pushing Central Americans Out of Their Homes Toward the U.S. (video or text)
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/7/10/john_carlos_frey_immigration_us_m...
Finally some good news about Yemen...
Two important developments with regard to the war in Yemen happened on Thursday and on Friday. First, the United Arab Emirates, which is a crucial coalition partner with Saudi Arabia in this war, announced that it is withdrawing almost all of its ground forces from Yemen. Then, on Thursday and on Friday, the US House of Representatives passed several important amendments that will affect US military involvement in the Middle East.
https://therealnews.com/stories/house-passes-bill-to-halt-us-support-for...
It is rare to see journalists discuss the horrors of war. Chris Hedges looks back at the role his family members played in Gettysburg
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/war-memory-and-gettysburg/
The Propaganda machines are running at high speed....
Despite the profound journalistic importance of the work Assange and whistleblower Chelsea Manning have done, the two have been smeared, persecuted and imprisoned in an effort to “shoot the messenger,” which effectively distracts from their revelations and works to undermine their credibility.
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-media-is-complicit-in-julian-assan...
YouTube Now Crushing Independent News, Pushing Corporate News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geCSPVzuLJk (17 min)
If you wonder why Americans are so misinformed, just look at what passes for news...
Lee camp looks at CNN's web page to examine the fluff they peddle as news (1st 15 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5iCMDe-5QE
The last half of his show is an interesting interview with Daniel Haiphong of Black Agenda Report
If you've never seen Noam's interview with the BBC and the way he schools their reporter on how his consent was manufactured, it is a real treat. (30 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suFzznCHjko
Propaganda is pervasive. This 1.2 hour documentary draws attention to the techniques of advertising and more...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfo5gPG72KM
If we want to see the trees and the forests, we need to promote massive reforestation and be selective when we harvest trees rather than clear cutting and causing massive deforestation. Corporate media does a great job distracting people and selling them products like drugs, insurance, and war. This week the news has focused on Epstein...nothing distracts better than sex. Then there's sports news as Lee Camp described. Politics is another good way to distract folks with stories like the kerfuffle between AOC and Pelosi (4 min). The other big story was Hurricane Barry...but without placing the storm in the context of climate collapse. Even educated people don't understand how evil the global corporate oligarchs have become. I began this essay saying I don't see a way forward to educate the public as long as corporate media controls the narrative. That's one reason I'm grateful to this community, and your attention to the stories the MSM just don't cover, or do so in a misleading way. Let's keep looking at global events and seeing those actions in the context of the global corporate oligarchy. Let's keep looking at trees and seeing them as important members of the forest ecosystem.
Comments
Two of my faves...
Chris Hedges discusses with George Galloway, former UK Member of Parliament, the state of politics in the UK and USA, racism and Islamophobia and antisemitism. (28 min)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQbFeBGNImc]
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I'd love to have a job planting trees.
At least I'd be doing something useful instead of languishing in a classroom for 3 more years just for a prayer of a chance at a temporary, precarious, shit job for a shittier wage and no benefits whatsoever.
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.
There used to be a planting coop out west...
Called the hoedads http://www.hoedadsonline.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoedads_Reforestation_Cooperative
Too bad that isn't an option. Did you ever explore the water management district in your area?
All the best!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
One of my internships involved mapping out
infrastructure for my local Natural Resources office digitally. It was interesting seeing some of the watershed data collected over the years. I have to wonder what they're up to now since that ended.
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.
My buddy was the computer tech ...
...for the Suwanee River district. They were modeling ground water and surface flows in various scenarios when he worked for them. I'm unsure what they have going now other than protecting their respective watershed. FL is unusual in having these governmental districts. AL certainly doesn't. Like the US EPA they have stripped the state environmental monitors and regulators down to an ineffective work force.
I hope you can find a rewarding job of some sort. Wishing you the best!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
CCC camps
My dad joined the CCC and planted trees in the forests of northern Michigan somewhere back in the 30s. The lived in a tent and bathed in a river.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
...with nary a whisper on US news
There's your answer. The propaganda machine called the "news" network. Controlled by a handful of ultra-rich individuals they slant the news so that the viewers are mad about what they are mad about and ignore the things that they want to ignore.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Prezactly
That's the nature of media today....maybe always? How can we possibly progress when people don't have an idea about their situation? Perhaps the young folks are awakening.
Glad you "came" by.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Elect Dems—fight to bring back Obama’s climate policy! (Really?)
Global heating? Obama: “That was me, people.”
https://thegrayzone.com/2018/11/30/obama-wall-street-thanks-gala-james-b...
ain't that the truth
Obummer and the Clinton Crime syndicate were tools of the corporate oligarchs as much as the rethugs. Not to mention their promotion of coups and wars for oil.
Hope the heat is abating in your corner of the world. NCTim suggested it was better this week on his tour of Austria and N. Italy.
Have a nice afternoon!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I hope you don't mind if I drop this here.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
I'm glad you did
The CCC needs to be brought back. To plant trees, create infrastructure, teach children, aid the elderly and so much more. That's one reason I dislike UBI...we have too many things we need to do. I like Bernie's guaranteed jobs with a living wage program.
The CCC built our local parks. They quarried the stone, cut the trees and built the buildings, roads, bridges, wall, and more.
https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/civilian-conservation-corps
How did your trip to Italy go? Hope you had a great time!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Here's more on NOLA for you
Yep Al Roker aint a weatherman.
I also posted this in Outside the Asylum
https://www.bayoubrief.com/2019/07/12/national-news-coverage-of-tropical...
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
looks like it wasn't as bad as they predicted
Still it looks like they got 15+ inches of rain.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
bummed, cancelled trip...
neighbor in the middle of an easement dispute involving our property up north. Not sure how far it will splash, how it will go, or how much it will cost so I decided to not go. Maybe next year.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
So sorry...
...next year maybe?
We want to visit Italy as well. We have a friend in central Italy we would like to visit some day.
All the best.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
On TV, I saw a piece about the tourism industry's negative
impact on so many places. I read that Greece literally closed one of its ports to cruise ships. Not sure if it open now. Well anyway, this one was on Venice. OMG, after watching it is no place I want to be. It looks full of people, little canals with HUGE ships, litter everywhere. So I think I'm going to rethink Venice when I go. We have friends in San Marino. My mom's family is from the Isle of Ischia off Naples. My dad's family is from Zagarise down in Calabria.
When my neighbors quite fighting, neither appears willing to compromise a bit, I will be free to resume planning and living my life.
Look at the size of this ship compared to the size of the canal. Looks anything but quaint and old world.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
When we were in N. Italy last summer
traveling from Tirano (in Italy) to Lugano (in Switzerland) we passed lake Como. It was beautiful. Lugano was also killer pretty. However, I would recommend visiting your family. Fly in wherever is cheapest and take trains to where your family is located. You will love it. Wishing you great travels...we hope to visit Italy someday.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning ...
Michael Hudson on The Keiser Report, best thing I saw all week:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_XtIPoBHx8 width:500 height:300]
Those with TV may want to catch Bisbee'17 on PBS' POV Monday night.
C99ers appear as extras in the film.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
the Hudson interview was great...
Thanks for posting the link.
Here's the two min trailer to Bisbee
http://www.pbs.org/pov/bisbee17/video-bisbee17-trailer/
Radically combining documentary and scripted elements, Bisbee '17 follows several members of the close-knit community in Bisbee, Arizona, a former mining town, as they commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Bisbee Deportation, when 1,200 immigrant miners were violently taken from their homes by a deputized force, shipped to the desert on cattle cars and left to die.
Thanks for the heads up!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Holy hell! What horror!
The video under the trailer left me with my mouth hanging open.
One brother deputized and then putting his own brother on a train to never see him again, all because the banished brother, along with the rest of the unwanteds, wanted better pay and safer conditions in the mine. The lady, a freaking descendant of "Uncle Archie", thinks it was a good thing because socialism and communism. 100 years ago.
Man, I hope this comes in on my Houston PBS station! I used to get PBS on my roku. Will check there too.
Hey, Azazello, which extra is you? Being on a film set is pretty cool, huh? Can be hot and miserable too, but comradery and the food was at least good on the set I was on once.
It will air on the PBS world channel
https://worldchannel.org/
My guess is it is Bisbonian who is the extra, as he lives in Bisbee.
Hope you avoided the worst of the rain from Barry! I wish we could get a little more.
Take care.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Bisbonian and I are the C99ers in the film.
He emailed me saying, "They're doing a movie about the deportation and looking for extras" so I went down to Bisbee to participate. I was cast as a deputy, with white armband, Bisbonian was a striker. We can be seen near the end of the film as I escort the miscreant to the cattle car, prodding him with a prop Winchester carbine.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
I'll look for you two
Glad you mentioned your roles.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
If you blink you'll miss us.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
That's my usual experience ....
When I appear in a film. I've never had Buck Owens experience...
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOpgL4mqEis]
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I can't speak to the documentary, but as to the
historical event, clearly, if those miners had wanted to be treated like human beings they should have just stayed home, rather than emigrating to America. Amirite?
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
I think that part of America...
....used to belong to them...not even to mention the first nation folks which were truly screwed. Doncha think?
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I dunno, I didn't watch the trailer.
For all I know, they were Lithuanian immigrants.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
I haven't either...
...and guess I was assuming they were Hispanic...but could have been Asian for all I know.
The indigenous folks in my part of the world were given small pox when DeSoto left an infected slave in the area. When De Luna visited here 15 years later the people were already decimated. That was almost 500 years ago.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Columbus’ voyages started a land rush by the
European nations. The Vikings had given up on Vineland by that time, but Spain, France and England got busy overrunning the lands of the native tribes. And as you say, they were able to clear away those people by carrying disease against which there was no resistance.
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
afternoon lo
and everyone. Thanks for the news, particularly on the Climate Crisis.
Getting mighty tired of the dominant narrative. They (Pegrossie and the Orange-OneNeuron) are blooding the hounds. Upping the madcowness narritive, spewing more and more blood. Furthering Unexamined Collective Knowledge To Help Initiate Strategic Shifts in Hierarchical Institutional Tyranny
And right here in river city there is already saltwater intrusion and black mold in beach flats. It is owned by the seagate corp. They also own the boardwalk next door. Who ya gonna call? People there are using sump pumps. Meeting in a week with folks to gather information. Then what?
Witnessing chaos. Affirming life. Yin yang. Breathe. Wide small. Decouple.
Rhythm gotta happen. Have a good one...
Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation
Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook
my thought is move to higher ground...
really I ain't jokin'. Sell while you can and move up hill. Talked with a young fellow last weekend from Miami...and advised him the same way. He agreed and is heading uphill.
https://www.businessinsider.com/miami-floods-sea-level-rise-solutions-20...
Wee gotta put the lights on highbeam and look ahead. As you know the scenario ain't so great.
Have a good one while you can!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Having been keenly attuned to the climate change problem
since 1985, I'm always a bit taken aback when I run into really smart, really well-educated sciencey people who just don't have a clue. I have a colleague, who came here from a very hot part of another country. He and his wife like to take their kids down to Key West (a two-day drive from here). He told me they would like to buy a vacation home down there, and then when they retire they can spend the whole winter there. I think he's in his mid-30s. I don't understand how he can fail to understand that there is a really, really, really good possibility that Key West will be practically uninhabitable by the time he retires.
It seems to me that for many scientists in other fields, ACC is just a sort of background buzz, to which they pay little attention, because it doesn't happen to be their own field of inquiry.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
denial is common
Sadly we will all face the results our collective neglect. A few weeks ago I wrote something to the effect of: we no longer believe in the constitution or national law. We no longer abide by international law. We don't even believe in scientific law. Everything is construed to fake news.
I plan to enjoy what I can while I can, and hope you are able to do the same.
All the best (to us all).
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
am
And intend to have a good time as possible. Heh.
Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation
Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook