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It has been just over a year that the WHO declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
One year later, the total number of cases has passed 100 million. The total number of deaths has reached 2,225,000. The daily death toll is the highest it has ever been, with more than 14,000 people succumbing to the virus every day.
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Climate change is taking a greater and greater toll. Methane emissions are rising.
A 30-year high in East African rainfall during 2018 and 2019 resulted in rising water levels and widespread flooding. The new study shows that emissions of methane—the second most important greenhouse gas—from flooded East African wetlands were substantially larger following these extreme rainfall events.
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The ocean is rising at a greater rate than previously thought.
However, some studies conclude that considerably greater sea level rise could be realized, and a number of experts assign a substantially higher likelihood of such a future.
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I don’t know. Did I say that already? I don’t know. We are here until we are not. We want hope. But The climate is in crisis, the pandemic is exploding, and more and more people have no way to go but down.
The game is fixed. We keep saying the same things in different ways. Love is really all you’ve got. But the reality is that it’s not enough and it’s not going to be enough. And the bullshit needs to stop. Now. And it won’t. And I have seen this cycle so many times. But not with the certainty that so many will lose.
I walk a dark narrow passageway, two walls close, closing in. What to do? Revolution? Resignation? Anger. Defeat. Anyone with two eyes can see, even one eye, no eyes. I see the world being raped.
The charade is a distraction. I don’t give a fuck who is impeached, censured, denounced, removed, or condemed. It’s just more drama to jack our adrenaline around. God fucking forbid that we could be calm, focused and functional. No. The ptb, msm, military industrial complex, prison industrial complex, world-wide web of corporate industrialists, etc. are nothing more than puppeteers pulling strings of distraction. So yeah, love one another but keep your eyes wide open. I am not sure that I can keep this up every week good people. It is just too much.
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It's your open thread, now...
Comments
How We Grow Food
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Could Determine Whether 28,000 Species Can Survive
https://www.ecowatch.com/global-food-system-species-decline-2650280862.h...
Sea level rise could be worse than feared, warn researchers
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/sea-level-rise-could...
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The three faces of the New York Times (RIP)
Apologies if you run into paywall problems; I did too, a bit:
The Ugly: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/technology/biden-reality-crisis-misin...
The Bad: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/magazine/classics-greece-rome-whitene...
Who says the Hellenes even WERE "White"? I am sick and tired of the entire world being retroactively redefined under the cult of projectionist-racism. SOBs are EVERYTHING they claim to oppose.
The Good!: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/31/opinion/change-someones-mind.html
This actually sounds promising to me.
Aand a bonus link for convenience: https://motivationalinterviewing.org/
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
morning lm
Thanks for all the links. Good suggestions in the Biden piece and the one on changing someone's mind. And no, everyone wasn't white. Heh. Take good care.
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I must disagree a little, I still give a fuck
I am feeling that holding politicians responsible for their prior actions and words is imperative to begin moving the country in new directions. If the Rump and his enablers are allowed to skate on these things they will continue to work towards turning the US into a full blown fascist theocracy for personal benefit. I really don't want that!
When people like Satcy Abrams can get voters in GA to elect two non-republican senators and a president if proves that positive change is possible. I realize that the Kabuki show continues in DC. however tainted it may be we won't get anything done without the power of government policies and laws.
About sea level rise, In the 1990's (30 years ago) I was working on a concert tour providing the sound system. When we played at "Jones Beach" in NYC there was a rain storm. We had to put large blocks of lumber "cribbing" under the sub woofer speaker stacks on the ground to keep them out of the high tide ocean water invading that place. Sooner rather than later these types of issues will force action on global warming. If it comes too late and we have passed the tipping point there will be great pain for the non-rich. The PTB aka rich people don't care about it at all. There needs to be a change in leadership away from self serving rich people. (see paragraph above)
The trouble I see is that most of the self-serving rich people
were either never on Trump’s side at all, or switched to tearing him down long ago.
The Democrats are the preferred party of self-serving rich people now — just look at who Wall Street, the Hamptons, Hollywood, Martha’s Vineyard, and Silicon Valley supported in 2020 and are signalling their continued future support for, going forward. It’s wall-to-wall woke-o-crats, all the way.
actually you are right jbob
I think my main complaint is the amount of press and message crafting they put into their endless dialogue. The kabuki show as you say. Yes, trump should not be allowed to skate and impeach bush and obomba as well. They all deserve it. Stacy Abrams did what needs to be done all over the south.
I think my frustration and main concern is that there is so little time left. I look at what was not done with regards to COVID-19 and how little help was given to help people and I want to scream. We cannot wait that long to deal with the economic inequities or many more people will suffer. We cannot wait any longer to deal with the climate crisis. It is a monumental amount of work to fix now. Every day that passes makes the crisis more unfixable.
I see that things are changing but it will be a hard row to hoe to deal with everything.
Take good care and thanks for your comment.
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Some are not giving up:
French courts rule for the environment
I wobble around, since here we are in France profund with a two thirds done house, some of which are major systems still not fully functional (heating, electricity), yet we just listened to Beethoven's Ninth conducted by Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt with the Wiener Philharmoniker, soloists Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horn, James King - Tenor, Martti Talvela -Bass; Wiener Staatsopernchor. Mon dieu, what a thing to listen to.
We have moments of joy all by ourselves. We don't really see anyone except to go shopping. With concerns about COVID, we will restart finishing up things we need most on the house. So we'll have some skilled, helpful younger men around for awhile.
Our petite rivière is as fast and flooding as we have seen, but absolutely no danger to the house. Down near the bank we found some kind of onion in good sized clumps. Watching so I can dig a good one up. We have Cowslips (a yellow Primrose) that should be putting out leaves after our next cold spell.
I have to figure out how to get raised beds for some gardening.
If Caucus 99 needs to move, maybe we should register on the Member Contact Info over on the left. I'll go now and do that.
Thank you all. Yes love and continued work, as best we can. I get your discouragement: I have to give myself permission to have down days, then get back up and keep going. Blessings on you and us all.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
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thanks dm
for a lovely comment and good day. What a beautiful place. It is not so different here next to the wildlife preserve. I spend much time alone outside. It has become my refuge and also classical music. Bend towards Mozart for happiness and easy listing. Beethoven I have to stop and pay attention to. Love them both. I am starting to have an aversion to all things political. And more power to those who are still keeping on.
I did see two recent article in reuters about two different major oil companies having losses this quarter. That gave me hope. May they die a silent and quick death and soon. Little cracks in the system. Maybe they will be enough to bring the change we need.
Take good care.
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Raised Beds
Might find this video helpful motivation to get started. The techniques are slightly different the end project the same, a place to grow plants.
Charles Dowding moves through with an efficiency of movement and energy built upon decades of experience of doing hand labor. One I am trying to emulate.
Kevin is still learning. He will be less concerned about what is "the right way" vs what works for his short and long term goals.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW2aVZkjJa0]
My laziest raised bed was create when ordered some asparagus from a new source. The starts came 5 weeks before the promised ship date and soil could be worked in my area. I grabbed some cardboard boxes used then as pots and planted the asparagus roots in about 8 inches of soil mixture for raised beds. When the weather was warmer placed a layer of cardboard on clipped grass on the proposed bed area. Arranged the boxes where I wanted the plants. Cut the sides and laid then flat on the first layer of cardboard. Added soil mixture for raised beds on the bare patches of cardboard. It worked, plants survived and now harvest shoots each spring.
The trick seems to be just do something. Plants want to grow and are adaptable.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Thank you so much. Hoping to use permaculture, no dig in
the raised beds.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
Good morning
The blue and red pols are useless. To my mind equally culpable.
For example (7 min):
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYxlOQiOuDQ]
Russia, russia, russia. Sorry but the dims are as feckless as the rethugs.
To my mind, this suggests politics are a waste of energy. Better to work in the garden, or building swales, or planting trees, etc. Do something that will have an effect. Call your neighbors and check on them. We will need to help one another cause TPTB will continue to throw the common serfs under the bus.
Not to disparage any who see politics as an answer...I say have at it. I'm just no longer going to beat my head against the oligarchs' wall. That is my choice.
Instead I'm focused on the natural world which continues to turn with the seasons. Build your tribe, the age old form of human relations and interaction. And I add with sadness, watch the planet degrade as a human habitat. In the meantime I'll do what I can to slow the degradation...like spitting at the wildfire raging around us.
Those (especially young folk) in endangered places I can't emphasize enough the idea of re-location. I know it is difficult, but it will be easier now than when SHTF. Dire times call for extreme measures.
You can control what you focus on, and the digital media world places the emphasis on click bait not productive action. It is your path...choose wisely.
Here's the sunrise this morning...
I greet it with joy, and turn on the lights over the seedling shelves.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHM35l_1BDk]
Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying
Don't let the sun catch you cryin'
The night's the time for all your tears
Your heart may be broken tonight
But tomorrow in the morning light
Don't let the sun catch you cryin'
The night-time shadows disappear
And with them go all your tears
For the morning will bring joy
For every girl and boy
So don't let the sun catch you cryin'
We know that cryin's not a bad thing
But stop your cryin' when the birds sing
It may be hard to discover
That you've been left for another
But don't forget that love's a game
And it can always come again
Oh don't let the sun catch you cryin'
Don't let the sun catch you cryin', oh no
Oh, oh, oh
Thanks for the OT, MA. Keep a good heart and don't stop trying.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
hola lo
Yes to all of that. I certainly have pulled way back on all things online. But given what we all know here, it is hard not to see the hidden messages in what little I see. Hedges has been saying the same thing for a long time. His perseverance is amazing.
Yes we need to get people to move away from the coasts and to learn how to grow food. It will be essential in not too long. Really food growing is the main thing I think. Cuba did it. We could do it.
I'm okay, just worried with how I see things unfolding. Because people do not understand exponential. It's not in our makeup. Thanks for the good words. Take good care.
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I can't think of a single issue
that doesn't look grim. Double negative.
Nothing looks positive.
But, I do like this article about resilience; https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/02/02/the-resilience-doctrine-how-disa...
It does look like we are headed for disaster on just about every level. But our response doesn't necessarily have to be disastrous. Perhaps we could react with intelligence?
The above article uses some of the examples in Rebecca Solnit’s book A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster. to show different responses to disasters.
Whatever happens, we will have a lot of work to do...if we are lucky.
My positives
1. I'm Alive
2. I have a life partner,
3. I'm not starving, although I'd kill for one my Mom's meals.
4. I'm not blind - yet.
5. My grandson's still respect my opinions.
6. My daughter still asks my advice - on science and finance.
7. I have a wonderful immigrant neighbor who plows my driveway and sidewalk without asking. His culture is better than ours. Except about the equality of women. (Officially, but not in practice)
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
morning randtntx
Thanks for the Occupy Sandy article.
I thought this was very cool.
My hope is that we can respond sooner than later. The Occupy movement is a good example. Take good care rand.
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Good morning magi. Dunno what to say; "wide, wide river"
comes to mind (Tuli Kupfergerg). So, apropos that reference, I'll post something I got in my e-mail yestidday:
Annnnnnd, as foreshadowed:
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
yes! el, I got the same thing. People's Party in CA
Gonna register very soon. So exciting. Thanks for posting this. Let's circulate it out to folks. Take good care.
love the fugs. First heard them 50 years ago. This is one of my faves.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UskDupcLM0M]
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Ahead of you, I registered at 9:21 am today.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I wrote to ask how they are doing in Washington state.
So far what I've seen of their policies, are good. My biggest concern is how to keep this going with the dirty dealings of the duopoly. How can this be a movement and how can it be protected?
I hope they have the horsepower to track each state and show progress.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
I made a comment this morning in yesterday's
Evening Blues that, for starts, just being a viable third party is enough of a start as far as I'm concerned. The US and the world have a ton of pressing problems, but if the US is to rely at all upon electoral politics to solve any of them, then we need multiple parties. Once we break the duopoly for real we can work on a comprehensive platform and/or additional parties. Why shouldn't we eentually have 6 or 7 or more. (California already has at least 3 "other" parties, but none of them seem able to get any real traction)
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Just registered for the People's Party of CA
Woohoo !!!
Sending it out to the SC4B mailing list.
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Cool, thanks. I saw where Ron Placone did and sent that
info to his followers.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Do appreciate your writing
I never seen to go longer than a few months of regular participation without a break.
The book you recommended when I was writing about China finally drifted to the top of the reading stack. Grace an American woman in China 1934-1974 was well worth the effort to find and buy. Fascinating insight on how individuals can live in a country, yet have no understanding beyond their small community until outside influences force greater understanding.
She was a survivor and lived up to her name by handling it with grace.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
thank you, soe
That book was a real game-changer for me. It opened my eyes to so much. I also learned a lot from your column and so appreciate the work you did. I am thinking now I must go back and save more links as it was a jewel.
I feel that it is no longer viable for me to present a weekly essay. I started because of the climate crisis. There were NO articles in the news at that time about "climate change". I was and am not an expert but I learned more each week as I posted. My basis in science gave me the interest and the background to dig in and enjoy - the learning and data - not the reality that the climate as we know it is collapsing.
I was worried about the climate crisis in the 90s but had no idea that it was happening so quickly. And that the ptb would be so negligent in its response and so lacking in the support of our citizens. It is pretty clear that we the people are detritus at best.
I realize that I no longer really have it in my heart to put out a weekly missive. It is no longer a 'yes' for me and so it is time for me to pass it on to another. I have felt that for a while but was not listening to myself. It is no longer a joy but a job.
It looks like changes are happening here and in the world that may make all this moot. My hope it that we, as a community, can survive. If not I am grateful for all that I have learned here.
Thanks for your comment. Take good care.
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Hello magi
Understand your running out of dirt to keep this thread thing going.
As with Smiley, Anja, NC Tim, and others, myself included. It
becomes more of a chore. Think we have a good community here,
JtC says the funds are running low, so perhaps we shrink this site
down to a movable feast? So as not to burden admin, but still give voice
to the likes of Joe S, EL, Lookout, Can't stop, etc. Not sure about the work
around, but suggested in another thread, perhaps we can keep the conversation
alive in another format?
Thanks for your Hot Air support and Report All Injuries segues.
Qmess
yeah thanks q
Hope that something can work out. There are still a lot of good posters here. Not sure the open thread thing is so critical anyway. Sometimes conversations are generated and sometimes not. It was a joy for me to do but no longer. It seems like just having the space for the convos is enough. Do appreciate all you do here.
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“Gleichschaltung” of opinion on the Web is, like climate crisis,
also happening faster and with more severity than any but the extreme pessimists predicted.
This site is actually one of the last few holdouts to resist automatically rubber-stamping the brand of fascism / authoritarianism that labels itself Democratic or progressive or woke or left. That embraces the FBI, CIA, figures like Clapper and Brennan, and outfits like Crowdstrike and Bellingcat. That allied with anything and anyone promoting any lie, as long as it hurt Trump.
yes, lot
Consolidation of the has been happening since Clinton and is happening with exponential speed. We need a new format for the people. Take good care.
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i'm so sorry to read of your despondency and ennui,
amiga, and yes, love is what matters most. i wish i could get out in our community more to help organize for others, but...so it goes, i reckon.
given that 'nature bats last' and it has...and it's all baked in by now, i grieve that we've collectively ruined this once giant blue-green ball of a planet am trying to accept that it's so.
i also let anger guide me, esp. in my blogging life, as 1) the new regime is much like the old regime in Foreign Policy and war and 'war by other means' (bellicose military threats and illegal sanctions starving other nations' citizens and preventing any covid help from arriving. iow: the loose cannon natures of dying empires. biden Tweets: 'were back to be the moral center of the planet; we're here to help' or some rubbish.
and 2) i'd been thinking of satirizing The $9.3 trillion Biden Clime Plan (80,000 words?) with all the meaningless buzzwords like 'net zero carbon by 2050', and 'renewables' (never mind sustainables) and public/private money and tax breaks, etc./ 'clean energy' of course is small nuclear plants a la bill gates' plans...
but then i read a the hill that biden's climate Czar john kerry (and now sleepy joe) have joined the WEF's 'great reset'. and bill gates applauded them on twitter, of course.
sure capitalists everywhere wanna piece of the comodification of nature as large as they can have, and we must shop our way to a 'carbon free future!' after all: we are a consumer society, with planned obsolescence built into most electrical products.
can you take a break from your open thread hot air day/s? sounds as though you're outside a lot. but i will say that most people do not have the wherewithal to grow their food, much less anywhere near all of it. most of the aquifers in the continental us are low and poisoned with mono-crop GMO pesticides and herbicides. here, our dammed lake is close to empty w/ no relief in sight due to such a scant amount of winter snow to fill it in the spring.
but i do care about a lot of the issues afoot like the whopping military budget, biden's (so far) war-mongering senate-confirmed nominees (but 'the most diverse in history!), scant and insulting '$600stim checks and unemployment help (worse than trump's offer, srsly), but but...biden's opened up ObamaDontCare for new applicants for a limited time!
and sorry, but impeaching trump is one of the stupidist ideas evah, as biden claims: 'i will unify this nation again', imo. hardly an ad for making common cause with those working class DT voters, is it? many voted for him due to Obomba's having bailed out wall street not main street for 2 terms, never mind his (and his 3 harpies) support for X numbers of 'R2P' wars that annihilated life for ordinary people in those nations.
anyway, love and peace to you when you're able, magiamma,
wd
yo wendy
well...
I need a break. I grieve also. I do need to step back. No idea where the next chapter will start.
Impeachment. tRump. Kabuki. He will not be impeached and a lot of time is being wasted. To look for justice when it does not exist is a fool's errand. Seems like there are a lot of other things that need to be urgently attended to. Distraction.
I will believe biden when I see results. And I will be pleasantly surprised if there is much more than a bandage, a finger in the dyke.
The climate is crashing. There is no question in my mind. People need to move away from the sea and start farming. They did it in Cuba. Yes, agree that it may be yet another fool's errand. But maybe some will figure it out and survive. Personally I think the climate will win over fascism. Color me crazed but I am now of the opinion that the holy shit is going to hit the holy fan. Would love to be wrong. Haven't been so far. I just keep saying to myself - it (the climate crisis) can't really be this bad. lol. But it is. And do not think much will/can be done. Certainly not building mini nuclear plants and moving military bases away from the rising seas. wtf?
Yeah I know "it's" all part of the cosmic unfoldment and we are all one. Boy howdy. Kumbaya? Much? Don't see it. People are suffering and likely going to suffer much more. There's the rub. Yes to the People's Party, Occupy Wall Street like efforts, etc. But seriously we are up against the wall motherfucker. The sky is falling. It is not possible to put out a forest fire with a drop of water. We can only succeed if we join together.
As such something amazing could change it all. Bayes Theorem and all. Yet, it is one of the options. People are uniquely inventive at their best. But given the probability of winning monopoly once the Boardwalk, Park Place and the Railroads are bought up, maybe not. Realist or cynic? You choose.
Back to the cave? Om? I don't know. Thanks Wendy for all you do and for all your support. Take good care.
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thank you;
i'll answer tomorrow, as i'm bone tired tonight.
yes, the trump impeachment
2.0 was doomed from the start, which is why kaine and collins came up with a Plan D: censure and no possibility of running again. likely also an impossibility, but called 'a dangerous move' by constitutional scholar jonathan turley.
dunno about bayer's theorem but i have imagined advanced visitors from other multiverses sighing in disgust, but neutralizing the carbon and methane we've let loose above us. but than i further imagine how the oceans could be rid of plastic particles, the coral reefs restored, carbon sinks be restored in time...and call myself a silly old crone.
unhelpfully (at least for me), the nuclear doomsday clock now includes covid-19 w/ articles about 'biden's climate plan' doo-rah.
biden claims he'll never let russia and china of the hook, with all the bellicosity he can muster. whooosh. STRATCOM (in charge of the amerikan nuclear arsenal) is sabre-rattling against both 'great competitors', goddam.
best ♥ to you, an to all of us.
apparently this is affecting
more people than just me.
nyt - but if you "google" it you can get in behind the paywall
Got Climate Anxiety? These People Are Doing Something About It
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/04/climate/climate-anxiety-stress.html
take care y'all and thanks
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