I.G. Farben & the Nazis
27 Sunday Jan 2019
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27 Sunday Jan 2019
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The Stupidity of Evil: Teens Shouting ‘Build that Wall’ at Native American Vet
Informed Comment – January 20, 2019 – Juan Cole
https://www.juancole.com/2019/01/stupidity-shouting-american.html
Hannah Arendt spoke of the banality of evil, of the way in which boring routine bureaucracy had been deployed by the Nazis to commit unspeakable crimes against humanity. What struck me from looking at those young men was that she could have perhaps even more usefully spoken of the stupidity of evil. How stupid do you have to be to chant “build the wall” at a Native American whose people were here at least 13,000 years ago before the European undocumented migrants showed up in their lands?
Ocasio-Cortez’s Women’s Rally Speech Was a Fierce Call to Action
The Cut (New York Magazine) – January 19, 2019 – Lisa Ryan
https://www.thecut.com/2019/01/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-womens-march-2019-speech.html
“Justice is not a concept we read about in a book. Justice is about the water we drink. Justice is about the air we breathe. Justice is about how easy it is to vote. Justice is about how much ladies get paid,” Ocasio-Cortez told the crowd. The Bronx native continued, “Justice is about making sure that being polite is not the same thing as being quiet. In fact, oftentimes the most righteous thing you can do is shake the table.”
The most dangerous climate feedback loop is speeding up
Think Progress – January 17, 2019 – Joe Romm
https://thinkprogress.org/dangerous-permafrost-climate-feedback-loop/
Permafrost warming can “amplify global climate change, because when frozen sediments thaw it unlocks soil organic carbon,” warns the study, which was released Wednesday by the journal Nature Communications. The thawing releases not only carbon dioxide but also methane (CH4) — a far more potent greenhouse gas — thereby further warming the planet. And as the planet continues to warm, more permafrost will melt, releasing even more greenhouse gases in a continuous feedback loop… Thawing permafrost is an especially dangerous amplifying feedback loop because the global permafrost contains twice as much carbon as the atmosphere does today?
The Real Truth About America
Reader Supported News – January 21, 2019 – Bernie Sanders
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/54569-focus-the-real-truth-about-america
Donald Trump tells us the US economy is “absolutely booming”, the “strongest we’ve ever had” and “the greatest in the history of America”. Well, at his Mar-a-Lago country club where the price of admission has doubled to $200,000, he is right. The economy could not be better for the top 1% and corporate America… Yes, under Trump, the economy is “absolutely booming” for the billionaire class and corporate America. But for working families, the economy is not doing so great… The most important economic reality of our time is that over the past 40 years there has been an enormous transfer of income and wealth from the middle class to the wealthiest people in America.
Elizabeth Warren’s Wealth Tax Is Constitutional, and Necessary
Portside – The Los Angeles Times – January 25, 2019 – Michael Hiltzik
https://portside.org/2019-01-25/elizabeth-warrens-wealth-tax-constitutional-and-necessary
The concentration of wealth in America has reached levels that make the gilt of the 19th century Gilded Age look like dross. There’s sound economic and social sense in taxing the hell out of excessive incomes and excessive wealth. As Saez and Zucman observe, the top 0.1% today control almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%. Wealth disparity on this scale has a distinctly corrosive effect on society and democracy.
The Power of Positive Persistence
George Lakoff’s Website – January 17, 2019
https://georgelakoff.com/2018/01/17/the-power-of-positive-persistence/
The main idea: Do the opposite of what the Republican president wants. That is: Express support for good journalism and great reporters without accepting the frame of his fake ceremony. Defeat him by celebrating the truthful, powerful stories that may take down this corrupt presidency. Deprive him of the power to focus attention on his messages.
Revealed: the free-market groups helping the tobacco industry
The Guardian – January 23, 2019 – Jessica Glenza
https://www.theguardian.com/business/ng-interactive/2019/jan/23/free-market-thinktanks-tobacco-industry
Free-market thinktanks around the world provide a powerful voice of support to cigarette manufacturers in battles against tougher regulations, a Guardian investigation shows. The tobacco industry has long been treated as a pariah by many governments and officials because its products kill more than 7 million people per year. But the industry has found support from free-market thinktanks, including from some of the most prestigious.
Open Letter by Over 70 Scholars and Experts Condemns US-Backed Coup Attempt in Venezuela
Common Dreams – January 24, 2019 – staff
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/01/24/open-letter-over-70-scholars-and-experts-condemns-us-backed-coup-attempt-venezuela
Renowned linguist Noam Chomsky, filmmaker Boots Riley, and over 70 other academics and experts issued an open letter on Thursday calling on the Trump administration to “cease interfering in Venezuela’s internal politics.”… For the sake of the Venezuelan people, the region, and for the principle of national sovereignty, these international actors should instead support negotiations between the Venezuelan government and its opponents that will allow the country to finally emerge from its political and economic crisis.
Growers Sue to Roll Back Farm Workers’ Wages
The American Prospect – January 25, 2019 – David Bacon
https://prospect.org/article/growers-sue-roll-back-farm-workers-wages
Senator Feinstein and Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren… have reintroduced a bill, the Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2019, which would allow undocumented farm workers to gain legal status by working a minimum number of days, pass security checks, and meet other requirements. “The bill would minimize the need for employers’ use of the H-2A guest worker program by providing a meaningful opportunity for immigration status for the hard-working undocumented farmworkers who put food on our table,” said a statement from Farmworker Justice.
We Must Defend Our Democracy – and Not by Impeachment
The Washington Post – January 24, 2019 – Robert Redford
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/our-democracy-is-in-crisis-we-must-focus-on-2020–not-impeachment/2019/01/24/b51f1268-1ff6-11e9-9145-3f74070bbdb9_story.html
It is painfully clear we have a president who degrades everything he touches, a person who does not understand (or care?) that his duty is to defend our democracy… we have to start now. If we have learned anything from the past two elections, it’s that we have to focus energy early and consistently on the right candidates and issues — locally and nationally — to rescue our democracy. I’m not satisfied any longer simply waiting for justice to be served. I’m determined to fight for it, now and for the next two years, inspired by newer and younger voices picking up the cause. There is so much damage to heal from, so much division to repair, so many good works to return to. What a worthy fight to engage in, don’t you think?
What the LA Teachers Won, and How They Won It
Portside – The Nation – January 25, 2019 – Eric Blanc
https://portside.org/2019-01-25/what-la-teachers-won-and-how-they-won-it
It would be hard to overstate the importance of this victory in the country’s second-largest school district. Against considerable odds, Los Angeles teachers have dealt a major blow against the forces of privatization in the city and nationwide… By demonstrating the power of striking, LA educators have inspired educators nationwide to follow suit… Through this movement and this strike we’ve shown the power and beauty of public education—and why it needs to be preserved. We made that the new narrative.
Why Germany Leads in Renewables: It Has Its Own Green Bank
Global Research – January 27, 2019 – Ellen Brown
https://www.globalresearch.ca/germany-leads-renewables-own-green-bank/5666619
The leader in renewable energy… is Germany, called “the world’s first major renewable energy economy.” Germany has a public sector development bank called KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau or “Reconstruction Credit Institute”), which is even larger than the World Bank. Along with Germany’s non-profit Sparkassen banks, KfW has largely funded the country’s green energy revolution… This is the sort of catalytic role that development banks can play, kickstarting a major structural transformation by funding and showcasing new technologies and sectors.
20 Sunday Jan 2019
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20 Sunday Jan 2019
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626 Groups Urge Congress to Phase Out Fossil Fuels, Build Green Economy
Common Dreams – January 10, 2019 – Friends of the Earth
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2019/01/10/626-groups-urge-congress-phase-out-fossil-fuels-build-green-economy
As the world teeters on the brink of climate catastrophe, we’re calling on Congress to take large-scale action,” said Bill Snape, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Americans want a livable future for their children, and that requires keeping fossil fuels in the ground while greening the economy on a wartime footing… We cannot stop climate change and rising inequality with the half-solutions of the past,” said Nicole Ghio, senior fossil fuels manager at Friends of the Earth. “We need action on climate that ends our dependence on dirty energy, puts power in the hands of communities and provides good jobs. If candidates and elected officials say they are committed to climate solutions, this is the litmus test.
A Planet in Crisis: The Heat’s on Us
Tom Dispatch – January 15, 2019 – Dahr Jamail
http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/176516/tomgram%3A_dahr_jamail%2C_%22we_can%27t_undo_this%22/
While on St. Paul, I spoke with many tribal elders who told me stories about fewer fish and sea birds, harsher storms and warming temperatures, but what struck me most deeply were their accounts of plummeting fur seal populations. Seal mothers, they said, had to swim so much farther to find food for their pups that the babies were starving to death before they could make it back. And the plight of those dramatically declining fur seals could well become the plight of the Unangan [people] themselves, which in the decades to come, as climate turbulence increases, could very well become the plight of all of us… A study published in Nature magazine showed that over the last quarter-century, the oceans have absorbed 60% more heat annually than estimated in the 2014 IPCC report. The study underscored that the globe’s oceans have, in fact, already absorbed 93% of all the heat humans have added to the atmosphere, that the climate system’s sensitivity to greenhouse gases is far higher than thought and that planetary warming is far more advanced than had previously been grasped.
Insect collapse: ‘We are destroying our life support systems’
The Guardian – January 15, 2019 – Damian Carrington
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/15/insect-collapse-we-are-destroying-our-life-support-systems
“I don’t think most people have a systems view of the natural world,” he said. “But it’s all connected and when the invertebrates are declining the entire food web is going to suffer and degrade. It is a system-wide effect.”
The International Crisis of Donald Trump
The New Yorker – January 11, 2019 – Susan B. Glasser
https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/the-international-crisis-of-donald-trump
The world has not stopped spinning on its axis, and, out there, American power has rarely looked so vulnerable, dysfunctional, contradictory, and outright confusing. Such worries have consumed many American allies from the start of the Trump Presidency, and they have now become a reality with the abrupt resignation of Mattis, whose scathing letter to Trump upon quitting warned explicitly about the possible damage to “alliances” and America’s standing in the world.
The Trump Dictatorship
Robert Reich’s Blog – January 14, 2019
http://robertreich.org/post/182020279635
A dictatorship is only about ends. Those ends are the goals of the dictator – preserving and accumulating personal power. To achieve those ends, a dictator will use any means necessary. Which brings us back to Trump… The overall pattern is clear to anyone who cares to see it. Trump’s entire presidency to date has sacrificed the means of democracy to the end of his personal power.
The Backstory to the Migrant Caravan Is Repression of Democracy and Labor in Honduras
Labor Notes – January 13, 2019 – Judy Ancel and Dana Frank
http://labornotes.org/blogs/2019/01/interview-backstory-migrant-caravan-repression-democracy-and-labor-honduras
For anyone who cares to know why thousands are fleeing Central America alone and in caravans, what role the U.S. has played in creating the crisis there, and how unions, workers, and popular organizations are fighting back, historian Dana Frank’s new book [“The Long Honduran Night”] is a must-read… U.S. support for the regime, and the dictatorship’s repression, and the post-coup regime’s destruction of the rule of law, which opened the door for the gangs and the extortionists, and the fact that they’re deeply embedded with drug traffickers themselves at the top of the government—that narrative disappears. And of course they don’t point out that the Trump administration has cut all development aid and is just giving them bullets and tear gas.
Report: College aid for prisoners pays dividends for all down the line
Whyy – January 16, 2019 – Colleen O’Dea, NJ Spotlight
https://whyy.org/articles/report-college-aid-for-prisoners-pays-dividends-for-all-down-the-line/
Entitled Investing in Futures, the report from the Vera Institute of Justice estimates that nearly 463,000 inmates in state prisons — including 7,239, or more than a third of the prison population, in New Jersey — would benefit if the federal government rescinds a 1994 law that prevents people from receiving Pell Grants while incarcerated… This is an opportunity to leverage the near unanimous consensus that the criminal justice system simply is not working as it should.
Democrats Need to Rein In Our Out-of-Control Military Spending
In These Times – January 14, 2019 – Bernie Sanders
http://inthesetimes.com/article/21664/military-budget-Yemen
A number of observers have correctly pointed out that, to a very great degree, we have a “one-party foreign policy.” As a result, there is almost no debate about the basic premises underlying our long-term foreign policy positions. In a complicated and volatile world, this is not a good thing.
Exceptional Victims
Boston Review – January 26, 2018 – Christian G. Appy
http://bostonreview.net/war-security/christian-g-appy-exceptional-victims
As King made clear, the Vietnam War blatantly contradicted every assumption of moral superiority, and even pro-war hawks were left to wonder how the greatest military power in world history had been unable to prevail against a nation of rice farmers. To understand our current political moment, we must understand how political and media forces, especially on the right, responded to this embarrassment and to criticisms such as King’s. Conservatives at the time were determined to rebuild everything they thought the war had destroyed—U.S. power, pride, prestige, and patriotism. Above all, they sought to resuscitate a faith in U.S. exceptionalism. The new U.S. exceptionalism has many sources but two important ones were born from the bitter memory of failure and defeat in Vietnam: the effective campaigns to vilify the antiwar movement and to instill deference to the military by constructing an image of U.S. troops and veterans as icons of heroic victimhood… Trump is the natural result of the brittle, defensive form of U.S. exceptionalism that originated after Vietnam.
Martin Luther King Jr. Was More Radical Than We Remember
Portside – Teen Vogue – January 15, 2019 – Jenn M. Jackson
https://portside.org/2019-01-15/martin-luther-king-jr-was-more-radical-we-remember
Writer Jenn M. Jackson explores the radical nature of Martin Luther King Jr., whose legacy, she says, was whitewashed over time… This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we would do his memory justice by honoring all of his legacy. Not just the parts that make white Americans comfortable.
We Need a Martin Luther King Day of Truth
Global Research – January 19, 2019 – Edward Curtin
https://www.globalresearch.ca/we-need-a-martin-luther-king-day-of-truth/5626132
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous,” warned Dr. King, “than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”… Because MLK repeatedly called the United States the “greatest purveyor of violence on earth,” he was universally condemned by the mass media and government that later – once he was long and safely dead and no longer a threat – praised him to the heavens. This has continued to the present day of historical amnesia. Educating people about the fact that U.S. government forces conspired to kill Dr. King, and why, and why it matters today, is the greatest service we can render to his memory.
Why the Working Class Matters
Portside – LA Progressive – January 17, 2019 – Steve Early
https://portside.org/2019-01-17/why-working-class-matters
Yates newest work, “Can The Working Class Change the World?” (Monthly Review Press, 2018) examines not just the role of U.S. workers in struggles for protective legislation and more comprehensive social programs. He provides a global view of the plight of wage earners (and the unemployed) who are adversely affected by the terrible imbalance of power between capital and labor throughout the world… In Yates’ view, incremental reforms, as important as they are, are simply not enough to avert climate catastrophe or cure any other major problems of advanced capitalism. Instead, he argues for “building a fundamentally new society, one with grassroots democracy, economic planning, a sustainable environment, meaningful work, and substantive equality in as many aspects of life as possible.”
18 Friday Jan 2019
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Where Do We Go From Here? Bernie Sanders https://tfthinkspeak.blogspot.com/
13 Sunday Jan 2019
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2018 Wasn’t a Completely Horrible Year for the Environment
The Natural Resources Defense Council – December 21, 2018 – Jeff Turrentine
https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/2018-wasnt-completely-horrible-year-environment
Were there bright spots and victories among the attacks on biodiversity, climate, and public health? Of course there were. Here are just a few, in case you’re feeling blue about the state of our only planet… Ousters of Pruitt and Zinke… Keystone XL, Now on Ice… A Congress Going Green?… The climate isn’t all that’s changing. The mood appears to be changing, too—and for the better.
Carbon emissions up as Trump agenda rolls back climate change work
The Guardian – January 8, 2019 – Emily Holden
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/08/carbon-emissions-trump-agenda-climate-change
A new analysis shows US greenhouse gas levels are increasing as the Trump administration unravels efforts to slow climate change. Carbon emissions rose sharply last year, increasing 3.4%, according to new estimates from the economic firm Rhodium Group. That year’s jump in emissions is the biggest since the bounce back from the recession in 2010. It is the second largest gain in more than two decades.
The Truth About Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
The Insider – January 6, 2019 – Eliza Relman
https://www.thisisinsider.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-biography-2019-1
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has proved to be the most disruptive new Democrat in decades, striking fear in both Republicans and Democrats… This is the story of how her climb began, and where it’s going next. It’s based on conversations with people who have known Ocasio-Cortez throughout her life and a recent interview conducted with the new lawmaker at INSIDER.
What Does Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Know About Tax Policy? A Lot.
The New York Times – January 5, 2019 – Paul Krugman
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/05/opinion/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-tax-policy-dance.html
You see, the mere thought of having a young, articulate, telegenic nonwhite woman serve is driving many on the right mad — and in their madness they’re inadvertently revealing their true selves… The controversy of the moment involves AOC’s advocacy of a tax rate of 70-80 percent on very high incomes, which is obviously crazy, right?
Juvenile Life Without Parole: An Overview
The Sentencing Project – October 22, 2018 – Josh Rovner
http://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/juvenile-life-without-parole/
The United States stands alone as the only nation that sentences people to life without parole for crimes committed before turning 18. This briefing paper reviews the Supreme Court precedents that limited the use of JLWOP and the challenges that remain.
States that spend more on libraries, parks, and highways have happier Americans says new study
The Daily Kos – January 7, 2019 – Walter Einenkel
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/7/1824181/-States-that-spend-more-on-libraries-parks-and-highways-have-happier-Americans-says-new-study
According to a Baylor University study, Americans are happier in states where taxpayer money is spent on public goods like libraries, parks, highways, and natural resources. Part of the reason for this correlation appears to be the fundamental nature of sharing.
Mr. President, We Don’t Need to Create Artificial Crises. We Have Enough Real Ones.
Reader Supported News – Bernie Sanders’ Facebook Page – January 9, 2019 – Bernie Sanders
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/54356-focus-mr-president-we-dont-need-to-create-artificial-crises-we-have-enough-real-ones
The scientific community has made it very clear in telling us that climate change is real and is causing devastating harm to our country and the entire planet. And they have told us that if we do not transform our energy system away from fossil fuel the nation and planet we will be leaving our kids and grandchildren may well be unhealthy and even uninhabitable. Let us end this shutdown and bring the American people together around an agenda that will improve life for all of our people.
The Crisis Is in the Oval Office
The New York Times – January 8, 2019 – editorial
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/opinion/president-trump-speech.html
Pursuing poorly thought-out and even more poorly executed policies on the pretext of battling a nonexistent national security crisis, Mr. Trump has helped create a pressing humanitarian one. Desperate migrant families being detained en masse at the border are overwhelming a system pushed beyond its limits by an administration that chose to ignore the implications of its actions — overcrowding, children falling gravely ill and, paradoxically, the haphazard release of throngs of detainees into border communities stretching from California to Texas.
A Look at Trump’s Biggest Border Lies
Common Dreams – January 9, 2019 – Brian Tashman
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/01/09/look-trumps-biggest-border-lies
Trump and his aides fabricate facts and spread misinformation in order to justify many of the president’s false claims about the border, even though the Department of Homeland Security itself reports differently. The Border Patrol’s own statistics show that the number of migrants apprehended at the border last year was the fifth lowest total since 1973.
A Coup in Guatemala is the Real Emergency
Portside – The Hill – January 12, 2019 – Elizabeth Oglesby
https://portside.org/2019-01-12/coup-guatemala-real-emergency
The Trump administration has kept silent as Guatemala unraveled, a stance harshly criticized by Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.), co-chair of the House Central America Caucus. Torres linked Guatemala’s entrenched corruption to international migration, saying that the crises created by Guatemala’s “mafioso” government are “why children leave their homes and risk their lives to come here.”
Trump’s State of the Union: Hate and Bigotry, but Mostly Stupidity
Reader Supported News – Michael Moore’s Facebook Page – January 12, 2019
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/54408-focus-trumps-state-of-the-union-hate-and-bigotry-but-mostly-stupidity
“Beheadings,” “rape,” “hammer to the head” — just the basic nutter Trump tripe tonight. 9 and 1/2 minutes of nothing. His face wrenched in hate & bigotry, but mostly stupidity. He didn’t even know how to pander correctly to his base. He slandered and berated immigrants as he shamefully sat next to a photo of his IMMIGRANT mother.
U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Block Exxon Climate Fraud Investigation
Inside Climate News – January 7, 2019 – By David Hasemyer
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/07012019/exxon-climate-fraud-investigation-supreme-court-ruling-massachusetts-attorney-general-healey
The decision clears the way for [Massachusetts] state Attorney General Maura Healey to force the company to turn over records as her office probes whether Exxon concealed its knowledge of the role fossil fuels play in global warming. Those records could open a window into the company’s internal discussions, including its handling of financial and climate data as it charted its business path going back decades.
Solar and Wind Good news Stories Today
Informed Comment – January 12, 2019 – Juan Cole
https://www.juancole.com/2019/01/solar-stories-today.html
Scotland is now getting 70% of its electricity from renewables (wind, solar, wave and hydro) and plans to be at 100% in 2020…. US electricity is still only about 20% from renewables. This low number is a result of unchecked corporate greed in the US and campaigns of climate change denialism.
Reckless Path to Nuclear Weapons Leaves Us Looking Over the Edge
Global Research – January 12, 2019 – Shane Quinn
https://www.globalresearch.ca/reckless-path-nuclear-weapons-leaves-looking-edge/5665290
Entering 2019, the threat of nuclear conflict is likely higher than during the Cold War’s darkest days. This is mostly due to aggressive policies engineered by the Donald Trump administration, governing the world’s dominant nuclear and military power. It is borne out in Trump’s 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, which lowers the threshold for war; his trillion dollar modernization of America’s nuclear arsenal sparking another arms race… It is, for reasons such as these, that the Doomsday Clock is likely to advance once more later this January, for the third consecutive year. In that case, it is the closest the hand will have ever been to midnight.
Fracked Shale Oil Wells Drying Up Faster Than Predicted, Wall Street Journal Finds
Global Research – January 12, 2019 – Sharon Kelly
https://www.globalresearch.ca/fracked-shale-oil-wells-drying-up-faster-than-predicted-wall-street-journal-finds/5665323
The U.S. more broadly has failed to seriously invest in a rapid transition away from climate-changing fossil fuels. That leaves the U.S. at risk of being left behind as the rest of the world focuses its efforts to innovate on renewable energy prospects that don’t dry up like oil wells… Other countries, namely China, are frantically investing in renewables. For us to crow about our oil wealth, and not focus on renewables, is for us to miss the opportunity to be leaders in the world as it’s going to be.
How Zero-Interest Lending Pays Off for Everyone
Yes! Magazine – January 8, 2019 – Michael Carolan
https://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/from-selling-out-to-buying-in-a-zero-interest-lenders-awakening-20190108
Lending that comes from a community never stops being part of that community.
Meet the Woman Using Bitcoin Technology to Transform the Food Industry
Portside – January 7, 2019 – Brian Barth
https://portside.org/2019-01-07/meet-woman-using-bitcoin-technology-transform-food-industry
So what is a blockchain, and what does it have to do with wholesome food companies? It turns out that what makes Bitcoin transactions untraceable is very useful for making consumer products more traceable… A blockchain is essentially a fancy database that is in the commons – no one owns the database, and no one can change the data once it’s been entered… with Provenance and other public blockchains, the point is to advertise the information they hold for the sake of accountability and transparency… The idea of Provenance is to guarantee to the consumer that a company is indeed buying all their products from high-quality sources. It is an attempt to take traceability to the next level.
06 Sunday Jan 2019
06 Sunday Jan 2019
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Green New Deal: what is the progressive plan, and is it technically possible?
The Guardian – December 29, 2018 – Emily Holden
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/29/green-new-deal-plans-proposal-ocasio-cortez-sunrise-movement
Similar plans vary in detail, but all are inspired by the New Deal that Franklin Delano Roosevelt launched to battle the effects of the Great Depression… Their Green New Deal would center around creating new jobs and lessening inequality. Aiming to virtually eliminate US greenhouse gas pollution in a decade, it would be radical compared with other climate proposals. It would require massive government spending… Demond Drummer, founder of the New Consensus thinktank, said it was working on a plan that will require a reimagining of the whole US economy. “You can’t address the climate crisis without these other issues being addressed as well,” he said. “The entire economy is built around fossil fuels. The same economy that creates rampant poverty and wage stagnation is the economy that’s built around fossil fuels.”
The Green New Deal Promises Peace and Progress. Will Nuclear Advocates Undermine It?
The Progressive – December 27, 2018 – Harvey Wasserman
https://progressive.org/dispatches/the-green-new-deal-promises-peace-and-progress-181227/
The environmental policy centerpiece of the incoming Democratic House of Representatives is what’s now known as “The Green New Deal.” But it’s already hit deeply polarizing pushback from the old-line Democratic leadership. And it faces divisive jockeying over the future of nuclear power.. Activists must now argue that the trillion-plus dollars we spend annually on arming the Empire should instead fund those wind turbines and solar panels at the heart of the Green New Deal.
Minimum wage will go up in 20 states in 2019
Axios – December 30, 2018 – Michael Sykes
https://www.axios.com/minimum-wage-worker-hike-2019-d706f1db-40fa-45ce-97fe-a405ec0d1e13.html
The minimum wage will rise in 20 states and nearly two dozen cities in 2019, including $1-an-hour increases for employers in Massachusetts and Maine and for California businesses with more than 25 workers, the Associated Press reports. The big picture: The federal minimum wage has been set at $7.25 an hour since 2009, but 29 states and the District of Columbia have enacted higher wages since then. The new increases will raise 20 states to even higher levels.
Gen. McChrystal: Trump is Immoral and Doesn’t Tell the Truth
The Daily Kos – December 30, 2018 – Heavy Mettle
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/12/30/1822435/-Gen-McChrystal-Trump-is-Immoral-and-Doesn-t-Tell-the-Truth
The former top commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, retired four-star Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, criticized President Donald Trump’s behavior and handling of the presidency, saying the commander-in-chief is dishonest and immoral. “I don’t think he tells the truth,” McChrystal said in an exclusive interview on “This Week” when asked by Co-Anchor Martha Raddatz if he believes the president is a liar… “Is Trump immoral, in your view?” Raddatz asked.n your view?” Raddatz asked. “I think he is,” he said.
John Kelly Confirms He Was Lying All Along: The White House Is in Chaos
Rolling Stone – December 31, 2018 – Peter Wade
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kelly-exit-interview-773739/
In the interview, Kelly said he hopes his tenure will be judged not by what Trump did but by what Kelly prevented him from doing — not exactly a ringing endorsement of his former boss. It’s clear that by blaming others for the administration’s blunders, Kelly is trying to protect his legacy and reputation. But after serving and defending Trump, it’s probably too late for that.
A March to Disaster
Democracy Now! – December 31, 2018 – interview with Noam Chomsky
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/12/31/a_march_to_disaster_noam_chomsky
We should be moving towards eliminating nuclear weapons. Remember that the New START treaty is coming up for renewal. That’s a very important one. START has led to the sharp reduction of nuclear weapons—by no means anywhere near far enough, but nevertheless quite significant… You look over the history of the nuclear age, and it is practically miraculous that we’ve survived this far. There’s been case after case where we came very—both sides came very close to making a decision to launch nuclear weapons, which means basically terminating human civilization. And miracles like that can’t go on forever. And enhancing the threat is just beyond insanity.
Human Dignity Is in Danger. In 2019 We Must Stand as One to Survive
The Guardian – January 1, 2019 – Ai Weiwei, a leading contemporary artist, activist and advocate of political reform in China
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/01/human-dignity-danger-ai-weiwei
What does it mean to be human? That question sits at the core of human rights. To be human has specific implications: human self-awareness and the actions taken to uphold human dignity – these are what gives the concept of humanity a special meaning… When we abandon efforts to uphold human dignity, we forfeit the essential meaning of being human, and when we waver in our commitment to the idea of human rights, we abandon our moral principles. What follows is duplicity and folly, corruption and tyranny, and the endless stream of humanitarian crises that we see in the world today… Human rights are shared values. Human rights are our common possession. When abuses are committed against anyone in any society, the dignity of humanity as a whole is compromised.
Take Action: Parkland Students on Five Ways to Fight Gun Violence in 2019
The Guardian – Eagle Eye [award-winning newspaper at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school] – January 1, 2019 – Hannah Kapoor, Dara Rosen and Brianna Fisher [three student journalists from the Eagle Eye.]
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/01/parkland-students-five-ways-fight-gun-violence-2019
Last year, students from Parkland, Florida inspired a wave of activism after the mass shooting at their high school. Student journalists from Parkland share ideas for keeping that momentum going in 2019… Don’t become desensitized to gun violence on the media… If you see something, say something… Form your own opinions by staying informed about local and national issues… Vote and pressure your representatives… Become involved… There’s no better way to restore hope in the nation than joining movements that catapult change.
The Trump Tax Cut: Even Worse Than You’ve Heard
The New York Times – January 1, 2019 – Paul Krugman
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/01/opinion/the-trump-tax-cut-even-worse-than-youve-heard.html
No money has, in fact, been brought home, and the tax cut has probably reduced national income. Indeed, at least 90 percent of Americans will end up poorer thanks to that cut. Let me explain each point in turn… The tax cut did… have one important international effect: We’re now paying more money to foreigners… Since the tax cut isn’t paying for itself, it will eventually have to be paid for some other way – either by raising other taxes, or by cutting spending on programs people value. The cost of these hikes or cuts will be much less concentrated on the top 10 percent than the benefit of the original tax cut. So it’s a near-certainty that the vast majority of Americans will be worse off thanks to Trump’s only major legislative success.
How to Repair the US-China Relationship – and Prevent a Modern Cold War
The Washington Post – December 31, 2018 – Jimmy Carter
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jimmy-carter-how-to-repair-the-us-china-relationship–and-prevent-a-modern-cold-war/2018/12/31/cc1d6b94-0927-11e9-85b6-41c0fe0c5b8f_story.html
The 40th anniversary of this relationship is a testament to the ability of countries with different histories, cultures and political systems to work together for the greater good. Yet, today, this critical relationship is in jeopardy… China’s achievements in sustaining economic growth, alleviating abject poverty and providing developmental assistance to other countries need to be celebrated. At the same time, we cannot ignore its deficiencies in Internet censorship, policies toward minorities and religious restrictions — which should be recorded and criticized. This balanced approach is key to ensuring that the United States and China continue to work together toward solving some of the most intractable global problems.
In Open Letter, Scholars and Activists Call on Bernie Sanders to Embrace Foreign Policy That Rejects US Militarism, Bloated Pentagon Budget
Common Dreams – November 28, 2018 – Andrea Germanos
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/11/28/open-letter-scholars-and-activists-call-bernie-sanders-embrace-foreign-policy
“We believe that Dr. King was correct to assert that racism, extreme materialism, and militarism needed to be challenged together rather than separately, and that this remains true,” the group of over 100 scholars and activists write.
Where Families With Children Use Housing Vouchers
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – January 3, 2019 – Alicia Mazzara and Brian Knudsen
https://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/where-families-with-children-use-housing-vouchers
A Comparative Look at the 50 Largest Metropolitan Areas… The Housing Choice Voucher Program, the nation’s largest federal rental assistance program, assists over 5 million people in 2.2 million low-income households. Housing Choice Vouchers help these families afford decent, stable housing, avoid homelessness, and ake ends meet. When implemented properly, vouchers can give low-income families real choices about where to live — including the chance to live in lower-poverty, higher-opportunity neighborhoods — and help public housing agencies meet their legal obligation to address housing discrimination and segregation.
CA Recycling Company Says They’re Drowning in Plastic, Calls for Referendum on Single Use Ban
The Daily Kos – December 30, 2018
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/12/30/1822121/-CA-Recycling-Company-Says-They-re-Drowning-in-Plastic-Calls-for-Referendum-on-Single-Use-Ban
The answer to plastic pollution is to not create waste in the first place… The time has come to go straight to the source in our efforts to prevent our planet from completely drowning in the polymer pile — it’s time to treat the symptoms by addressing the cause.
American Democracy Seems Rigged Because It Is
Common Dreams – January 5, 2019 – Robert Reich
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/01/05/american-democracy-seems-rigged-because-it
The most important thing we must do to save our democracy is get big money out of politics. It’s a prerequisite to accomplishing everything else. Today, big money continues to corrupt American politics – creating a vicious cycle that funnels more wealth and power to those at the top and eroding our democracy.
Veteran NBC Reporter Rips Pro-War Posture of Corporate Media in Scathing Resignation Letter
Common Dreams – January 3, 2019 – Jessica Corbett
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/01/03/veteran-nbc-commentator-rips-failures-pro-war-posture-corporate-media-scathing
Arkin delivers a broader condemnation of the network’s coverage of the so-called War on Terror in the nearly 18 years since 9/11, and how it has helped produce a scenario in which “perpetual war has become accepted as a given in our lives.”… I find it shocking that we essentially condone continued American bumbling in the Middle East and now Africa through our ho-hum reporting… There is not one country in the Middle East that is safer today than it was 18 years ago. Indeed the world becomes ever more polarized and dangerous.
We Know How Trump’s War Game Ends
Portside – Rollingstone – December 23, 2018 – Matt Taibbi
https://portside.org/2018-12-23/we-know-how-trumps-war-game-ends
We’ve successfully brainwashed big chunks of the population into thinking it’s normal for a country to exist in a state of permanent war, fighting in seven countries at once, spending half of all discretionary funding on defense. It’s not. It’s insane. And we’ll never be a healthy society, or truly respected abroad, until we stop accepting it as normal.
How This Year’s Struggles Set Us Up for a Bold, Hopeful 2019
Yes! Magazine – December 28, 2018 – Chris Winters
https://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/how-this-years-wins-for-democracy-set-us-up-for-a-bold-hopeful-2019-20181228
Some things are going in the right direction… These past two years have energized a wide swath of sensible people who have come to realize that apathy is unacceptable in the face of an administration determined to corrupt the rule of law and strip vulnerable populations of their rights. That energy has borne fruit… The U.S.’s first experience with a modern autocrat looks likely to end in a chaotic implosion. But the Trump years have demonstrated that, while our democracy is a fragile thing that needs the force of law and the will of the people to protect it, Americans have been rising to and meeting that challenge. Some of our leaders in Washington, D.C., are starting to recognize that.
From Me to We. My New Year’s Resolution
Yes! Magazine – December 31, 2018 – David Korten
https://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/from-me-to-we-my-new-years-resolution-20181231
The problem isn’t me. It isn’t you. Nor is it those folks over there. The problem is we. The big we, humanity: What we believe, how we live, how we relate to one another and Earth. We have gotten something terribly wrong that we must now get right. But what? Do we even agree on the problem?… Our ability to live rests on the services contributed by the many members of Earth’s community of life—the bees that pollinate the flowers, the trees essential to the water cycle, the beetles that aid the decomposition of plants after their death, the microbes that digest my food so my body can use its energy and nutrients. Without these many, wondrously diverse beings, Earth would be just another dead rock floating in space. I sense that humanity is awakening to a profound truth: We—the big we—thrive together, or we expire together. This comes with a recognition that many of the myths by which we live are falsehoods so divorced from reality that they threaten our mutual existence.