....When exports and what is burned at home are combined, Australia ranks fifth behind China, the US, Russia and Saudi Arabia in responsibility for carbon dioxide from extractive fossil industries.
- Last year, 40% of US honeybee colonies died or disappeared – the most severe bee decline ever recorded during the winter season.
- Bee populations worldwide have been shrinking for years. Earth is at risk of losing all its insects in 100 years.
- Without bees, crops worldwide would suffer, making nuts, fruits, and vegetable more expensive and difficult to produce.
- Scientists still haven’t figured out exactly what’s killing the bees, but potential causes fall into four categories: pathogens, pests, stress, and pesticides.
- When the majority of a colony’s worker bees disappear and leave behind the queen, baby bees, and lots of food, that’s called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). The mysterious phenomenon has caused enormous bee losses since at least 2006.
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Kamala Harris, Who Just Clarified Her Rejection of Real Medicare for All, to Snub Climate Forum in Favor of Big Donors [Bye Bye, Kamala] "We need a leader who prioritizes the future of humanity over rubbing elbows with millionaires and billionaires."  Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a 2020 presidential candidate, speaks during a news conference with fellow Democrats at the U.S. Capitol October 25, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) In the space of 24 hours, Sen. Kamala Harris, a California Democrat running for the party's 2020 presidential nomination, made clear that when forced to choose between the interests of the donor class or progressives, she'd choose the former. On Sunday night, as Bloomberg reported, Harris attended a big money fundraiser in the Hamptons, telling the superrich attendees "I believe in capitalism" and that she wasn't "comfortable" with a comprehensive Medicare for All plan. Bloomberg's reporters set the scene:
The next day, the Harris campaign told CNN Harris would not attend the network's September 4 climate forum, citing previous commitments—big dollar California fundraisers.... Eoin Higgins, staff writer | Common Dreams
America is the first country to ever elect a Mad King, and the way things are going, we may be dumb enough to do it twice  Illustration by Victor Juhasz for Rolling Stone MATT TAIBBI | RollingStone
The supreme court's pro-gun radicalism puts us all in the crosshairs [America's Confederate cancer...] The court has made it harder for Americans to forge a sensible political solution to a horrific national problem  A Connecticut state police officer holds up an AR-15 rifle during a state legislative hearing on gun laws. Photograph: Jessica Hill/AP ....From 1791 until 2008, the supreme court refused to touch gun-control laws. True, the second amendment spoke of a right to bear arms, but it did so in conditional fashion: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The roundabout formulation was striking: the constitution does not limit other rights – such as freedom of speech – to any particular purpose or function. Attentive to this language, the supreme court long interpreted the second amendment as protecting a collective right to participate in a militia. In 1939, the court unanimously upheld a congressional ban on sawed-off shotguns, arguing such weapons lack “any reasonable relation to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia.” All that changed in 2008 with the court’s 5-4 decision in District of Columbia v Heller. In striking down a Washington DC ban on handguns in the home, the court’s conservative majority held for the first time that the second amendment “protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia.” Relying on an “originalist” reading of the constitution, Justice Scalia insisted the supreme court had essentially misread the Second Amendment for 200 years.... Lawrence Douglas | The Guardian
Caged alone 24 hours a day, denied medicine: lawsuit claims 'torture' in US migrant jails [Where ignorant fear and hatred leads] A lawsuit on behalf of 55,000 detainees describes ‘horrific conditions’ in US facilities  Members of criminal justice, disability rights, and immigration organizations announce a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of thousands of people in Ice detention centers, outside the Royal Federal courthouse in Los Angeles on Monday. Photograph: Damian Dovarganes/AP Sam Levin in Los Angeles | The Guardian
'You have to face a bully': Castro brothers unite against Trump's race-baiting [Twin brothers are proof of enlightened hope] Presidential hopeful Julián and Texas congressman Joaquin stand up with one voice against president’s anti-immigration policies  Joaquin, left, with his brother Julián, on the day the 113th Congress was sworn in. Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Ed Pilkington in New York | The Guardian
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From power cuts to infrastructure failure, the impact of climate change on US cities will be huge – but many are already innovating to adapt  ....A study by the University of Maryland published this year predicts that by 2080, Denver will be as hot and wet as Borger, Texas, about 50 miles (80km) north of Amarillo; Philadelphia will feel warmer and drier – more like Memphis, Tennessee, and New York City will be up to 9F (5C) warmer, with a climate similar to Jonesboro, Arkansas. The study, which accompanies a tool that allows US users to find what their city will be like by 2080, shows that if emissions continue at the current pace residents in cities around the nation will:
Pam Radtke Russell in New Orleans | The Guardian
The Hunstable Electric Turbine by Linear Labs can generate two to five times the torque of existing motors in the same-size package, the company says  Photo: Linear Labs Lawrence Ulrich | IEEE Spectrum
Exclusive: British high commissioner Vicki Treadell has met with Angus Taylor and Marise Payne ....A spokesman for the UK high commission in Canberra said the call for more ambitious action on the climate emergency did not just apply to Australia. “No countries’ targets have been ambitious enough and every country needs to do more, including both the UK and Australia,” the spokesman said. “The UK government believes we have a moral duty to leave this world in better condition than that which we inherited, which is why we have set ourselves a target of net zero emissions by 2050.” The intervention comes as the Morrison government faces further international pressure to do more on climate, with the UN hosting a climate summit in New York next month, followed by the annual COP (Conference of the Parties) meeting for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which oversees global emissions targets. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has asked world leaders to demonstrate at the September summit that they have plans for achieving zero emissions by 2050.... Sarah Martin Chief political correspondent | The Guardian
Amazon under fire for new packaging that cannot be recycled [ALL NON-RECYCLABLE PACKAGING MUST BE ILLEGAL] Use of plastic envelopes branded a ‘major step backwards’ in fight against pollution Miles Brignall | The Guardian
Planned Parenthood withdraws from federal program over Trump rule [Another triumph of ignorant stupidity] Group’s acting president and CEO says centers will remain open but predicts many women will ‘delay or go without’ care  About 4 million women are served nationwide under the Title X program, which distributes $260m in grants to clinics. Photograph: Jeff Roberson/AP Planned Parenthood said on Monday it was withdrawing from the federal family planning program rather than abide by a new Trump administration rule prohibiting clinics from referring women for abortions. Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood’s acting president and CEO, said the organization’s nationwide network of health centers would remain open and strive to make up for the loss of federal money. But she predicted that many low-income women who rely on Planned Parenthood services would “delay or go without” care. “We will not be bullied into withholding abortion information from our patients,” said McGill Johnson. “Our patients deserve to make their own healthcare decisions, not to be forced to have Donald Trump or Mike Pence make those decisions for them.”... Associated Press | The Guardian
Daniel Pantaleo held Garner in chokehold before his death, and his words became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement Oliver Laughland | The Guardian
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Whether they know it or not, today’s obstructionists are using a playbook developed long ago by the plantation elite. Jamelle Bouie | The New York Times
Our founding ideals of liberty and equality were false when they were written. For generations, black Americans have fought to make them true. Nikole Hannah-Jones | The New York Times
HOLLY OTTERBEIN | Politico
In 1619, a ship with 20 captives landed at Point Comfort in Virginia, ushering in the era of American slavery Khushbu Shah and Juweek Adolphe | The Guardian
400 years of racism: Portland rally: Proud Boys vow to march each month after biggest protest of Trump era [1:15 video] Oregon city sees sporadic violence and a dozen arrests as Donald Trump and Proud Boys chairman denounce anti-fascists Jason Wilson | The Guardian
The misogyny Steve King embodies is very much in the DNA of the Republican party [Society has become an embarassing...mess...from media outlets and politicians spewing outrageous hate and warped opinion.] The Republican party is very much Steve King’s party – don’t let any Republican try and pretend otherwise The Grand Old Pervert party Arwa Mahdawi | The Guardian
Slavery helped turn America into a financial colossus. And our economy is still shaped by management practices invented by enslavers and overseers. Matthew Desmond | The New York Times
Trump's Statue of Bigotry is not Cuccinelli's first neo-Confederate assault [Is everyone in the Trump Administration a racist bigot?] In 2010, as Virginia attorney general, the acting USCIS director tried to make his staff wear a symbol of secession Sidney Blumenthal | The Guardian
Steve Contorno | Tampa Bay Times
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Huge crowds fill downtown park and surrounding streets, forcing police to block roads Verna Yu in Hong Kong | The Guardian
Fire broke out in Dhaka’s Mirpur district on Friday, destroying almost 2,000 tin shacks, officials say Agence France-Presse | The Guardian
Scott Morrison's betrayal of the Pacific was immoral – and completely unnecessary [Inaction will bring death and suffering] Australia’s regional and global influence will not grow unless we are fair dinkum about acting on climate change Nicky Ison | The Guardian
Court decision on fate of Grace 1, which was seized by UK Royal Marines, due on Thursday Dan Sabbagh, Patrick Wintour and agencies | The Guardian
The Museum Is the Refugee’s Home [Think about it: refugees—excluding bad criminal types—are naturally the best new citizens because they'll fight like hell for a better life.] Without exiles and émigrés there is no modern culture. A new show in Washington maps a century of art and displacement. Jason Farago | The New York Times
Hundreds of demonstrators stage new rally a day after shutdown at key transport hub Lily Kuo in Beijing and agencies | The Guardian
Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy is imperilling centuries of common purpose. It can’t be allowed to succeed Gordon Brown | The Guardian
Editor's note: Michael D'Antonio is the author of the book "Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success" and co-author with Peter Eisner of "The Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence." The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author's. View more opinion articles on CNN.Michael D'Antonio | CNN
IDEA: Virtual Nations could replace nation-states, allowing everyone to be agents for a better world Marc Cherbonnier | The Baltimore Chronicle | Ref.
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There are currently 52 federal terrorism laws available to address entirely domestic acts of political violence
Mike German | The Guardian
Without us noticing, we are entering the postcapitalist era. At the heart of further change to come is information technology, new ways of working and the sharing economy. The old ways will take a long while to disappear, but it’s time to be utopian Paul Mason | The Guardian
Congress just passed a budget that blows the doors off the deficit and Pentagon budget levels. So where are the presidential candidates? DAVID NELSON | The American Conservative [Not to be confused with today's Republican Party]
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