Aggregated News & Opinion
Today’s posts in bigger type.
Prior 2-3 days in smaller type.
Today’s posts in bigger type.
Prior 2-3 days in smaller type.
Obama's ACA didn't fix this:
The US wastes $1.8 Trillion per year on health care spending compared to the average of 2017 total per capita costs of comparable yet profit-controlled advanced countries. Let's end price gouging and adopt profit-control practices too. To the point, 2017 US out-of-control per capita health care spending was $5322 more per person than in France, the highest rated system based on patient outcomes.
Environment: 1 percent of people cause 50 percent of airline emissions around the world. So who are they?
It’s the 1 percent.
- Research shows the airline industry is responsible for about 5 percent of man-made global warming.
- A new study found that just 1 percent of the world’s population contribute to 50 percent of airline emissions.
- The findings come as air travel has slowed due to the coronavirus pandemic and is poised to pick back up.
By
Anagha Srikanth | The Hill | 20.11.20
Financing, policy, and private sector tools can fund vehicle costs and new charging infrastructure.
By David Roberts | Vox | 20.11.20
- By 2040, Mineral Carbonation International (MCi) wants to lock away 1 billion tonnes of CO2 in building materials.
- Sophia Hamblin Wang is one of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers and COO of Mineral Carbonation International.
- Here she explains the process and how business leaders can join the growing ranks of those pledging to decarbonize....
Kate Whiting | World Economic Forum | 20.11.20
German government says cases are stabilising after reporting 23,648 new infections; Madrid to close its borders with other regions; Russia reports 24,318 new cases
- NY Times: Covid in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count - live
- South Australia premier fuming over pizza lie that put state in lockdown
- California enacts curfew for majority of state’s 40m residents
- Scientists race to find ‘warm’ Covid vaccine to solve issue of cold storage
- Arthritis drug appears to help Covid patients in ICU
- ‘Massive headache’: European leaders put off Christmas decisions
Kevin Rawlinson (now); Martin Farrer and Helen Sullivan (earlier) | The Guardian | 20.11.20
Environment: China’s vow to cut carbon emissions clashes with plans to expand coal power plants, report says [It's as if one hand didn't know what the other was doing...]
- Xi Jinping’s UN pledge to make China carbon neutral by 2060 conflicts with plans to expand the country’s coal-power capacity, two research groups say
- Next five-year plan for energy should phase out coal-fired power plants and double expansion of wind and solar power, they urge
Jane Cai in Beijing | South China Morning Post | 20.11.20
Climate experts say UK should aim to cut emissions by more than 70% as crucial summit looms
Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent | The Guardian | 20.11.20
Environment: Cancel the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree for Good [Cancel the unnecessary killing of trees everywhere. Reusable fake trees will be just fine.]
Brian Kahn | GIZMODO | 20.11.20
Environment: Indigenous and Progressive Activists and Lawmakers Plan Rally at DNC to Push Biden in Greener Direction
Organizers are calling for "a corporate-free Cabinet and administration staffed with personnel committed to addressing the climate threat, as well as following through on promises made during the campaign."
Brett Wilkins, staff writer | Common Dreams | 20.11.19
The president-elect has tapped a former DuPont consultant to join his Environmental Protection Agency transition board
- The US is in a water crisis far worse than most people imagine – Industrial runoff and lax standards have tainted water across the US. Senators and doctors are calling me, asking what to do
Erin Brockovich | The Guardian | 20.11.19
Expecting the free market to fix global warming is like trying to pound nails with a saw
Robert S Devine | The Guardian | 20.11.19
Health: Kristi Noem rigidly follows Trump strategy of denial as Covid ravages South Dakota [Ignoring doctors and scientists, like Trump...]
Republican governor clings to the president despite his defeat and claims ‘we’re doing really good’ with state’s positivity rate at 60%
Ed Pilkington | The Guardian | 20.11.19
Blackburn official attacks government’s ‘pointlessly punishing’ approach to Covid
Josh Halliday North of England correspondent | The Guardian | 20.11.19
McDonald’s sells 75 burgers every second. Its embrace of plant-based meat alternatives could make a real difference
Adrienne Matei | The Guardian | 20.11.19
US dropped the environmental ball under Trump, but Biden victory means the two countries can work together for a green recovery, says campaigner
Patrick Greenfield | The Guardian | 20.11.17
Media: After Twitter's pushback, a dam is breached among social media companies defying Trump [The world is sick of Trump!]
Twitter's fact-check lit a match; now, more techies are taking responsibility for enabling Trump's violent rhetoric
NICOLE KARLIS | Salon | 20.11.20
The Grayzone Channel | YouTube | 20.11.18
Staff | PEN AMERICA | 20.11.17
JOSHUA CHO | FAIR | 20.11.16
Media: Outfoxed • Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism • Fox News • BRAVE NEW FILMS • FULL DOCUMENTARY [1:17:07 video]
Brave New Films Channel | YouTube | 20.11.14
Bad journalists are howled at
BOB SOMERBY in The DailyHowler | EVERY DAY
| Arts & Education Events: |
| Civic Events: |
| A born internationalist, Blinken will seek to soothe the frayed nerves of western allies  Antony Blinken, talking about refugees, told a Sesame Street character we ‘all have something to learn and gain from one another’. Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters Julian Borger in Washington | The Guardian | 20.11.23
Commentary: Trump campaign cuts ties with attorney Sidney Powell after bizarre election fraud claims [She did her job too well!] Powell has made a raft of incorrect claims, including that Georgia’s voting software was created at the behest of late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez  Attorney Sidney Powell (C), speaks alongside Trump lawyer and former mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, DC. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA Associated Press | The Guardian | 20.11.23
 ‘Trump will lose because there’s no evidence of fraud. But the integrity of thousands of people responsible for maintaining American democracy is being tested as never before.’ Photograph: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Most elected Republicans are refusing to stand up to Trump. Their cowardice is one of the worst betrayals of public trust in the history of our republic Robert Reich | The Guardian | 20.11.23
Commentary: South Dakota gripped by pandemic amid Kristi Noem's no-mask approach [What is it about Trump Republicans that makes them so gullible to believing obviously stupid policy?] State has alarming Covid positivity rate of almost 60% and governor’s hands-off policy, including being the only state without a mask mandate, is having dire consequences  Johne Riley shows off his chest painted with a portrait of Donald Trump during the 80th annual Sturgis motorcycle rally on 7 August 2020 in Sturgis, South Dakota, which usually attracts around 500,000 people. Photograph: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images Talli Nauman in Rapid City, South Dakota | The Guardian | 20.11.23
Polls suggest Americans are exhausted after months of restrictions, so we asked experts for advice on how to convince loved ones to stay safe ahead of the holidays ....While the US contends with a huge surge in cases and record hospitalizations, federal inaction has forced local officials to adopt their own rules and messaging, creating a patchwork of confusing regulations that differ across the country, and are constantly changing. Polls suggest Americans are exhausted. The Guardian talked to experts in psychology, public health and communications to get advice on how to convince their weary or misinformed loved ones to stay safe as we head into a deadly holiday season. The interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.... Sam Levin in Los Angeles | The Guardian | 20.11.23
Commentary: Trump supporter who exhaled over women during protests is charged with assault [Why is it that Trump and his supporters go to such extremes to offend and endanger others?] Raymond Deskins charged after breathing forcefully over two women during altercation outside Trump golf club in Virginia  Raymond Deskins wears an inflatable toy supporting Donald Trump at a protest outside Trump National Golf Club, in Sterling, Virginia, on Saturday. Photograph: Chris Kleponis/EPA A man seen forcefully exhaling on two women outside Donald Trump’s Virginia golf course has been charged with assault. Raymond Deskins, 61, was charged with misdemeanor assault after a private citizen obtained a warrant through a county magistrate, the Loudoun county sheriff’s office said on Sunday. Deskins did not immediately return a request for comment. Video widely shared on social media shows Deskins blowing air on two unidentified women after one of them asks him to get away and points out that he’s not wearing a mask amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic. “That’s assault” one of the women said afterwards. “I breathed on you,” Deskins replied.... Guardian staff and agency | The Guardian | 20.11.23
|  People visit Griffith Observatory on a day rated ‘moderate’ air quality in Los Angeles, California, in June 2019. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images Commentary: A destructive legacy: Trump bids for final hack at environmental protections [Does a grifter want more and bigger bribes?] Administration finishing off regulatory moves to lock in drilling, loosen wildlife protections and roll back pollution standards Any successful remediation of the rollbacks will also have to survive as flurry of lawsuits, with the US supreme court now titled decisively in a conservative direction. All of this will soak up time during a period where scientists say planet-heating emissions must be cut rapidly to avoid the worst ravages of the climate crisis. “Trump’s legacy on environmental issues will be less about lasting policy changes,” said Revesz, “and more about lost time and missed opportunities.”... Oliver Milman | The Guardian | 20.11.23
A powerful trick is forcing governments to keep quiet about a toxic threat that's killing more than Coronavirus.
Drop in emissions this year is a ‘tiny blip’ in buildup of greenhouse gases, UN agency says  Smoke from a coal-fuelled power station in China. Photograph: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images Damian Carrington Environment editor | The Guardian | 20.11.23
 Ernest Moniz’s link to fossil fuels ‘is his entire professional career for the last couple decades, which is deeply concerning’, said a campaigner. Photograph: Mikhail Japaridze/TASS Commentary: Why is Joe Biden considering this man to help fight the climate crisis? [After Trump, only TOTAL WAR against climate change will be acceptable!] The Biden transition team is facing pressure not to hire people with fossil fuel ties, like Obama’s energy secretary Ernest Moniz ....According to his firm’s 362-page analysis, the fastest path to California’s climate goals included continuing to rely on fossil fuels. The analysis was funded by gas companies and groups related to them, but he wasn’t a lobbyist or industry consultant. Quite the opposite, he was the Obama administration’s well-respected energy secretary, Ernest Moniz. “We certainly have to get beyond … the climate deniers,” he said in the April 2019 interview with C-SPAN. “But we also have to get beyond what we think are often completely unrealistic proposals for the pace at which we can decarbonize.” Fighting climate change at the pace needed would require a “broad coalition,” he said – one that included the oil and gas industry.... Emily Holden in Washington | The Guardian | 20.11.23
 Cedric Richmond has announced he will give up his seat in Congress representing a Louisiana district to serve in Joe Biden’s administration. Photograph: Chris Granger/AP Climate advocates urge Louisiana congressman Cedric Richmond to leverage his new position to help bring attention to their plight Oliver Laughland in New Orleans and Emily Holden | The Guardian | 20.11.23
 Australian and Chinese flags at the third China International Import Expo in Shanghai, China, this month. Photo: Reuters Opinion: Alienating China is not in Australia’s interest [Could Rupert Murdoch’s media commentary exacerbating this?] Canberra needs to work harder to resolve and reconcile its internal conflicts over relations with China, and to improve understanding with Beijing SCMP Editorial | South China Morning Post | 20.11.23
Environment: How China’s vast and aggressive fishing fleet is kept afloat by Beijing [The fleet steals virtually all fish in territorial waters of dozens of countries around the world.] The country’s fishing fleet would not be able to sustain itself – or its geopolitical and surveillance role – without the hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies it receives  Frozen fish on a Chinese ship confiscated by the Ecuadorean Navy in the waters of the Galápagos Marine Reserve in 2017. Photo: AFP Ian Urbina | South China Morning Post | 20.11.23
|
"The arsonist in chief, who spent the past four years being as reckless as humanly possible, is lighting a whole bunch more fires with the GOAL of them being impossible to put out." Jessica Corbett, staff writer | Common Dreams | 20.11.20
Commentary: 'Integrity still matters': the unlikely Republican standing up to Trump's voter fraud lies [Just one Republican.... Perhaps his wife got through to him?] The Georgia secretary of state tells the Guardian he’s received death threats for pushing back against the president’s claims Sam Levine | The Guardian | 20.11.20
Commentary: Trump administration in 'staggering' isolation at UN on health issues [The world is sick of Trump!] US left with few allies as it tries to change wording on topic of reproductive healthcare Julian Borger in Washington | The Guardian | 20.11.20
Commentary: ‘We Basically Made Recovery Much, Much Harder Than It Has to Be’ ["We" being Trump Republicans?] CounterSpin interview with Josh Bivens on pandemic unemployment JANINE JACKSON | FAIR | 20.11.20
Martin Belam | The Guardian | 20.11.19
A leaked White House report warns the government is not doing enough to tackle the pandemic, as the US death toll passes 250,000. Plus, Ivanka Trump has ‘her dad’s instinct to throw others under the bus’ Molly Blackall | The Guardian | 20.11.19
Trump lost because of increased turnout among Black and brown people and their white allies. His appeals to fear and division failed William J Barber and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove | The Guardian | 20.11.19
If they’re going to achieve anything the next two to four years, Democrats must not fall for the trap of ‘bipartisanship’ Jan-Werner Müller | The Guardian | 20.11.19
High Crime: Australian special forces involved in murder of 39 Afghan civilians, war crimes report alleges [2:21 video] Brereton report finds prisoners were executed to ‘blood’ junior soldiers and unlawful killings were deliberately covered up
Christopher Knaus | The Guardian | 20.11.19
| The outgoing president reportedly asked for options on bombing Iran as administration eyes last chance to achieve objectives Julian Borger in Washington | The Guardian | 20.11.18
Outgoing president reported to have looked at military options against Tehran and its allies Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | The Guardian | 20.11.17
The president-elect will on the whole seek a return to the status quo ante – a relief to US allies Editorial | The Guardian | 20.11.17
After Labor effectively managed the pandemic in Queensland, One Nation registered barely a blip in the recent state election Peter Lewis | The Guardian | 20.11.17
Commentary: Citizen journalist facing jail in China for Wuhan Covid reporting [China commits crimes for emotional reasons, like Trump.] Zhang Zhan was arrested more than six months ago after reporting on the outbreak Helen Davidson in Taipei | The Guardian | 20.11.16
Commentary: Guerrero at war: chronicling southern Mexico's forgotten conflict – photo essay [Many thousands of civilians have been brutally murdered over several decades.] Alfredo Bosco came to Guerrero on assignment to document southern Mexican villages emptied out by conflict. Over repeated visits he documents the region’s story by Elisabeth Malkin in Mexico City, photographs; Alfredo Bosco | The Guardian | 20.11.16
"This is a grave humanitarian issue that demands your immediate attention and our collective condemnation," the lawmakers told the outgoing secretary of state, who is visiting the region this week. Jessica Corbett, staff writer | Common Dreams | 20.11.18
| The Grayzone Channel | YouTube | 20.11.20
Supreme court justices ruled observers were not blocked from the counting and also reversed a decision allowing observers within 6ft Sam Levine | The Guardian | 20.11.18
PBS NewsHour Channel | YouTube | 20.11.18
Virtual Nations [An editorial promoting an anti-despot/fascist ideal] Instead of NATION-STATE-POLITICIANS essentially owning and controlling people (and their descendants ad infinitum) in "their" Nation State, wouldn't it be better if adults world-wide could contract with UN-certified professional agencies to perform nation-level fiduciary functions (certifications being updated at least annually).
— State, City and county governments would continue unchanged —
Virtual Nation agencies would manage escrows for selected Social Security, Medicare and charities. If this is possible and replaced Nations States, then wars and immigration crises could disappear since virtual nations' citizens are scattered world-wide, therefore military invasion or bombing won't work. The annual (re)choosing of virtual nation agency would desirably not be political, but be based upon prior service experience (if continuing with same provider) or by using UN assessed ratings of professional service performance. When you change agency the escrows for social security, medicare and charities are transferred to your new agency. Changing priorities for charities or "optional governance?" could be more frequent. Marc Cherbonnier | The Baltimore Chronicle | Ref.
|