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Read, dont just dismiss, Goldstones report on Gaza - Rep. Keith Ellison - POLITICO.com

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:37:18 -0800

The US congress is set to dismiss Judge Goldstone's report, which criticises both Israel and Hamas for conduct in the conflict in Gaza ... without even reading it.

Zionist Richard Goldstone (above), has done a pretty good job of being an honest broker, bringing out the facts. At least one US politician, Keith Ellison, salutes him for it. The rest are paid handsomely to vote based on prejudice, not on evidence or principles.

BAN ZIMBABWE BLOOD DIAMONDS

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:06:12 -0800

Robert Mugabe has seized Zimbabwe's diamond fields and is using the profits to fuel violent political conflict.

Here's a petition to the diamond regulators, who meet this week: Zimbabwe diamonds do not comply with Kimberley standards, nor can they be certified 'conflict-free'. Suspend Zimbabwe from the global diamond trade until the army pulls out of Marange, violence ends, abuses are investigated and Kimberley controls are upheld.

Brown hails breakthrough in climate talks - Europe, World - The Independent

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:24:23 -0700

Gordon Brown is not too popular in the UK right now. Indeed, he looks likely to be a half-term Prime Minister, one of the few never to win a general election.

But if he succeeds in brokering a strong position for the EU at the UN climate change talks at Copenhagen, and if that position is adopted worldwide, and if as a result global warming is limited to two degrees...

History will remember him long after MPs expenses and the Iraqi and Afghan occupations are forgotten.

Government launches map to highlight global warming threat - Climate Change, Environment - The Independent

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:29:18 -0700

Temperatures could rise by more than 12 degrees C in some parts of the world during the next 50 years, according to UK scientists: that's if we do nothing to curb CO2 emissions. The British Environment Minister and Foreign Secretary came together to present the findings, which would mean a "high pressure" future of water and food shortages, mass migration and conflict in our children's lifetimes. Harvests of staples like maize, wheat and rice may decline 30% while the population rises 30%: a recipe for disaster.

In its MET office, the British Government has collected perhaps the world's best group of weather and climate experts. I take their forecasts seriously.

Above: David Milliband, Foreign Secretary, in front of the new interactive climate change map.

Baffin Island reveals dramatic scale of Arctic climate change - Climate Change, Environment - The Independent

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:11:22 -0700

The Arctic's warming over the past century is unprecedented, according to scientists studying mud samples from beneath lakes on Canada's Baffin Island. The samples describe the island's climate over tens of thousands of years. With the Earth moving away from the sun of late, the last 8,000 years should have been getting colder - and they were, until about 1900.

I expect to see many comments from denialists at the foot of the page. Like fascists, Zionists and neocons, the dwindling number of denialists have had to become well organised in their bombardment of comment boards with half truths. They are always ready to name a handful of renegade scientists, who alone among thousands of charlatans see through the global warming hoax. Ha! Happily they won't be with us for long; we can get on with the task of rescuing civilisation much better without them.

Kingsnorth power station plans shelved by energy group E.ON | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:16:45 -0700

Politicians talk of emissions targets but, as Jim Hansen says, unless all the remaining coal stays in the ground these will not be met. So the shelving of plans to build a new coal-fired power station in England must be good news for unborn generations.

Protests against the plant, such as the one pictured above, may have played a part in the decision.

Thanks to MrChampion.

Peak oil could hit soon, report says | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:38:51 -0700

The British government may be doing more than most, but it isn't enough to prepare for peak oil*. It IS coming, and may well arrive before 2020. Sensible purchasing decisions and new technology may help, but a dramatic change in our way of life is what's really needed. And we don't have much time.

Higher oil prices will make renewables more attractive but they may also lead to investment in the dirtiest forms of energy, such as the Alberta tar sands (above). Extracting oil from these sands may delay peak oil, but it will lead to a climate catastrophe.

*What will peak oil be like? Imagine a deep economic recession with no end. When will it arrive? Like old age it will creep up on us. How can we prepare? Buy less stuff; reuse old stuff; recycle stuff that can no longer be reused; discard materialism; share.

Informed Comment: Gross: Massive Fraud in Afghanistan Election

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:44:11 -0700

Nasrine Gross has seen first hand the thousands of Afghan people who, in spite of the security situation, flocked to support the campaign of Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai's chief rival. Those same people came again to report on the massive fraud perpetrated by the Karzai campaign. Studying eight of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, Gross found that on election day 56% of polling centres were closed and 73% had problems. Amazingly, the incumbent government picked up most of its votes from these closed centres. At some of them, turnout topped 100%. Gross believes that if the election were conducted fairly, Afghanistan would be more united and those seeking to destabilise it would be weakened.

An important message, especially since the oilman-cum-fraudster Karzai is only in power because American, British, Canadian and German servicemen and women are doing a lot of killing and dying for him.

However well presented the story, we shouldn't expect the same hue and cry as there was for the electoral fraud in Iran (the press will keep quiet about cheating as long as the right man wins), but Nasrine Gross's unedited 2,000 words to say what I put into 100-odd does not aid dissemination.

Above: Abdullah Abdullah in 2004.

The demise of the dollar - Business News, Business - The Independent

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:09:29 -0700

There are two common beliefs about the world economy which I think are wrong. First, that the US has become the world's largest economy thanks to the ingenuity and hard work of its citizens as they pursue the American dream. Second, that capitalism has been the motor of economic growth.

In truth, Americans are no more intelligent, enterprising or industrious than anyone else. They've become rich because alone among nations they had a good war in the early 1940s. (They entered late and had relatively vast resources at their disposal.) This meant they were able to dictate the post-war settlement at Bretton Woods, making the US dollar the international reserve currency. What is more, to buy oil states must first buy dollars. These factors overvalue the dollar, making Americans feel rich. It might be about to change. If a tipping point is reached, central banks around the world may panic sell their dollars. The US currency could halve in value quite suddenly.

As for capitalism, economic "growth" has gone hand in hand with greater exploitation - of people in third world countries, of the land and seas, of minerals and crucially of oil. Each year oil production increases and the world economy grows. With tensions in the Middle East and the oil industry at or near peak production, that too is about to change.

Get ready for a big shift in the balance of power over the next decade. The USA looks set to decline relative to other countries and quite quickly at that, but this is not the most important change. After all, national boundaries are an illusion created by the elite to keep us squabbling amongst ourselves. No, it is the shift in power to a very small global minority that is the key. It is already happening with the taxpayer-funded banking bailout and 'jobless recovery'. The third world is coming to a neighbourhood near you and you must decide whether to accept a few crumbs from the rich man's table or work for a fair and just system.

Thanks to OliviaB.

GUINEA: STOP THE CRACKDOWN!

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:26:14 -0700

As in Honduras, a coup in Guinea has snatched the hope of democracy away from the people. As in Honduras, Guinea's coup leaders have used violence to crack down on dissent. There have been deaths in both countries, but in Guinea 150 died last week, with men bayoneted and women raped on the streets. Neither coup could succeed without the support of the economic and political elite, who love to fly abroad to go shopping in places like Paris and Miami. In both cases, targeted sanctions could bring democracy.

Here's a petition to the European and African Unions asking for sanctions targeted against those Guineans who shop while their compatriots are abused.

Above: security forces assaulting civilians at the pro-democracy rally in Conakry, Guinea.