(2018-12-02). G-20 Agrees on Trade and Migration; U.S. Goes Own Way on Climate. truthdig.com A nonbinding communique is reached after marathon talks by diplomats, with the Americans called the main holdout on nearly every issue.
(2018-12-02). How Climate Change Helped Create the Migrant Caravan. truthout.org The "caravan" of hopeful immigrants from Central America that was tear gassed by the US government on November 25 continues to be shamelessly exploited as political fodder. Trump depicts the immigrants as a security threat to the US, while Democrats like Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez compare the Central American immigrants to Jews fleeing Germany because of the threat of physical violence and death in their own country. But both these narratives overlook one of the main contributors of the migrant caravan. | The Southern border has seen a
(2018-12-02). Showing Up for Racial Justice in Oakland. indybay.org On November 25 after a few migrants tried to breach a fence between the U.S. and Mexico, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency fired tear gas and shot rubber bullets across the border. On December 1 protesters reacted to this injustice in front of the Grand Lake Theater. | Photos by Charlie Moehle. Please credit the photographer.
(2018-12-01). More Governments Opt to Phase Out Oil Production. truthdig.com Cutting fossil fuel supply can help to limit demand, and a new study focuses on what could be the next big step in climate policy.
(2018-12-01). Mercury Contamination of Atmosphere May Reach Orbit Through Regulatory Blindspot. globalresearch.ca Federal regulators have turned a blind eye to the massive risks of using mercury as the propellant in thousands of communication satellites slated for launch in the next few years, according to a complaint filed today by Public Employees for …
(2018-12-01). Why Don't Detroit Public Schools Have Safe Drinking Water? truthout.org First it was Flint, and now it's Detroit. The public schools in Flint, Michigan, may now have safe drinking water, but the faucets have been turned off in Detroit since the beginning of the school year. |
(2018-12-01). Video: Global Warming Testimony. Questions the IPCC Consensus. Prominent Scientist. globalresearch.ca Speech by Dr. Don Easterbrook, Professor Emeritus of Geology, Western Washington State University. This was delivered to the Washington State Senate — Energy, Environment & Telecommunications Committee on March 26, 2013. | He points out 'scientific' points — which question …
(2018-12-01). Thousands of Australian high school students join climate change strike. wsws.org The rallies showed the growing politicisation of a generation that has grown up amid continuous war, growing inequality and worsening environmental destruction.
(2018-12-01). Eight new books for ecosocialists. greenleft.org.au 
Climate and Capitalism editor Ian Angus offers up eight new books as recommended reading for ecosocialists. Inclusion does not imply agreement with a book's contents. | ***
1. The Biofuels Deception: Going Hungry on the Green Carbon Diet
| By Okbazghi Yohannes
| Monthly Review Press, 2018 | Eliminating fossil fuels is essential, but biofuels have far more to do with sating profit-hungry corporations than saving the Earth. Combining meticulous scientific narrative with devastating economic analy…
(2018-12-01). A true people's artist. greenleft.org.au 
Rock & Roll Harbour
| Exhibition by The Shop Gallery
| 112 Glebe Point Road, Glebe
| Thurs January 3 — Wed Jan 9 | Peter Gow is the people's artist. | His ouvre is driven by his down-to-earth, inner-city environment such as boathouses and the heritage-listed Sydney Harbour Bridge in various attitudes, all of which feature prominently in this exhibition. | Gow is a qualified electrician and builder as well, very handy for making the frames in his spare time that embrace his art. | His deep, rich, contrasting colours leap from his palette onto the canvas. His short brush strokes create a palindrom…
(2018-12-01). Bizarre Seismic Waves Rippled Around the World — and Nobody Knows Why. theantimedia.com 
(TMU) — Something very unusual rumbled across planet Earth on November 11th, and scientists say they've never seen anything like it. For 20 minutes, instruments measured unusual seismic activity over 10,000 miles away from where it originated, yet not a single human felt them. Seismic waves, originating from the French island of Mayotte, between Africa and Madagascar, …
(2018-11-30). "No Deal" Brexit predictions, GDP, average incomes, austerity and the CLIMATE CRISIS. zcomm.org If Bill Gates walks into a room full of factory workers then the average income of everybody in the room skyrockets. It would skyrocket even if everybody else in the room were going bankrupt as Gates entered. Similarly, the average income of the people in the room would plummet as Gates walked out the door even Read more…
(2018-11-30). The End of Illusion. counterpunch.org 
Photo Source Christopher Michel | CC BY 2.0 | The following is the Epilogue from Jeffrey St. Clair's and Joshua Frank's new book The Big Heat: Earth on the Brink, available now from CounterPunch Books. | In the spring of 2017, the carbon dioxide readings at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawai'i cracked 410 parts per million, an all-time record and a frightening one. On Earth Day, climate marches took place in cities across the world. Trump's policies didn't drive the spiking CO2 levels, but…
(2018-11-30). In Major Threat to Due Process, Marsy's Law Gains Ground Nationwide. aclu.org A growing movement wants to amend the US Constitution and weaken its due process protections in its ill-advised pursuit of victims' rights. | Alongside the major criminal justice reform headlines that came out of the midterm elections, a quieter trend also gained momentum through the ballot box: a budding, national threat to due process and the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. | On Nov. 6, six states adopted, through ballot initiatives, what is known as "Marsy's Law," which e…
(2018-11-30). Massive Class Action Launched Against Canada's Trudeau Government for Failure to Address Climate Crisis. therealnews.com 
Catherine Gauthier of ENvironnement JEUnesse says Justin Trudeau's government has failed to take meaningful action on climate change
(2018-11-30). Climate justice clashes with an increasingly intolerant Poland. amnesty.org This weekend world leaders arrive in the Polish city of Katowice for the COP24 climate summit, where they will set out plans for implementing the Paris Climate Agreement. Over the course of two weeks governments are expected to make decisions which could move us closer to limiting global warming to 1.5 ∞C above pre-industrial levels. Failure to achieve this would have serious consequences and crossing this threshold by even half a degree will trigger catastrophic and unprecedented climate-related events. |
(2018-11-30). Alaska quake causes 'severe damage', triggers tsunami warning. rt.com 
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck near Anchorage caused 'severe damage' to the city. It was followed by aftershocks that triggered a tsunami alert in the Cook Inlet area, Alaska authorities said.
(2018-11-30). WA Labor opens the gate to fracking. greenleft.org.au 
The Western Australian Labor government announced it is opening up 5.2 million hectares — an area roughly the size of 75% of Tasmania — to potential fracking operations on November 27. | The decision follows advice from an inquiry carried out by the WA Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that said fracking in the Kimberley, Mid-West and Gascoyne regions would not pose a serious threat to people, agriculture or the environment. | Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a dangerous process that involves fracturing rock with pressurised liquid to mine unconventional gas. | Prior to last year's state ele…
(2018-11-30). New maps of land destruction show why people flee Central America. greenleft.org.au 
A new map developed at the University of Cincinnati illustrates one motivating force behind migrant caravans leaving Guatemala and Honduras to reach the United States. | UC geography professor Tomasz Stepinski has turned high-resolution satellite images from the European Space Agency into one of the most detailed looks so far at how people are reshaping the planet. | Stepinski said: "Right now there are caravans of people walking to the United States. Many of them are coming from Guatemala." | News agencies such as The Guardian have called some of the Central American migrants "climate-change refugees" since many…
(2018-11-30). US condemned for tear-gassing refugees, children. greenleft.org.au 
Legal experts and human rights advocates have denounced the tear gassing of children and other asylum seekers by US forces at the Mexico border on November 25. | "The migrants at our southern border include mothers and small children exercising their legal, human right to seek asylum," declared the ACLU in a tweet on November 26. It told the US Customs and Border Protection agency: "Tear gassing children is out…
(2018-11-29). Why A.S. Hamrah's Anti-Capitalist Film Criticism Is Essential Reading. thenation.com Why A.S. Hamrah's Anti-Capitalist Film Criticism Is Essential Reading…
(2018-11-29). An Excerpt from Green Earth. mronline.org 
Kim Stanley Robinson describes himself as "a patriot of the genre" of science fiction, writing at the intersection of science and politics for over three decades. His work is striking for its warmth and realism. | Source
(2018-11-29). George Monbiot: Ending Meat & Dairy Consumption Is Needed to Prevent Worst Impacts of Climate Change. democracynow.org 
We look at the link between climate change and meat consumption on the heels of a series of damning reports that say if humans don't act now to halt climate change, the results will be catastrophic. A new study by the World Meteorological Organization shows the past four years have been the hottest on record. On Tuesday, the United Nations reported that carbon emissions reached record highs in 2017 and are on the rise for the first time in four years. Radical reductions are necessary to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, the level that would prevent the worst effects of catastrophic climate change. Livestock fo…
(2018-11-29). Counting the Drops: Climate Change and The Colorado River. therealnews.com 
In the midst of a prolonged drought, Arizona's cities have found ways to adapt to low water reserves and put tight water management programs in place, in order to ensure future reserves
(2018-11-29). DNA Tests Make Native Americans Strangers in Their Own Land. thenation.com DNA Tests Make Native Americans Strangers in Their Own Land…
(2018-11-29). Where Are the Politics in Michelle Obama's New Memoir? thenation.com Where Are the Politics in Michelle Obama's New Memoir?
(2018-11-29). Green paradoxes: How climate change policy preserves climate change causes. mronline.org 
Why are societies failing to effectively respond to climate change? Why is it that "environmental degradation increases amid the growth of environmental attention and concern," as Alexander Stoner and Andony Melathopoulos put it? | Source
(2018-11-29). Malaysia: Report details shocking abuses against Indigenous peoples defending their land. amnesty.org Indigenous communities across Malaysia face relentless harassment, intimidation, arrest, violence and even death as they peacefully resist attempts to force them off land they consider ancestral, a report by Amnesty International reveals today. | | The report,
(2018-11-29). Malaysia: "The forest is our heartbeat": The struggle to save Indigenous land in Malaysia. amnesty.org Defenders of the lands of Indigenous peoples in Malaysia are targeted, singled out and face opposition from state authorities and private individuals when they speak up. These abuses have further disenfranchised Indigenous communities in Malaysia, marginalising them socially and harming them economically. This report examines the struggles human rights defenders of Indigenous peoples have endured as they have sought to claim their right to Indigenous lands, and the steps that should be taken by the government to ensure that they are given the protection they deserve.
(2018-11-29). Two visions, one planet. greenleft.org.au 
As young people threw themselves into the Student Strike 4 Climate Action and made an impassioned plea to preserve life on Earth, one of Australia's most polluting industries was working behind the scenes to have the federal government hide the truth of its carbon emissions. | The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) has been lobbying to have emissions from liquefied natural gas plants kept out of the public realm and treated as a commercial secret. | These two approaches symbolise counterposed visions for humanity. | The petroleum industry has spruiked gas as a "transition fuel" th…
(2018-11-29). In Foreign Policy Speech, Elizabeth Warren Takes Aim at Global Corruption. theintercept.com In a 35-minute speech on Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., laid out a foreign policy vision, linking corruption to the global rise in authoritarianism and calling for U.S. engagement that aggressively fights climate change and corporate power. | Warren, a leading expert on bankruptcy law whose work led to the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau before being elected senator in 2012, is a favorite of many progressives. In 2016, she joined the Senate Armed Services Committee and last year traveled to Afghanistan — signs to many that she was burnishing her foreign policy credentials in…
(2018-11-28). How Tear Gas Became a Favorite Weapon of U.S. Border Patrol, Despite Being Banned In Warfare. democracynow.org 
As the Trump administration continues to defend firing tear gas into crowds of asylum seekers, we look at the history of tear gas, which is banned in warfare but legal for federal authorities and police to turn on civilians. Border authorities' use of tear gas has spiked under the Trump administration, with the agency's own data revealing it has deployed tear gas over two dozen times this year alone. Customs and Border Protection told Newsweek Tuesday it began using tear gas under the Obama administration in 2010. The agency's use of tear gas has now reached a seven-year record high. We speak with Stuart Schrader…
(2018-11-28). Headlines for November 28, 2018. democracynow.org U.N. Report Warns World Falling Far Behind on Paris Climate Goals, Mexico Agrees to U.S. Demand to Hold Asylum Seekers While Claims Are Decided, Trump Administration Defends Tear Gas Use at U.S.-Mexico Border, Border Patrol Fired Tear Gas Dozens of Times Under President Obama, U.S. Waived Background Checks for Staff at Jail for Migrant Children, Mississippi: GOP's Cindy Hyde-Smith, Who Posed as Confederate Soldier, Wins Senate Seat, Ukraine's President Warns of "Full-Fledged War" with Russia, Trump "Not Even a Little Bit Happy" with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Trump Says "We're Not Necessarily Such Believers" in Cli…
(2018-11-28). How Trump Weaponized the Government's Refugee Resettlement Agency. aclu.org The Office of Refugee Resettlement was supposed to protect vulnerable immigrant children. Now it's an arm of Trump's deportation force. | Back in April, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, both under the Department of Homeland Security, entered into a memorandum of agreement with an obscure government agency known as the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services. The office, known by its initials ORR, had traditionally served vulnerable immigrant youth coming to the United States without an adult. The agency took custody of those c…
(2018-11-28). What white supremacists know. mronline.org 
The violent theft of land and capital is at the core of the U.S. experiment: the U.S. military got its start in the wars against Native Americans. | Source
(2018-11-28). NAACP Statement on Recent Criminal Justice Reform Compromise Introduced in Senate. naacp.org NAACP released the following statement in support of the Crimianl Justice Reform Compromise: Our American criminal justice system is broken. Sentencing is disproportionately weighted against African Americans, and the current political climate continues to devalue black lives by reviving the same failed policies of the war on drugs that fueled mass incarceration," said NAACP President […]
(2018-11-28). 'Republicans Just Don't Want All the Votes to Count' – CounterSpin interview with Ari Berman on 2018 voter suppression. fair.org 
Janine Jackson interviewed Ari Berman about 2018 voter suppression for the November 16, 2018, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
(2018-11-27). How a Climate Change-Fueled Drought & U.S.-Fed Violence Are Driving Thousands from Central America. democracynow.org 
President Trump is urging Mexico to deport the thousands of Central American migrants who are at or approaching the U.S. border in an attempt to seek asylum, days after U.S. border authorities fired tear gas into a crowd of asylum seekers as some tried to push their way through the heavily militarized border near San Diego. Trump tweeted, "Mexico should move the flag waving Migrants, many of whom are stone cold criminals, back to their countries. Do it by plane, do it by bus, do it anyway you want, but they are NOT coming into the U.S.A. We will close the Border permanently if need be. Congress, fund the WALL!" T…
(2018-11-27). Headlines for November 27, 2018. democracynow.org Trump Defends Tear Gassing of Migrants, Blames Parents and "Grabbers", GM To Cut 15,000 Jobs Across North America, Trump Denies Findings of National Climate Report, Turkey Searches Saudi-Owned Villas for Jamal Khashoggi's Body, Saudi Crown Prince May Meet with Erdogan as G20 Host Argentina Mulls Criminal Charges, Report: Kushner Urged Administration to Inflate Saudi Arms Deals, CNN: U.S. "Slams Brakes" on U.N. Yemen Ceasefire Resolution, Afghanistan: IED Kills 3 U.S. Soldiers, Ukraine Declares Martial Law over Russian Naval Attack, Mueller Says Paul Manafort Lied in Russia Inquiry After Plea Deal, Rep. Mia Love B…
(2018-11-26). Headlines for November 26, 2018. democracynow.org U.S. Border Patrol Fires Tear Gas at Families Seeking Asylum, Border Patrol Officer Who Shot Teen Acquitted of Manslaughter Charge, North Carolina: ICE Arrests Immigrant Who Left Church Sanctuary, White House Tries to Bury Climate Report With Devastating Conclusions, California: Camp Fire 100% Contained as Death Toll Climbs to 85, Russia Seizes Three Ukrainian Ships Near Crimean Peninsula, President Trump Contradicts CIA Findings on Jamal Khashoggi Murder, Yemen: U.N. Urges Warring Parties to Enter Peace Talks, UAE Pardons UK Academic of Spying After Months of Imprisonment, EU Approves Brexit Deal, France: Police…
(2018-11-26). Trump Admin Tries to Bury 1,656-Page Climate Report Warning of Devastating Health Impacts of Warming. democracynow.org 
The White House released an alarming climate change report on Black Friday, attempting to bury a 1,656-page government assessment that directly contradicts President Trump's history of climate change denial. The damning report, known as the National Climate Assessment, says that the consequences of climate change will leave no part of the U.S. untouched and that the warming climate will increase wildfires, crumble infrastructure, worsen air quality, destroy crops and lead to more frequent disease outbreaks. It also finds that global warming could shrink the U.S. economy by as much as 10 percent by the end of the…
(2018-11-26). Bill McKibben: New Report Reconfirms Climate Change is Shrinking Inhabitable Parts of the Planet. democracynow.org 
On the heels of yet another alarming climate change report—this time released by a White House that openly denies global warming—we speak with 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben and public health scholar Kristie Ebi about President Trump's environmental policies, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal and what it will take to fight the growing threat of climate change.
(2018-11-26). A Peaceful Demonstration Turns Ugly at US Border. hrw.org 
| | Central American migrants run away from tear gas fired by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers near the US and Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico, on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018. | © 2018 Tomas Ayuso/Bloomberg via Getty Images | The day started peacefully. Hundreds of Central American men, women, and children walked with banners and baby strollers from the Benito Juarez stadium to the El Chaparral port of entry, on the US-Mexico border. They marched to ask for asylum and thank the …
(2018-11-23). 'The Administration's Refusal to Consider the Reality of Climate Change Is Very Difficult'. fair.org 
Janine Jackson interviewed Jackie Prange about the Keystone XL re-review for the November 16, 2018, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
(2018-11-22). Noam Chomsky: The Future of Organized Human Life Is At Risk Thanks to GOP's Climate Change Denial. democracynow.org 
As the death toll from the climate change-fueled Camp Fire in California continues to rise and hundreds remain missing, we rebroadcast our conversation about climate change with world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky from October. He says Republican Party leaders are dedicated to "enriching themselves and their friends" at the cost of the planet, and warns: "We have to make decisions now which will literally determine whether organized human life can survive in any decent form."
(2018-11-22). Elected Constituent Assembly in Venezuela provoked International Outrage, not the illegal handpicked one in Ecuador. zcomm.org "CONAIE and CREO direct the new National Electoral Council" announces a headline yesterday in the rightwing Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo. CONAIE is a self-declared "left" federation representing indigenous peoples in Ecuador. CREO is the party of the "defeated" right wing presidential candidate in 2017. I put "defeated" in quotes because CREO's electoral defeat — which they stupidly Read more…
(2018-11-20). SPLC sues Trump administration for records detailing rollback of protections for transgender people in prison. splcenter.org The SPLC, along with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, sued the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) today.
(2018-11-05). Maduro: Venezuela Sitting on 2nd Biggest Gold Reserve on Earth. venezuelanalysis.com President Nicolas Maduro described the U.S. sanctions on Venezuela as "crazy" and "criminal."
(2018-10-18). Nuclear Power & Climate. zcomm.org The great environmental challenge of our time is to understand that the many sources of biodestruction are interconnected and must be confronted simultaneously, rather than disparaging one danger to focus on another…