(2018-12-28). What is It About the American Character? counterpunch.org "What is it . . . about the American character that allows the long con of our politics to go on and on. . .?" — Ben Fountain, Beautiful Country Burn Again: Democracy, Rebellion and Revolution, 2018. What indeed can we say about the American character that clarifies the tribal state in which we now More
(2018-12-28). Ten 2018 Extinction Awards. counterpunch.org Given the way people are transforming the earth into a place where the human species cannot survive, it is only right and just that we honor achievement in the race to extinction. Without further ado, here are the top eight Extinction Awards of 2018. 2018 Extinction Global Person of the Year Award: Donald J. Trump More
(2018-12-28). Rattled: Texas rancher stumbles upon dozens of venomous snakes (VIDEO). rt.com 
A Texas man got quite a shock when he accidentally unearthed dozens of venomous rattlesnakes while working on his ranch.
(2018-12-28). 10 Costliest Climate-Driven Extreme Weather Events of 2018 Caused at Least $84.8B in Damage: Analysis. commondreams.org From heat waves and hurricanes to fires and floods, the 10 costliest extreme weather events of 2018—driven by the global climate crisis—killed thousands of people and caused at least $84.8 billion in damage, according to a new analysis from Christian Aid. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/forestfire.jpeg…
(2018-12-28). 'Not the Leadership This Moment Calls For': Progressives Slam Pelosi for Pushing 'Weak' Climate Panel Over Green New Deal Committee. commondreams.org Following presumptive House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) official announcement on Friday that Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) will chair the new Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, progressives accused the Democratic leadership of moving ahead with a "weak" congressional panel instead of listening to grassroots demands for a more bold and visionary Green New Deal Select Committee. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/pelosi_green_new_deal.jpg…
(2018-12-28). New York Power Plant Explosion Seen as Glowing Reminder of Dire Need to Ditch Fossil Fuels. commondreams.org "Fossil fuels cause so much danger from climate change and air pollution, but freak accidents like this go to show that moving our energy system to 100 percent renewables is the only way to minimize the threat." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/power_plant.jpg…
(2018-12-28). Ten Grim Climate Scenarios If Global Temperatures Rise Above 1.5 Degrees Celsius. truthout.org The summer of 2018 was intense: deadly wildfires, persistent drought, killer floods and record-breaking heat. Although scientists exercise great care before linking individual weather events to climate change, the rise in global temperatures caused by human activities has been found to increase the severity, likelihood and duration of such conditions. | Globally, 2018 is on pace to be the fourth-hottest year on record…
(2018-12-27). Nations Count Billions of Dollar Cost of 2018 Climate Disasters. telesurenglish.net Climate change-induced disasters cost nations at least US$100 billion in 2018, a watchdog said Thursday, warning the spate of deadly wildfires, floods and superstorms was "a shadow" of things to come if greenhouse gas emissions aren't slashed. | RELATED: | Cuba: Dangerous Waves Surpass Seawall, Flood Havana Streets | This year is set to be the fourth hottest on record and as planet-warming carbon and methane levels in the atmosphere continue to rise, extreme weather events such as th…
(2018-12-27). Without Notifying Anyone, ICE Dumps Hundreds of Migrants at El Paso Bus Station Around Christmas. democracynow.org 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection have ordered medical checks on every child in its custody, following the death of two Guatemalan children in recent weeks. On Christmas Eve, an 8-year-old Guatemalan boy named Felipe Gómez Alonzo died in New Mexico while in CBP custody. This follows the death of a 7-year-old indigenous Guatemalan girl, Jakelin Caal Maquín, who died on December 8—also in New Mexico—two days after she and her father presented themselves at the border in a bid for asylum. Meanwhile, authorities in El Paso, Texas, scrambled over the Christmas holiday to assist hundreds of migrant asylum…
(2018-12-27). How Curators Are Finding the Climate in Art History. thenation.com How Curators Are Finding the Climate in Art History…
(2018-12-27). ICE Dumps Hundreds of Migrants at El Paso Bus Station Around Christmas. truthout.org US Customs and Border Protection have ordered medical checks on every child in its custody, following the death of two Guatemalan children in recent weeks. On Christmas Eve, an 8-year-old Guatemalan boy named Felipe Gómez Alonso died in New Mexico while in CBPcustody. This follows the death of a 7-year-old indigenous Guatemalan girl, Jakelin Caal Maquín, who died on December 8 — also in New Mexico — two days after she and her father presented themselves at the border in a bid for asylum. Meanwhile, authorities in El Paso, Texas, scrambled over the Christmas holiday to assist hundreds…
(2018-12-26). 8-Year-Old Guatemalan Boy Dies in Border Patrol Custody Days After High Court Rejects Asylum Ban. democracynow.org 
For the second time this month, a Guatemalan child has died in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Eight-year-old Felipe Gómez Alonzo died in New Mexico on Christmas Eve, after being detained since December 18. This follows the death of a 7-year-old indigenous Guatemalan girl, Jakelin Caal Maquín, who died on December 8, two days after she and her father presented themselves at the border in a bid for asylum. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has rejected President Trump's asylum ban, which attempted to deny asylum to anyone entering the country from outside of a legal port of entry. Supreme Court Chief…
(2018-12-26). 8-Year-Old Dies on Christmas Morning in US Border Patrol Custody. theantimedia.com 
(CD) — An eight-year-old Guatemalan boy died in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shortly after midnight on Christmas Day, the second death of a migrant child detained by the agency this month alone. According to the Associated Press: The boy showed "signs of potential illness" Monday and was taken with his father to a hospital in Alamogordo, …
(2018-12-25). TRNN Doesn't Have Stances, but the Reporters Do — Q&A with Paul Jay. therealnews.com 
Paul Jay and Dharna Noor respond to viewer comments that ask the Real News to engage with a wider variety of political opinion and question climate science
(2018-12-25). 2018: A Year of Climate Devastation and Resistance. therealnews.com 
TRNN revisits the the apocalyptic extreme weather, dire reports, and resistance to climate inaction we saw in 2018. Help us make real climate news in 2019
(2018-12-24). A "Massive Outlaw" zcomm.org Interview on Single Payer, Climate Devastation, Impeachment…
(2018-12-21). U.S. on wrong side of history as agreement is reached at COP24. peoplesworld.org 
The Trump administration showed its true colors—not one of them green—when it dismissed the conclusions of a special climate change report at the 2018 UN Climate Change Conference. Also known as COP24, the summit was held Dec. 2-15 in Katowice, Poland to settle on rules to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement. On one hand, it …
(2018-12-21). Willowbrook, Ill. residents call for closure of polluting Sterigenics plant. peoplesworld.org 
CHICAGO—Controversy arose this week in Willowbrook, Ill., after the residents of Chicago's southwest suburb discovered that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has known about the cancer risk from the Willowbrook Sterigenics plant for decades. Community members are demanding accountability and the immediate closure of Sterigenics International. Demonstrators gathered around the medical supply headquarters this week …
(2018-12-20). ANC Deputy Julio Escalona: 'The People are Angry Because They Consider that We Aren't Doing Our Job'. venezuelanalysis.com The revolutionary's criticisms came during the passing of 2019's budget, 75% of which is destined for "social protection."
(2018-12-18). How to Feel Good about the Climate in 2019. progressive.org Despite national schizophrenia on the issue, a growing number of Americans are on board with accepting human-caused climate change—and doing something about it.
(2018-12-18). Maldives: New Government Should Promote Rights. hrw.org 
| | Ibrahim Mohamed Solih interacts with supporters during a gathering in Malé, Maldives, September 24, 2018. | © 2018 Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo | (New York) — The Maldives' new government should make human rights protections a top priority, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih made public today. Solih, who was elected p…
(2018-12-10). Climate movement attracts new generation of activists. greenleft.org.au 
The latter part of 2018 will be remembered for the re-emergence of climate action on the national agenda. | Independent Kerryn Phelps' win in the Wentworth byelection promising "meaningful environmental action" and Labor's subsequent adoption of a 50% renewable energy policy by 2030 has come in the midst of researcher Rebecca Huntley's findings that "climate and environmental concerns" have increasingly become "a test of leadership" for voters. | These centrist platforms, however, have been rightly superseded by the newest base of the climate movement: high school students. | Tired of the "dinosaurs in parliament…
(2018-12-08). Reviving the Nuclear Disarmament Movement: A Practical Proposal. zcomm.org In late November 2018, Noam Chomsky, the world-renowned public intellectual, remarked that "humanity faces two imminent existential threats: environmental catastrophe and nuclear war." Curiously, although a widespread environmental movement has developed to save the planet from accelerating climate change, no counterpart has emerged to take on the rising danger of nuclear disaster. Indeed, this danger‚Äïexemplified Read more…
(2018-12-06). The fightback against Adani and Aurizon steps up. greenleft.org.au 
Adani CEO Lucas Dow's November 29 declaration that work on a scaled-down coalmine in Queensland's Galilee Basin would begin before Christmas was met with one of the most powerful nationwide protests against it so far as primary and high school students walking out of class the next day for the Student Strike 4 Climate Action. | A reported 20,000 students, many of them with their parents and grandparents in tow, took to the streets with a powerful message to Adani and policymakers: ignore us at your peril. | This was followed by a sit-in at Parliament House in Canberra on December 5. | Another round of #StopA…
(2018-12-04). Sorry To Bother You offers rich lessons in seeking radical social change. greenleft.org.au 
Sorry to Bother You
| Written & directed by Boots Riley
| In cinemas now | This review includes mild spoilers. | As an Australian living abroad, incidents of Australians being racist and/or misogynistisic that attract attention from international media outlets are frequently forwarded to me in anticipation of a seething refrain. | My response is typically motivated by a mix of rage and embarrassment, as well as a deep concern for how racial capitalism has been almost completely normalised. I am deeply concerned by the fact that not only is our social and political climate ill-equipped to address racism, i…
(2018-12-03). NSW law will 'lead to a new stolen generation'. greenleft.org.au 
Another stolen generation appears certain to be created in NSW, after the Coalition government passed a new adoption law making it easier for a child to be adopted by a foster family without parental consent. | The new adoption law, Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Amendment Bill, passed on November 22 despite fierce opposition, imposes a two-year limit on fostering a child. The Children's Court now has the power to decide whether a birth parent should be rei…
(2018-12-02). Debunking the Times on Bush I:s foreign policy record. zcomm.org Below is a list of the most blatant pieces of deception concerning George H.W. Bush's foreign policy record, reported in Adam Nagourney's commemorative NYT piece. Nagourney writes that "Environmental groups praised Mr. Bush's record on climate change and the environment. As president, he signed the United States to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Read more…
(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…
(2018-11-30). "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…
(2018-11-22). 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…
(2018-10-18). 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…