(2018-12-22). Cuba: Dangerous Waves Surpass Seawall, Flood Havana Streets. telesurenglish.net Strong winds and intense swells associated with a storm, which formed in Texas and moved towards the Gulf of Mexico Friday, left floods in Havana and the coastlines of western Cuba. | RELATED: | Honduras Floods Again, Named Country Most Affected by Climate | Despite the sun and clear skies in Havana, waves of four and five meters broke in the city's pier, and the sea advanced hundreds of meters inland in the neighborhoods of Vedado and Miramar, where electricit…
(2018-12-22). 168 Dead as Tsunami Strikes Indonesian Beaches. telesurenglish.net At least 168 people have been killed as a tidal wave hit beaches around Sunda Strait in Indonesia on Saturday night, according to the country's Disaster Mitigation Agency. Another 745 have been injured. | RELATED: | Indonesia: UN Seeks US$50-M Disaster Aid, Rescue Mission Ends | The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) said the wave was not caused by an earthquake, but was possibly the result of volcanic activity at Mount Krakatoa. | The waves hit the co…
(2018-12-22). Burma Debates Women's Rights Amid Pervasive Sexual and Domestic Violence. truthout.org For years, feminists in Burma have been fighting to gain even the most basic legal rights for women. | Spousal abuse is still legal in the isolated country. Even criminal sexual assault is rarely punished. | Activists' patient efforts to change that are starting to pay off. | In late November, officials announced that the Prevention and Protection of Violence Against Women Act, long stalled in Parliament, may finall…
(2018-12-22). Coal Ash Dumps Are Contaminating Groundwater in 22 States. truthout.org Ten years ago today, the earthen wall of a coal ash impoundment in Kingston, Tennessee, ruptured, sending 1.1 billion gallons of coal ash slurry rushing across the countryside, destroying homes and chocking streams and wetlands with the toxic leftovers from burning coal for electricity. Luckily, no one died in the flood, but more than 30 workers have died after cleaning up the spill. Another 200 workers are now sick or dying from blood cancer and other illnesses linke…
(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). Ecocide as Creative Destruction. counterpunch.org 
According to the WWF (World Wildlife Fund), since 1970 60% of the mammals, birds, fish and reptiles on the planet have been driven to extinction. To the extent that the WWF has it right, climate change accounts for less than 10% of these losses (graph below). As important and logistically complex as resolving climate change is, it is but one of a host of environmental ills in equal or greater need of resolution. More
(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 …
(2018-12-21). World's Governments Indulge in Symbolism, Not Action, at COP24. counterpunch.org The good news from the annual climate summit just concluded in Katowice, Poland, is that the world's governments agreed on a "rulebook" intended to implement the Paris Accord, the 2015 agreement to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The bad news is that the world is no closer to actually tackling global warming than before and the rulebook More
(2018-12-21). Ralph Nader on Single Payer, Climate Devastation. counterpunch.org 
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(2018-12-21). Facing Greta's Climate Challenge. counterpunch.org On Thursday, 13 December 2018, Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old climate activist from Sweden, addressed the U.N. Plenary Session at Katowice, Poland, to condemn global inaction in the face of the climate change crisis. Her address of under 4 minutes was a diamond of unadorned clarity, a challenge to all adults worldwide. In an 11 minute More
(2018-12-21). Call for Climate to Take Center Stage as DNC Announces 12 Primary Debates for 2020 White House Contest. commondreams.org Addressing a demand that emerged in the 2016 season, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) said Thursday that there would be a dozen presidential primary debates for the 2020 contest. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/12-debates-dnc.jpg…
(2018-12-20). 'Domestic Workers Don't Have Protections Against Discrimination and Harassment' – CounterSpin interview with Mariana Viturro on Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. fair.org 
Janine Jackson interviewed Mariana Viturro about the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights for the December 14, 2018, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
(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."
(2018-12-19). Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Policy Gutting Asylum for People Fleeing Domestic and Gang Violence. aclu.org Once again, the Trump administration's attacks on asylum are held unlawful. | The Trump administration's campaign to dismantle our asylum system just suffered another major setback. | A federal judge in Washington, D.C., permanently blocked a June 2018 "expedited removal" policy that gutted asylum protections for immigrants fleeing domestic violence and gang brutality. Holding that "there is no legal basis for an effective categorical ban on domestic violence and gang-related claims," Judge Emmet Sullivan struck down the policy for being c…
(2018-12-19). Trump Administration Recommends Slashing Civil Rights Protections for Students of Color. aclu.org A federal commission's post-Parkland recommendations include reversing an Obama-era guidance on racial disparities in school discipline. | On Tuesday, the Federal Commission on School Safety issued recommendations that it claims will help makes schools safer following the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. But at the center of the report is a proposal that will endanger millions of public school students, especially students of color and students with disabilities, by reversing federal guidance intended to address racial disparities in school discipline. Doing away with the guidance will weaken federal civil rig…
(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…
(2018-12-18). South Sudan: Spate of Sexual Violence. hrw.org 
| | Women line up for food rations at a distribution site in Bentiu, South Sudan, on December 8, 2018. | © 2018 Nyagoah Tut Pur/Human Rights Watch | (New York) — South Sudan's government should urgently investigate rape and other sexual violence against women and girls traveling in the former Unity state and provide protection and services to survivors. Investigations should focus not only on the individual crimes, but also on whether the crimes were coordinate…
(2018-12-17). Ralph Nader on Single Payer, Climate Devastation, Impeachment & Why Mulvaney Is a "Massive Outlaw" democracynow.org 
As President Trump threatens to shut down the federal government over border wall funding, there have been some shake-ups in the White House. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will resign as he faces at least 17 federal investigations into suspected ethics violations. A former fossil fuel industry lobbyist, David Bernhardt, will become the interim interior secretary. Meanwhile, Trump has tapped Mick Mulvaney to become acting chief of staff to replace Gen. John Kelly. Mulvaney already holds two posts in the administration: White House budget director and acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And…
(2018-12-17). Headlines for December 17, 2018. democracynow.org Countries Adopt "Rulebook" to Implement Paris Climate Agreement, Ryan Zinke Steps Down as Interior Secretary as Ethics Scandals Mount, Mick Mulvaney to Replace John Kelly as Trump's Acting Chief of Staff, Texas Judge Declares Affordable Care Act Unconstitutional, White House Threatens Government Shutdown over Border Wall Funds, Family Demands Answers in Death of 7-Year-Old Girl in Border Patrol Custody, ICE Arrests and Deportations Under Trump Rise in 2018, Michael Cohen Says Trump Knew Hush Money Payments Were Wrong, Giuliani Says Trump Pursued Moscow Skyscraper Deal into November 2016, Reuters: Johnson & Johnso…
(2018-12-14). Extinction Rebellion: UK Protesters Are Supergluing Themselves to Buildings to Fight Climate Crisis. democracynow.org 
As protests erupt at the U.N. climate summit in Katowice, Poland, we speak with Liam Geary Baulch, part of the new movement called Extinction Rebellion that began six months ago in the United Kingdom and has now spread to 35 countries. Members are taking extreme action to fight the climate crisis, including supergluing themselves to government buildings, shutting down London Bridge and taking to the streets to sound the alarm about the impending catastrophe of global warming. They are demanding governments commit to legally binding measures to slash consumption and reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025.
(2018-12-14). Hundreds of Activists Stage Sit-in Against Big Polluters on Final Day of COP24 U.N. Climate Talks. democracynow.org 
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the U.N. climate summit in Katowice, Poland, on Friday, demanding bolder action from world leaders on climate change. The action was organized by the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice. Demonstrators filled the staircase inside the conference center holding banners reading "Which side are you on?" and "People Not Polluters" and "System change not climate change." As protesters marched out of U.N. climate talks, Democracy Now! spoke with Maya Menezes, Canadian climate activist and member of the Canadian Youth Delegation with the climate justice organization The Leap. Sh…
(2018-12-14). Climate Strike: Heeding Call of Greta Thunberg, Polish Students Walk Out of Class. democracynow.org 
Fifteen-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has called for a global climate strike today to protest inaction at the U.N. climate summit. Greta made international headlines after she refused to go to school in August and began a School Strike for Climate. Greta made the call for today's strike in a video posted on Twitter.
(2018-12-14). Bangladeshi Scientist: World Leaders Must Take Urgent Action to Prevent Climate Crisis Rise. democracynow.org 
At the U.N. Climate talks in Katowice, Poland, we speak with climate scientist Saleemul Huq, who is advising the bloc of least developed countries in the climate negotiations, about their demands. He is director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh.
(2018-12-11). Congress Must Take Action on Toxins. progressive.org Why is the Environmental Protection Agency refusing to study PFAS? The toxic chemicals are found in drinking water around the country.
(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). 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…
(2018-11-30). "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…