(2019-01-11). Leafcutter Ants Rival Cows in Greenhouse Gas Emissions. telesurenglish.net Leafcutter ants found in Central and South America rival cows for their greenhouse gas emissions of nitrous oxide, scientists at the University of Michigan report. | RELATED: | Climate Change: Warming Oceans Set Heat Record in 2018 | According to a study published Thursday in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the insects create the largest natural nitrous oxide hotspots ever recorded in tropical forests. | This includes the type of nitrous oxide spikes often seen in…
(2019-01-11). Climate Change Afoot. thenation.com Climate Change Afoot…
(2019-01-11). Democrats Failed Their First Big Test on Climate. counterpunch.org The science on climate change is clear: All countries desperately need to restructure fossil fuels out of their economies. Naturally, the Trump administration has recklessly ignored this evidence. In every way, it's tried to make it easier to extract and burn fossil fuels — and harder to hold polluters of all stripes accountable. But what More
(2019-01-11). Neoliberalism: Free Market Fundamentalism or Corporate Power? counterpunch.org 
I've been hearing about neoliberalism for a long time now and never could make much sense of it. It turns out the story we tell about neoliberalism is as contradictory as neoliberalism itself. Two currents within the critique of neoliberalism offer different analyses of the current economy and suggest different strategies for dealing with the gross exploitation, wealth inequality, climate destruction and dictatorial governance of the modern corporate order. More
(2019-01-11). How Tre Arrow Became America's Most Wanted Environmental "Terrorist" counterpunch.org 
Drawing by Nathaniel St. Clair | The following is an excerpt from the new book The Big Heat: Earth on the Brink by Jeffrey St. Clair and Joshua Frank. | That Tre Arrow, a tree-hugging vegan who espouses non-violence and lives by the airy and nebulous philosophy of Gaia, would top the FBI's Most Wanted list, only reaffirms the notion that the Bureau's energy is being exerted in specious directions. | On August 12, 2008, after a tumultuous seven-year investigation, Arrow was sentenced in Federal court to six-and-a-half years for lighting three cemen…
(2019-01-11). The EPA Rule Change That Could Kill Thousands. counterpunch.org While Americans were quietly preparing to ring in the New Year, the EPA gave families a deadly present to start the year off wrong. On December 28, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal that would effectively weaken the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), which protect American families from mercury and other harmful air More
(2019-01-11). Why are 200 million workers on strike in India? mronline.org 
The strike by 10 central trade unions is against a proposal to limit the formation and powers of trade unions, as well as for a minimum wage of Rs. 18,000 and the protection of the public sector. | Source
(2019-01-11). Climate Change: Warming Oceans Set Heat Record in 2018. telesurenglish.net The oceans are warming faster than previously estimated, setting a new temperature record in 2018 in a trend that is causing major damage to marine life, a Science article published Thursday warns. | RELATED: | Climate Change Causing 'Vicious C02 Circle': New Report | "How fast are the oceans warming?" was the main question addressed by a team of Chinese and U.S. scientists in a research which demonstrates that "global warming is here and has major consequences already. There is no doubt,…
(2019-01-11). AG Nominee William Barr Endorsed "More Incarceration" truthout.org After the tenure of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, advocates for civil rights, decarceration and police accountability are frustrated and furious. | Sessions jump-started the failed war on drugs, rescinded protections for transgender students and workplace protections for LGBTQ people,…
(2019-01-11). Dahr Jamail & Antonia Juhasz: Is Our Earth in Hospice Mode? indybay.org First Congregational Church of Berkeley | 2345 Channing Way | Berkeley, CA 94704…
(2019-01-11). Fall CDFW Fish Survey Finds Zero Delta Smelt. indybay.org "Not only is the Delta smelt on the brink of extinction, but there are several species lined up behind it," said Bill Jennings, Executive Director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA). "Governor Brown's legacy is likely to be several extinctions of fish that flourished in this estuary for millennia."
(2019-01-11). 'Hiring flat-Earther to teach geography': Russiagater to lecture on 'hybrid warfare' at Georgetown. rt.com 
An "information warfare expert" spending her days spinning anti-Russian rhetoric on Twitter has now gotten the chance to do so in the name of 'education' — teaching a course on "hybrid warfare" at Georgetown University.
(2019-01-11). Demand for Democratic Governors to Follow Suit After Trump-Backed DeSantis Moves to Ban Fracking in Florida. commondreams.org Following the announcement by Florida's newly-sworn in Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that he is moving to ban fracking, an advocacy group called on new Democratic governors in other states to stand up for the climate as well as water safety and quickly follow suit. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/desantis-fracking-ban.jpg…
(2019-01-11). To Fund 'White Supremacist Vanity Project,' Trump Eyes Relief Funds Earmarked for Actual Disasters. commondreams.org While scientists warn that the climate crisis will continue to cause increasingly damaging weather events and disasters in American cities, President Donald Trump made clear Friday his focus on a separate, invented "crisis" as he ordered officials to redirect billions of dollars in disaster relief funds to pay for a wall at the southern U.S. border. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/klein_harvey_0_0.jpg…
(2019-01-10). Brazil's Indigenous Launch Global Campaign Against Bolsonaro. telesurenglish.net The Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) launched a world campaign of solidarity against the 'ethnocidal' policy of President Jair Bolsonaro, which is threatening their territories and lifestyles. | RELATED: | Brazil's Temer Closed 130 Community Radios Before Leaving | "We ask for the support of all the international community, of people involved in human rights, that can help to block this measure to hand FUNAI over to the evangelical, to the ruralists, and cause a real…
(2019-01-10). Facing Mass Deportation, Haitians Sue Trump to Preserve Temporary Protected Status. democracynow.org 
A New York City trial is challenging the Trump administration's attempt to end temporary protected status—known as TPS—for more than 50,000 Haitians living in the U.S. Tens of thousands of Haitians were granted TPS after an earthquake devastated their country nine years ago this week. In November 2017, the Trump administration announced it would revoke TPS for Haitians, sparking protests and multiple lawsuits around the country. We speak with Marleine Bastien, executive director the Family Action Network Movement, or FANM, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. She testified on Wednesday as a witness i…
(2019-01-10). Pennsylvanians Should Know How the State Police Is Monitoring Social Media. aclu.org The Pennsylvania State Police is blocking access to its social-media-monitoring policy by claiming it could harm "public safety." | "Sunshine is the best disinfectant.", , That's a line that is used so much that it's become almost trite. But it's oft-repeated because it is so true. And here in the Keystone State, the Pennsylvania State Police is doing everything in its power to block access to its policy on monitoring social media. So we're headed to the state Supreme Court to get it. | The ACLU of Pennsylvania's attempt to obtain the st…
(2019-01-10). For Owners of Amazon's Ring Security Cameras, Strangers May Have Been Watching Too. theintercept.com 
The "smart home" of the 21st century isn't just supposed to be a monument to convenience, we're told, but also to protection, a Tony Stark-like bubble of vigilant algorithms and internet-connected sensors working ceaselessly to watch over us. But for some who've welcomed in Amazon's Ring security cameras, there have been more than just algorithms watching through the lens, according to sources alarmed by Ring's dismal privacy practices. | Ring has a history of lax, sloppy oversight when it comes to deciding who has access to some of the most precious, intimate data belonging to any person: a live, high-definition…
(2019-01-10). Bill McKibben: The Fossil Fuel Industry Has Money, But We Have Movements. therealnews.com 
At the Sanders Institute Gathering, Bill McKibben says that a Green New Deal must address climate change, immigration, and unemployment, or we're headed "if not to Hell, then to a place with a very similar temperature."
(2019-01-10). NSW government to blame for Walgett water crisis. greenleft.org.au 
The NSW government is siphoning off water for cotton farms, and coal and gas mines. It is robbing communities of precious water, while the climate is warming and drought is becoming more frequent. | These rotten priorities are being played out in Walgett, a small town in NSW's north-west that is home more than 2000 people. It is suffering from a human-made disaster, on top of the long-running drought. Residents are having to truck in water because the town's bore system broke down. | In the local Gamilaroi language, Walgett means "a meeting of two rivers". Right now, the Namoi and Barwon Rivers are running d…
(2019-01-09). Legislators Reintroduce Bill to Save People from Losing Homes Over Water Bills. therealnews.com 
Senator Mary Washington and Delegate Nick Mosby reintroduced the Water Taxpayer Protection Act to protect Baltimoreans from losing their homes and churches over high and inaccurate water bills
(2019-01-08). Lockout ends at National Grid. fightbacknews.org Milford, MA – Members of the United Steelworkers (USW) union voted overwhelmingly, January 7, to ratify a new six-year agreement with National Grid, ending a nearly seven-month lockout imposed by the utility company last June. | The contract includes significant wage increases and preserves affordable benefits for about 1200 members of USW Local 12012 and USW Local 12003. The agreement also includes additional health and safety provisions and other protections for the natural gas workers and residents. | Union members, local and state officials, and residents from across the community stood behind the locked-out…
(2019-01-07). Nathan Damigo, founder of white nationalist group Identity Evropa, files for bankruptcy protection. splcenter.org The founder of the white nationalist group Identity Evropa is seeking federal bankruptcy protection in what appears to be a pre-emptive move stemming from a lawsuit over "Unite the Right."
(2019-01-07). Make 2019 the year of action on climate change. greenleft.org.au 
Australia is sweltering through another summer heatwave, with disastrous consequences for many vulnerable people. Walgett, in north-west NSW, ran out of water and catastrophic fires are threatening communities in Victoria and Tasmania. | As we make a plan for a new year of activism, we can take some heart from the growing student movement for real climate action. They are responding to the science and showing an awareness of the scale of the pending climate catastrophe. They know what needs to be done and are demonstrating that leadership comes from those who act. | Students 4 Climate Action have already agreed t…
(2019-01-04). Headlines for January 4, 2019. democracynow.org 116th Congress Sworn In as Nancy Pelosi Elected House Speaker, House Democrats Adopt PAYGO Austerity Spending Rule, House Democrats Approve New Ethics Rules, Form Climate Committee, Trump Repeats Border Wall Demands as Gov't Shutdown Enters 14th Day, Trump Admin Wants to Send More Troops to U.S.-Mexico Border, Brazil: President's Assault on Indigenous Rights Threatens Amazon, Mexico: Mayor Assassinated Hours After Taking Office, Trump Administration Threatens Iran over Its Space Program, Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Faces Criminal Inquiry, Google Uses "Double Irish Dutch Sandwich" Scheme to Avoid Taxes, P…
(2019-01-04). As Most Diverse Congress in History Takes Office, Dems Push to End Shutdown Without Funding for Wall. democracynow.org 
The 116th Congress made history Thursday, swearing in the most diverse group of lawmakers ever and more than 100 women in the House, including the first two Native American women, the first two Latina women from Texas and the first two Muslim women. The first-ever African-American women congressmembers from Connecticut and Massachusetts were sworn in, as was Colorado's first-ever African-American member of Congress. The first-ever and now second female House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and House Democrats sought to end the government shutdown as their first order of business, passing a package of spending bills that w…
(2018-12-24). A "Massive Outlaw" zcomm.org Interview on Single Payer, Climate Devastation, Impeachment…
(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."
(2018-12-10). 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…
(2018-12-06). 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…
(2018-10-18). 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…