Ending the Secrecy of the Student Debt Crisis
Shared by Samantha Borek | truthout.org | 2018-09-11
Gamblers and reality TV stars can claim bankruptcy protections when in financial trouble, but 44 million student loan borrowers can't. Unemployed, underpaid, destitute, sick, or struggling borrowers simply aren't able to start anew. | With a default rate approaching 40 percent, one would expect armies of distressed borrowers marching in the streets demanding relief from a system that has singled out their financial anguish. Distressed student debtors, however, seem to be terror-struck about coming forward to a society that, they say, ostracizes them for their inability to keep up with their finances. | When we spoke to several student borrowers, almost none were willing to share their names. "I can't tell anyone how much I'm struggling," says a 39-year-old Oregon physician who went into student loan default after his wife's illness drained their finances. He is terrified of losing his patients and…
truthout.org/articles/ending-the-secrecy-of-the-student-debt-crisis/

Climate Change Supercharges Hurricane Florence as 1.5 Million Evacuate in Carolinas & Virginia
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-09-11
More than 1.5 million people have been ordered to evacuate the coasts of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina as Hurricane Florence continues to gain strength as it barrels toward the East Coast. The enormous Category 4 storm is projected to make landfall on Thursday or Friday, bringing with it heavy rains and high winds that could linger for days after hitting land. People up and down the coast are preparing for extreme flooding and what the National Hurricane Center is calling a "life-threatening storm surge." Experts are warning the damage could be catastrophic.
www.democracynow.org/2018/9/11/climate_change_supercharges_hurricane_florence_as

The Baltimore Bureau Podcast Show: September 7, 2018
Shared by Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-09-11
Eze and Khalilah sit down with Caryn York, Executive Director of Job Opportunities Task Force, to discuss Baltimore City School closings due to lack of AC, Gov. Hogan's rhetoric vs. track record, abuse of women of color by the criminal justice system, and how environmentalists and labor unions can jointly address climate change | The post The Baltimore Bureau Podcast Show: September 7, 2018 appeared first on
therealnews.com/stories/the-baltimore-bureau-podcast-show-september-7-2018

UN Chief Warns of 'Existential Threat' to Humanity from Climate Change: 'Moving Faster Than We Are'
Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams | alternet.org | 2018-09-11
"We know what we need to do. And we even know how to do it. But sadly, the ambition of our action is nowhere near where it needs to be. " | Warning that "we face a direct existential threat" because "climate change is moving faster than we are," United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, in a speech at the U. N. 's New York headquarters on Mo. . .
alternet.org/un-chief-warns-existential-threat-humanity-climate-change-moving-faster-we-are

U.N. Chief Issues Desperate Plea for Climate Action
Staff | truthdig.com | 2018-09-11
"We face a direct existential threat," warns Secretary General António Guterres, "[because] climate change is moving faster than we are." | The post U.N. Chief Issues Desperate Plea for Climate Action appeared first on Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists.
truthdig.com/articles/u-n-chief-issues-desperate-plea-for-climate-action/

Climate Change Supercharges Hurricane Florence as 1.5 Million People Evacuate
Shared by Samantha Borek | truthout.org | 2018-09-11
More than 1.5 million people have been ordered to evacuate the coasts of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina as Hurricane Florence continues to gain strength as it barrels toward the East Coast. The enormous Category 4 storm is projected to make landfall on Thursday or Friday, bringing with it heavy rains and high winds that could linger for days after hitting land. People up and down the coast are preparing for extreme flooding and what the National Hurricane Center is calling a "life-threatening storm surge." Experts are warning the damage could be catastrophic. | TRANSCRIPT: | AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, Democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. We begin today's show with Hurricane Florence. | More than 1.5 million people have been ordered to evacuate the coasts of Virginia, North Carolina and the entire South Carolina…
truthout.org/video/climate-change-supercharges-hurricane-florence-as-1-5-million-people-evacuate/

Here's One Astonishing Fact About Earth's Biological Diversity That Is Truly Out-of-This-World
Jay T Lennon, Kenneth Locey, Aeon | alternet.org | 2018-09-11
There are more microbial species on Earth than stars in the galaxy. | For centuries, humans have endeavoured to discover and describe the sum of Earth's biological diversity. Scientists and naturalists have catalogued species from all continents and oceans, from the depths of Earth's crust to the highest mountains, and from the most remote jungles to our most populated cities. This grand effort sheds light on the forms and behaviours that e. . .
alternet.org/heres-one-astonishing-fact-about-earths-biological-diversity-truly-out-world

Climate change and real estate: the walking tour
David Giesen | indybay.org | 2018-09-11
the American Youth Hostel | 312 Mason Street | San Francisco | (meet in the lobby)…
indybay.org/newsitems/2018/09/11/18817443.php

Rise for Climate: Tens of Thousands March in San Francisco Calling for Fossil-Free World
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-09-10
Hundreds of thousands of protesters in more than 90 countries joined a worldwide day of protest demanding urgent action to address climate change Saturday. In San Francisco, up to 30,000 people took part in the Rise for Climate, Jobs and Justice march. It is believed to be the largest climate march ever on the West Coast. The protest came just days before the start of the Global Climate Action Summit being organized by California Governor Jerry Brown. Democracy Now! was in the streets of San Francisco for the march.
www.democracynow.org/2018/9/10/rise_for_climate_tens_of_thousands

Is Nationalization an Answer to Climate Change?
Kate Aronoff | theintercept.com | 2018-09-08
Earlier this month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., proposed a slew of measures to rein in corporate power, the centerpiece of which was ensuring that 40 percent of corporate boards be comprised of workers, rather than just shareholders. While it's a novel idea in the United States, this sort of corporate co-governance is standard fare in Germany, Europe's largest economy — and a heartily capitalist one at that. | None of that stopped the right from losing its collective mind about the idea. The National Review's Kevin Williamson called Warren's notion a plan to "nationalize every major business in the United States of America," which would "constitute the largest seizure of private property in human history." The actual plan, of course, would do no such thing. At its most radical, Warren's proposed bill — titled the "Accountable Capitalism Act" — would essentially bring…
theintercept.com/2018/09/08/jeremy-corbyn-labour-climate-change/

International Day of Action on Climate: September 8
Shared by Jocelyn Dombroski | therealnews.com | 2018-09-07
TRNN will be covering the Sept. 8 Climate march in San Francisco, which is part of an international day of action. Environmentalists are challenging California's Governor Jerry Brown claim to be a champion in the fight against climate change | The post International Day of Action on Climate: September 8 appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/international-day-of-action-on-climate-september-8

Wildlife Services is Really a Wildlife Killing Machine
George Wuerthner | counterpunch.org | 2018-09-07
The euphemistically named federal killing agency known as Wildlife Services is being sued in Idaho US District Court by environmental groups that include Western Watershed Project, Predator Defense, Wild Earth Guardians, and the Center for Biological Diversity. The plaintiffs assert that Wildlife Services' lethal control of coyotes and other predators at the behest of the…
counterpunch.org/2018/09/07/wildlife-services-is-really-a-wildlife-killing-machine/

Climate of Class Rule: Common(s)er Revolt or Common Ruin
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2018-09-07
Extreme weather and its collateral damage are only tips of the melting iceberg, semi-metaphorically speaking. The real climatological shit hits the eco-exterminist fan when we can't grow enough food, find enough water, and keep ourselves cool enough to survive — and when global warming combines with collapsing social and technical infrastructure to bring pandemics that wipe out much of an increasingly thirsty, under-nourished, and over-heated human race.
counterpunch.org/2018/09/07/climate-of-class-rule-commonser-revolt-or-common-ruin/

John McCain's Replacement Has a History of Undermining Civil Liberties
aclu | aclu.org | 2018-09-06
The newly sworn-in senator from Arizona is hostile to civil liberties. | On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence swore in Jon Kyl as the new senator from Arizona, replacing the late John McCain. | Kyl previously served in the Senate from 1995 and 2013, where he built up a clear record of opposition to civil liberties, proposing to make the Patriot Act permanent and supporting amendments to the Constitution to undermine free expression, equal protection, and due process. | He more recently develop…
aclu.org/blog/mobilization/john-mccains-replacement-has-history-undermining-civil-liberties

ISS crew shares mesmerizing view of Storm Gordon from 255 miles above Earth (VIDEO)
RT | rt.com | 2018-09-06
The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) has the best view of many of the Earth's most magnificent, and often terrifying, weather events. Thankfully, the crew brought its HD cameras along to share with the rest of us.
rt.com/usa/437811-iss-crews-storm-gordon-video/

Glider aircraft flies at highest-ever altitude — a blood-boiling 76,000ft (VIDEOS)
RT | rt.com | 2018-09-04
Two pilots have soared to 76,124ft (23, 203 meters) in a groundbreaking flight that saw an engineless aircraft ride atmospheric waves to soar over Earth, where the altitude is so high that human blood boils unless protected.
rt.com/usa/437617-perlan-glider-flight-record/

Top Student Loan Watchdog Resigns over Trump Admin Doing Bidding of Predatory Lenders
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-08-29
As the school year begins this week across the United States, the top student loan watchdog has resigned in protest, accusing the Trump administration of siding with powerful predatory lenders over student loan borrowers. Seth Frotman worked as student loan ombudsman under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director, Mick Mulvaney. He wrote that under Mulvaney's leadership, "the Bureau has abandoned the very consumers it is tasked by Congress with protecting." This comes as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has proposed new rules that would cut an estimated $13 billion in federal student loan relief for peopl…
www.democracynow.org/2018/8/29/top_student_loan_watchdog_resigns_over

Headlines for August 29, 2018
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-08-29
Puerto Rico Increases Hurricane Death Toll to 2,975, Andrew Gillum, a Black Progressive Backed by Bernie Sanders, Wins Florida Gubernatorial Primary, Trump-Backed Martha McSally Wins Arizona GOP Senate Primary, Trump Warns of "Violence" If Democrats Win Control of Congress, Texas Police Officer Convicted for Killing 15-Year-Old African-American Student, Teachers in Washington State Begin Strike, U.N. Secretary-General: Report on Genocide Targeting Rohingya Needs Serious Consideration, India Carries Out Raids Arresting Critics of Modi Government, France's Environment Minister Resigns On-Air over Climate Change, De…
www.democracynow.org/2018/8/29/headlines

Large Earthquake Off Northern Venezuelan Coast
TeleSur English | venezuelanalysis.com | 2018-08-22
According to the Venezuelan Foundation of Seismological Research, the quake registered at 6.9 on the Richter Scale and left parts of Trinidad and Tobago without electricity.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14014

As Trump Favors Asbestos, People Die
HVSJ | progressive.org | 2018-08-20
Donald Trump has been rolling back protections against exposure to asbestos, which kills an estimated 15,000 people each year in the United States alone.
progressive.org/op-eds/trump-favors-asbestos-as-people-die-180820/

What the 'Sensible Middle' Doesn't Get About Education
Peter Greene | progressive.org | 2018-08-14
There is no middle between facts and the story that the earth is flat.
progressive.org/public-school-shakedown/what-the-sensible-middle-doesnt-get-about-education-180814/