Snews
The State Department reported Thursday that an increasing number of governments are suppressing political opponents and restricting freedom of assembly. Somehow it did so without mentioning the United States' huge gulag of minor drug offenders, capital punishment, routine solitary confinement, declining press freedom, the war on whistle blowers, political prisoners and mass deportations. Can you say hypocrisy?
Climate change.
Australia is going to burn to cinder. All those little island nations are going to be Atlantisized.
We've got gobs of land. Let's give them space to relocate.
The population of Australia would fit comfortably in Kansas. The entire nation of Kiribati could disappear into Queens or Brooklyn without a trace.
The first generation would work hard, vastly increase the number of neighborhood retailers and food shops, and send all their kids to college. And the second generation would move to Manhattan or L.A. or the Bay Area and become programmers, artists and stand-up comedians.
Win-win.
We've got gobs of land. Let's give them space to relocate.
The population of Australia would fit comfortably in Kansas. The entire nation of Kiribati could disappear into Queens or Brooklyn without a trace.
The first generation would work hard, vastly increase the number of neighborhood retailers and food shops, and send all their kids to college. And the second generation would move to Manhattan or L.A. or the Bay Area and become programmers, artists and stand-up comedians.
Win-win.
Third party? Now? How about now? No? Maybe now?
The arguments for a People's Party become ever more compelling. Clinging to the faith that the Democrats any more than the Republicans will dismantle the corporate-security state is like believing in angels.
In a new book, Ralph Nader reminds us that the militarization of American diplomacy began with Bill Clinton and that Obama has doubled down on the excesses of George Bush and Dick Cheney. In Unstoppable, Nader demands an end to “unconstitutional wars and unchecked militarism.” Barack Obama, he writes, “has extended the Bush doctrine by declaring his unilateral right, as secret prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner, to destroy anybody, anywhere in the world, including American citizens, suspected to be engaged in alleged terrorist activities, all this vaguely and loosely defined as anti-U.S. security," extending the illegal reach of wars of choice, invasions, incursions, and drone attacks, without regard for international law or national boundaries.
For the average citizen, the growth of corporate power bolstered by the security apparatus has been matched by a corresponding decline in quality of life. Enough is enough. Building new organizations, like a third party, and restoring old ones, like the Labor Movement, to challenge the status quo will not be easy. But without that effort, our national decline, now in its fifth decade. will continue until it is irreversible.
Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State by Ralph Nader (Amazon Kindle).
In a new book, Ralph Nader reminds us that the militarization of American diplomacy began with Bill Clinton and that Obama has doubled down on the excesses of George Bush and Dick Cheney. In Unstoppable, Nader demands an end to “unconstitutional wars and unchecked militarism.” Barack Obama, he writes, “has extended the Bush doctrine by declaring his unilateral right, as secret prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner, to destroy anybody, anywhere in the world, including American citizens, suspected to be engaged in alleged terrorist activities, all this vaguely and loosely defined as anti-U.S. security," extending the illegal reach of wars of choice, invasions, incursions, and drone attacks, without regard for international law or national boundaries.
For the average citizen, the growth of corporate power bolstered by the security apparatus has been matched by a corresponding decline in quality of life. Enough is enough. Building new organizations, like a third party, and restoring old ones, like the Labor Movement, to challenge the status quo will not be easy. But without that effort, our national decline, now in its fifth decade. will continue until it is irreversible.
Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State by Ralph Nader (Amazon Kindle).
Tipping point?
A lot of Americans aren't just fearful; they are hopeless.
And while our circumstances do appear dire, there are several things worth remembering. One is that we can't predict future, so really we have no certainty that our nation's reversal of the last four decades will continue. Another thing to keep in mind is that when change does happen, it's often quick and unexpected.
We know that there are activists around the world working to make the place healthier and fairer; it's possible that their labors will come to nothing, that global capitalism and climate change will put an end to our little Enlightenment experiment.
But what if the failures of capitalism and the efforts to create alternatives are each reaching critical mass? What if change is going to come?
When you get involved in your community to build democratized economies, you are part of the global transformation: There's a Broad Consensus Among Activists Across the Country — Is Social Change Around the Corner? by Kevin Zeese, Margaret Flowers (AlterNet).
And while our circumstances do appear dire, there are several things worth remembering. One is that we can't predict future, so really we have no certainty that our nation's reversal of the last four decades will continue. Another thing to keep in mind is that when change does happen, it's often quick and unexpected.
We know that there are activists around the world working to make the place healthier and fairer; it's possible that their labors will come to nothing, that global capitalism and climate change will put an end to our little Enlightenment experiment.
But what if the failures of capitalism and the efforts to create alternatives are each reaching critical mass? What if change is going to come?
When you get involved in your community to build democratized economies, you are part of the global transformation: There's a Broad Consensus Among Activists Across the Country — Is Social Change Around the Corner? by Kevin Zeese, Margaret Flowers (AlterNet).
Just Do It
Devo "inspired us by demonstrating that art is all about conception, execution comes last." - Bob Lefsetz
Yes, You Will Be Able to Print Food with Your 3-D Printer
Interviewer: "... I know you have the necklace here made from 3D printer, and you have the purse over there. What other things down the road do you think 3D printing can really help with?"
ing: "The area that I'm very excited about is certainly metal to produce materials that are lighter and stronger and more flexible. Ceramic -- anything that you use ceramic to do can all be changed into 3D printing. It's exciting.
"And medical and bioscience, like one of the companies I'm involved with as advisor is printing meat and leather with slaughterhouses. So if one cow can feed an entire nation, we can produce high-quality protein to developing countries without having this unsustainable way of raising cows."
Interviewer: "How does that work? It still sounds like science fiction."
Ping: "Those will take longer. It's already possible today to print ground meat, but it's not quite there yet to print the consistency of steak or chicken or pork. But there are lots of hamburger patties and dumpling fillings, right?...The way it works is it uses stem-cell tissue engineering and in-vitro technology to print the structure of those natural meats and then let it grow. It's very exciting." -- from an interview with Ping Fu, author of Bend, Not Break - A Life in Two Worlds.
ing: "The area that I'm very excited about is certainly metal to produce materials that are lighter and stronger and more flexible. Ceramic -- anything that you use ceramic to do can all be changed into 3D printing. It's exciting.
"And medical and bioscience, like one of the companies I'm involved with as advisor is printing meat and leather with slaughterhouses. So if one cow can feed an entire nation, we can produce high-quality protein to developing countries without having this unsustainable way of raising cows."
Interviewer: "How does that work? It still sounds like science fiction."
Ping: "Those will take longer. It's already possible today to print ground meat, but it's not quite there yet to print the consistency of steak or chicken or pork. But there are lots of hamburger patties and dumpling fillings, right?...The way it works is it uses stem-cell tissue engineering and in-vitro technology to print the structure of those natural meats and then let it grow. It's very exciting." -- from an interview with Ping Fu, author of Bend, Not Break - A Life in Two Worlds.
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