Stuart Jeanne Bramhall's Blog: The Most Revolutionary Act , page 1321

Climate Denial: Big Oil’s Multimillion Dollar Disinformation Campaign

The Climate Deception Dossiers

On July 9, 2015, the Union of Concerned Scientists released The Climate Deception Dossiers – collections of internal company and trade association documents revealing a three decade campaign by the world’s largest fossil fuel companies about the realities and risks of climate change. Some documents have been leaked to the public by industry whistleblowers. Others have come to light through lawsuits or Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests.

Each dossier provides an illuminating inside look at this coordinated campaign of deception, an effort underwritten by ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP, Shell, Peabody Energy, and other members of the fossil fuel industry.

Tactics employed by these companies include a million dollar contract supporting the work of climate contrarian aerospace engineer Wei-Hock “Willie” Soon:

The fossil fuel industry also forged documents and letters and formed fake “astroturf” groups that purported to act on behalf of taxpayers rather than oil companies:

As well as launching a sophisticated, multimillion dollar public relations campaign:

An Exxon whistleblower reveals his company first got interested in the greenhouse effect and global warming when it was seeking to develop the Natuna gas field off Indonesia. An Exxon memo raises concern about it becoming the “largest point source of CO2 in the world.”

In 1995, the same whistleblower (working for Mobil) co-authored a memo to to the Global Climate Coalition (GCC), a fossil fuel lobbying group. The memo, was distributed to other member companies and warned unequivocally that burning fossil fuels was causing global warming – that the relevant science “is well established and cannot be denied.”

Many of the same companies – including BP, Chevron, Conoco, Exxon, Mobil, Phillips, and Shell – were members of the American Petroleum Institute (API) in 1998 when the trade group drafted a plan to secretly support “independent” researchers to publicly dispute established climate science:

Link to full report: Climate Deception Dossiers

It is Now Legal in L.A. to Grow your Own Fruit and Veggies on City Land*

stuartbramhall:

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Growing your own food is like printing your own money.

Originally posted on Hwaairfan's Blog:

It is Now Legal in L.A. to Grow your Own Fruit and Veggies on City Land*

Ron Finley, an urban gardener from South L.A. who helped to make it a reality

By Karoun Chahinian

We’re living in a fast food apocalypse. Considering you need to make a down payment on a salad these days due to high fruit and vegetable prices, getting a fast and cheap burger for lunch has become a popular choice continent-wide.

More and more American families are struggling to afford nutritious food. One creative solution to avoid breaking the bank on fruits and veggies is Guerrilla Gardening: the act of planting produce on someone else’s land, specifically, city-owned land.

It’s weird to think that planting fruits and vegetables is against the law, but this week, the city of Los Angeles has legalized guerrilla gardening and a special thanks is owed to Ron Finley, an urban…

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A Novel About the Transition Movement

By the bestselling author of the Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.

The Second Life of Sally Motram

By David Nobbs (2014)

Book Review

Comedy writer David Nobbs, known for the British satiric news program That Was the Week, That Was and the hit TV series The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, died on August 8 at age 80. The latter was a bestselling book before it became a TV show.

The back cover makes no mention that The Second Life of Sally Motram concerns the Transition Town movement. In fact, this is only revealed on page 117, when the heroine goes to Totnes (the birthplace of the Transition movement) and comes home with The Transition Handbook by Rob Hopkins.

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin has always been one of my favorite TV series, thanks to Nobbs’s brilliant portrayal of human quirks, foibles and idiosyncrasies. The same humor pervades his final novel, his parting gift to the sustainability movement.

The plot concerns a penniless widow of a colorless lawyer who has hanged himself rather than face bankruptcy over his gambling debts. Through the efforts of heroine Sally Mottram, the dying former mill town of Potherthwait resurrects itself by joining the international Transition movement. Like Transition Towns all over the world, residents breathe new life into their community by reviving local food production, installing solar energy projects, rejuvenating local businesses and general community building.

Although our own efforts to launch Transition Town New Plymouth haven’t been quite as spectacular as Potherthwaite’s, I found it reassuring that Mottram struggled with many of the same quirks and foibles trying to organize her friends and neighbors.

Nobbs acknowledges his stepdaughter and her husband for inspiring him to write the book. Both are heavily involved with the French Transition movement.

I can’t wait for it to become a TV series. Imagine a sit-com about political activism and social change.

 

Link to Transition New Plymouth Facebook page: Transition New Plymouth

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night.. Alive as you or me..

stuartbramhall:

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See the comment section below for Paul Robeson performing “Joe Hill”

Originally posted on The Free:

Centenary of the execution of Joe Hill.. see the songs

  With three bullets to the heart, the State of Utah executed Joe Hill on November 19, 1915. In one of the most disputed cases to date, Joe Hill, the most prolific songwriter in the history of the Industrial Workers of the World, was convicted of murdering John Morrison, owner of Morrison Grocery, and his son Arling on the night of January 10, 1914 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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Male Genital Mutilation

On watching this film, I was really horrified how much male circumcision rates have increased since I left the US. In the eighties and nineties, they seemed to be declining as more feminists entered the medical profession. Like many of my feminist friends, I have always opposed circumcision, along with a variety of child rearing practices that seem to affect men’s sensitivity and self-confidence. Contrary to the claims of pro-circumcision advocates, young infants experience pain as acutely as adults do. Now that the US has become both post-feminist and post-racial, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that male circumcision is making a comeback.

Circumcize Me?

BBC (2012)

Film Review

Circumcise Me? examines the alarming US cultural practice of genitally mutilating their male infants. It also asks why American doctors have parted ways with their British (and Australia and New Zealand) counterparts in this area. The documentary demonstrates how infants are strapped down at eight days of age, enabling a surgical circumcision specialist to snip off the foreskin with a specialized circumcision instrument.

Medical circumcision was first introduced to the English speaking world in 1860. Doctors claimed it inhibited masturbation and cases of insanity caused by masturbation. Nineteenth century medical textbooks stress that the pain of circumcision is essential – theoretically the cure only worked if young boys to associated the penis with pain and punishment.

During the twentieth century, the rationale for medical circumcision changed. Without a shred of research evidence doctors (many US doctors still do) claimed that uncircumcised men were at higher risk for cancer of the penis, herpes, warts and HIV. When these claims were debunked, doctors claimed the partners of circumcised men were at higher risk of cervical cancer. When high rates of cervical cancer among Israeli women (the Jewish and Muslim religion requires all men to be circumcised) suggested otherwise, circumcision rates in most English speaking countries declined. In the 1940s, 50 percent of British male infants were circumcised. By 2012, the figure had decreased to 3%. This contrasts with Fargo North Dakota which, in 2012, had a circumcision rate of 90%.

Although sexologists don’t do population research, the film features several who have seen a link between loss of glans* sensitivity in circumcised men and erectile dysfunction in middle age. The filmmakers also interview circumcised men who have restored their foreskins (either through surgery or a procedure known as “tugging”**) . All report greatly enhance sensitivity and functioning.

American men seem to want their sons circumcised though their motivation is unclear. In the film, the most common reasons given are “Everyone else does it” and “I want him to look like me.”

In a candid interview at the end of the film, a British Medical Association representative refers to the US obsession with circumcision as a risky unethical procedure that continues that’s mainly driven by a multimillion dollar surgical circumcision industry.

*Phimosis is a congenital narrow of the foreskin which prevents it from being retracted.

** “Tugging” – A technique for foreskin restoration. See foreskin restoration

 

Greece – A new Beginning? – New Hope? New President. The Legality of the Austerity Bailout Package

stuartbramhall:

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Appointed on 27 August by Greece’s President, Prokopis Pavlópulos, Ms. Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou, President of the Supreme Court and mother of three, was sworn in on Thursday 28, August, 2015 as interim Prime Minister. As a fierce opponent of the troika imposed austerity, Ms. Thanou may be the new spark of hope for Greece’s future. She has openly opposed dictated wage cuts and an illegal property tax, introduced with the first bail-out package in 2012.

Originally posted on Counter Information:

By Peter Koenig


Global Research, August 29, 2015

Appointed on 27 August by Greece’s President, Prokopis Pavlópulos, Ms. Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou, President of the Supreme Court and mother of three, was sworn in on Thursday 28, August, 2015 as interim Prime Minister. She also served as President of the Electoral Court which oversees and examines the validity of parliamentary elections and referenda – including the legitimacy and strength of the 5 July referendum against more imposed austerity.

Ms. Vassiliki Thanou will be in charge of forming a caretaker Government which she announced on Friday, 28 August. She is also responsible for preparing and overseeing the new elections, now scheduled for 20 September 2015.

As a fierce opponent of the troika imposed austerity, Ms. Thanou may be the new spark of hope for Greece’s future. She has openly opposed dictated wage cuts and an illegal property tax, introduced with the first bail-out…

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The Truth Behind Crapitalism*

The Truth Behind Capitalism

Truth Behind Politics UK (2015)

Film Review

The Truth Behind Capitalism examines the current demonization of “socialism” in the mainstream media and the corporate interests who drive it. It begins by exploring growing interest in Marxism stemming from the obvious failure of capitalism to cope with the 2008 economic collapse. It also attempts to correct the popular misconception that Karl Marx was responsible for the totalitarian dictatorship that developed in the former Soviet Union. About half the film is devoted to three century battle against central banks and the privilege governments grant them to create debt-based money out of thin air. It incorporates lengthy segments from Inside Job, an excellent 2010 documentary narrated by Matt Damon.

The filmmakers, who describe Marx as a sociologist, philosopher and student of capitalism, maintain his central concern was capitalism’s use of exploitation and oppression to keep poor people poor. Oversimplifying considerably, they summarize his ideal society as one run by workers themselves through a combination of worker cooperatives and state owned enterprises.

The film ends with examples from all over the world – including the 2008 Iceland revolution, the Occupy movement and the rise of Syriza in Greece – of working people organizing to strip private banks of the control they exert over our lives.

*Crapitalism (def): an economic system that treats ordinary people like crap. See A Mini-Dictionary of Neoliberalism

A Texas Town Fires Police Dept., Hires Private Citizens for Security, but Guess What Happened to Crime?

stuartbramhall:

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Texas town reduces crime by 61% and saves $200,000 a year by abolishing police department.

Originally posted on Hwaairfan's Blog:

A Texas Town Fires Police Dept., Hires Private Citizens for Security, but Guess What Happened to Crime?

The community of Sharpstown, Texas decided that they didn’t need the police any longer. They made a controversial decision to fire the local police department and hire private citizens, granted no special rights that ordinary citizens do not have, to keep them safe.

That was back in 2012, and since then, Sharpstown residents say the private security company, SEAL Security Solutions, have done a much better job than the police used to. Crimes is down 61% in only 20 months.

James Alexander, the director of operations for SEAL Security Solutions says that,

“Since we’ve been in there, an independent crime study that they’ve had done [indicates] we’ve reduced the crime by 61 percent,” according to Guns.com.

All of that and they don’t have any special rights that you or I don’t have.

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Dispelling the Overpopulation Myth

Don’t Panic – The Truth About Population

Hans Rosling (2013)

Film Review

In Don’t Panic, world famous Swedish statistician Hans Rosling disputes the myth of the “population bomb.” Rosling starts by documenting the radical drop in fertility in the last forty years and examining specific factors behind it. He predicts that global population will peak at 11 billion around 2100 and start to decline.

The average global fertility rate in 1963 was 5 children per woman; today it’s 2.5 and still dropping. Asia, which holds 4 billion of the world’s 7 billion population, has the largest impact on shrinking fertility rates.

Rosling hones in on Bangladesh to explain this phenomenon. In 1963 Bangladesh had a fertility rate of 7 children per woman; today it’s 2.2. This relates largely to heavy investment by the Bangladeshi government in reducing the birth rate. Their primary strategy is to encourage teenage girls to postpone marriage and complete high school. In addition to paying families to keep girls in school, the government has launched specific programs to create jobs for women and educate them about family planning.

Rosling also points to the reduction in child mortality (due to improved access to health care) as a significant factor in reducing Asian fertility rates. During the 1960s, one in five children globally died before age 5. In Asia, the average family typically lost four out of six children. Because they expected most of their babies to die, they had a strong incentive to keep having them.

It was mainly due to high child mortality that the world population grew so slowly prior to 1800. Child mortality remains extremely high in Africa, an important reason why their fertility also remains high.

Rosling devotes the end of the film to an examination of poverty, world hungry and the planet’s ability to feed 11 billion people. I found this part of his talk disappointing, owing to his failure to grasp the role of economic colonization and “development” (ie corporate seizure of land and resources) in the origin of third world poverty and hunger.

In fact, he’s a great fan of “development” and the rise of industrial agriculture in Africa. Research by the Oakland Institute paints a very different picture of the corporate land grab in Africa. One in which multinational corporations are leaving local farmers destitute by driving them off their land. See Speculating With Our Food

Destroy Countries, Create Refugees—NOW DEAL WITH THEM

Originally posted on ThereAreNoSunglasses:

The Western Powers have created a global war refugee crisis through their Imperial adventures and now have to deal with the consequences of their actions.  Even though the United States is the primary creator of refugees in most of those wars, we are largely unaffected by this human tidal wave.  America’s European partners in crime in starting these criminal wars have no choice but to confront the immorality of the situation set in motion by Western governments. 

Since the EU is incapable of finding a consensus opinion on the proper course for getting these Syrian, Libyan, Yemeni, Somali refugees to safety, the matter must be resolved by the individual countries of Europe.  Where the EU and NATO have failed to establish a common border, the states are erecting individual barriers to the human flow.  Claiming that the walls steer the refugees to established safe zones (Schengen areas), everybody…

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