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By Adam, on June 12, 2013, at 11:17 am Climate change is happening and it’s costing a lot of money to deal with. More floods, tornados, hurricanes, and other natural events are happening with greater frequency thanks to planetary temperature increase. The reason the planet’s temperature is increasing is thanks to the way previous generations have dealt with waste.
One such waste product comes in the form of exhaust from cars and other air pollution from various sources. This much is obvious, but very few countries have acted on this issue (in fact, Canada has gone out it’s way to stop action). In the USA, the Obama administration has (Read more…)
By The Arbourist, on May 21, 2013, at 8:06 am
Of course, it could just be me…
Filed under: International Affairs, Social Science Tagged: Helpful Infographics, Public Sector, USA
By Jay Cables, on May 20, 2013, at 5:00 am This recent Brother Ali video track is worth checking out.
Mourning in America is a powerful piece of work. Brother Ali had this to say about the track and the album:
This is the title track to my new album, Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color. The first half of the album highlights and critiques the dire situation in which we live. The second half outlines the tremendous opportunity we have to re-imagine and reform our society. This song is an observation and a critique of our culture of death and murder. From actual war zones around the world (Read more…)
By The Mound of Sound, on May 12, 2013, at 12:09 pm Another look at the century old and ongoing, lethal aftermath of the way Britain and France carved up the Middle East following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire post WWI. It’s a topic addressed here in several posts, the most recent just yesterday.
We’re now witnessing the walls, built by the Brits and the French in carving up the region to suit their convenience, beginning to crumble. Will the west now step in to shore up their malignant handiwork even as it collapses under the weight of irreconcilable ethnic and religious tensions? From The Independent:
…for (Read more…)
By Jay Cables, on April 25, 2013, at 6:46 am
The Irish-Americans of Boston were once a source of support and inspiration for nationalists in the north of Ireland during the dark days of The Troubles. During the hunger strikes by republican prisoners, the people of Boston protested the vile policies of Margaret Thatcher and raised funds. Cash was collected in pubs, clubs, churches, rallies… you name it. They also stepped up in the wake of Sunday Bloody Sunday to show solidarity – opening their hearts and their wallets. We’re not just talking the people of Boston, we’re talking about civic leaders and prominent politicians too.
For example in (Read more…)
By thescottross.blogspot.com, on April 21, 2013, at 1:18 am 90% of Americans support universal background checks for guns yet on Wednesday the American Senate struck down that legislation. That’s not very democratic, is it?
Those in Canada who fervently cling to the idea that voting will make our Senate democratic almost completely ignore the problems that come with it, such as the lobbyists and interest groups, like the National Rifle Association, that frequently override public opinion.
Contrasted with the American example, it is the Canadian appointed Senate that actually represents its citizens, because in not being elected the Senate recognizes the public does not empower it to drastically change (Read more…) defeat bills from the House of Commons.
And when the Senate does, in the rare times, reject bills from the elected house, it is to protect the interests of minorities and Canada’s regions, as it did in 1991 where it defeated a bill to re-criminalize abortion.
Considering the . . . → Read More: The Scott Ross: The Undemocratic Elected Senate & The Democratic Appointed One
By Adam, on April 16, 2013, at 9:00 am 2012 was a very successful year for the young wind-power energy industry in the United States. Throughout last year over 6,700 were installed around the country with the industry benefiting overall from new investments into the sector.
Let’s hope this is a sign of the future of what;s to come in sustainable energy in the world’s largest economy!
Overall, America ended the year with 45,100 turbines, producing enough electricity to power around 15.2 million households. Wind power added 42% of all new capacity to the grid last year, beating other sources of energy generation. Rob Gramlich, AWEA’s Interim CEO
. . . → Read More: Things Are Good: 2012 Was a Record Breaking Year for US Wind Industry
By The Mound of Sound, on April 14, 2013, at 1:55 pm Since coming into existence in 1776, the United States has enjoyed just 21 “war free” years. The last four of those were under president Jimmy Carter who didn’t see much point in blowing other people, their kids and all their stuff into smithereens just to make a point. No wonder he was so reviled.
Since Bush/Cheney rode into Washington, the United States has become our world’s only true Warfare State. Obama, despite his claims to the contrary, has kept the tradition alive and well.
When Canadians consider our country’s relationships with America, we too readily forget that
. . . → Read More: The Disaffected Lib: Why Australia Fears the United States
By Ezra Winton, on April 5, 2013, at 1:24 pm This week’s Friday Film Pick is a new 24-minute documentary produced by Motherboard and distributed by Vice Magazine, on 3D gun printing (video after jump). The film peaks into the weird and extremely controversial world of Cody Wilson and associates, young gun-loving geeks who celebrate the intersection of firearms, freedom and the internet while name-dropping political philosophers and keeping Marx volumes within camera shot of kitchen-countertop DIY weaponry.
While Wilson, a self-described Crypto-anarchist, and his comrades do not articulate a complex nor intellectual counter-narrative to the justified moral panic around the accessibility of firearms in the US, their (Read more…)
By Matthew Hays, on March 27, 2013, at 11:01 am Editor’s note: Art Threat has launched a cultural archaeological project that involves digging up previously published but now inaccessible film reviews and cultural musings from Montreal-based writer and teacher Matthew Hays. We’re calling it The Hays Files, and to get things rolling, we’re republishing a review Hays wrote of Bowling for Columbine when the documentary first shook up the cultural and political scene ten years ago. Each article will be prefaced with a short contemporary intro from Hays. Enjoy!
I won’t ever forget meeting Michael Moore. I had interviewed him by phone but this was the first in-person interview, (Read more…)
By Amanda McCuaig, on March 7, 2013, at 2:19 pm
When Tillett Wright began her photographic project, Self Evident Truths, back in 2010 she didn’t expect the groundswell of requests for photographs that she ended up receiving. She originally wanted to shoot 4-5,000 people, but the response has led her to increase her goal to 10,000 people.
“I basically decided to photograph anyone in this country that isn’t 100% straight, which, if you don’t know, is a limitless number of people,” jokes Wright in her TEDx talk posted above.
To date she has photographed around 2,000 people. “This is the civil rights fight of our generation,” says Wright.
By Adam, on February 27, 2013, at 9:30 am
Many academic journals charge a subscription fee that is out of reach for the common person, which means that independent researchers and students are at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing information. Elementa aims to make research about the anthropocene era we’re in freely accessible for everyone.
Elementa follows the example of organizations such as PLoS, who offers peer-reviewed research to academics worldwide on an open-access, public-good basis. Elementa aims to facilitate scientific solutions to the challenges presented by this era of accelerated human impact on natural systems. It is committed to the rapid publication of technically sound, peer-reviewed
. . . → Read More: Things Are Good: Open-Access Science Growing in Reach
By thescottross.blogspot.com, on February 17, 2013, at 6:10 am Children who have an absent father are more likely to have low self esteem, to abuse substances, exhibit anti-social behaviour, and engage in criminal activity. That is the personal impact of a missing father, but what of the political and social impact on our nation of the absence, even in discourse, of our Fathers of Confederation?
The federal Liberal Party held its third leadership debate yesterday and though much focus was rightly given to the future of our nation, not much, actually none, was given to its past. This is in stark contrast to our southern neighbour, the world’s superpower
. . . → Read More: The Scott Ross: Canada’s Missing Founding Fathers
By matttbastard, on February 5, 2013, at 10:03 am
The NY Times:
Several recent polls and studies suggest that long waiting times in some places depressed turnout in 2012 and that lines were longest in cities, where Democrats outnumber Republicans. In a New York Times/CBS News poll taken shortly after Election Day, 18 percent of Democrats said they waited at least a half-hour to vote, compared with 11 percent of independents and 9 percent of Republicans.
Wait — it gets better:
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology analysis determined that blacks and Hispanics waited nearly twice as long in line to vote on average than whites. Florida had the
. . . → Read More: bastard.logic: SHOCKING: Republican Voter Suppression Efforts Suppress Democratic Votes
By The Mound of Sound, on January 11, 2013, at 10:42 am Let’s hope money can buy happiness because it sure isn’t buying Americans much in the way of health.
A report from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences finds that, although Americans pay more for health care and services than anyone else, they’re less healthy and likely to die earlier than people of any other affluent nation.
Even the best-off Americans – those who have health insurance, a college education, a high income and healthy behaviour – are sicker than their peers in comparable countries, says the report by the US National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine.
“We
. . . → Read More: The Disaffected Lib: America the Sick
By Tia Everitt, on January 8, 2013, at 10:00 am Close your eyes, and conjure up a mental image of the stereotype of the Ugly American.
Loud.
Large.
Willfully ignorant of customs and countries that lie beyond the border of the US -of- A.
Rabidly proselytizing the gospel of liberty, freedom and patriotism bestowed unto their nation via God and gun.
A walking caricature of the values espoused by those who align themselves with political movements like the Tea Party, if you will.
By virtue of social media, internet and television, the world has the increased opportunity to observe Ugly Americans in captivity, under a microscope. One such opportunity arose
. . . → Read More: Politics, Re-Spun: America the Not-So-Beautiful: God Shat His Grace On Thee
By The Arbourist, on January 8, 2013, at 8:08 am I wonder who we’ll blame after the next super hurricane or the next drought? I’m curious as to what will be the explanation for those that come after us be when we’re done here on Earth. Let it be shown here in 2012 that we’re still talking about if climate change is a serious topic or not.
Short term planning and thinking will be the end of us. Honest.
Filed under: Politics, Science Tagged: Bill Moyers, Climate Change, Science, USA
By Jay Cables, on December 19, 2012, at 12:32 am The US has an estimated 310 million guns (2009 figure) in circulation and second amendment rights that codify the right to bear arms. Gun ownership is part of the American way… even though back in 1791 the law makers who ratified the Bill of Rights didn’t have the Bushmaster AR-15 in mind, much less the number of innocent lives it is capable of extinguishing in short order.
Homicidal shooters-on-a-mission who kill for revenge, for the notoriety or because they’re acting out some undiagnosed condition… don’t exist in a vacuum. They live in a nation in which violence has been “normalized”
. . . → Read More: drive-by planet: Obama sheds tears for Sandy Hook victims: silent on child victims of drone strikes
By Adam, on November 30, 2012, at 10:46 am Marijuana has been recently decriminalized in a few states in the USA, and based off of data from California the overall rate of youth arrests will drop dramatically. This is good news because now so many young lives won’t be destroyed for participating in using a drug that has negligible health effects (way less than [...] . . . → Read More: Things Are Good: Marijuana Decriminalization Lowers Youth Crime Rate
By Shawn Whitney, on November 23, 2012, at 11:38 am Not alone any more: Egyptian protestors in Tahrir last year
In some ways what just went down in Gaza was business as usual. Israel provoked a mini-war with Gaza killing a leading Hamas politician (who was, in fact, the chief negotiator for a long term ceasefire with Israel) after engaging in its “normal” policies of drone flights, missile strikes and, of course, economy-crippling embargoes. In
By Norman Farrell, on November 21, 2012, at 1:10 am Willard Mitt Romney: “…there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care… . . . → Read More: Northern Insight: The 47% watch
By Norman Farrell, on November 17, 2012, at 8:36 pm After Obama Victory, Shrieking White-Hot Sphere Of Pure Rage Early GOP Front-Runner For 2016 H/T Susan H. . . . → Read More: Northern Insight: Deep-seated seething fury is 2016 frontrunner
By Norman Farrell, on November 14, 2012, at 11:54 pm The Great Star Fleet At the turn of the 20th Century, the Alaska Packers Association assembled the largest fleet of privately owned sailing ships in the world. It was an era in which the shipping industry was mothballing its sailing ships in favor of… . . . → Read More: Northern Insight: Did you know?
By CuriosityCat, on November 14, 2012, at 1:38 pm The 2012 presidential election has been a time of momentous and historic changes in American politics. For the first time the Republican voter suppression tactics boomeranged, with millions of those targeted turning out to exercise their votes – taki… . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Grover Norquist: The Bathtub Drowner meets his comeuppance in 2012
By Norman Farrell, on November 14, 2012, at 4:43 am Six CPC members of Parliament may be deposed if the Federal Court accepts allegations of widespread voter suppression during the May 2011 election. This action, to be heard in December, is separate from the investigation of misconduct by Elections Cana… . . . → Read More: Northern Insight: A caution for Canada’s Conservative Party
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