alanjjohnstone
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Risking the chance he might, Socialist Standard Past and Present came up with this 1922 issue quote of Dietzgen
“We may leave certain objects of scientific research to professionals, but general thought is public matter which every one should be required to attend himself.”
– Joseph Dietzgenhttp://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2021/03/some-dietzgen-quotes-1922.html
The new patriot law.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/30/hong-kong-china-brings-in-voting-system-changes
Under the measures, anyone hoping to enter Hong Kong’s political scene will need to be vetted by a committee to ensure the city is governed by “patriots”, and the number of directly elected seats will be reduced from half to less than a quarter.
[but just one gentle reminder, in the UK, MPs have to demonstrate their loyalty by swearing an oath of allegiance to the Queen)
In search of imaginative ways to protest, the latest is the ‘garbage strike’
People are requested to leave their garbage at busy main road intersections
An anti-semitism definition as an alternative to the IHRA.
The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism
Having urged us all to vote for the “lesser evil” Biden, Chomsky goes into detail to tell us “Biden’s foreign policy is largely indistinguishable from Trump’s”
Noam Chomsky: Biden’s Foreign Policy Is Largely Indistinguishable From Trump’s
It should go to climate crisis thread but i already posted twice there
This didn’t make the UK news…we can wonder why
But one point is clear, well-intentioned initiatives such as climate citizen’s assemblies simply have their recommendations ignored if it doesn’t fit in with capitalism’s plans.
China generated 53% of the world’s total coal-fired power in 2020, nine percentage points more that five years earlier, despite climate pledges and the building of hundreds of renewable energy plants. China has been unable to find enough clean energy to meet rapid increases in demand, with renewables meeting only half of China’s power consumption growth last year.
The impact of heatwaves and droughts on crop production in Europe has approximately tripled in the past 50 years, research suggests.
A study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters has found that, across 28 European countries, the average impact of a heatwave or drought disaster on crop production was three times greater in the period 1991-2015 compared with 1964-1990.
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/crops-heatwaves-droughts-europe-b1823155.html
As i expected and suspected to happen, new pets are being dumped.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-56546206
The Scottish SPCA says its animal shelters across Scotland have hit capacity.
The charity recorded a dramatic increase in the number of calls to its helpline about unwanted animals, with more than 136,000 calls received in 2020.
“In many cases, neglect is not deliberate. Even people who love their animals can find themselves in a position where they are unable to continue to provide them with the care they need.”
And of course there are the mercenary aspiring capitalists. A rise in demand for puppies also led to an increase in the number of raids and seizures of dogs from low-welfare puppy farms and dealers.
It may be the development i feared might happen – the militarisation of the protests which could lead to the active intervention of outside powers if it ever escalates – but since the neighbouring countries are not very anti-coup, the risk is not too high as an effective guerilla war requires secure supply lines and i just don’t see those existing.
The General Strike Committee of Nationalities (GSCN), a main protest group, called for ethnic minority forces to help those standing up to the “unfair oppression” of the military.
“It is necessary for the ethnic armed organisations to collectively protect the people,” the protest group said.
Insurgents from different ethnic minority groups have battled the central government for decades over greater autonomy. Though many groups have agreed to ceasefires, fighting has flared in recent days between the army and forces in both the east and north.
A Karen National Union (KNU) force overran an army outpost and killed 10 people, an activist group and media said.
In the jade-mining area of Hpakant, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) attacked a police station.
Kurds enter refugee camps to hunt down ISIS
https://www.dw.com/en/syria-kurdish-forces-arrest-suspected-is-supporters-in-raid/a-57033907
US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Kara McDonald says that Biden plans to intensify the US’s fight against anti-Semitism in accordance with the definition of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
In remarks primarily directed at EU leaders McDonald said Jewish communities in numerous countries were confronted with planned and actual bans on religious practices. The European Court of Justice upheld a ban on ritual slaughters — a religious and humane method for killing animals for consumption — in Belgium. The ruling jeopardizes the ability of Jews in Belgium to freely practice their religion. Banning access to and the producing of kosher meat makes Jewish life impossible.[and, of course, Muslims halal dietary requirements, ajj]
Similarly, proposed bans on male circumcision in Denmark, Finland and Iceland run counter to religious freedom.
https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-as-passover-begins-jews-feel-unwelcome-in-the-eu/a-57028212
Again to highlight your earlier post, Animals International announced that thousands of animals — mostly sheep on 13 vessels from Romania — were at risk of dying if the channel did not reopen in the “next 24 hours,” forecasting that delayed livestock carriers could run out of water and fodder.
https://www.dw.com/en/suez-canal-live-sheep-stuck-in-ship-traffic-jam/a-57032579
“We are sitting in front of a major tragedy”
At both ends or headed for Suez were at least 20 such carriers, the Guardian reported. Animals International urged nations to call their respective livestock ships back. On Thursday, Spain had given orders that no animal ships bound for Saudi Arabia and Jordan be loaded.
MS, as you know it is always difficult to get accurate information to assess the situation as there is a propaganda war going on and both sides lie.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/28/humanitarian-timebomb-4700-venezuelans-flee-to-colombia
4,700 Venezuelans have been displaced to Colombia during the past week, according to Colombian sources.
Venezuela launched an operation against fighters belonging to what it described as “irregular Colombian armed groups“ but many are very angry at the Venezuelan government for what they consider the use of excessive force on the part of the Venezuela.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/28/thousands-flee-after-myanmar-armys-air-strikes-reports
3,000 people from Myanmar’s Karen state have fled to Thailand following air attacks, including upon a refugee camp.
