alanjjohnstone
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Was originally going to post on the Yellow Vest thread but chose this one
Aborted Fuel Tax Initiative in France: Its Ramifications for Green Growth
“… how do political leaders introduce policies that will do long-term good for the environment without losing their chances of re-election?…”
But he said it in Iraq where thousands of US troops are based and where he does not bother with any diplomatic niceties, he simply arrives as if it were his right as US president to go wherever he wants. There is no pledge to end air/drone strikes in Syria
Africom is being strengthened. He is supporting the resurgence of Eastern Europe nationalism. He is resisting the expansion of the Chinese in the Far East (as is UK with token naval incursions into Chinese-claimed waters.)
Temporary realignments in alliances and redeployment of forces are par for the course. Who can forget the no east of Suez shift in British forces.
Credit for American isolationism …i’m not sure he deserves it but any withdrawal of armed forces is welcomed…Maybe even the bases in the UK and Europe will end… but i doubt it.
The Media Propaganda Heats up.
The Times last week published a list of names and photographs of eight reporters working for the Moscow-backed Sputnik’s UK bureau in Edinburgh. Russian officials reacted angrily, saying the report put Sputnik’s journalists in danger.
A list of 44 BBC reporters working in Russia has been leaked online, along with their photographs, amid growing pressure on the broadcaster in Russia.
Our task is to get away from identity politics
We share Eugene Debs in highlighting commonalities and not differences
“We have nothing special to offer the Negro, and we cannot make separate appeals to all the races. The Socialist Party is the party of the working class, regardless of color—the whole working class of the whole world.”
I’m a pessimist. I see no solution either in one-state or two-state.
The Israeli Jewish population has demonstrated that they are not willing to share the country on an equal basis with non-Jewish Israelis. I think the divide is growing ever more entrenched.
I cannot see the two-state alternative ever being viable. Over half a million West Bank settlers will not be so easily removed when the settlements are seen as alternative cheap housing compared to the sky-high property prices of Tel Aviv and other cities in Israel which a few years ago ignited protests.
The Palestinian elite will exist and to protect their privilege will blame all the inequalities that will arise from a non-functioning “independent” state on the economic domination of Israel and perpetuate the hatreds by making Israel their scapegoat and with ample cause.
Worth a read is the blog-post
https://socialismoryourmoneyback.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-other-palestinian-struggle-class.html
“It doesn’t seem to have occurred to anyone that doing away with Capital and the State might be the best solution”
Can socialist ideas penetrate Israeli and Palestinian nationalism? We have little success with the mild/moderate nationalism that we regularly encounter much less the nationalism of peoples who consider themselves to be on a permanent war-footing with one another.
An opinion piece on Sylvia by Martin Kettle
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/26/sylvia-pankhurst-politics-suffragette
Capitalism to the rescue
Shell has declared an ambition to double the amount it spends on green energy to $4bn (£3.2bn) a year. If initial investments generated a good enough return, he would be able to successfully argue for an increase from 2020 onwards.
“I would like my current business to be financially credible enough for not only the company, but shareholders, to want to double it and look at more,” Maarten Wetselaar, the head of the gas and new energy unit said in an interview with the Guardian. Solar will be the world’s biggest future source of low carbon power, he said, because of the number of regions it was viable in.
Shell is considered an industry leader on the switch, having invested in solar firms and electric car infrastucture companies.
Norway’s state oil company has rebranded as Equinor to reflect its move towards becoming a “broad energy company”, France’s Total has gone big on batteries, and BP has returned to solar six years after exiting the sector.
Christopher Wild, head of the UN agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), that provoked a massive outcry and some ridicule when it declared that bacon, red meat and glyphosate weedkiller caused cancer has defended its work, denying the announcements were mishandled and insisting on its independence.
He attacked the vested interests of its critics, many of whom are from multinational corporations.
“The science was crystal clear,” he said. “We placed quite a bit of emphasis on the dose-response, if you like – the relationship between quantities eaten and effect.”
On red and processed meat, Wild said, “a lot of the news outlets did say it’s about moderation and it’s not saying don’t eat red meat or don’t eat processed meat. But the part that was missing was something from us, together with WHO, in terms of a guideline on what this means for the public.
There is a general misunderstanding of IARC’s classification system, he acknowledged. Tobacco, ultraviolet radiation and alcohol are all grade 1 carcinogens, which would surprise nobody, because they link respectively to lung, skin and liver cancers (and others). So is processed bacon and other processed meat. That does not mean that all are equally hazardous. Grade 1 means the evidence is strong enough to be sure of the link to cancer. It is not an indication of how likely people consuming it are to get cancer. The IARC says 50g of processed meat a day raises the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%. That is still not high if you have a very low initial risk. Smoking, on the other hand, kills half of those who take it up.
<aside class=”element element-rich-link element-rich-link–tag element–thumbnail element-rich-link–upgraded” data-component=”rich-link-tag” data-link-name=”rich-link-tag”>
The glyphosate monograph caused a different kind of storm. In January, Wild issued a rare statement attacking his critics. Since the evaluation in March 2015, it said, “the agency has been subject to unprecedented, coordinated efforts to undermine the evaluation, the programme and the organisation. These efforts have deliberately and repeatedly misrepresented the agency’s work. The attacks have largely originated from the agrochemical industry and associated media outlets.”Major financial interests were in play, said the statement: the relicensing of glyphosate by the European commission, hundreds of lawsuits against Monsanto in the US over cancers allegedly caused by glyphosate and the decision by the Californian Environmental Protection Agency to label the herbicide as a carcinogen. IARC classified glyphosate as grade 2a – probably carcinogenic in humans (on the basis of animal studies) – satisfying nobody. There are, said Wild, “huge vested interests on all sides. Obviously, it’s a major commercial product particularly in relation to GM crops. At the same time, there’s a very strong lobby against pesticides in general.”
</aside>
Japanese stocks plunged Tuesday and other Asian markets declined following heavy Wall Street losses triggered by President Donald Trump’s criticism of the U.S. central bank.
The Nikkei 225 fell by an unusually wide margin of 5 percent to 19,155.14. The Shanghai Composite Index ended off 0.9 percent at 2,504.82 after being down as much as 2.3 percent at midday. Benchmarks in Thailand and Taiwan also declined.
Quite a good article
Could it be this is the start?
“The Dow Jones fell more than 650 points on Monday, and is on track for its worst December since 1931 during the Great Depression.”
Not quite accurate, the police only said that they could not discount the theory that there were no drones. You can’t prove a negative, can you?
They confirmed finding a damaged drone but did not say if it was implicated. Over 60 people reported seeing drones but we know eye-witnesses are not always the best witnesses. We know people can be fooled into seeing things that they didn’t…and the media is a great suggestive force, just ask the charlatan Uri Geller.
But it proved a great deal for the Israeli defence industry, a $20 million deal. Perhaps we should add Mossad to our list of suspects.
Next year it may well be balloons and kites (as in Gaza) as Gatwick “terrorist” tactics
I rather liked using Ryanair, Stephen, when they brought in 1p (plus taxes) for a ticket. I made several city breaks. Italy for the price of a taxi into town and at the time they served free snacks on the plane. But once they captured the market, they steadily imposed their restrictions and extra charges.
But it was the cheap 60s charter flights that brought foreign holidays within the range of workers, not the main airlines. But for some, it is still expensive. My Shetland relations pay more to get to Aberdeen airport than they do for that connecting flight to the Med Sun.
I also have fond memories of Freddie Laker’s Skytrain that took me to the USA, the original pioneer of cheap flights.
I also recall before the time of computers and self-booking for a bargain air-fare we had to use bucket shops.
Used to load and unload airmail and what shocked me was when the charter Czech pilots told me their wages, i almost earned more in the week than they did in a month. No wonder we called them plane drivers. A British Midland pilot was very upset when addressed as such.
How things change.
