The Age of Oops - Derrick Jensen

FOR AT LEAST FIFTEEN YEARS, I’ve been publicly arguing that this culture is functionally, inherently, systematically unjust and unsustainable, and that while legislative approaches can slightly mitigate some of the injustices or unsustainability, these approaches will never be anywhere near sufficient. Well, I was wrong. I recently undertook a thought experiment in which I challenged myself to imagine a piece of legislation that would solve the injustices and unsustainability of this culture.

Maybe I should back up a little bit. A central problem of this culture is a near-total lack of accountability on the part of perpetrators of violence on every level, from domestic violence and rape (only 6 percent of rapists spend even one night in jail) to government-sponsored torture and war crimes to massive crimes against the environment. A not-very-funny riddle should make my point. Q: What do you get when you cross two nation states, a large corporation, forty tons of poison, and at least eight thousand dead human beings? A: Retirement with full pay and benefits (Warren Anderson, CEO of Union Carbide). I’m not the only person who has noticed that those who are destroying the planet almost never pay any real costs themselves. What happened to Tony Hayward, CEO of British Petroleum, who among others should be held accountable for the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill? He was released from his position with a $1.6 million severance payment, as well as an annual pension of about $1 million (he also holds several million shares of BP stock). While some daring souls have boldly asked whether it might be a teensy bit appropriate to, ahem, politely request an inquiry into whether this severance package should be reduced even the tiniest bit, I’ve not seen many public calls (though I’ve heard a lot of private calls) for Hayward’s head to be paraded around New Orleans on a pike.

Capitalism's Dismal Future

Spencer Platt, Getty Images

A homeless man named Roger panhandles in New York City.

By Paul Mattick

Apart from the patently nonreality-based dissent of its Republican members, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission could hardly have expected the report it issued in January to arouse much excitement. After a year and a half of research and the testimony of academics and other economic experts, it came up with no more than the already conventional wisdom that the economic downturn that burst into public view in 2007 might have been avoided, having been caused by a combination of lax governmental regulation and excessive risk-taking by lenders and borrowers, particularly in the housing market. The same conventional wisdom assures us that swift government action prevented the Great Recession from turning into a full-blown depression, and that the downturn has given way to recovery, albeit a "fragile" one. No matter how often it is repeated, however, this wisdom remains unconvincing.

Why is the recovery so fragile? Why is unemployment stubbornly high? Why are the banks, newly stocked with cash by that swift government action, so uninterested in advancing it for business expansion? Why is the series of sovereign debt crises in Europe echoed in the United States by collapsing state budgets? Why do politicians call relentlessly for austerity even while the economy remains unable to satisfy the need of millions for housing, health care, education, and even food? The bankruptcy of the putative science of economics already demonstrated by the failure of experts to predict the catastrophe is underlined by their apparent inability either to explain what is happening at present or to reach consensus on measures to be taken in response.

Attention, Doomsayers: Global Quality of Life Is Improving

Wolfgang Kaehler, Corbis

Children attend an elementary school in Papua New Guinea.

By Charles Kenny

In 1938, a biological expedition under Richard Archbold arrived in western New Guinea to survey the area by air. On June 23, after hours of flying over near-impenetrable jungle, Archbold's plane passed over the Grand Valley of the Baliem River. The valley was occupied by 50,000 Papuans, until that point unknown to—and unknowing of—the outside world. After six weeks, patrols from the Archbold expedition finally met with the inhabitants. That was the last substantial first contact in history.

At the time of first contact, residents of the Grand Valley were living a Stone Age existence. Early estimates of infant mortality were as high as 20 or 30 percent. Despite those very high natural mortality rates, female infanticide and the killing of twins were common. More lives were claimed from warfare and cannibalism, with war casualties accounting for as much as 10 to 30 percent of all male deaths.

From Students, a Misplaced Sense of Entitlement

By Elayne Clift

It was the semester from hell. In my 20 years as an adjunct faculty member, I had taught in the Ivy League and at community colleges, in Brattleboro and Bangkok, in under­graduate and graduate schools. Never had I seen such extraordinarily bad behavior in my students.

It began the first night of the graduate class, spring semester 2010, when the students attacked the syllabus for being too demanding (although it was premised on previous syllabi for the same course at the same institution). The evening went steadily downhill. I'll spare you the gruesome details, but the next day I got a call from an administrator asking me to deal with the complaints that some students had registered about me and the course. The charges they'd made were ludicrous and easily explained, but I was stunned.

The situation seemed to improve somewhat after I invited students to write down anonymous feedback, positive or negative, about anything they wished to share with me. A student collected the notes in an envelope. We set up class norms, agreeing that we would listen respectfully and give cul­turally sensitive feedback. I also suggested that anyone who found the course too onerous should drop it. Enrollment fell significantly.

Qaddafi Op-Ed New York Times (Leader and Sage): Israel and Palatine as One

THE shocking level of the last wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence, which ended with this weekend’s cease-fire, reminds us why a final resolution to the so-called Middle East crisis is so important. It is vital not just to break this cycle of destruction and injustice, but also to deny the religious extremists in the region who feed on the conflict an excuse to advance their own causes.

But everywhere one looks, among the speeches and the desperate diplomacy, there is no real way forward. A just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians is possible, but it lies in the history of the people of this conflicted land, and not in the tired rhetoric of partition and two-state solutions.

Although it’s hard to realize after the horrors we’ve just witnessed, the state of war between the Jews and Palestinians has not always existed. In fact, many of the divisions between Jews and Palestinians are recent ones. The very name “Palestine” was commonly used to describe the whole area, even by the Jews who lived there, until 1948, when the name “Israel” came into use.

Jews and Muslims are cousins descended from Abraham. Throughout the centuries both faced cruel persecution and often found refuge with one another. Arabs sheltered Jews and protected them after maltreatment at the hands of the Romans and their expulsion from Spain in the Middle Ages.

Prank call, effort to sell power plants prompt worries about GOP ties to Koch brothers

Assembly Democrats tried but failed Wednesday to prevent Gov. Scott Walker from selling state-owned power plants without bids amid growing concerns by Democrats that the owners of a multi-billion dollar oil-and-gas company are driving the governor's legislative agenda.

That suspicion grew Wednesday after Walker was secretly recorded revealing his strategy for pushing through his anti-union budget repair bill during a 20-minute phone conversation with a blogger who purported to be David Koch, executive vice president of the Wichita, Kan.-based Koch Industries.

The defeated amendment, which would have required that the sale be approved by the Public Service Commission, is among dozens likely to be shot down by the Assembly's Republican majority.

The $43 billion Koch Industries, which Koch owns with his brother, Charles, includes numerous energy-related enterprises, including a natural gas pipeline, refineries and a company that supplies coal to Wisconsin power plants.

Why unions are out of touch with reality (and republicans are corrupt)

The public-sector union showdowns in Wisconsin and Ohio are proceeding as if it was the 1950s. Democrats and liberals call labor oppressed, and want the unions to win; Republicans and conservatives call labor a threat, and want unions broken. That’s the wrong way to think about the entire situation.

Labor unions and collective bargaining are important tools. There are good reasons to form unions. But unions must be reasonable. If the customer is not happy with a union’s performance, or if the cost of doing business becomes too high — whether the customer is the state of Wisconsin or otherwise — then unions must make reasonable compromises.

Collective bargaining is, after all, about negotiation.

Why Western meddling in “Deathistan” needs to end

Once again, Western bombs are falling on the sand-blown weapons testing range that is north Africa, the Middle East and the landscape of the old Great Game. The area stretching roughly from Morocco to Afghanistan west to east, and Syria to the Persian Gulf north to south — let’s call this region Deathistan — long has been contested. But in the last century, the region has been treated as a plaything by Western capitals.

The United States and United Kingdom, which boast of enlightenment, cause harm when they please in the Deathistan region. Less than a generation ago it amused the United States to encourage Saddam Hussein to slaughter Iranians; then conditions changed, so the United States started killing in Iraq. Right now the United States and NATO are taking lives in Libya and Afghanistan. In these places, U.S. and other Western armed forces in the main behave with high ethics. But their missions are to slay and destroy, and here’s the bottom line: Western meddling in north Africa, the Arab world and the Great Game territories has not worked.

The federal spending controversy

With another federal spending controversy brewing on Capitol Hill, recall that in his 2010 State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama said, “We’ve already identified $20 billion in savings for next year.” Now it’s next year — so what happened to the $20 billion in savings? Let’s follow the bouncing budget cut.

The “$20 billion” promise was not the sort of empty verbiage that dominates the federal spending debate. How many times have you heard a politician thunder about cutting spending but not cite even one specific reduction he or she supports? A year ago, the Office of Management and Budget laid out Obama’s proposed cuts in specific detail.

China, Iran, N. Korea, Yemen, U.S. Remain World’s Most Frequent Executioners

Amnesty International reports China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the United States remain amongst the world’s most frequent executioners. Amnesty says China is believe to have executed thousands of people last year. Iran executed 252 people; North Korea 60; Yemen 53; and the United States 46. Setting aside China, the total number of executions officially recorded by Amnesty International in 2010 was 527 down from at least 714 people in 2009.

Roseann Rife, Amnesty International: "We absolutely believe that it is an unmistakable trend towards abolition. That is the goal, the United Nations has come out and said that that is the goal, and many many countries are adopting it. I think it’s just a matter of time and increasingly the countries who haven’t abolished the death penalty are going to stand out as obstructionist towards that goal."

Is environmentalism working?

03/17/2011 02:10 PM

Germany's Eco-Trap

Is Environmentalism Really Working?

Germany is among the world leaders when it comes to taking steps to save the environment. But many of the measures are not delivering the promised results. Biofuels have led to the clear-cutting of rainforests, plastics are being burned rather than recycled and new generation lightbulbs have led to a resurgence of mercury production. A SPIEGEL survey.

As usual, ordinary Germans were to blame. Everything had been prepared for the green revolution: fresh supplies and new signs at the gas stations, and the refinery depots were full to the brim with the new wonderfuel. But then drivers turned their backs on the new era. They didn't want to buy E10, a blend of ethanol and gasoline, even through it cost almost 10 cents less per liter than conventional gas.
"It's annoying but there's no question of stopping the sale of E10," said Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen. E10, Röttgen said with a hint of threat in his voice, was a milestone of German climate control policy.

DJENEBA SECK - NITEKE NELA - BERNARD AARTS

Killer at Large

When Nuke Planning for the Worst Is Not Enough

As hopes dim for controlling the explosive self-destruction of six decomposing nuclear plants on Japan's northeast coast, safety experts around the world want to know what was missing in the tens of thousands of pages of repeatedly tested emergency drills crafted to cover every eventuality.

Japanese and U.S. safety officials say the emergency plans for almost every plant, everywhere, precisely detail every possible response after an earthquake, flood or tsunamiand explosion. But as the past five days have shown, these disaster plans seemed fine until reality reared back and slapped them silly, and this is just what happened at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex.

DigitalGlobe / AP

A satellite photo shows the damage after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant complex. Steam can be seen venting from the No. 2 reactor building, as well as from the No. 3 reactor building.

Some of the answers are in the numbers.

The plants were meticulously designed to survive a 7.2 quake and were hit with a violent tremor of 9.0.

Plant designers knew that they were tsunami bait, so they built a 25-foot-high protective wall between the ocean and the reactors. Japanese safety officials say that the 30-foot wave triggered by the quake didn't even pause as it thundered toward the six reactors in the complex.

Japan

Japan Faces Nuclear Crisis After Third Explosion at Plant

High levels of radiation have leaked from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan after a third explosion at the crippled plant. The latest blast seriously damaged the Number Two reactor’s steel containment structure. In addition, a fire briefly broke out at the plant’s reactor Number Four. Officials just south of the plant reported up to 100 times the normal levels of radiation.

Radiation Leaks Force Over 70,000 to Evacuate

Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company said it has pulled out 800 workers from the nuclear power facility due to safety concerns. Some 70,000 residents have been forced to evacuate their homes. Another 140,000 people have been ordered not to step outside. Low levels of radiation are now floating toward Tokyo. Earlier today, Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano issued a frank warning about the crisis.

Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano: "There is no mistake that this is a level that can have an effect on humans. People within the area should not have contact with the air as much as possible, and I would like to ask people to stay indoors."

Thousands of Bodies Wash Up on Japan’s Shore

Japan is also dealing with a humanitarian crisis as millions of people in Japan’s devastated northeast are spending a fourth night without water, food or heating in near-freezing temperatures. Officials expect the death toll from Friday’s earthquake and tsunami to exceed 10,000. On Monday, more than 2,000 bodies washed up on the beaches of Miyagi Prefecture.

Germany Shuts Down Nuclear Reactors Following Japan Disaster

The nuclear crisis in Japan has sparked a debate over the future of nuclear energy across the globe. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that the country’s seven nuclear reactors built before 1980 will be shut down for a three-month review of German plant safety. On Monday, Merkel suspended plans to extend the life of Germany’s 17 nuclear reactors.

Japan

Japan Faces Nuclear Crisis After Third Explosion at Plant

High levels of radiation have leaked from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan after a third explosion at the crippled plant. The latest blast seriously damaged the Number Two reactor’s steel containment structure. In addition, a fire briefly broke out at the plant’s reactor Number Four. Officials just south of the plant reported up to 100 times the normal levels of radiation.

Radiation Leaks Force Over 70,000 to Evacuate

Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company said it has pulled out 800 workers from the nuclear power facility due to safety concerns. Some 70,000 residents have been forced to evacuate their homes. Another 140,000 people have been ordered not to step outside. Low levels of radiation are now floating toward Tokyo. Earlier today, Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano issued a frank warning about the crisis.

Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano: "There is no mistake that this is a level that can have an effect on humans. People within the area should not have contact with the air as much as possible, and I would like to ask people to stay indoors."

Thousands of Bodies Wash Up on Japan’s Shore

Japan is also dealing with a humanitarian crisis as millions of people in Japan’s devastated northeast are spending a fourth night without water, food or heating in near-freezing temperatures. Officials expect the death toll from Friday’s earthquake and tsunami to exceed 10,000. On Monday, more than 2,000 bodies washed up on the beaches of Miyagi Prefecture.

Germany Shuts Down Nuclear Reactors Following Japan Disaster

The nuclear crisis in Japan has sparked a debate over the future of nuclear energy across the globe. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that the country’s seven nuclear reactors built before 1980 will be shut down for a three-month review of German plant safety. On Monday, Merkel suspended plans to extend the life of Germany’s 17 nuclear reactors.

Survey: Many U.S. Millionaires Do Not Consider Themselves Rich

A new survey of the wealthy class in the United States has found that more than 40 percent of millionaires do not feel rich, despite their seven-figure wealth. Many said they would not feel truly wealthy until their assets hit the $7.5 million mark. The survey was conducted by Fidelity Investments

Guatemalans Intentionally Infected with Diseases Sue U.S. Government

A group of Guatemalans who were deliberately infected with syphilis and gonorrhea in the 1940s have sued the U.S. government. The experiments were conducted without the subjects’ permission between 1946 and 1948. The Obama administration issued an apology last year about the tests, but the United States has refused to offer compensation to the victims and their families. Visit DemocracyNow.org for our interview with medical historian Susan Reverby, who uncovered the secret experiments.

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