Percentage of long-term problems with Covid-19
5 October 2022
About 5% of people who get infected with Covid-19 have long-term problems with taste and smell. For some, the sense of smell is gone. For others smells get mixed up — the foods you used to like may smell bad.
Railroad between Los Angeles and San Diego
5 October 2022
The railroad between Los Angeles and San Diego runs so close to the ocean that big storms are likely to mess up the tracks and require repairs.
I don't think the approach of repairing the damage each time will be adequate for another few decades. Hadn't they better start planning to move the tracks inland?
Tax cuts for rich don't increase economic growth
5 October 2022
Yanis Varoufakis: tax cuts for the rich can't make wealth trickle down to the poor, because those tax cuts don't increase economic growth at all. Rich people and companies given extra wealth don't seek, nowadays, to invest it in increased production. Instead they manipulate markets.
Law to help farm workers unionize
5 October 2022
California has passed a law intended to help farm workers unionize.
Amount Labour can raise taxes on the rich
5 October 2022
Timid Labour can't suggest raising taxes on the rich beyond what the Tories have left after almost 10 years in power.
Eliminating nuclear weapons
5 October 2022
*Eliminating Nuclear Weapons "Is Not Only Possible, It Is Necessary" — UN Chief.*
I agree it is necessary. But is it possible to get the nuclear powers to agree to disarm?
Right-wing politics in Italy
5 October 2022
The history of right-wing politics in Italy in the past few decades, and where that is leading now.
I have a general theory that the right-wing has been strengthened in EU countries by the power that the EU's banks have over spending and money. Italy and Greece suffered economic crises after the 2009 recession and the EU blocked them from applying the necessary Keynesian policies. The non-extreme left was stymied and had nothing to offer. Right-wing parties couldn't fix the problem either, but they could propose useless attacks on scapegoats.
General Petraeus on retaliating on Putin
5 October 2022
General Petraeus suggested how to retaliate for Putin's possible use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, with more or less the approach I suggested. I think his idea does not go quite far enough.
NATO should not limit itself to the rather small Black Sea fleet. It should capture or sink every ship in the Russian navy, explicitly and carefully excluding nuclear missile submarines because we don't want to lead Putin to think that he must use them fast or lose them.
In addition, we should seize as much as possible of Russia's civilian shipping, including their giant fishing ships.
Russia would be unable to prevent this, and the effects would last for many years. Announcing the plan should have a substantial deterrent effect.
A deterrent effect is what we want. Our goal is to deter Putin's use of nuclear weapons, not punish them.
Evidence for trial of Jamal Khashoggi
5 October 2022
Turkey seized Jamal Khashoggi's phone after he was murdered, for a planned trial of accused murderers. But Turkey made a deal to let Crown Prince Bone Saw, the probable murderer, take charge of the trial. Khashoggi's widow demands that evidence.
Discouraging disadvantaged people from voting
5 October 2022
Georgia Republicans are trying many different methods of discouraging disadvantaged people from voting. The idea is that eventually these obstacles will impose more trouble and hassle than non-rich people can free up.
Iranian students defy suppression forces
5 October 2022
*Iranian students defy [suppression forces] as anti-regime protests continue.*
Removal of landmines planted in Ukraine
5 October 2022
Experts say it will take at least a decade to remove the landmines that the Putin forces have planted in Ukraine.
Australia's plan to halt extinction crisis
5 October 2022
*Australia announces plan to halt extinction crisis and save 110 species.* Plus other species that share their habitats.
The Future of Clean Water
5 October 2022
*The Supreme Court Will Decide the Future of Clean Water for Generations. Polluters' legal challenge aims to maximize profits at the expense of the health of communities and our environment.*
Starbucks strike near Boston University
5 October 2022
Starbucks made concessions to the strikers in the store near Boston University, and they ended the strike.
That was after the Boston thug department threatened to arrest the picketers for trespassing, and the community chased the thugs away.
Urgent: End voter suppression among college students
4 October 2022
US citizens: call on Secretaries of State to end voter suppression among college students.
Urgent: Call on the Senate to pass the PRO Act
4 October 2022
US citizens: call on the Senate to pass the PRO Act.
Summer of climate insanity
4 October 2022
Peter Kalmus: *It has been a summer of climate insanity … on average, the coolest summer with the least climate chaos for the rest of your life. That is just the nature of trends.*
*The desperation I feel over this clear failure of world leaders to take the obvious and necessary actions to halt Earth breakdown and potentially save billions of lives led me to engage in civil disobedience earlier this year, an action that resulted in my arrest.*
Increase in Covid-19 hospitalizations in the UK
4 October 2022
The rate of Covid-19 hospitalizations in the UK increased by over 1/3 last week. With the hospitals damaged by Tory under-funding, and understaffed, they are already having trouble coping at all.
Planet-roaster politicians insist on coal
4 October 2022
Planet-roaster politicians in Australia continue to insist that Australia will need coal-powered electricity for decades more, These claims are based on combining falsehoods with exaggerations. This article spells it out.
Reasons there hasn't been a climate revolt
4 October 2022
*Eight Reasons Why There Hasn't Been a Global Climate Revolt Yet.*
All-time low of uninsured Americans
4 October 2022
* "When the 'all-time low' of uninsured Americans is still 26 MILLION, something needs to change," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal.*
(satire) Lease does not include rooftop access
4 October 2022
Lawsuits compelled Biden to exclude some Americans from student loan forgiveness
4 October 2022
Republican lawsuits on behalf of loan management companies compelled Biden to exclude .77 million Americans from student loan forgiveness.
More excuses to delay efforts on cutting greenhouse emissions
4 October 2022
The US government has put billions of dollars into efforts at carbon capture and storage, and the only result is to provide an imaginary excuse to delay serious efforts to cut down on greenhouse emissions. Now Congress proposes to do more of the same.
Ineffectiveness of Flaring natural gas
4 October 2022
"Flaring" of natural gas burns the methane to convert it into CO2. However, the process is not totally effective; the amount of methane that survives to heat the Earth is 5 times what was calculated.
Russia blocking Ukrainians
4 October 2022
Russia is starting to block Ukrainians from leaving the supposedly annexed parts of Ukraine into Russia, and also from Russia to EU countries.
Right-wing extremists want to ban abortion in the whole US
4 October 2022
The right-wing extremists that dominate the Republican Party still intend to ban abortion in the whole US.
The only thing they disagree on is whether to hide it for the meantime.
Contempt toward suicidal taxpayers
4 October 2022
Richard Boyle, a whistleblower in the Australian Taxation Office, reports that the management had adopted a stance of contempt towards taxpayers who felt suicidal because tax debt collectors had left them with no way out.
I can see that there is something insincere about telling a creditor that your debt makes you suicidal. The temptation to exaggerate is obvious.
However, people in debt have often suffered much worse treatment at the hands of rich businesses and the plutocratic state, and all in all I think we must forgive them for lesser wrongs like this.
Boyle is facing criminal charges and could be sent to prison for years.
(satire) Nihilist perspective on why none of this matters
4 October 2022
(satire) *CNN’s Chief Nihilist Correspondent Gives Perspective On Why None Of This Matters.*
Ways US military keeps power and keeps itself in wars
4 October 2022
The US military keeps itself in power, and keeps itself fighting wars, by lying about failures and lying to cover up the previous lies.
DeMentis obstructed efforts to reduce global heating
4 October 2022
DeMentis as governor of Florida has systematically obstructed efforts to reduce global heating, or help the poor. Now Florida has been hit by a symptom of global heating.
DeMentis deserves this, but the people of Florida do not.
Amazon Google and Facebook's campaign against Roe
2 October 2022
*How Amazon, Google, and Facebook Helped Fund the Campaign to Overturn Roe.*
Human-made disasters
2 October 2022
Hurricanes today are no longer natural disasters. These disasters are augmented by human-made global heating, which causes stronger winds, stronger rain for a longer period of time, and bigger storm surges starting from a higher mean sea level.
Geico deterring unions
2 October 2022
*Geico workers accuse company of aggressive tactics to deter union push.*
Labour ignoring electoral reform
2 October 2022
*Why is Labour ignoring its own members on electoral reform?*
I can't prove it, but I suspect that plutocratists are now in control of Labour, and changes outside of a limited range are beyond the range of thinking.
Iran protests keep growing
2 October 2022
The protests in Iran keep growing, showing enormous resentment against the rigidity of the regime.
Prime minister's ideology
2 October 2022
George Monbiot: *The prime minister's ideology encourages the extraction of as much income as possible from nature before abandoning it.*
Regime change
2 October 2022
*Those desiring regime change in Russia should be careful what they wish for.*
Bolsonaro and rainforest destruction
2 October 2022
*Further destruction under Bolsonaro could push vital rainforest past irreversible tipping point.*
To stop the deforestation will not be easy even with Lula's support. The Workers' Party presidents governed for around 13 years, and their laws slowed the rate of deforestation, but never succeeded in stopping it.
Ukraine applied for NATO membership
2 October 2022
Zelenskiy said that Ukraine has applied for membership in NATO.
That threatens to embarrass Ukraine's supporters, since they can't possibly accept. They have good reasons not to get involved in actual fighting with the Putin forces -- to avoid a step down a path that could lead to nuclear war.
It might be useful for NATO to announce that it will treat Ukraine as a NATO member, for the duration of this war, if Putin uses nuclear weapons. That might convince him not to take the risk.
Copyright claims over vague similarities
2 October 2022
Big hit songs are hit with copyright infringement claims over vague similarities to other songs.
I think this is a sign that the criteria for infringement are too loose. But it is also a consequence of the increased practice of songwriters' or their heirs' selling their whole catalogs to companies. I speculate that they are using AI to search databases of thousands of songs to find opportunities to sue.
Copyright lasts far too long. A 1973 work should not be copyrighted today.
Torture against opposition and human rights defenders
2 October 2022
A UN investigative team concluded that Venezuelan government officials are using torture against oppositionists and human rights defenders, sometimes at the direct request of high officials including the president.
Tuvalu
2 October 2022
The people of Tuvalu hope to develop a virtual replica of their home, to remember it by after it has been inundated permanently.
If we had started seriously fighting global heating 20 years ago, perhaps Tuvalu could have remained habitable. The planet roasters decided to sacrifice it to their profit.
Call on Anti-Defamation league to stop defaming
1 October 2022
US citizens: call on the Anti-Defamation League to stop defaming Rashida Tlaib, Human Rights Watch, and perhaps also you.
Urgent: Keep Manchin's environmental sabotage deal dead
1 October 2022
US citizens: call on your members of Congress to keep Manchin's environmental sabotage deal dead.
The Capitol Switchboard number is +1-202-224-3121.
If you call, please spread the word!
Urgent: Eliminate sales of fossil fuel leases
1 October 2022
US citizens: call on the Department of the Interior to eliminate sales of fossil fuel leases.
Rejecting the use of carbon offsets
1 October 2022
An Australian mining magnate estimates that only 15% (at most) of supposed carbon offsets offered for sale correspond to real avoidance of carbon emissions. He is converting his iron mining business to zero emissions for real, rejecting the use of offsets.
I've been criticizing emissions trading as ineffective, and vulnerable to cheating, since 2007,