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It is increasingly obvious the One Percent and its hireling Ruling Class has no intention of doing anything to combat terminal climate change.
Probably the primary reason for this do-nothing policy is the moral imbecility at the core of capitalism -- the "I've-got-mine/fuck-you" ethos that lurks beneath the capitalists' genocidal hostility toward anyone who is not part of the aristocracy.
That Antoinette attitude plus the aristocrats' arrogant belief they themselves are enough protected by economic reality and technology to survive any debacle Nature might produce guarantees we soon-to-be-victims of the apocalypse will be abandoned to our fate just as were the residents of New Orleans during Katrina -- which was in fact a preview of the modes of governance and death that are increasingly defining this planet's human future.
My own suspicion is this sort of apocalypse has happened before, both beyond our solar system and inside it as well.
As to such disasters beyond this system, the fact we have yet to encounter any conclusive evidence of an advanced civilization anywhere in the vastness of space suggests, as I believe Carl Sagan postulated, that all allegedly "intelligent" species self-destruct, just as ours is doing. (The alternative to self-destruction is a low-tech, static-state sustainability of the sort achieved by the proto-communistic Minoan civilization, which lasted nearly 2,000 years, but was destroyed by one of the most devastating volcanic eruptions in this planet's history. )
In any case, the advent of patriarchy, with its mandates for endless war, conquest and enslavement, doomed forever any possibility of a self-sustaining human society on this planet.
Though I have no patience with the UFO cult and its VonDanikenoid ("Chariots of the Gods") derivitives -- as far as I am concerned it is, like the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), merely another escapist variant on the Santa Claus myth -- I do harbor a faint suspicion the alleged ruins on Mars are real.
This of course suggests that now-ruined Mars was our species' original home, that we destroyed it as we are now destroying Earth, and that -- as a PhD environmentalist I know already projects -- the drought that is at present destroying the Southwest will eventually destroy this entire planet also.
Now I'm holding up one finger. ;-)>
The answer is not "to raise water rates" (thereby turning California into another Detroit, wherein access to potable water is now a privilege of wealth rather than a human right). The answer is to tax the One Percent -- the obscenely rich parasites whose infinite greed is reducing the United States not just to a Third World nation, but to the modern equivalent of an antebellum slave plantation. (This in response to BMetcalfe.)
In order to make everyone more comfortable that the all-seeing-eye, that knows all...sees all, is just a regular guy with no special talents, I have to throw in, from time to time, a blooper. I knew that you would say "four fingers over your cat's head" but I wanted you to get some sleep tonight so I said one finger. heh! heh! ;-}
Climate change due to global warming. Some may say it's just a temporary thing, just bad luck with the weather or a hoax. These people had better get real and listen to what all of those who have devoted their lives to studying climate are saying, that climate change is getting worse for all af the living inhabitants of Planet Earth and we are causing it to get worse. It may or may not be too late to do anything about it. If we try to change the climate we have a chance of surviving. Don't tell me we can't change the climate because we have already done just that, but for the worse, without even trying. Imagine what we could do if we try to change the climate, but for the good this time. We first need to stop poisoning our atmosphere in every way possible. We are the humans. We're smart We can figure it out Our smartness just needs to outweigh our greedyness Even Exxon could figure out ways of making money from alternitive energy if they just would. If we, as a species dedicate ourselves to climate change the lakes will fill up again and we will have a clean healthy planet with normal weather patterns. If we don't do anything, it will be to late because we'll all be dead and there's not much you can do when you're dead.
Whoa!!! Funny! But so true! Way to go AIW!! Like phone calls, I never open any emails that I don't know who they are from and especially don't open some that I do know who they are...especially politicians...Dems or no Dems. I just delete them. I used to label them as spam but that doesn't seem to work very well.
My number of phone calls from scammers have dwindled quite a bit but spam emails just seem to keep on coming. As long as I can click to delete...that's just fine.
Palindromedary ~ No, you're not. I was holding up four fingers over my cat's head. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster you got that one wrong. There is a limit to your power. Good to know! Now I can sleep at night.I knew your first guess would be the middle finger. Heh! Heh! Heh!
Here’s another message I just got in my e-mail box from “dccc.org”: “Since Boehner’s Republicans voted to sue President Obama, we’ve been working non-stop to back up the President with an UNPRECEDENTED level of support on the biggest fundraising deadline of the year. That means we need to hit 5OO,OOO grassroots donations backing up President Obama since Boehner’s lawsuit. And we need to do it by midnight.”
Here’s my reply: Any president so determined to fast-track the TPP, after claiming allegiance to the middle class, is full of shit. If his efforts succeed, we will have lost what little remains of our middle class. Between that and murder-by-drone… not to mention arbitrary “terrorist” witch hunts, mass deportations, mafia-style hit lists and indefinite detention without charge or trial, this self-proclaimed “constitutional scholar” can KISS MY ASS.
- Aliceinwonderland
Aliceinwonderland: Glad to hear it! It's time we bucked the system even if it means risking getting a Republican into office. Maybe that will just hasten the revolution. Getting more Dems in office just feeds us false hope. They've had their chance and they blew it! They've shown their real colors. They are just as much corporate trash as the Republicans.
DAnneMarc: One! The middle one. heh! heh! Am I right? ;-}
Lately, though, I've just been taking cold showers to beat the heat. It's been in the 70's here in Semey and might go up to 81 by Wednesday.
And the latest data indicate that the population of California is still increasing while wetter states like New York are losing population. How soon will it be before there's a switch - with migration to the very wet Northeastern states? Will land prices in the east start to skyrocket to those of land in California? Also I heard today that satellite data indicate that ground water in western states is at an all time low and decreasing yearly. Perhaps it's time to rethink our agricultural policies that allot so much money to western states (mainly for irrigation) and instead allot funding for more greenhouse growing in the water rich states that don't have as warm a climate as California. Already many countries in the rest of the world are starting to grow much of their produce under cover. Here in the US, we should follow their lead.
Palindromedary ~ Wow! I sure am glad you're on our side!! Great work! Is there anything you can't find on the internet? Hey, how many fingers am I holding up?
Aliceinwonderland ~ I know what you're thinking. You're probably right about that Disqus site. It sure does sound like his particular arrogant aire. If I were you, I'd let it go. He'll just go somewhere else like a whack-a-mole. The internet is full of people who are receptive to his type of unsupported rhetoric. The important thing is, it won't fly here.
Although, I'll leave that call up to you. As you wish. In my opinion, he's only going to be receptive to audiences who have already made up their minds. To everyone else he comes across as an well spoken idiot.
Yep. Talk about ugly twins! (tsk)
Yup, Yup, that's it! "Which way did he go, George? Which way did he go?" For a while there, I was wondering if he was our Mr. Valentine. Remember him?
I'll admit that up to now, I haven't been in the habit of saving the shower water 'til it's warmed up. Maybe I oughta start doing that too. - AIW
Yeah that's him; all bluster, no substance. That's the tactic these hacks & quacks will use when they're short on facts to substantiate their ridiculous assertions! They resort to insults and mud-slinging, all the while claiming some vaguely-worded, special grasp of the "facts" that amounts to nothing but hot air. So sophomoric it's pathetic. - AIW
I too take marine showers and use a hill billy grey water system (a bucket under the shower till it warms up then water the plants). Waste not want not! Even though it does rain pretty often here in Semipalatinsk. ;-} It's radioactive rain but we got used to it! I even use it to brush my teeth for both of my heads..the original one and the one that started growing out of my left shoulder a number of years ago. Two heads are better than one..they say! But the one on my left shoulder insists on doing Mongolian throat singing while I'm trying to sleep sometimes. I wonder, if I chopped it off, would I be arrested for murder?
Palin, I wish with all my heart that I could disagree with you.
Unfortunately many lefties whose intelligence I highly respect are still buying into the notion that a vote for a third-party candidate helps keep Republicans in office. There even might be some truth to it, unless the number of voters who pick third-party candidates becomes so overwhelming that it actually has an impact.
As I’ve said before, I had this argument with my mother (who was also a lefty) back in 2000 when I insisted on voting for Ralph Nader instead of Al Gore. She called Nader a “spoiler”. But if we had the same line-up of candidates today, I’d do it all over again. I like Nader’s no-nonsense, aggressive fighting spirit, and he’s got this corporate fascist thing figured out. That guy personifies exactly what our country sorely needs: a warrior in the oval office who knows who the real enemy is, and is willing to fight that enemy tooth-and-nail in our behalf!
Lately I've been getting all these e-mail messages from Barack Obama, Michele Obama and Joe Biden, pleading for donations to help fight off Republican efforts to sue him, imploring us all to 'have his back". And they can all just kiss my royal ass. Whenever I find any messages from those people, or from Nancy Pelosi, they get deleted from my inbox immediately.
I have never been more disillusioned and angry at any president I voted for than I am toward Obama. His efforts to fast-track the TPP infuriate me, especially after all the lip service he’s given to “saving” the middle class. Obama doesn't have our backs, obviously! He's got one helluve nerve asking us to come running to his aid with open wallets. Fuck his ass sideways. Let him pay his own legal fees!
I am through with “lesser evil” fear votes, because that’s all it ever gets us: corporatist, centrist sell-outs who cave in to the fascists, while throwing us and our democracy under the bus! I’ve had it with that bullshit, and those people are not getting my vote anymore!! (Hear that, Nachos?) - Aliceinwonderland
Yes, the one on the Disqus site does sound like him.
There's one that lives in Upper Mount Gravat a suburb of Brisbane
There's one that lives in Brookfield, FL who was selling/buying real estate (his own property)
There's a lot of references to someone of that name that has made a number of comments that are associated with Britain.
For example:
http://phillipsblog.dailymail.co.uk/2013/05/obamastan.html
but this one doesn't sound like the one we know...he sounds more liberal.
I just checked it out, Palin. I'd bet $$ it's the same guy. What an asshole! Enough already.
Marc, past California droughts (which ocurred while I still lived there) have altered my habits forever. Remember the phrase "Yellow is mellow, brown goes down"? And for decades now, I've shut off the water in the shower while soaping up. Ditto at the kitchen sink; ditto brushing my teeth or washing my hands. It's not that hard, folks; especially the way faucets are designed nowadays. Becomes second nature after awhile. Even here in rainy Oregon, my old drought habits prevail. No matter how much it rains here, I see no reason to revert back to my pre-drought habits.
While in assisted living, the last few years of her life, my mother was in the habit of running the water continuously in the sink while using the toilet. It drove me friggin' crazy. And she wouldn't let me turn it off! Must've been the Alzheimer's. (SIGH) - Aliceinwonderland
Sorry, AIW, once again I got caught editing while you posted and I once again messed up the order of things. Anyway, yes, I had referred to "Kermit" before because that's what I had found back then. People leave traces of their personal lives all over the internet. There is no certainty that this is "the" sven but the reference I got had the name that then said "lives in Kermit" and the country code was 7 followed by 041 followed by 6 more digits. So, this didn't make any sense since 7 country code is in Kazakhstan. Could be sven lives in Kazakhstan...or lived there at the time that the record was created.
But, then again, now that I think of it...the spacing of that number may have been off. It could be that instead of 7 being the country code....it was actually supposed to be 704 area code then 7 digits after that ...which would put it in Charlotte, NC. But then again, I don't think 183 is a valid prefix in area code 704.
I suppose one could always check to see if sven is listed on facebook. ;-} But then, there is no guarantee that this would be the same person.
If you really miss him/her/it you can probably find his comments on http://disqus.com/svenmills/ where he left a comment on the subject of Greenpeace 9 days ago.
Thanks Marc! "Spectacular" is the word for it.