American Police Logic: Threaten to kill someone first if they try to kill themselves.

Montgomery County Police Department got a call that Chelsea Manning might be trying to kill herself. Because law enforcement is currently the ONLY tool we have to deal with this sort of thing, the police were sent to check up on her. So far so good enough. When she didn’t answer the door, they broke in. Again, I don’t really have a problem with this. If someone is in the process of dying, then breaking in to save them is a good idea. This is where things take a disturbing and depressingly familiar turn – when they got her door opened, they entered with three drawn guns and a drawn taser. Manning wasn’t home, but I have to wonder what the outcome would have been if she was. Again – they entered the apartment of someone they thought was suicidal with guns drawn and aimed ahead of them: [Read more…]

If satellites can see plants glow, why oh why can’t I?

One factor that’s not often discussed in the fight against the greed-funded climate denial campaign is photosynthesis. Well, I should qualify. Some deniers never shut up about photosynthesis, but they don’t really address the ways in which photosynthesis really matters to us with regard to climate change. Among its other roles, it can also be a tool for managing our impact on the planet’s climate system. Given enough water, plants are really good at pulling in CO2 and binding it in cellulose. If we were to really set ourselves to it, the machinery of industrialized agriculture could be put to work harvesting and sequestering CO2.

Even so, the much larger amount of photosynthesis in the natural world is more important, both as a CO2 sink, and as a potential source. This is just one reason why being able to accurately estimate the total photosynthetic activity of the planet helps us keep an eye on how the foundation for our existence is doing. I knew that scientists were using satellites to estimate photosynthetic activity, but what I didn’t know is that they’ve been doing it by measuring the glow given off by the process of photosynthesis: [Read more…]

This Week in “Free Market” Capitalism: Government-picked winners

It probably comes as no surprise to any of my readers, but the GOP has decided to order utilities to buy electricity from coal even if it’s more expensive than other sources of energy:

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Tropic of Chaos: Old Wars Never Die, but Rise Again to Feed on the Flesh of the Living

Chapter 3: War for a Small Planet

These book reviews are a way for me to think through what we know of the changes we expect in our climate, and how to respond to them. In particular, I’m focused on actions we can take now to support our future efforts towards a society run on progressive, secular humanist values. I’m new to book reviews, so let me know if you have questions or suggestions. If you want to read along with me, the book is Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence, by Christian Parenti

General impression: This chapter concludes the introductory segment of the book, so it’s no surprise that it is solidly focused on the patterns of the last couple centuries that have laid the ground for the crises still to come. Its most chilling lesson for me, though, is how similar the goals and symptoms of counterinsurgency (COIN) are to the current state of both law enforcement and of tribalism in the United States.

All this really is, is an extension of the ancient tactic of “divide and conquer”. COIN takes it out of the battlefield, and employs it at every level of daily life, encouraging prejudices, feelings of aggrievement, worry about access to necessities, and so on. The question is what we do in response to that looming threat, and how, in the future, we can avoid the mistakes of the present and the past.

Soundtrack: ¡No Mas!, John McCutcheon

Click here for lyrics.

What can we do in response to this chapter? At risk of sounding like a broken record, study the history of the past couple hundred years, particularly from the point of view of the people at the receiving end of America’s “Greatness”. Many people have pointed out, over the last couple decades, how many Cold War-era figures are still shaping U.S. policy and politics. Oliver North’s recent reappearance in the public view stands as a grim monument to this trend, but it should also serve as a reminder that we’re not just saddled with the criminals of that era, but also the damage they did. Just as decades of U.S. meddling in Iran brought us the current crisis there, the refugees that the conservative movement is so eager to brutalize at our southern border are there, in part, because of U.S. meddling in South and Central America, and the instability we have cultivated there.

It is vital that we not only learn what happened, but also what justifications were made to support injustice and atrocities during that time. As was done during the Civil Rights Movement, people will claim that working for justice is a luxury that cannot be afforded during times of crisis. For those with unjust power and privilege, it will never be the right time for them give that up, and we will not be able to face any challenges as a united species for as long as we are defending injustice in the name of that unity.

Now on to the review!
[Read more…]

Tropic of Chaos Review: Military Soothsayers

Chapter 2: Military Soothsayers

These book reviews are a way for me to think through what we know of the changes we expect in our climate, and how to respond to them. In particular, I’m focused on actions we can take now to support our future efforts towards a society run on progressive, secular humanist values. I’m new to book reviews, so let me know if you have questions or suggestions. If you want to read along with me, the book is Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence, by Christian Parenti

General impression: This chapter takes a look at how the global Military Industrial Complex, which should include the private prison industry, is preparing for climate change by planning for war. And war is made virtually inevitable by the instability and deprivation from the wars of the 20th century, combined with the exploitation and extraction of material resources from Africa in particular. Once again, we are reminded that history never really stays in the past.

Soundtrack: Marti’s Last Stand, Enter the Haggis

Click here for lyrics.

What can we do in response to this? Learn, spread the word, keep reminding people that the companies that profit off of war and repression are constantly lobbying lawmakers to keep creating profits for them, be it through war, or increasing arrests. With the intentional chaos engulfing our government, it’s easy to lose track of problems that aren’t making a lot of noise, so it’s worth amplifying them. If minds can change on religion, they can change on other ideologies, so don’t view efforts to get the message across as pointless!

Imprisoning Our Kids for a Profit

The Case for Outlawing For-Profit Prisons

The True Cost: Why the Private Prison Industry is About so Much More Than Prisons

Big money behind war: the military-industrial complex

Defense Contractors Spend Millions to Overturn Limits on Military Spending

And now on to my thoughts on the chapter: [Read more…]

Book Reviews: Tropic of Chaos, Chapter 1

Section 1: Last Call for Illusions

Chapter 1: Who killed Ekaru Loruman?

These book reviews are a way for me to think through what we know of the changes we expect in our climate, and how to respond to them. In particular, I’m focused on actions we can take now to support our future efforts towards a society run on progressive, secular humanist values. I’m new to book reviews, so let me know if you have questions or suggestions. If you want to read along with me, the book is Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence, by Christian Parenti

General impression: This chapter lays out Christian Parenti’s expectations for the coming decades in stark detail. This is made more alarming by the fact that this book was written in 2011, and we’ve seen things unfold in a manner very much like what Parenti forecasts. As with so many other things, we have met the enemy, and he is us. The most urgent danger is not rising seas, or killer heatwaves, or destructive storms; the most urgent danger from climate change is how humans react to scarcity, crisis, and refugees.

Soundtrack: Screwed, Janelle Monaé (I promise this won’t all be her, it just kept running through my mind while I was working on this)

Click here for lyrics.

What can we do in response to this? The idea bouncing around in my head currently is something I like to call “prosocial prepping”. Build and maintain a store of food and water. Then, when something happens, you’ll have that ready to use for yourself, or to help your neighbors if they need it more, or even to ship to a part of the country that needs it. Of the problems we’re going to face, all but a fraction will center on problems of resource distribution and humans desperate to survive. To the degree that you are able, position yourself so you can help things go smoothly.

And now on to the chapter review: [Read more…]