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Thomas Paine

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.

Friday, December 16, 2011

16 December - Blogs Im Following II

Seal of the United States . More information f...Image via Wikipedia
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Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico (NASA, International...Image by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center via Flickr
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Land Grabs Threaten World's Poor Even More Than Previously Thought

Food is not the main focus of the land deals. Out of the 71 million hectares in deals that the authors could cross-reference, 22% was for mining, tourism, industry and forestry and three-quarters of the remaining 78% for agricultural production was for biofuels.
Land grabs have been called out for what they are over the last couple years, but the ILC report finds that rich national investors are driving the trend more forcefully than previously thought.
The report, which looks at almost 30 case studies, concludes that large land deals create problems for the poorest populations, largely by diminishing their access to land—often the most fertile land a region has to offer. See, a family growing food for subsistence or to sell to a local market needs the same thing that a plantation for biofuel crops needs: arable land and healthy soil.

 

Half of Brazilians in Fear of War Over the Amazon

According to the results of a new poll, half of all Brazilians surveyed are either certain, or strongly believe that within the next 20 years an attack will be waged on their homeland for control of the resource-rich Amazon rainforest. But who would do such a thing? Well, 37 percent say the United States is a likely aggressor.

The survey, conducted by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), found that out of the 3,796 Brazilians questioned, there are underlying concerns about the state of their nation's resources. All told, 50 percent of respondents were seriously concerned about attacks pertaining to the Amazon; 45 percent believed that access to Brazil's pre-salt resources could lead to an attack.
When asked which nation they feared was most likely to attack, 37 percent said the United States. Meanwhile, only 32 percent perceived the United States as an ally.

 It seems entirely possible that future international conflicts will be spurred not by the traditional triggers, but by a lack of water, arable farmland, or fossil fuels.

 We Are Aborting our Childrens Future

Kids in the United States are suing their federal government and several state governments for lack of action on climate change. 

‘Brutal logic’ and climate communications

In which Roberts ponders the Overton Window as necessary to push action. From where I sit, that strategy has been applied for years.

 

We are returning to a pre-1990 military stance in the Gulf

scaling back of the U.S. military presence in the Gulf was part of the administration's strategy to "demilitarize" U.S. foreign policy and shift to an approach that favored counter-terrorism tactics. He also said the end of the war in Iraq -- and eventually the war in Afghanistan -- proved that large military deployments are not necessary to deny terrorists safe haven in foreign countries.  

PreElection  timing

100 Reasons Why You Should Start Putting Signs On Freeways

 The "Pro-Israel" Right Loses It 

It has been over a week since the lobby that deems itself "pro-Israel" began its recent effort to suppress the views of those of us it considers Israel haters, self-hating Jews or -- in a most ridiculous twist given that most of us are Jews -- "anti-Semites."
The effort to silence us now stems from (1) the determination to defeat President Obama, and (2) the need to intimidate us as the lobby and its congressional acolytes cowboy up for a bombing campaign against Iran.

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