Category: Columns

The John James Newsletter 55
17 April 2015

Information is the currency of democracy
Thomas Jefferson.

The volume of major military deals concluded by the Obama administration in its first FIVE years exceeds the amount approved by the Bush administration in its entire EIGHT years in office by nearly $30 billion.

Open this interactive and be amazed
Keep it in the ground
How much fossil fuel has been extracted since you arrived at this page? Or since you were born? The numbers below highlight the staggering amount of oil, coal and gas we take out of the ground – and how quickly change is needed.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2015/apr/10/how-much-fossil-fuel-are-we-using-right-now?CMP=EMCENVEML1631

City of Vancouver votes to go 100% renewable
Vancouver joins Sydney; San Diego, California; San Francisco, California; Stockholm, Sweden; Munich, Germany; and others set aim on 100% renewables and for 100% of heating + cooling coming from renewable energy sources.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/city-of-vancouver-votes-to-go-100-renewable-35733

Video Message From Gaza: We Are Still Under The Rubble
More than 7 months after the ceasefire announcement in #Gaza, not a single totally destroyed home has been rebuilt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMzCzaQECGE
‘Gaza Is a Tomb’
In the rubble of the Gaza Strip, the militias are once again arming, training and preparing for the inevitable war with Israel. “The war could start any minute,” says Abu Mujahid.

‘Gaza Is a Tomb’

Record sea-surface temperatures in Pacific point to record warmth in 2015 and 2016
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/about/sst_timeseries.shtml
and
A 1,000 Mile Stretch Of The Pacific Ocean Has Heated Up Several Degrees
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/a-1000-mile-stretch-of-the-pacific-ocean-has-heated-up-several-degrees-and-scientists-dont-know-why

Electric Car Batteries Just Hit A Key Price Point
Electric vehicle demand in the past five years has soared worldwide. By the end of 2014, more than 700,000 total plug-in vehicles had been sold (plug-in hybrids and pure battery electrics), up from about 400,000 at the end of 2013. As of 2015, dozens of models of electric cars and vans are available. A major reason is the rapid drop in the cost of their batteries.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/04/13/3646004/electric-car-batteries-price/

North Siberian Arctic Permafrost Methane Eruption Vents
The world is predicted to produce exactly the same mantle methane release from permafrost eruption vents by the 2050’s as occurred in the Late Permian Extinction Event of 252m years ago: called The Great Dying when over 93% of all species were extinguished. Mankind has released a giant, long dormant methane preserve generated between 100 km and 300 km depth and at temperatures of above 1200°C. This is now a region of massive methane emissions with no easy way to reseal.
http://arctic-news.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/north-siberian-arctic-permafrost-methane-eruption-vents.html

Map shows where the Trapp Volcanics released the gasses that instigated the Great Dying

How to Deal With the Iranian Genii?
What Israel really feared was not Iran’s non-existent nuclear threat but its ongoing support for the Palestinians. US policy has been to keep the infectious, troublesome Iranians isolated and contained. While the reason was Iran’s nuclear threat, the sanctions regime was really aimed at fatally weakening Iran’s economy and provoking the overthrow of the Islamic government and its replacement by tame Iranian exiles.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41521.htm

Iran approved to join China-backed infrastructure bank
More than 50 countries have now applied to join the bank in a diplomatic coup for Beijing after Washington initially opposed its allies becoming members.
http://news.yahoo.com/iran-approved-join-china-backed-infrastructure-bank-103455398.html

All options including military action open on Iran
Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said that all options including military action were on the table in the face of the “threat” of a nuclear-armed Iran.
AND I THOUGHT WE HAD AN AGREEMENT TO END IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM?
HOW SOME PEOPLE WANT WAR, NO MATTER WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES.
http://news.yahoo.com/options-including-military-action-open-iran-israel-105611579.html

The downing of Malaysia Airlines MH17 (as observed from Australia)
A multi-part analysis that asks “Is it correct that on 7 August 2014 The New Straits Times lay out evidence that Ukrainian fighter aircraft attacked the jetliner with first a missile, then with bursts of 30-millimetre machine gun fire from both sides, and that the Russian army has already presented detailed radar and satellite data showing a Ukrainian Sukhoi-25 fighter jet tailing MH17 shortly before the jetliner crashed?”
http://theaimn.com/downing-malaysia-airlines-mh17-observed-australia-part-1/

Guatemalans claim they were deliberately infected with STDs sue Johns Hopkins for $1bn
Lawsuit with 800 plaintiffs seeks damages deliberate infection with STDs against Johns Hopkins University over its alleged role in the deliberate infection of hundreds of vulnerable Guatemalans with syphilis and gonorrhoea, during a medical experiment programme in the 1940s and 1950s.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/apr/02/johns-hopkins-lawsuit-deliberate-std-infections-guatemala

At Behest of IMF, Jamaicans Face the Harshest Austerity Policies in World
This poverty- and debt- stricken nation faces budget more severe even than Greece’s. Thanks to policies imposed by the IMF Jamaica has the most severe austerity budget on the planet. The country’s debt-to-GDP ratio stands at nearly 140%, and it has some of the highest interest payments in the world at 8 percent of GDP last year.
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/04/07/behest-imf-jamaicans-face-harshest-austerity-policies-world-report

$45 Billion in Tax Dollars Goes Missing in Afghanistan
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2015/04/01/45-Billion-Tax-Dollars-Goes-Missing-Afghanistan

US secretly tracked billions of calls nearly a decade BEFORE 9/11
Secret records of international telephone calls harvesting billions of calls to as many as 116 countries in a program that provided a blueprint for the far broader NSA surveillance that followed. The data collection began in 1992. It was approved by top Justice Department officials in four presidential administrations with little independent oversight. [Ergo, Bush and his successor Obama had/have been lying to the public for years about the ‘need’ for blanket NSA surveillance to avoid another 9/11–when all the surveillance in the world didn’t prevent the first.]
http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/2015/04/07/us-secretly-tracked-billions-of-calls-for-decades/25434673/

China Spoils Washington’s Economic War against Venezuela
In countering US economic aggression against Venezuela, China steps in with a 10 billion dollar loan – China is making a habit of bailing out countries targeted by US sanctions
http://russia-insider.com/en/financial-war-us-china-granted-venezuela-billion-loan/5220

Spain obtained 47% of its electricity from renewables in March
Most of the renewable electricity being generated in Spain comes from wind, which alone provided 22% of the country’s electricity last month.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/spain-got-47-of-its-electricity-from-renewables-in-march-21961

Saudi firm buys Australia big solar projects
A company based in the world’s largest oil exporting nation, Saudi Arabia, has become the new owner of Australia’s second-largest solar plant – the under-construction 72MW Moree PV project.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/opec-nations-turn-to-sun-as-saudi-firm-buys-australia-big-solar-projects-87764

Rwanda revisited
Former President Clinton said he never knew the extent of suffering during Rwanda’s genocide. But America’s diplomats on the ground knew exactly what was happening — and they told Washington.

Exclusive: Rwanda Revisited

Dogs trained to detect prostate cancer with more than 90% accuracy
An Italian team in several studies stretching back decades raises the prospect of canines’ sense of smell helping doctors identify a number of human cancers and infectious diseases. The two female dogs sniffed urine samples from 900 men, 360 with prostate cancer and 540 without. Both animals were right over 90%.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/11/dogs-trained-detect-prostate-cancer-accuracy?CMP=ema_565

China will build a pipeline to bring natural gas from Iran to Pakistan
The pipeline would be an early benefit from the framework agreement reached earlier this month between Tehran and the US to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-to-build-pipeline-from-iran-to-pakistan-1428515277

The US Can Download the Entire Contents of Your Computer at Border Crossings
None of the hundreds of thousands of travellers who cross US borders every day have any right to privacy, Based upon little more than the opinion of a single Customs and Border officer, any device can be searched and its contents read, and even seized and its contents copied.
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/you-have-no-right-to-electronic-privacy-when-you-cross-the-us-border

Defence Housing to create solar suburb in Darwin, ready for electric vehicles
New development to create 337kW solar suburb, producing 600,000kWh of electricity a year and saving Defence members more than $4m in electricity costs.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/defence-housing-to-create-solar-suburb-in-darwin-ready-for-evs-29977

Australia Powered by the People. Help map solar installations around Australia.
The team at the Australian PV Institute have created some amazing maps around solar energy installations.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/australian-solar-map

Russian man to undergo first head-to-body transplant
Doctors seem to be a step closer to performing a breakthrough surgery by transplanting a human head onto another body. A Russian man with a rare genetic muscle-wasting disorder has volunteered to be the first to try the procedure.
http://rt.com/news/248473-transplant-head-body-canavero/

Documents Showing How the Empire Plans to Overthrow Putin
This information was posted on an anonymous blog Drakula’s blog.
http://drakulablog.com/2015/04/01/west-and-ukraine-against-putin-and-his-politicians/.
It looks very credible, so , so take a look here for comparison purposes.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41514.htm

The John James Newsletter 55
17 April 2015

Politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. . . . You have owners.
George Carlin,

Why more immigrants are dying in Mediterranean waters
A careful discussion of the failed state of Libya, the advantages IS is taking of the situation, the fear in Italy which gets most of its oil from Libya and the EU reaction to the deaths that is throwing European well-mannered affairs into disarray.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/why-more-immigrants-are-dying-in-mediterranean-waters-20150421-1mpeqk.html

Ethiopia’s Economic Miracle Is Running Out of Steam
Ethiopia’s state-led development model has run its course and now faces diminishing returns. Many of the abuses associated with that model are galvanizing large segments of the population against the government.

Ethiopia’s Economic Miracle Is Running Out of Steam

Second Sydney airport to eclipse Mascot
Confidential maps reveal Badgerys Creek will rival JFK airport in size. Construction will require moving 100 million cubic metres of earth and could take 80m passengers per year by 2050. Rail costs not included in the estimate
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/badgerys-creek-airport-sydneys-bold-plan-is-taking-wing/story-fni0cx12-1227304121459

Animals on the brink of extinction:
Maps reveal the countries with the most endangered mammals. Despite only occupying 1 per cent of the Earth’s land mass, Indonesia’s rainforests are home to 12% of mammal species. The region tops the list with the most threatened mammals and Madagascar is second, with 114, while Mexico is third with 101.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3037027/Animals-brink-extinction-World-maps-reveal-countries-endangered-mammals.html

How America Became an Oligarchy
Using data from over 1,800 policy initiatives from 1981 to 2002, the rich, well-connected individuals on the political scene now steer the direction of the country, regardless of the will of the majority. America’s political system has transformed to where power is wielded by wealthy elites.

How America Became an Oligarchy

Twitter moves non-US accounts to Ireland away from the NSA
Twitter Inc is governed by US law, it is obliged to comply with NSA-driven court requests for data, so data stored in Ireland is not subject to the same obligation.

Twitter moves non-US accounts to Ireland away from the NSA

Iran Is Winning the War for Dominance of the Middle East
We are witnessing a struggle for regional dominance between two loose and shifting coalitions — one roughly grouped around Saudi Arabia and one around Iran. Despite the sectarian hue of the coalitions, Sunni-Shiite enmity is not the best explanation for today’s regional war. It is a naked struggle for power.

Iran Is Winning the War for Dominance of the Middle East

It is hard to see how a deeply risk-averse China could step into a leadership role in any of the region’s fiery disputes. https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/04/20/china-middle-east-saudi-arabia-iran-oil-nuclear-deal/

Ruble on the rebound
The Russian ruble is outpacing all other currencies against the dollar. The 20% recovery this month stands in stark contrast to last year, when US officials smugly pointed to Russia’s plummeting currency as proof that Western sanctions against Moscow for meddling in Ukraine were working.

Ruble on the Rebound

The Dow when priced in the average blue-collar wage is now at an all-time high.
This means that it takes the typical worker more hours of sweat and labor to buy the Dow than ever before in at least the last five decades. Investing… saving money and trying to build wealth… is simply out of reach for the average guy.
http://www.sovereignman.com/investing/somebody-show-this-chart-to-jim-cramer-16814/

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad S-300s?
The executive order issued by Putin, which lifts the ban on the export of weapons systems to Iran signals a significant shift in the geopolitics of the region.
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/whos-afraid-of-big-bad-s-300s.html
S-400 missile defence strength doubled in Russia’s far east
http://rt.com/news/251213-russia-kamchatka-s400-deployed/

Russia’s Missile Wall in Iran
There is a risk that should Israel or the US launch an attack on Iran once the S300s are in place and significant numbers of aircraft are lost, not only will the operation fail and an expensive and humiliating blow be dealt to the forces involved, but the veil of invincibility of Western military might, especially its airpower, will be lost forever. Could this trigger a cascade of rebellion the West has created primarily under the threat of military force?
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.mx/
Obama: US could ‘penetrate’ Iran S-300 defense system:
The US could penetrate any air defense system that Iran has.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/obama-us-could-penetrate-iran-s-300-defense-system/

US Intelligence: Houthis Are Not Iran Proxy
Iranian representatives discouraged Houthi rebels from taking the Yemeni capital… the rebels follow a different branch of Shiite Islam than Iran’s leaders and are believed to care more about corruption and the distribution of power than the spread of Shiite influence. “It remains our assessment that Iran does not exert command and control over the Houthis in Yemen, It is wrong to think of the Houthis as a proxy force for Iran,” a US intelligence official.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/04/us-intelligence-houthis-iran-proxy.html

World on Fire: UN Helpless as Crises Rage in 10 Critical Hot Spots
The UN is fighting a losing battle against a rash of humanitarian crises in 10 of the world’s critical “hot spots.” Ban Ki-moon says even the UN’s 193 member states cannot, by themselves, help resolve these widespread conflicts. Last year the number of attacks on aid workers set an record at 460.
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/04/21/world-fire-un-helpless-crises-rage-10-critical-hot-spots

Imagine having a net worth of $57 billion.
That sounds like a lot. But not if you’re the US Federal Reserve.
http://www.sovereignman.com/trends/take-a-look-at-what-they-buried-in-this-obscure-report-16809/

Officer Under Saddam Hussein Drew Up Islamic State Master Plan
An ex-intelligence officer under the Saddam Hussein was “the strategic head” behind the IS and drew up the blueprints for the jihadists’ capture of northern Syria.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41613.htm

Deepwater Horizon Disaster: Five Years Later
Despite the dangers of drilling deep underwater, offshore drilling has only increased – there are 37 percent more wells since the spill and the average well is 40 percent deeper now than five years ago.
http://thinkprogress.org/progress-report/deepwater-horizon-disaster-five/

In Landmark Case, Dutch Citizens Sue Their Government Over Failure To Act On Climate Change
Public arguments are scheduled to begin Tuesday as nearly 900 Dutch citizens have filed a lawsuit against their government for failing to effectively cut greenhouse gas emissions and curb climate change. “We feel that there’s a shared responsibility for any country to do what is necessary in its own boundaries to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions as much as is needed.”
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/04/14/3646690/pass-that-dutch-climate-change-action/

The John James Newsletter 57
27 April 2015

    THE PHOTOS
The quake that killed in four countries
Monster 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal causing massive damage in the capital Kathmandu. The effects were felt in neighbouring countries with at least 36 dead in India, 12 in Tibet and four in Bangladesh Quake also triggered a massive avalanche on Mount Everest killing 18 people and injuring at least 30 climbers
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3055745/

The John James Newsletter 58
2 May 2015

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little
Edmund Burke

“So many wonderful things! This is the best blog, not just in australia. but the world. The Russia-Iran nexus is very important and makes what else is happening in the region even more interesting and significant. Two fast-rising powers – Russia and Iran. Israel will have to look out. Keep it up, John”

(A reader)

How much fossil fuel has been used in your lifetime?
How much fossil fuel has been extracted since you arrived at this page? Or since you were born? The numbers below highlight the staggering amount of oil, coal and gas we take out of the ground – and how quickly change is needed
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2015/apr/10/how-much-fossil-fuel-are-we-using-right-now
Prince Charles on brink of ending all fossil fuel investments
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/28/prince-charles-on-brink-of-ending-all-fossil-fuel-investments?CMP=ema_565

Syria’s Nightmarish Narrative
With military and political help from Saudi Arabia and Israel, the possibility of an Al-Qaeda and/or IS victory in Syria is coming true, as the army retreats and as Obama remains indecisive.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41705.htm
Assad’s hold on power looks shakier than ever as rebels advance in Syria
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/assads-regime-at-increasing-risk-amid-a-surge-of-rebel-advances/2015/04/26/c2742e22-ec32-11e4-8050-839e9234b303_story.html
Syria’s Revitalized Rebels Make Big Gains in Assad’s Heartland
The recent offensives in Idlib have been strikingly swift — thanks in large part to suicide bombers and American anti-tank TOW missiles. Regime forces have only held out for hours or a few days.

Syria’s Revitalized Rebels Make Big Gains in Assad’s Heartland

Al Qaeda Is Beating the Islamic State
Get ready for the clash of caliphates.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/04/al-qaeda-is-beating-the-islamic-state-116954.html#.VTI-2GbHGR9

Big Insurance Companies warning to Prepare For Climate Change
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/04/21/3649244/insurance-climate-change-disaster-relief/

The number of volcanoes erupting now is greater than the 20th century’s YEARLY average
During the 20th century, there were a total of 3,542 volcanic eruptions, or 35 each year. There are 36 volcanoes erupting around the world right now. This is the trend.
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/the-number-of-volcanoes-erupting-right-now-is-greater-than-the-20th-centurys-yearly-average

‘We don’t buy panda products – so the Chinese should get their hands off our elephants’
Poachers are slaughtering 25,000 elephants a year for their ivory tusks. The elephant will be extinct within the decade.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/07/opinions/paula-kahumbu-china-ivory-elephants-extinction/index.html

How come we bomb ISIS thugs but finance the thugs of Ukrainian?
Ukrainian Neo-Nazis Nail Rebel Fighter to Cross, Burn Him Alive
US-backed militants carry out brutal execution. Video shows Ukrainian neo-nazi militia carrying out an ISIS-style execution during which they nail a separatist rebel to a cross and then burn him alive.
http://www.infowars.com/shock-video-ukrainian-neo-nazis-nail-rebel-fighter-to-cross-burn-him-alive/

Then and Now Photos That Show Dramatic Changes on Earth
The melting of the Northwestern Glacier in Alaska between 1940 and Aug. 4, 2005.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/30-then-and-now-photos-climate-change-earth-melting-glaciers/45986679
and
Seven surprising results from the reduction of Arctic Sea ice cover

The Great Transition by Lester Brown
Wind and solar costs are falling rapidly, making them competitive with fossil fuels in more and more markets. States and countries are getting double digit shares of their electricity from wind farms and solar panels are popping up on rooftops from California to Australia to Bangladesh. To give you a sense of just how quickly change is happening, the Institute has posted the first chapter of the book online.
http://www.earth-policy.org/books/tgt/tgt_table_of_contents

Most reports assume that 2°C is an appropriate policy target
David Spratt’s “Recount: It’s time to ‘Do the math’ again” concludes that the evidence does not support this propositions.
http://www.climatecodered.org/2015/04/its-time-to-do-math-again.html

In Nigeria, university degrees can lead to poverty
With over 20 million unemployed youth in Nigeria, young Nigerians are spending an increasing proportion of their twenties pursuing academic qualifications, rather than gaining work skills. They are doing this on the savings of households living on $2-4 per person a day — families who are scrimping and sacrificing so that one person can break out of these economic conditions and land a good job.
http://www.thisisafricaonline.com/News/In-Nigeria-university-degrees-can-lead-to-povert

What it Means to Be ‘Liberal’ or ‘Conservative’ in China
Leftists enjoy greater popular support in lower-income, inland regions, compared to wealthier coastal provinces, whereas the opposite is true for liberals. There is a strong correlation between leftist beliefs and ‘cultural conservatism’ — defined as those who support “traditional, Confucian values”.

What it Means to Be ‘Liberal’ or ‘Conservative’ in China

Not Your Father’s National Front
Marine Le Pen has assembled the West’s largest, most successful anti-immigration and anti-globalist party, by playing down its racist roots.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/not-your-fathers-national-front/

Laundering the Global Garment Industry’s Dirty Business
Two years after Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza disaster, a dense network of little-known agents and subcontractors is still getting in the way of better work conditions. The workers protest loudly and often for better conditions, blocking roads with burning tires near sprawling, dingy factories.

Laundering the Global Garment Industry’s Dirty Business

Hopes of vaccine for Parkinson’s sufferers
Scientists believe that an abnormal protein may trigger the condition. It may be possible to prime a person’s immune system so it is ready to attack this protein as it passes through the body so it would not destroy the dopamine-manufacturing cells, where the disease inflicts its greatest damage.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/25/parkinsons-disease-vaccine-research-protein?CMP=ema_565

Global forest watch
Interactive maps that you can follow global deforestation year by year
http://www.globalforestwatch.org/

Unburnable Carbon: Why we need to leave fossil fuels in the ground
Pollution from Australia’s coal resources, particularly the enormous Galilee coal basin, could on its oen take us two-thirds of the way to a two degree rise in global temperature.
http://www.climatecouncil.org.au/unburnable-carbon-why-we-need-to-leave-fossil-fuels-in-the-ground

India cancels licences of 8,975 NGOs
Including Greenpeace as it was financing Indian NGOs which were filing writs.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/47072906.cms

Wind turbines are less effective and CO2 abatement cost is higher than commonly assumed
It is often assumed that effectiveness of wind energy is 100%, i.e., a MWh of wind energy displaces the emissions from a MWh of conventional energy. But it is usually much less.

Wind turbines’ CO2 savings and abatement cost

Binge drinking in childhood can cause damage to brain for life
“Long-term potentiation” permits a nerve cell, to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell. This helps a person acquire new information and remember. It is at its height when a person is young and able to absorb large amounts of new memory.
http://rt.com/news/253745-binge-drinking-youth-brain/