Author: JohnJames

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/

The John James Newsletter 59
9 May 2015

Men who can manage men manage the men who can manage only things, while men who can manage money manage all
Will Durant

Two degrees of global warming is not ‘safe’: James Hansen
2 degrees is actually a prescription for disaster. That’s well understood by the scientific community. We know that the prior interglacial period about 120,000 years ago – the Eemian – was less than 2C warmer than pre-industrial conditions and sea level was a least 6 to 8 metres higher, so it’s crazy to think that 2 degrees is a safe limit.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/two-degrees-of-global-warming-is-not-safe/6444698

The Case That Blew the Lid Off the World Bank’s Secret Courts
The tobacco giant Phillip Morris demands $2 billion from Uruguay for the sin of strengthening health warnings on cigarette packages. The people of El Salvador face a $300-million case from a Canadian-Australian mining company because El Salvadorans were able to block toxic mining operations. Germany faces a demand of €700 million from a nuclear energy company because, in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, popular movements won a moratorium on new nuclear power plants in the country.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/30464-the-case-that-blew-the-lid-off-the-world-bank-s-secret-courts

King Canute is alive and well !!
US Senate votes that climate change not caused by humans
The Senate rejected the scientific consensus that humans are causing climate change, days after NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared 2014 the hottest year ever recorded on Earth.

In 50-49 vote, US Senate says climate change not caused by humans

Tesla Battery Will ‘Fundamentally Change the Way the World Uses Energy’
“Our goal is to fundamentally change the way the world uses energy. We’re talking at the terawatt scale. The goal is complete transformation of the entire energy infrastructure of the world.” Tesla hopes that its $5 billion “gigafactory” under construction near Reno, Nevada will drive down the cost of the batteries for both cars and energy-storage products through mass production.
https://ecowatch.com/2015/05/01/elon-musk-tesla-battery/

World’s mountain of electrical waste reaches new peak of 42m tonnes
The biggest per-capita tallies were in countries known for green awareness, such as Norway and Denmark, with Britain fifth and US ninth on the UN report’s list. Last year, 41.8m tonnes of so-called e-waste – mostly fridges, washing machines and other domestic appliances at the end of their life – was dumped.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/19/worlds-mountain-of-electrical-waste-reaches-new-peak-of-42m-tonnes?CMP=ema_565

Arctic Sea Ice At Record Low On April 9 2015
expanded effect of methane hydrate detabilization along the Gakkel Ridge and the high temperatures caused by the onshore methane eruption vents.
http://arctic-news.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/arctic-sea-ice-at-record-low-on-april-9-2015.html
To see the importance of the Gakkel Ridge in perspective read
http://www.planetextinction.com/documents/Methane,%20the%20Gakkel%20Ridge%20and%20human%20survival.pdf
or my talk

and Methane levels as high as 2845ppb on April 25
http://arctic-news.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/methane-levels-as-high-as-2845ppb.html

Thirty years on, scientist who discovered ozone layer hole warns: ‘it will still take years to heal’
One of the three UK scientists who discovered the hole in 1985 warned that the real lessons of the story had not been learned. “Yes, an international treaty was established fairly quickly to deal with the ozone hole, but the main point shows how rapidly we can produce major changes to our atmosphere and how long it takes for nature to recover.”
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/18/scientist-who-discovered-hole-in-ozone-layer-warns?CMP=ema_565

Pope Francis, climate change, and morality
Pope Francis is emerging as one of the world’s foremost campaigners on global warming. Many in the environmental and scientific community think that if he injects himself into international climate politics later this year, the ramifications on the climate debate could be dramatic.

Pope Francis, climate change, and morality

Food, Farming and Climate Change is Bigger than Everything Else
Few are familiar or prepared for “peak coffee.” Farmers and scientists now openly discuss the notion of “endangered crops,” including everything from cocoa and wine grapes to salmon and peanuts. The emergence of super-charged pests related to climate change, like the “La Roya” coffee fungus in Central America, is threatening not only our morning cup of joe, but the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of small-scale farmers.
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/04/13/food-farming-and-climate-change-its-bigger-everything-else

Israeli soldiers cast doubt on legality of Gaza military tactics
Describing the rules that meant life and death in Gaza during the 50-day war – a conflict in which 2,200 Palestinians were killed – the interviews shed light on what individual soldiers were told and on policy.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/04/israeli-soldiers-cast-doubt-on-legality-of-gaza-military-operation?CMP=ema_565

Air pollution costs Europe $1.6tn a year in early deaths and disease
The costs is 600,000 premature deaths each year, and the sickness caused to hundreds of thousands of other people from preventable causes, such as pollution from small particles that come from the exhausts of diesel vehicles, and nitrogen dioxide that can inhibit breathing.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/28/air-pollution-costs-europe-16tn-a-year-in-early-deaths-and-disease-say-who?CMP=share_btn_tw
Photo of the Arc de Triumphe on a bad day.

ISIS-Linked Fighters Tighten Grip in Afghanistan, Outmatch Taliban Brutality
Foreign militants fighting under the black flag of ISIS are conquering territory in northern Afghanistan. The development suggests ISIS is expanding its sphere of influence beyond the Middle East and North Africa, and are moving into areas previously controlled by the Afghan Taliban. Most of the fighters hail from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and the Caucuses — and are even more brutal than the Afghan Taliban.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/atmosphere-terror-isis-linked-fighters-tighten-grip-afghanistan-n347801

The Saudi 9/11 Cover-Up
At least 11 members of the Bin Laden Family were spirited out the country in 24 hours after the 9/11 attacks with the assistance of the Bush Administration.  The FBI still denies knowing about the seven airplanes used to move them out when all private, commercial and military air-travel was grounded.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41743.htm

Pushing Back Against a Chinese Lake in the South China Sea
ASEAN condemned China’s efforts to muscle aside neighbours with an aggressive program of island building in the South China Sea, prompted especially by Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. “China is reaping the fruits of this strategy in a reinvigorated US-Japan alliance, a completely transformed US-Vietnam relationship, a closer US-Philippine alliance.”

Pushing Back Against a Chinese Lake in the South China Sea

and

Reefer Madness: Why Is China on a Building Spree in the South China Sea?

and
China fires back at South China Sea claimants with reclamation accusations
http://news.yahoo.com/china-fires-back-south-china-sea-claimants-reclamation-093122224.html

Fossil fuel subsidies to coal miners costing billions
The cost of subsidising the diesel fuel used by five of the nation’s biggest coal companies – Glencore Xstrata, BHP Billiton, Peabody, Rio Tinto and Anglo American – is around $360 million a year.  The Government will spend more on the Fuel Tax Credit Scheme than on overseas aid
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/graph-of-the-day-fossil-fuel-subsidies-to-coal-miners-costing-billions-67876

Did a Chinese-Russian-Iranian Coalition opposing NATO have its debut in Moscow?
Moscow’s delivery of the S-300 package is meant to cement Russo-Iranian military cooperation and to enhance Eurasian cooperation against Washington’s encircling missile shield. It is one step closer to the creation of a Eurasian air defense network against the missile threat posed by the US and NATO.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41749.htm
Russia Invites China to Join in Creating Lunar Station
Russia plans to launch its national orbital station by 2023.
http://sputniknews.com/world/20150428/1021463835.html

The Day After Damascus Falls
The horror that would unfold with either Al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front or the Islamic State using Syria as a base for terror attacks on the West and continuing to decapitate infidels would be hard for the world to watch and there would be demands to “do something.” But realistic options would be few, with a shattered and scattered Syrian army no longer a viable force capable of driving the terrorists from power.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41724.htm

Prior to 2001 the US did not recognize any terrorist organizations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The numerous groups that have sprung up in the intervening years have destabilised the countries the US had sought to strengthen.
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/04/15/us-militarys-battlefield-tomorrow

Who is bombing whom in the Middle East?
The Saudis are bombing Yemen because they fear the Shia Houthis are working for the Iranians, and also in Iraq and Syria. So are the United Arab Emirates. The Syrian government is bombing its enemies in Syria and the Iraqi government is also bombing its enemies in Iraq. America, France, Britain, Denmark, Holland, Australia and Canada are bombing Isis in Syria and in Iraq. The Egyptians are bombing parts of Libya, the Iranians have acknowledged bombing in Iraq and of course the Israelis have  bombed Syrian government forces in Syria but not Isis (an interesting choice, we’d all agree).
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/robert-fisk-who-is-bombing-whom-in-the-middle-east-10222938.html
What is the Saudi-led coalition’s end game in Yemen?
The coalition is dropping weapons and arming various factions in a country already awash with guns. With the right spark, the highly volatile environment falls into an explosive domino effect, where the worst is yet to come and we brace for a Syria scenario on steroids.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/05/saudi-led-coalition-game-yemen-150504124934102.html

Is email killing off the art of conversation?
Most replies contain just five words. Younger people send shorter emails than older users who also spend more time composing their emails.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3037312/Is-email-killing-art-conversation-messages-replies-contain-just-five-words-finds-biggest-study-email.html#ixzz3ZCEwFwxh

Peruvian farmers restoring 7th century canals
Non-governmental agency helping farmers restore ancient system in Andean region and revitalise their water supplies.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/05/peruvian-farmers-restoring-7th-century-canals-150503084636928.html

What are the most controversial points in climate science?
This promises to be a rewarding and informative discussion

What are the most controversial points in climate science?

States meet on climate, renewables, in effort to lead Australia as feds stall
ACT environment minister Simon Corbell said on Monday that the Capital Territory with its ambitious 90 per cent renewables and 40 per cent emissions targets hoped to lead a state-based climate effort that would more than make up for Australia’s distinct lack of ambition on the federal front.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/states-meet-on-climate-renewables-in-effort-to-lead-australia-as-feds-stall-35220
RET deal struck, but policy bastardry continues
Coalition and Labor agree on a big cut to renewables target, but big coal, as usual, is the biggest winner.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/ret-deal-struck-but-policy-bastardry-continues-55314

The John James Newsletter 60
16 May 2015

(I will be overseas for the next three months, mainly in France with my beloved churches. I will continue to send out Newsletters each Saturday, though they may have a few less goodies.)

In a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, thinking people should not to be on the side of the executioners
Albert Camus

This is a most interesting assessment of US policies. Well worth considering.
Chaos – not Victory – is Empire’s Game
That’s the way (i) to control people, nations and their resources; (ii) to assures the west a continuous need for military; and (iii) to push a country into disarray or chaos so it becomes broke so it needs money – money with hardship conditions attached by the World Bank that equals enslavement.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41771.htm
Clinton made Libya a ‘jihadist wonderland’
“It was a big mistake for us to go in there in the first place, because a lot of the times when we topple secular dictators, we’ve gotten chaos and then we’ve gotten the rise of radical Islam, It made Libya a hotbed for jihadists.”
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/241555-paul-clinton-made-libya-a-jihadist-wonderland
To protect Washington’s unique power status following the Soviet collapse, Paul Wolfowitz in 1992 penned what is known as The Wolfowitz Doctrine. This is the basis for Washington’s foreign policy.
“Our first objective is to prevent the re-emergence of a new rival, either on the territory of the former Soviet Union or elsewhere, that poses a threat on the order of that posed formerly by the Soviet Union. This is a dominant consideration underlying the new regional defense strategy and requires that we endeavor to prevent any hostile power from dominating a region whose resources would, under consolidated control, be sufficient to generate global power.”
In March of this year the Council on Foreign Relations extended this doctrine to China. Washington is now committed to blocking the rise of two large nuclear-armed countries. This commitment is the reason for the crisis that Washington has created in Ukraine and for its use as anti-Russian propaganda. China is now confronted with the Pivot to Asia and the construction of new US naval and air bases to ensure Washington’s control of the South China Sea, which is now defined as an area of American National Interest.
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2015/05/11/war-threat-rises-economy-declines-paul-craig-roberts/
The Blindness of the European Union in the Face of US Military Strategy
EU officials are completely wrong regarding Islamist attacks in Europe and the migration of people fleeing wars. This is not the accidental consequence of conflict in the broader Middle East and Africa, but a strategic objective of the United States.
http://www.voltairenet.org/article187529.html

Snowden says Australia watching its citizens ‘all the time’
He warned that journalists are at risk of having their contacts exposed by mass surveillance. “Under these mandatory metadata laws you can immediately see who journalists are contacting, from which you can derive their sources.”
http://rt.com/news/257193-snowden-australia-surveillance-metadata/

The Big Business Of Cancer
100 billion dollars was spent on cancer drugs last year. At the beginning of the last century, one person in twenty would get cancer. In the 1940s it was one out of every sixteen people. In the 1970s it was one person out of ten. Today one person out of three gets cancer in the course of their life.We live in a society that is highly toxic, and it is getting worse with each passing day.
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/the-big-business-of-cancer-100-billion-dollars-was-spent-on-cancer-drugs-last-year-alone

Sea level rising faster in past 20 years than in entire 20th century
Sea levels are predicted to rise by close to a meter in the next 85 years. That would affect more than 150 million people living in low-lying coastal communities.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-12/sea-level-rise-accelerates-faster-in-past-20-years/6461752

The Greek Endgame: Time to Choose between Default and Defeat
A nearly-botched pension payout last week revealed just how critical the government’s fiscal position has become. It’s time to forget about all the friendly rhetoric about Greece reaching a “mutually beneficial” deal with its creditors. The endgame is here. The Eurozone will not back down. Either the Greek government defaults, or it will be defeated. There is no other way.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41816.htm
These are the payments due, including to the IMF, to June 30.
May 12 — 757 million euros to IMF
May 30 — 1.5 billion euros in pensions, salaries
June 5  —  303 million euros to IMF
June 12 — 341 million euros to IMF
June 16 — 568 million euros to IMF
June 19 — 341 million euros to IMF
June 30 — 1.5 billion euros in pensions, salaries
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102667914
Greece Invited to Join New BRICS Development Bank
The BRICS Development Bank is a new initiative that will help member states lessen their dependence on the IMF.
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Greece-Invited-to-Join-New-BRICS-Development-Bank-20150512-0039.html
The IMF’s Struggle for Relevancy
It was created to defend free market economics after the start of the Cold War. It was never meant to help less developing countries but was meant to help steer them away from socialism.
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/analysis/The-IMFs-Struggle-for-Relevancy-20150416-0037.html

US “Operation Rooms” Backing Al Qaeda in Syria
US policy think-tank Brookings Institution confirms that contrary to propaganda, US-Saudi “moderates” and Turkey-Qatar “Islamists” have been coordinating all along.

US “Operation Rooms” Backing Al Qaeda in Syria

The Real Lessons of the Tory Victory
We cannot imagine a different world, a different economic system, a different media landscape, because our intellectual horizons have been totally restricted by the media conglomerates that control our newspapers, our TV and radio stations, the films we watch, the video games we play, the music we listen to.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41803.htm

Russia’s Stumbling Pivot to Asia
Moscow and Beijing are trying to cement closer ties, but delays in high-profile energy deals highlight lingering tensions between them.  The reality is that competing interests and clashing visions everywhere from Central Asia to China’s own backyard are keeping Moscow and Beijing from consummating their courtship.

Russia’s Stumbling Pivot to Asia

The Short Life and Speedy Death of Russia’s Silicon Valley
In 2009, Moscow unveiled an ambitious plan to build a world-class technology incubator. Then corruption, brain drain, and Putin killed it.

The Short Life and Speedy Death of Russia’s Silicon Valley

Extreme secrecy eroding support for Obama’s trade pact
Classified briefings and bill-readings in basement rooms are making members queasy. If you want to hear the details of the TPP trade deal, you’ve got to be a member of Congress, and you’ve got to go to classified briefings and leave your staff and cellphone at the door. You are handed one section at a time, watched over as you read, and forced to hand over any notes you make before leaving. And no matter what, you can’t discuss the details of what you’ve read.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/secrecy-eroding-support-for-trade-pact-critics-say-117581.html

Scientists weigh up new evidence on Antarctic ice melt
“Most scientists would be hard-pressed to find mechanisms that do not include human-made climate change.”  Since 2003, ice loss over the whole continent increased at the rate of six billion tons a year. West Antarctica’s melting rate, however, accelerated by 18 billion tons a year during the same timespan.
http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/scientists-weigh-up-new-evidence-on-antarctic-ice-melt/

The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season formed off the South Carolina coast  nearly a month before the season officially begins.
http://abc13.com/weather/first-named-storm-forms-before-atlantic-hurricane-season-begins/704610/

Iran welcomes Saudi Arabia inspection of its aid ship
The Iranian cargo ship carrying 2,500 tons of humanitarian aid including food and medicine left Iran’s southern Bandar Abbas port on May 11 to the Yemeni port of Hodeida. The ship also carries rescue workers from the Iran’s Red Crescent Society as well as some 20 journalists.
http://en.trend.az/iran/politics/2394001.html
Iran Warns of War if Aid Ship to Yemen Attacked
The deputy chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces warned on Tuesday that Iran would retaliate in force against any country, which attacks an Iranian ship with humanitarian aid on board.
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150513/1022078061.html

Yemen’s War Is Redrawing the Middle East’s Fault Lines
Saudi Arabia’s ongoing war in Yemen does more to highlight the kingdom’s isolation than its power.
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/05/12/yemens-war-redrawing-middle-easts-fault-lines

Turkey’s Gas Game
Europe hoped Turkey could help the continent wean itself off Russian fuel. But Ankara might have other plans. This one pipeline, which could deliver gas as early as next year, could endanger a critical alliance the West has spent decades cultivating, and upend Eurasia’s entire energy and security landscape. Turkey would become a middleman for Europe’s energy buyers, and it would be precisely the linchpin Moscow needs to keep an energy hold on the continent.

Turkey’s Reckless Gas Game

The John James Newsletter 61
23 May 2015- Paros

Israel has for years worked to remove Assad
with US support it has encouraged Assad’s enemies, including IS
now that IS controls Palmyra, the “pearl” of the desert,
the most intact 2,000 years old monument to ancient Rome,
should its imminent destruction be blamed on Israel, on it’s clandestine control over US policy?
Will Israel still prosper with IS in control of Damascus?
Senior Israelis say they would prefer a victory by Al-Qaeda over a victory by Assad.

The Day After Damascus Falls

and
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/05/palmyra-destroyed-syria-isil-150521113045812.html
and
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/16/Syria-s-ancient-city-of-Palmyra-on-brink-of-destruction.html
Syrian War Set to Re-Explode
US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia alliance with Al Qaeda has the potential to engulf the region in violence. Deep Saudi pocketbooks combined with Turkish ground forces are a catastrophe in the making.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41842.htm

Palestine Scores Major Victory With Vatican Recognition of Statehood
With the Israeli-Palestinian peace process all but dead and buried, a growing chorus of countries and international bodies are moving toward recognizing Palestinian sovereignty in an attempt to push the Israeli government to make concessions toward their Palestinian rivals. That effort received a powerful boost when Pope Francis announced that the Vatican has recognised the state of Palestine.

Palestine Scores Major Victory With Vatican Recognition of Statehood

136 Nations Recognise the Palestinian State
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/136-nations-recognize-a-palestinian-state-only-obama-stands-in-the-way-of-full-global-recognition

NATO deliberately destroyed Libya’s water infrastructure
UNICEF reported that the disruption to the GMR had left 4 million Libyans without potable water. The GMR remains disrupted to this day, and Libya’s national water crisis continues to escalate. The deliberate destruction of a nation’s water infrastructure, with the knowledge that doing so would result in massive deaths
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2869234/war_crime_nato_deliberately_destroyed_libyas_water_infrastructure.html

Huge Bee Die-Off
US lost 40% of bees last year. Some pesticides, like neonicotinoids, have long been shown to be major causes of bee decline.
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/05/14/years-ago-was-unheard-dire-trend-persists-huge-bee-die

Macedonia – the next hot spot after Ukraine?
A few days ago, Russia stated that the the Turkish Stream gas will go through at the end of 2016. If this happens, the US will lose a trump card to put pressure on Russia and Europe, which may encourage the CIA to repeat its Ukraine strategy in Macedonia.
http://fortruss.blogspot.mx/2015/05/macedonia-next-hot-spot-after-ukraine.html

Super heating of the methane traps of Siberia
No Pause — NASA Shows Human Hothouse Maintaining Record High Temperatures for 2015.Overall, temperatures at +0.99 degrees Celsius above 1880s averages for the first four months of 2015 should be cause for concern. We still have El Nino ramping up in the Pacific could well ramp higher later this year. Looking at the global temperature anomaly map provided by NASA, we can see where much of this extra heat accumulated throughout April:
Global Temps NASA April 2015

https://robertscribbler.wordpress.com/

What can we do about climate change?
How do we have meaning in a world that is going to be so different from the one in which most of our values were created?

What can we do about climate change?

Bibi: The Hidden Consequences of His Victory
The Israeli electorate has given a mandate for policies that preclude any settlement with the Palestinians. The international boycott [against Israel] will intensify. The demand to fully enfranchise the Palestinians will eventually prove irresistible. What happens after that, no one can say.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2015/apr/23/bibi-hidden-consequences-his-victory/

Yet Another Huge Diplomatic Victory for Russia
Unless you read Russian you might not have noticed that something big just happened in Russia: Kerry, Nuland and a large State Department delegation have met with Foreign Minister Lavrov and then with President Putin.  With the latter they spent over 4 hours.  Not only that, but Kerry said he would strongly caution Poroshenko against renewing military operations. To say that this is a stunning development would be an understatement.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41835.htm
and
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/16/world/europe/a-diplomatic-victory-and-affirmation-for-putin.html

Leading doctor says mobile phone radiation a hotline to brain cancer
There is a million times more radiation today than there was 50 years ago,” he said. “The World Health Organisation has upgraded cell phone radiation to B2 category, which means possibly –carcinogenic.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/leading-doctor-says-mobile-phone-radiation-a-hotline-to-brain-cancer/story-fni0fiyv-1227349594139
too much electromagnetic radiation is being emitted from them which could be a reason for rising cancer rates and an increase in autism and obesity.Nearly 200 experts are calling on the UN to provide guidelines as they say the radiation is damaging DNA in our cells.
http://www.euronews.com/2015/05/12/scientists-warn-against-mobile-phone-radiation/
for the text
http://www.emfscientist.org/images/docs/International_EMF_Scientist_Appeal_Description.pdf

Why Australia will lead the world in solar + storage
Tesla has changed the conversation around battery storage. Consumers want it, competitors and retailers are going to have to move quickly to meet that demand, and Australia is being regarded as the market where it could all happen. Australia is going to be the testing ground for the world,
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/why-australia-will-lead-the-world-in-solar-storage-78627
Queensland commits to 50% renewable target by 2030
This means that all three Labor states are looking to ambitious renewable energy targets, in contrast with the Federal government which is looking to cut the target for large-scale renewables.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/queensland-commits-to-50-renewable-target-by-2030
States meet on climate, renewables, in effort to lead Australia as feds stall
ACT hoped to lead a state-based climate effort that would more than make up for Australia’s distinct lack of ambition on the federal front.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/states-meet-on-climate-renewables-in-effort-to-lead-australia-as-feds-stall-35220

Climate Denial Takes a Toll on Scientists—and Science
Climate denial campaigns “can absolutely influence what you do and what you write about,” said Trenberth, who was not involved in the study. “Part of the reason they do it is to distract you and get you to waste your time.” Instead of “publishing the good science needed to advance our understanding of climate change,” scientists are left defending their work and debunking false claims
http://insideclimatenews.com/news/11052015/climate-denial-takes-toll-scientists%E2%80%94and-science.

Trident whistleblower: nuclear ‘disaster waiting to happen’
“This is bigger than me, it’s bigger than all of us. We are so close to a nuclear disaster it is shocking, and yet everybody is accepting the risk to the public.” A fascinating bad-time story…..
https://wikileaks.org/trident-safety/
Range of Wikileaks papers:

Who is not bombing in the Middle East?
The Saudis are bombing Yemen because they fear the Shia Houthis are working for the Iranians. The Syrian government is bombing its enemies in Syria and the Iraqi government is bombing its enemies in Iraq. America, France, Britain, Denmark, Holland, Australia and Canada are bombing Isis in Syria and in Iraq. The Egyptians are bombing parts of Libya, the Iranians have acknowledged bombing in Iraq and of course the Israelis have  bombed Syrian government forces in Syria but not Isis (an interesting choice, we’d all agree).
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/robert-fisk-who-is-bombing-whom-in-the-middle-east-10222938.html

Is email killing off the art of conversation?
Most replies contain just five words. Younger people send shorter emails than older users who also spend more time composing their emails.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3037312/Is-email-killing-art-conversation-messages-replies-contain-just-five-words-finds-biggest-study-email.html#ixzz3ZCEwFwxh

Peruvian farmers restoring 7th century canals
Non-governmental agency helping farmers restore ancient system in Andean region and revitalise their water supplies.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/05/peruvian-farmers-restoring-7th-century-canals-150503084636928.html

A Thoughtful Look at the German-Soviet Clash: Could Hitler Have Won?
What was the real turning point in the war, and why? If Hitler had played his cards a bit differently could he have won the war? German forces came very close to defeating the Soviet Union in 1941. Defeat of Soviet Russia would effectively have resulted in German hegemony over all of Europe – a drastic change in the course of world history.
http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v15/v15n6p38_Bishop.html

The John James Newsletter 62
30 May 2015- Positano

If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear
George Orwell

Stupid Australia: Brain drain leaves economy less able to compete
The country that brought you refrigerators, black-box flight recorders, bionic ears and Wi-Fi will cut its research budget by 7 per cent over the next 12 months, and another 10 per cent in the following three years. At the same time it’s offering tax cuts and write-offs in its budget this month for small firms to buy equipment like espresso machines and lawnmowers as the centerpiece of a plan to build a ‘stronger and more prosperous Australia’.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/stupid-australia-brain-drain-leaves-economy-less-able-to-compete-51750

“Rebuilding America’s Defenses”
An influential policy document outlines a plan for American hegemony, pinpointing “problem areas” of the world and suggesting regime change of unfavourable governments so that eventually the whole world will be unified under the banner of American democracy.
http://newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf.
Failure of the US coup d’État in Macedonia
Macedonia has just neutralised an armed group whose sponsors had been under surveillance for at least eight months. This has prevented an attempted coup, planned by Washington for the 17th of May. The aim was to spread the chaos already infecting Ukraine into Macedonia in order to stall the passage of a Russian gas pipeline to the EU.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41969.htm
A Revolution For Macedonia
The National Endowment for Democracy (US) funds NGOs in countries targeted by Washington for political destabilisation who then develop cadres of idealistic students and disgruntled politicians and set them against the existing government. Washington spent $5 billion in Ukraine grooming politicians and creating NGOs so that when Viktor Yanukovich refused to align Ukraine with Washington’s interests, Washington unleashed its Fifth Columns, and Yanukovich’s government was overthrown with violence. Now the same fate may be in store for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgystan, and (for the moment) Macedonia.
http://www.countercurrents.org/roberts230515.htm

What if Putin is Telling the Truth?
Russian intelligence has known for almost two decades that the terror in Chechnya and in the Caucasus in the early 1990’s was actively backed by the CIA to destroy Russia as a functioning sovereign state. Today this agenda has been expanded to the neo-nazi coup in Ukraine and financial sanctions.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41886.htm

Happiness is Having Own Submarine-launched Ballistic Missile
Pyongyang’s nukes have always been to ward off a US-South Korean invasion – an operation that the two allies practice every fall, producing violent tantrums from Pyongyang. Kim Jong-un knows Iraq and Libya would not have been invaded if they had had nuclear weapons. The Kim dynasty’s days would be numbered without them.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41881.htm

Is the US planning a “Gulf of Tonkin” incident in the South China Sea?
The historic parallels are chilling.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/05/18/pers-m18.html
An already tense and dangerous situation in the South China Sea threatens to become even worse as the US considers plans to initiate systematic military patrols in that volatile area.
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/america-about-make-fatal-mistake-the-south-china-sea-12905
US Bombers to Australia??
Washington would “be placing additional air force assets in Australia, including B-1 bombers and surveillance aircraft. We will have a very strong presence throughout the region to back our commitments to our allies, to protect our diplomacy on the South China Sea.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41892.htm
One more Unintended Consequence of US interference in the Ukraine and the Spratleys
China rapidly upgrading nuclear arsenal with MIRVed missiles
The move comes decades after Beijing acquired the technology, indicating a strategy change.
http://rt.com/news/259417-china-mirv-missile-upgrade/

Fossil fuels subsidised by $10m a minute
The IMF calls the revelation “shocking” and says the figure is “extremely robust”. The $5.3tn subsidy estimated for 2015 is greater than the total health spending of all the world’s governments.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/18/fossil-fuel-companies-getting-10m-a-minute-in-subsidies-says-imf?CMP=share_btn_tw

As Iran forswears the Bomb the Saudis get it. As the Saudis “Promise to Match Iran’s Nuclear Power” who then steps in to protect Iran? Russia? China? Treaties of support will tie this up and, as in 1914, war is possible.
Saudis May Purchase Pakistani Atomic Bomb
“Nuclear weapons programs are extremely expensive and there’s no question that a lot of the funding of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program was provided by Saudi Arabia,”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41890.htm
Intelligence agents and diplomats have claimed Riyadh has had nuclear weapons since 1998 kept in a secret underground compound several miles from Riyadh capital.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41850.htm
Nuclear weapons made in Pakistan on behalf of Saudi Arabia are now sitting ready for delivery
Saudi Arabia ‘can get nuclear weapons from Pakistan’: Nuclear weapons made in Pakistan on behalf of Saudi Arabia are now sitting ready for deliver
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/saudi-arabia-can-get-nuclear-weapons-from-pakistan-1.1252773

France Declares All New Rooftops Must Be Topped With Plants Or Solar Panels
Green roofs, as they are called, have an isolating effect which helps to reduce the amount of energy needed to heat a building during the winter or cool it in the summer. They are capable of retaining rainwater and reducing problems with runoff, and also offer birds a place to call home in the urban jungle.
http://csglobe.com/france-declares-all-new-rooftops-must-be-topped-with-plants-or-solar-panels

Green power success stories take the wind out of Tony Abbott
Germany, the world leader in installing renewable energy, was producing so much electricity from solar, wind and biomass that more than half of the country’s electricity was flowing from these renewable sources. There was so much that the price of electricity fell to zero, and kept falling until it went negative. There were times on April 17 when wholesale electricity in Germany was selling for minus 14.91 euros for a megawatt hour. So it wasn’t free – it was cheaper than free.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/green-power-success-stories-take-the-wind-out-of-tony-abbott-20150526-gh9bd6

Huge Insurance Company Cites Climate Change As Reason For Divesting From Coal
Last year, AXA paid over €1 billion globally in weather-related insurance claims, citing climate change as a “core business issue”.  “The facts are undeniable. If we think we can live in a world where temperatures would have increased by more than 2C we’re fooling ourselves,”
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/05/22/3662053/axa-insurance-coal-divestment/

Formaldehyde is just one of 62,000 chemicals that Congress exempted from testing. Only 250 have been tested since.
http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2015/04/how-american-industry-skips-some-chemical-safety-checks
http://www.foreffectivegov.org/node/13411
EU dropped pesticide laws due to US pressure over TTIP
US trade officials pushed EU to shelve action on endocrine-disrupting chemicals linked to cancer and male infertility
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/22/eu-dropped-pesticide-laws-due-to-us-pressure-over-ttip-documents-reveal?CMP=ema_565

Gaza economy ‘on verge of collapse’, with world’s highest unemployment
World Bank report says Israeli blockades and war and damaged governance have left 43% of people out of work and the strip facing dangerous financial crisis. The current market in Gaza is not able to offer jobs, leaving a large population in despair, particularly the youth. Of the $3.5bn pledged by the international community for Gaza’s reconstruction, just $1bn, has been disbursed so far.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/22/gazas-economy-on-verge-of-collapse-jobless-rate-highest-in-world-israel
Which Countries Are Failing To Deliver Gaza Aid?
Qatar has delivered just 10 percent of the $1 billion it promised, while Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Kuwait between them have handed over just over $50 million of the $900 million they pledged,
http://www.countercurrents.org/slemrod220515.htm

‘Disaster after disaster’ hits Marshall Islands as climate change kicks in
Three-part series examining the effects of climate change on the Marshall Islands and what is being done to adapt.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/5/18/disaster-after-disaster-in-low-lying-marshall-islands.html

Mapping the migrant crisis
How did thousands of Asian migrants come to be stranded at sea with nowhere to go?

Southeast Asia’s Migrant Crisis Explained, in Maps

Megadeath
Until 2008, conservationists appeared to be winning. But in that year the number of rhinos killed in South Africa rose (from 13 in 2007) to 83. By 2011, the horrible tally had risen to 448. It climbed to 668 in 2012, 1004 in 2013 and 1215 in 2014. In the first four months of this year, 393 rhinos have been killed, which is 18% more than in the same period last year.
http://www.monbiot.com/2015/05/22/megadeath/

An American-Made Army in Africa
the most interesting part of this article is the later analysis of the Sudan situation and its causes in foreign interference.
http://www.countercurrents.org/turse180515.htm

Brutal truths about ISIL victories
The fight against ISIL is in many ways a fight between the idea of a nation state and the idea of a revolutionary ideological empire. Lessons learned about the intrinsic strengths of revolutionary insurgencies in comparison with the strengths of conventional armies are not being applied.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/05/iraq-truths-isil-victories-ramadi-150519050240243.html
Iraq army held 10-to-1 advantage during Ramadi defeat
Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the Iraq forces lost their will to fight, despite the fact they “vastly outnumbered the opposing force.” ISIL captured Ramadi on May 17 with 1,000 fighters and are now reinforcing those forces from the west.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/5/26/iraq-army-held-advantage-during-ramadi-defeat-sources.html

48 Countries March Against Monsanto
Global anti-Monsanto protests have been spurred by a recent WHO warning that the company’s signature herbicide “probably” causes cancer. Tens of thousands of activists rallied in more than 400 cities across the world Saturday to protest.
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/48-Countries-March-Against-Monsanto-20150523-0010.html
and
http://fracturedparadigm.com/2013/04/02/boycott-monsanto-a-simple-list-of-companies-to-avoid/#axzz3bFcytGbU

The John James Newsletter 34
8 December 2014.

Guy McPherson on a faith that I share
“I want to remind us all that we are mortal. That we don’t have long on this planet even if we live to be 100, so we should pursue what we love instead of pursuing the next dollar…. if you love having children, have children and love them, and no matter how long their lives are, make them be years of joy. And that goes for all of us. If that means you want to bring children into the world, who am I to stop you from pursuing what you love? …. Our social responsibility is to live here, here now, and contribute to the happiness of those around us. We are in a hospice where we are serving as witnesses to our own demise, as well as to the demise of all the other species who dying with us. So let’s embrace our joy and love for this living planet, even as we cause it to become a lot less lovely. And bring joy to all those around us.”

News is what people want to keep hidden; everything else is publicity.  – Bill Moyers

Australian girl inspires the religious leaders
of the world to pledge to eradicate slavery by 2020

http://www.smh.com.au/world/australian-girl-grace-forrest-inspires-pope-francis-and-other-world-religious-leaders-to-sign-pledge-to-eradicate-slavery-by-2020-20141202-11ytpw.html

IS Supply Lines Originate in NATO’s Turkey
Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle published a video of immense implications – possibly the first national broadcaster in the West to admit that the ISIS is supplied not by “black market oil” or “hostage ransoms” but by billions of dollars worth of supplies carried into Syria across NATO member Turkey’s borders via hundreds of trucks a day. The report confirms what has been reported since 2011 – that Turkey has allowed a torrent in supplies, fighters, and weapons to cross its borders unopposed to resupply ISIS positions inside of Syria.
http://freewestradio.com/2014/11/breaking-germanys-dw-reports-isis-supply-lines-originate-in-natos-turkey/

Civil Liberties in Peril Down Under
Australia has passed sweeping secrecy laws, while police officers in New Zealand recently raided the home of a reporter who had published information regarding a government scandal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/28/opinion/civil-liberties-in-peril-down-under.html

How the IPCC has consistently underestimated climate change.
As a result we really haven’t explored a world in which the emissions growth rate is as rapid as we have actually seen happen.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-ipcc-underestimated-climate-change/

http://www.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/330589D6-1811-4401-B7C56CB18A966EDA_article.jpg?55204

The Permian mass extinction 250 million years ago, also known as “The Great Dying,” was triggered by a massive lava flow in Siberia that led to 6 degrees Celsius. That caused the melting of frozen methane deposits that caused temperatures to skyrocket further. This caused the extinction of 95 percent of all species on the planet were wiped out. Today’s scientific evidence strongly suggests we are in the midst of the same process – only this time it is anthropogenic, and happening exponentially faster than in the Permian.

In 1981 the US had accumulated what was then an astounding $1 TRILLION in debt.
This had taken more than 205 years to accumulate. It would take less than five years to accumulate its second trillion. And as the US government just hit $18 trillion in debt on Friday afternoon, it has taken a measly 403 days to accumulate the most recent.
http://www.sovereignman.com/trends/five-complete-lies-about-americas-new-18-trillion-debt-level-15661/

Dealing with despair means dealing with our own grief – it is OUR issue
In my personal experience this is the Way to overcome despair. As Guy set out earlier, to bring Joy to our friends we need to deal with our own grief and defences. This is the Way to Resilience with the capacity to Love.

CEFC turns focus to commercial-ready bioenergy for Australia
The $10 billion clean energy investment vehicle set up by the Labor Gillard government – and since targeted for the scrap heap by the Abbott government – has so far contracted investments of over $900 million in projects with a total value of over $3 billion. Of this, bioenergy investments make up about 10 per cent or nearly $100 million of the total portfolio, and have been focused on waste-to-energy and biogas.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/cefc-turns-focus-commercial-ready-bioenergy-australia-99980

Russia’s Patience Is Wearing Thin
With the western propaganda flying thick and heavy, it’s more important than ever to cut through the chaff and learn what we can about the most important geopolitical realignment (and renewed tensions) in recent memory.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article40353.htm
and
Erdogan hosts Putin to tighten Turkey-Russia alliance
Talks were expected to focus on energy cooperation and to discuss how to triple bilateral trade to a target of $100 billion in the next years from $32.7 billion in 2013, a goal some analysts see as wildly over-ambitious. His visit came just over a week after talks between U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and key NATO ally Turkey failed to reach a breakthrough on cooperating over Syria.
http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Dec-01/279493-erdogan-hosts-putin-to-tighten-turkey-russia-alliance.ashx#sthash.nsKt9B3n.dpuf
and another report, in video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te289Iel73Q
and
On the geo-political implications of cancelling the Southern Gas Route.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article40381.htm
Russia has recently sealed a key deal with Iran to swap Iranian oil for Russian industrial goods. Russia has also agreed to invest heavily in the Iranian nuclear industry. If and when sanctions on Iran are lifted the Europeans will find the Russians already there. Russia has just agreed a massive deal to supply gas to Turkey. Overshadowing these deals are the two huge deals Russia has made to supply gas to China. These show that Russia had made a strategic decision to redirect its energy flow away from Europe. Though it will take time for the full effect to become clear, the consequences for Europe are grim. Europe is looking at a serious energy shortfall, which it will only be able to make up by buying energy at a much higher price.
So far from Russia being dependent on Europe as its energy customer, it is Europe which has antagonised, probably irreparably, its key economic partner and energy supplier. Through the arrangements with China, Turkey and Iran, Russia has dealt a devastating blow to the energy future of the EU. In a few years the Europeans will discover that moralising and bluff comes with a price. By cancelling South Stream, Russia has imposed upon Europe the most effective of all the sanctions we have seen this year.

The map shows how the Ukraine unrest has limited the winter gas supplies for Europe, and how Bulgaria’s blockage is affecting the alternative route across the Black Sea. Agreement with Turkey could keep Europe warm if built in time.

Australia will disgrace itself in Lima, just as it did in Kyoto
In the 1990s, Australia joined with Saudi Arabia in throwing road blocks to the Kyoto Protocol. Australia’s recalcitrance was “rewarded” then because the world was keen to get any sort of treaty, and thus it gave Australia the so called “Australia clause” — which allowed it to increase emissions rather than cut them. So when the Abbott government crows about Australia being one of the few countries that actually met its Kyoto targets, it means nothing. And even less on the international stage.
Now, as talks resume in Lima with the best chance of an agreement in a generation Australia is once again an outlier. And it can expect further “bollockings” in the months to come, particularly as the moves to seal a deal in Paris intensify. The Chinese were reportedly stunned that Australia did not want the environment and environmental goods  included in the free trade agreement just negotiated. No other country has insisted on that.

Australia will disgrace itself in Lima, just as it did in Kyoto

At Home and Abroad, UN Report Details Abysmal US Record of Abuse
An official report by the United Nations Committee Against Torture found that the US has a long way to go if it wants to earn its claimed position as a leader in human rights.The committee slammed the US for its domestic policies such as prolonged solitary confinement; botched state executions; heavy-handed and discriminatory policing practices in the nation’s cities; the treatment of juveniles in the criminal justice system; and serious problems with its immigration enforcement policies.
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/11/29/home-and-abroad-un-report-details-abysmal-us-record-abuse

Saudis risk playing with fire in shale-price showdown as crude crashes
Saudi Arabia and the core Opec states are taking an immense political gamble by letting crude oil prices crash to $66 a barrel, if their aim is to shake out the weakest shale producers in the US. A deep slump in prices might equally heighten geostrategic turmoil across the broader Middle East and boomerang against the Gulf’s petro-sheikhdoms before it inflicts a knock-out blow on US rivals.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/oilprices/11263851/Saudis-risk-playing-with-fire-in-shale-price-showdown-as-crude-crashes.html
and
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-01/can-the-us-fracking-boom-survive-with-oil-65-per-barrel

MH17 Witnesses Tell BBC They Saw Ukrainian Jet.
Shortly after the tragedy, a BBC Russian correspondent interviewed numerous eyewitnesses who described seeing a second aircraft in the sky moments before MH17’s fatal crash. The BBC pulled the report. Why?
http://russia-insider.com/en/military_media_watch/2014/11/12/11-48-09am/mh17_witnesses_tell_bbc_they_saw_ukrainian_jet_bbc

In Canada, More Jobs in Green Energy than Tar Sands
A 37 percent employment increase and a cumulative investment of $25 billion in the green energy sector over the past five years has expanded the energy-generating capacity of Canada’s wind, solar, run-of-river hydropower and biomass plants by 93 percent since 2009. The sale of electric vehicle has doubled between 2012 and 2013. The global clean energy revolution isn’t a future scenario. It is underway right now,
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/12/02/canada-more-jobs-green-energy-tar-sands