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The John James Newsletter 103
6 February 2016
Politics is always a contest between competing narratives and governments muster all resources to keep their story in their possession.Iva Chermus
CSIRO job cuts to ‘gut’ climate science unit
“Climate will be all gone, both the Prime Minister and Christopher Pyne have signed off on the cuts. The industry response has been anger and disappointment, as the realisation dawns that the Coalition’s politics have not changed.
Iran: The New China?
Beijing regards Iran as the essential hub for countering Washington’s “pivot to Asia,” centered on US naval hegemony. No wonder Xi made it clear that Iran is to be accepted as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). A strategic partnership implies Beijing’s full support for the Iranian across the arc spanning the Persian Gulf to the Caspian and all the New Silk Road maritime and land routes that are important for the global projection of China.
How Wall Street Came to Own the Clintons and the Democratic Party
The use of bailouts should have also been a reason to heavily regulate Wall Street, to prevent behavior that would require a bailout. But the administration didn’t do that; instead they went the opposite direction and continued to deregulate it
Western Media Ignores Putin’s Progress in Syria
Three months into his military intervention in Syria, Putin has achieved his central goal of stabilizing the Assad government and, with the costs relatively low, could sustain military operations at this level for years. What we are not reading in the media is that, after months of slow but steady progress, the Russian-led coalition (Syrian Arab Army, Iranian Quds Forces, and Hezbollah) has broken through the sluicegate and is advancing on all fronts while enemy positions are crumbling.
This is really interesting – the dynamics have shifted
Russia and Assad may have just delivered a decisive blow to Turkey in Syria. Pro-government forces in Syria have reportedly broken a rebel siege of two villages northwest of Aleppo, effectively cutting off Turkey’s supply line to opposition groups operating in and around Syria’s largest city
Russia and Assad may have just delivered a decisive blow to Turkey in Syria
Zika via sex and blood: how worried should we be?
Atmospheric CO2 has rocketed to 405.6 ppm — A Level not Seen in 15 Million Years
We are entering a period similar to the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum — the last time CO2 exceeded 405 ppm. It was a radically different world. Temperatures were between 3 to 5C hotter and sea levels were 120 to 190 feet higher.
and
Sea levels could rise by 10 FEET if global temperatures continue to soar
From 2009 Oceans Have Risen by 5 Millimeters Per Year
Number of victims found to be 70 million higher than thought
The huge global scale of female genital mutilation has been revealed in disturbing new statistics, which show at least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone ritual cutting, half of them living in just three countries.
Nazi Roots of Ukraine’s Conflict
Few Americans understand the ugly history behind the Nazi-affiliated movements that have gained substantial power in today’s U.S.-backed Ukrainian regime. Western propaganda has made these right-wing extremists the “good guys” versus the Russian “bad guys,”
Rigging the Market
More money is spent on subsidising fossil fuels than on health services. The G20 countries alone spend over three times as much public money on oil, gas and coal than the whole world does on renewable energy.
A Russian Diplomat’s Take on the World
“Our Western colleagues sometimes declare with passion that there can no longer be ‘business as usual with Russia.’ I am convinced that this is so. That history is over and done with. A new stage of history is dawning which can develop only on the basis of equal rights and all other principles of international law.”
Queen bees put their workers on ‘the pill’ to stop them reproducing
it appears that the queen controls reproduction in her workers by manipulating the expression of Anarchy via her pheromone.
The weather bureau might be underestimating Australian warming
Satellite estimates of Australian temperature show much stronger warming than do the surface temperatures measured by thermometers. The Bureau warming rate is 1.3°C per century, satellite data reveal a warming rate of about 2.4°C.
Emissions Rise For First Time In A Decade
Australia Now ‘Comparable To China And India’ as emissions growth is among the highest in the developed world. The 2014-15 fiscal year saw a hike of 1.3%, the first time they’ve risen since 2005-6.
Some Iowa Democrats award caucus delegates with a coin flip
The Big 5 and the Sad State of Foreign Policy in 2016
Is it the underworld that runs the immigration into UK?
When migrants manage to reach the UK, they all have to pay back the people-traffickers who got them here. Indeed, it is this debt, sometimes with interest rates of 100%, that lies behind the often appalling working conditions they are forced to accept. This is the simple fact that the immigration lobby ignore with appalling consequences for the migrants concerned.
If You Think Europe Has a Refugee Crisis, You’re Not Looking Hard Enough
From Lebanon to Turkey to Pakistan, a wave of migrants is straining governments and testing the fabrics of societies.
Syrian refugees: world leaders aim to raise $9bn to reduce plight of millionsUnless refugees are offered a better life both in and outside the camps, there is a risk that they will fall prey to extremism or give up waiting to return to their homeland, instead making the perilous journey to Europe.