The John James Newsletter 175
6 May 2017
Once weapons were manufactured to fight wars, now wars are manufactured to sell weapons
Arundhati Roy
Trump has committed no less than five acts of foreign aggression in his first 100 days, with a sixth pending: commandos in Yemen; the Syrian airfield; North Korea; a cave in Afghanistan; and more troops to Syria. Lets not forget Iran.
Alasdair Macleod
Most of what passes for “news” in the West is actually well-crafted talking points put out by self-interested people who have discovered a fantastic way to remain in power and accumulate wealth
Chris Martenson
The oceans are rising and so are we!
Sign at People’s Climate March
Trumpcare will free healthy people from having to pay the cost of the sick
Mo Brooks, an Alabama Republican
Donald Trump is the face of our collective idiocy. He is our version of the Roman emperor Nero
Chris Hedges
”Being President is more work than in my previous life; I thought it would be easier”
After Trump confessed to Reuters that he thought being president would be “easier” than it is, Twitter blew up with aghast responses from voters, people in politics and at least one former head of state, who pleaded with the president to please quit the White House and just stick to golf. Tweets from David Frum, George W. Bush’s speechwriter:
- All this information was cunningly concealed by being put in books and other forms of writing
- Nobody could have known that removing health coverage from tens of millions of people might have political consequences
- Nobody could have known that tax plans are supposed to come with numbers
- Nobody could have known that 2 year old tweets are retrievable
- Nobody could have known it was wrong for a former head of an intelligence agency to accept money from foreign governments
- Nobody could have known that a few dozen little white lies about things like wiretapping could cause so much trouble
- Nobody could have known that they tally and publish how much your weekend golf excursions cost the public
- Nobody could have known that the Indian and the Pacific are different oceans
- Nobody could have known that Congress would ask questions if you accepted $400 million from a state controlled Chinese bank
- Nobody could have known that his wife often looks unhappy when his back is turned
Climate Change Is Melting Antarctica From the Inside Out
Satellite and military aircraft photos documented hundreds of meltwater channels around the perimeter of Antarctica in the first study. Streams deep within the continent’s frozen interior were detected. Ponds of meltwater surpassing 4,000 feet above sea level, where no one expected to encounter liquid water.
How One African Refugee Is Feeding One of the Hungriest Places in the US
No need is more basic than food, and food insecurity and hunger impact immigrants and refugees more than other Americans, studies have shown. Though still modest, Rosata Hezumuryano’s Happiness Family Farms is now helping to meet that need at New Columbia in Portland, Oregon.
Climate Council – the promise
From Star Wars the promise of Off-grid power systems. Battery Storage. Solar Powered Vehicles – share with your friends.
https://www.facebook.com/climatecouncil/videos/1027569954046264/
THE IMPENDING THREAT OF NUCLEAR WAR AND THE REASON
America’s Financial Strategy
The geopolitics and economics behind America’s war strategy from China’s perspective, concludes it is entering its final phase. China’s exit plan appears to tie the pricing of energy and then other major commodities to gold, returning to the pre-1971 status quo, when the dollar was just a settlement link between commodity prices and gold. Except this time, the dollar itself will be side-lined, so far as China is concerned.
Since the dollar’s peg to the gold price was abandoned, America has initiated a cycle of economic boom and bust among foreign users of the dollar for its own benefit. America’s wealth is sustained by a pump-and-dump operation facilitated by the dollar’s reserve status, replacing genuine industrial production.
The end game for the dollar and America’s harvesting of foreign countries is in sight, and it will likely end with a final dollar crisis. China could bring this about at a time of its own choosing, simply by introducing the planned oil futures yuan contract alongside the gold futures yuan contract. When liquid enough, oil producers will be able to sell oil for gold, effectively restoring the pre-1971 price relationships.
This explains the dynamics being played out at the highest levels, and America has the most to lose. Because China still owns large quantities of US Treasuries and dollar reserves she might prefer more time before executing the coup de grace. But execute it, she will. Her fundamental objective is to remove America’s ability to profit from having everything priced in dollars.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/46961.htm
Washington Plans to Nuke Russia and China
Both written documents and changes in US war doctrine that indicate that Washington is preparing a preemptive nuclear attack on Russia and China. Washington’s demonization of Russia and President Putin, the incessant lies about Russian deeds and intentions, and the refusal of Washington to cooperate with Russia on any issue have convinced the Russian government that Washington is preparing the Western populations for an attack on Russia. China has come to the same conclusion.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/46958.htm
US missile shield aims to cover sudden nuclear strike against Russia
American missile attack warning systems cover all possible trajectories of Russian ballistic missiles flying toward the US. These systems are not only creating an “illusion” of safety from a retaliatory strike but can themselves be used to launch a sneak nuclear attack.
https://www.rt.com/news/386276-us-missile-shield-russia-strike/
Is North Korea a Diversion for a US-Jordan Invasion of Syria?
The US is not going to launch a preemptive attack on North Korea. The risks far outweigh the rewards and, besides, the US has no intention of getting bogged down in a conflict that doesn’t advance its geopolitical objectives. The saber-rattling is just an attempt to divert attention from the Syria-Jordan border where the US and Jordan are massing troops and equipment for an invasion of Syria.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/46984.htm
What the N. Korean “Crisis” Is Really About
The Chinese leadership understands that the reason for the North Korean “crisis” is to provide cover for Washington to put anti-ballistic missile sites near China’s border, to create a shield against nuclear retaliation from both Russia and China from a US nuclear strike against both countries. It is part of Washington’s preparations to nuke both Russia and China with minimal consequence to the US, although Europe would certainly be completely destroyed as anti-ABMs are useless against Russian nuclear cruise missiles and the Russian air force. But no Empire has ever cared about the fate of its vessels,
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/46997.htm
War-Fighting Footprint in Africa
“Just as the US pursues strategic interests in Africa, international competitors, including China and Russia, are doing the same. We continue to see international competitors engage with African partners in a manner contrary to the international norms of transparency (sic).”
http://lobelog.com/americas-war-fighting-footprint-in-africa/
Empire of African Bases
What has changed is Washington’s attitude toward the public record. Its latest basing moves are taking place enveloped in a blanket of secrecy, which means that even if you want to know, it’s increasingly tough to find out. Washington’s latest garrisoning strategy is based on a new premise: a “small footprint,” meaning a tiny-bases, rapid-deployment, special-ops and drone-heavy way of war that’s being put into place across Africa.
Trashing 15 Million Tons of Clothing Every Year
Fashion-lovers are buying more and more clothes; Global clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014. People are also throwing out their high-fashion items increasingly quickly, many within a year of production. More than 15 million tons of textile waste is generated every year in the US, an amount that has doubled over the last 20 years. On average, each American throws out approximately 80 pounds of used clothing a year.
Heat Wave (from global heating) Scalds Orange Farmers
On account of extreme weather conditions, the extent of fruit drop is much higher and they dropped at just peanut-size stage. This is expected to result in 40-50% loss of yield. It is the hottest season in the past 13 years. The water table has also gone down steeply. Generally, this range of temperature is seen in May-end. Even now the temperature is over 45 C. I have not seen such a low water table in the last 25 years.
http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/04/30/heat-wave-scalds-orange-farmers/
Climate change can drive coastal food webs to collapse
Food webs are essentially networks of species that interact with each other. The connection between them can stabilise systems, for instance by preventing particular species from becoming too common, thereby encouraging the presence of a wide range of species. These pathways can be quite stable, but they are vulnerable to ocean warming and acidification.
https://theconversation.com/climate-change-could-drive-coastal-food-webs-to-collapse-76798
Fracking Is Strongly Related to Increased Infant Mortality
Results showed a statistically significant 29% excess risk of dying age 0-28 days in the ten heavily fracked counties of Pennsylvania during the four-year period following the development of fracking gas wells. Over the same period, the State rate declined by 2%.
Fukushima Radiation Has Contaminated The Entire Pacific Ocean – and its not going to stop
Fukushima continues to leak an astounding 300 tons of radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean every day. It will continue do so indefinitely as the source of the leak cannot be sealed. It is inaccessible to both humans and robots due to extremely high temperatures.
Groundwater may still be contaminated by radioactive material from nuclear testing in the 1950s
Groundwater is the largest freshwater reserve on Earth not counting the great ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica. It supplies drinking water to billions of people and the reserves are vulnerable to contamination,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4443140/Water-drunk-BILLIONS-people-contaminated.html
Washington climate march draws massive crowd amid sweltering heat
The demonstration coincided with Trump’s first 100 days in office, which have already seen multiple rollbacks of environmental protections and taking down a long-standing site devoted to the science of climate change. In the Nation’s Capital alone, it’s estimated that more than 200,000 took to the streets — doubling a projected attendance of 100,000.
While preparing for war, dismantling diplomacy
The Trump administration’s steady stream of assaults on diplomacy has become a raging river. He berates not just the goals and institutions of diplomacy, but the people who carry it out. Trump’s reorganization order is an ideologically driven agenda for undermining the power and effectiveness of government institutions. Without a fair and inclusive process for identifying problems, analyzing causes, proposing remedies, approving changes, and implementing reforms, Secretary Tillerson will find himself presiding over the State Department’s destruction.
http://lobelog.com/disparaging-diplomacy/
Deforestation study results ‘disturbing’
Deforestation could eventually wipe out 40% of trees and animal groups as protected areas fail in the tropics,
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/05/02/deforestation-study-results-disturbing
The Real Reasons Behind The Palestinian Hunger Strike
There are 6,500 prisoners in Israeli jails. This number includes hundreds of children, women, elected officials, journalists and administrative detainees, who are held with no charges, no due process. But these numbers hardly convey the reality that has transpired under Israeli occupation since 1967. According to prisoners’ rights group, ‘Addameer’, more than 800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned under military rule since Israel commenced its occupation. That is 40% of the entire male population of the Occupied Territories.
The Trump personal empire expands
Only100 days into Donald Trump’s presidency, he already looks like the authoritarian kleptocrats elsewhere on the planet who siphon state wealth into their own bank accounts and businesses.
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/05/02/empire-expands-not-american-one-trumps
How Solar Became the World’s Best Hope for a Post-Fossil-Fuel Energy System
Solar prices are down 62% in the last eight years mainly down to Chinese government and investors funding bigger production lines and new supply chains. The cost of storage has been falling by 20-30% a year recently and is likely to keep going at that rate for the next few years.
Aleppo Renaissance
Documentary about the theft and destruction of the industrial cities of Aleppo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCOVHGLPtL4
Alliance of Convenience: Why Israel Supports ISIS?
Since the beginning of the war in Syria, Israel took the opportunity to pursue its strategic interests in the neighboring country, by tacitly and sometimes publicly allying itself with Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–bSKC0ErUw
