ADDENDUM to: "After EIGHTEEN YEARS..."

 https://individualsovereignty.blogspot.com/2024/05/after-eighteen-years-this-state-dept.html

NOTE:  The piece above was posted just before Biden announced he won't ship certain bombs to Israel if they launch a full-scale attack on Rafah.  Good for Joe; however, all other munitions will continue to be shipped, just not the bunker-buster bombs.  

CHILDREN will continue to die from USA munitions.  If not that, then from starvation or lack of hospitals/health care personnel.  North Gaza is now officially deemed (by the World Food Programme) to be in a full-blown famine.  Netanyahu continues to restrict food aid.  People object, but don't worry, Bibi - Joe says USA support of Israel is "iron-clad, even when we disagree".  

[So, you can continue to starve those dangerous kids in Gaza, even the newborns and orphans.  Go Bibi!  Biden and the Republicans here give you their iron-clad support.]

This war needs to end, and Biden could end it.  Bombing hospitals, and killing children, and killing health care workers, and killing people standing in line to receive aid, and sending people to "safe areas" and then attacking those areas are all war crimes.  Stop ALL military aid to Israel, Joe.  Sanction and shun Netanyahu, et al.  Stop all Trade with Israel until the war ends.  Make all that "iron-clad".  Then, the probability is high that the slaughter and starvation will cease instantly.

........................

Not only my opinion.  Take Care

After EIGHTEEN YEARS, this State Dept. diplomat...

has resigned because of Biden's egregious, hypocritical Gaza policy.

https://www.democracynow.org/2024/5/3/state_dept 

Listen carefully to her reasoning; she's right on the mark.  Her name is Hala Rharrit.

Yesterday, Biden made things worse with his antisemitism speech.  Apparently, he doesn't know the difference between antisemitism and antizionism.  The difference is significant.  He also accused protesters of forgetting what Hamas did on October 7.  There's no basis for such an accusation.  No one has forgotten.  What Hamas did then does not justify what Netanyahu has been doing for months...with aid from the USA.  Biden is forgetting what the Israeli Leadership has been doing to Palestinians for about 75 years.

CHILDREN still are dying, health care people as well.  Reporters have been targeted, hospitals destroyed, and civilians have no safe haven anywhere.  In addition, the World Food Programme recently declared North Gaza is now in a "full-blown famine".  Meanwhile, Netanyahu continues to restrict food aid into Gaza.

Biden is turning into a hack politician.  No vision, no diplomacy, and dogmatic.  [By the way, Trump is even worse.]  Even more unacceptable, Joe is complicit in ethnic cleansing and numerous war crimes.  He has taken no significant actions to rein-in the criminal fanaticism of the current Israeli Leadership.  His puny protestations to Netanyahu are overwhelmingly being ignored.  Meanwhile, civilians are being shot, bombed, and starved while their infrastructure is reduced to rubble.

It's all unethical, immoral, and in many cases, criminal.  Scholars, diplomats, politicians, even Israelis, and others all around the world are saying so.  Biden's lack of comprehension of the situation is mind-boggling.  He appears to be in some sort of dogmatic rut.  It pains me to see that the few politicians in the USA with a notable amount of philosophical vision have been (to a large degree) effectively marginalized by the dogmatists.

.....................

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

War, ignorant politicians, Eco-Crisis, famine, and what to do

Various wars around the globe are making the Eco-Crisis worse and placing more people on the path to starvation. One billion people already are on the brink of famine.  

Meanwhile, ignoramuses like Netanyahu, Biden, Putin, a bunch of minor tin-pot generals all over, and others ("The Establishment", including Trump) would rather pursue WAR than global common sense.  After all, war is great for the private war-machine industry, and such is a boon to the almighty secular god - an ever-growing GDP.

C'est la vie in an ecologically ignorant world.  Overall, anyway.  Here and there are some strong pockets of eco-ethics.  People in those areas will have a somewhat easier time of it when the 100mph freight train hits...which will be in large and scattered areas (in the beginning) most likely within ten years (or so).  Many places along latitudes closest to the equator probably will be the first to experience forced, massive migrations away from the heat and failing crops.  [Either from selling their crops or eating them, HALF the world's families get most of their food from subsistence farming on less than one acre per family.  At the same time, only twenty-six Super-Rich individuals have more wealth than that HALF of the world.]  

But, HEY, let's keep pouring $$$ into war machines, and electing politicians who think nuclear war is do-able, and the polluting & killing resulting from conventional war is required, eh?  That will help the Crisis soooo much.     [It's both tragic beyond belief, and hilarious in its total ignorance.]

So, what can we do?

1)  Stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid supplied by Oligarchs and their puppets.

2)  Be more tolerant of opposing views.  Stifle hate in yourself.  Hating each other is not helping anything.

3)  Stop electing to office those politicians who are divisive, or warmongering, or hateful, and lack compassion, civility, and statesmanship.  We need people in office who understand how great are the gifts of Mother Earth and humanity.  We don't need those who are bent on pitting one group against another, and who fail to grasp the sacredness of Earth.  Main Street is fed-up to the hilt with Leaders who have no integrity or vision.

4)  If you're short of knowledge in the following areas, educate yourself in the history of nuclear weapons, the principles of ecology, the history and/or the importance of nonviolent dissent, and Edward Bernays style propaganda.  [Yes, I know: that's a lot.  At least pick one topic:]

5)  Live an intentional, purposeful, peaceful life.  Don't be distracted by "bread and circuses", or consumerism and overconsumption.  Such only benefits the ruling Oligarchy.

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Not only my opinion.  Happy Trails

"Rattling The Establishment‘s Cage: Short Essays & Notes on Unorthodox Views of...

 Environment, Economics, Ethics, Politics, War, Spirituality, and More"

The hardcover format of my third book is now available.  Paperback version will be out within a few days.  I'll try to get the eBook up and running within two weeks.  This book contains many of the most-read posts from this blog.  Here's the book's Description on Amazon---  [there's a link below the Description]

My primary academic and practical interests in a relatively long life have been (and still are) in the subjects of ecology, agriculture, economics, politics, and ethics. For this third book - which is a fairly short and easy read - I've included secondary interests as well. See the book's subtitle for the additional subjects. Also take notice of the words UNORTHODOX VIEWS in the subtitle. For the most part, you will not find these ideas in the mainstream, corporate media. The "Establishment" seems to prefer to ignore such concepts. For example, are you aware of the following? Twenty countries (including the USA) have agreed to expand fossil fuel production for twenty-six more years. Details are in this book. Another example: Are you aware that in only the last thirty years we've used more energy than in the previous 150 years, and why we must transition from a high-energy-use society to one of low-energy use? You won't find that in the Establishment's public information output, but you will in this book.

For multiple decades, the Establishment (both public and private) has been wildly successful in influencing us to accept concepts, policies, and actions which favor the Upper Crust of society at our expense. But in the last ten years or so, everyday working people have decided enough is enough. Genuine change is in the Big Picture now, and education - both formal and informal - is the key. This short book can help to overcome the Establishment propaganda, and point the way to a sustainable and meaningful existence.

Many of these essays were written for a blog I’ve maintained since 2007, IndividualSovereignty.blogspot.com; others were penned this year, 2024, and are not on the blog as of this writing. All have been written by me (no A.I.), are some of the most popular on the blog, and all were edited for this book. Each essay is on its own page (some are two or three pages in length), and for context, I’ve included the year it was written.

https://www.amazon.com/Rattling-Establishments-Cage-Environment-Spirituality/dp/B0D258YK58/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2RHAX2MAHFJMF&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.wBx0AXWwliw6AIX3UriJ-Q.XKisvXnGAbI93CJd9U3zKaklPIVVI-fDNisvcLUmp0g&dib_tag=se&keywords=Rattling+The+Establishment%27s+Cage%3A+Short+Essays+and+Notes+by+Scott+C.+Haley&qid=1714283549&s=books&sprefix=rattling+the+establishment%27s+cage+short+essays+and+notes+by+scott+c.+haley%2Cstripbooks%2C134&sr=1-1

OR---

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D258YK58?ref_=pe_93986420_774957520

OR---

If neither link works, In the Search box at the top of any Amazon page, select the  category "Books", and in the box type "Scott C. Haley" (no quote marks are needed).  All three of my works should appear.

.......................

Thanks for your consideration.  Be Well 

The Establishment is smothering opinion diversity and any sort of dissent, even if peaceful

At universities and in government halls around the world, and especially in the USA and Israel, free speech is being egregiously suppressed and often criminalized.  Some Professors (and others) have characterized it as Neo-McCarthyism.  See clip below.

https://www.democracynow.org/2024/4/18/columbia_university_israel_palestine

Academic freedom has been under assault in universities for many years, but now such has ramped up to a "bone-chilling" (from the clip above) level.  The attack largely (but not totally) is being led by people from the extreme political Right.  Whether they know it or not, they're exhibiting one of the primary characteristics of Fascism.  Dissent of any kind is not allowed.  Suppression of it is dressed up as "safety concerns" and/or "national security".

Liberal education is being suffocated.  Plus, at Government Hearings those being called in to testify are constantly being interrupted and attacked with little-to-no decorum or professionalism.  See the clip.  A liberal education is part of the concept of "liberalism".  So, what is liberalism?  What are its tenets?

Despite what the long-ago-hijacked Republican Party thinks, Liberalism is a moral/ethical philosophy and ideology based on the tenets of liberty, consent of the governed, equality before the Law, and tolerance.  Different forms of the belief sometimes depart from one or more of those tenets.  Despite that, the general definition is valid.  

Attention those who are extreme Right-Wingers:  except for Alexander Hamilton (who wanted a monarchy as our form of government), all the Founders of the USA were considered liberal in their political views and philosophy.

Peaceful diversity of opinion, dissent, and/or protest always should be allowed in a free society.  Suppression of such reeks of hubris and dogmatism, and even a whiff of totalitarianism.  Those who claim to be for "freedom", but then promote the suffocation of dissent are hypocrites to the Nth degree.

...................

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Coming A.I. Monopoly

Each of a few of the 813 billionaires in the USA are vying for control of the A.I. industry.  That's somewhat akin to a person wanting a monopoly over our highway system, or electrical grid, or the internet, or our transportation means, or all our schools.  And the effort is on steroids (so to speak).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP5sQhGlxj4

As you'll see in the short clip above, the spiel presented by these wannabe monopolists (especially Sam Altman) is laced with phrases such as "for the good of all", "nonprofit research", "semi-nonprofit" [Really?!  It's either nonprofit or not.], "with humanity's best interests at heart", "a set of world-changing advances", and the like.

All these A.I. tools supposedly will be "open source", with the company OpenAI leading the way (so far).  If so, why is Elon Musk suing OpenAI for breach of contract?  He says the company is closed, not "open".  ChatGPT may be available to most people, but it's a piddly little thing compared to what's coming soon.

Instead of millions of people having access to the development of these gizmos, and which values go into their "training", the whole process currently is controlled by a centralized committee of Super-Rich investors.  It's their values which will be informing and shaping the rest of us.  That's what needs to be regulated, NOW.

Politicians are behind the eight ball and lagging on the learning curve re this whole scenario.  They need to get with the program.  I think A.I. should be deemed some version of a public utility.  It certainly must at least be prevented from becoming a monopoly.

[NOTE---

Also see:  https://individualsovereignty.blogspot.com/2024/02/this-peril-goes-way-way-beyond-trump.html  and,

https://individualsovereignty.blogspot.com/2024/03/heres-why-ai-must-be-decentralized-asap.html ]

..................

Not only my opinion.  Take Care

"Climate Engineering: Doubling Down on Bad Habits"

https://steadystate.org/climate-engineering-doubling-down-on-bad-habits/

In general, it seems Technocrats are not aware of and are ruining human alignment with the continuity of the ecosphere.  Also, I suspect they are more or less innocently unaware of the elements of the ecosphere - the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere (aka, geosphere) - and how those elements are deeply and intricately interrelated.  They make up the Earth System, which is one giant ecosystem (with many sub-ecosystems).

It appears to me that their geoengineering plans (related to climate) are nothing more than efforts to avoid the reduction of carbon emissions.  The reasoning seems to be:  let's alter the amount of solar radiation reaching Earth and/or suck carbon out of the air, so we can keep burning fossil fuels into infinity.  Those scenarios are not well thought out.  See the spot-on article at the link above.

If these climate engineering plans ever get up to the required scale, negative unintended consequences are a distinct probability.  Efforts to control Nature are a Techno-fantasy.  While short-term success often is achieved, in almost all cases disaster or near-disaster eventually is the unintended result.  The Agricultural Green Revolution(s) of a bit over fifty years ago is a prime example.  [For details, see Chapter 2 in my second book, Choices & Change on the Path to a Sustainable Existence...", OR read the excerpt here - https://individualsovereignty.blogspot.com/2024/02/excerpt-from-choices-change-on-path-to.html .

........................

Not only my opinion.  Be Well