Lobsters

“There is definitely something going on,” Dominic Zanke, who has fished for lobster for 34 years, said at his home in Deer Isle. “It’s kind of scary,” In truth, scientists have made dire predictions about the future of the lobster fishery in Maine for decades — predictions that lobstermen have routinely dismissed. When I pointed out the stark difference between the Republican and Democratic Parties on climate change, Ms. Olsen waved away its significance. “Fishermen are very — they want facts and information about their fishery, right?” she said. “They could care less about politics until it affects them on the water.” Claqssic disavowal: they know but act as if they don't. It is also classic capitalist short term thinking: "I'll get mine and let the future worry about the future. Pray for a miracle. Maybe some tech will save them. yada yada. Transactional "politics" in a nutshell: show me the cash and get my vote. “I care a lot about nature,” Mr. Amaro said, “but also I think about my future and how I can take care of my family, and what would benefit me, in the long term, financially. And it kind of sucks to think like that.” Exactly.

The Other

A piece in the NY Times about the protests they expect at Dem convention has drawn some interesting comments. Dem stalwarts are outraged that "the far Left" will disrupt the "unity" by mentioning the ongoing slaughter. Not that many people even care about the War on Gaza. Polls show it way down the list of issues motivating voters. After all, Palestinians are Arabs and Muslims for the most part, so why give a shit? "Palestinian rights organizers say that the requests of “uncommitted” delegates for prime-time speaking spots at the convention have been rebuffed, as have their demands for credentials to bring activists into the United Center." The protestors believe they can appeal to the American conscience! So naive. Post script: Demonstrations proved one thing: how weak the movement actually is. Bottom line: no one cares

The More I Learn the Less I Know

John turned me on to Nate Hagans and his channel The Great Simplification. One of his latest guests spoke of the many risks of AI, not the least of which is the way it facilitates more efficient fossil fuel exploration and extraction. Just what we need. And just what Trump promises for his second term. From today's Times: "He also said that his chief tool to fight rising prices would be boosting oil and gas production, even as the U.S. is currently producing significantly more crude oil today than it did under the Trump administration." In any case, we won't have to worry about damaging coral reefs in the Carribean because they will be gone. As a marine biologist explains: "In the 18 years I’ve studied reefs in the Florida Keys and the Caribbean, coral populations have continued to decline such that they can no longer recover naturally". This scientist wants to freeze some coral in a "seed bank": "The goal is to buy time while we wait for the world to slow, and hopefully, one day reverse climate change." Yeah, sure. Maybe AI will figure it out. While "we wait". This, of course, is the problem in a nutshell. Everyone waiting for technologies they can't comprehend to save them. From technologies. Anxiety manifests in many forms, mostly a negative Localism. Xenophobia, chauvinistic nationalism, fear of the Other. The World they know no longer exists, but this fact is disavowed. Leaving the crises to compound. Kamala Harris has already backtracked on her committment to end fracking. Shocker. As my comrade Ted Franklin puts it: "Under capitalism, it is illegal to save the world."

This Is Not Who We Are

As white male reactionary thugs rampage in Great Britian, state leadership wants us to know these (mostly) guys are an outlier. As the anti-immigrant hard right gains votes across Europe (oh yeah, GB is nolonger Europe), it is getting harder and harder to believe the reassurances offered by liberal elites. Outraged by the murder of three white English children, they are ambivilent at best about the murder and seliberate starvation of thousands of Palestinian children. As with Germany, we have long been told that the horror of the holocaust taught lessons about the temptations of fascism. And yet Germans increasingly blame "the Other" for their economic woes while pathologically supporting the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Where I truly lack any coherent analysis is the question of soccer hooligans. WTF? These men so identify with their team that they embrace brawling while drunk? How sad can their lives be that this is what brings them joy or satisfaction? Jouissance? Then there are the Israeli thugs attacking an army base to free IDF soldiers accused of rape. Because for them raping Palestinians isn't a crime. The Olympics is supposed to embody the spirit of peace and sportsmanship amongst nations of all creeds (except Russia). All taking place in a world engulfed in violent conflict and mayhem. This IS who we are, unfortunately, as long as we remain alienated and esdtranged from our true species being and dominated by liberal capitalist "democracy".

Crisis of Legitimacy

As Daniel Taruno reminds us: "Parliamentary democracy is an infinitely more stable mode of domination than dictatorship. There is one condition, however: voters must accept being dominated and consider their domination legitimate." Today's voter doesn't just accept; they love being dominated. This is the "freedom" they go on and on about. The freedom from responsibility. Freedom from self-reflection. Just follow and do as the rest do. With a wink and a nod we celebrate African tribal "democracy" or Russian oligarch "democracy" or Israeli "democracy". But not evil Cuban or Venezuelan democracy! Here in the States we have lesser of two evils "democracy", a choice, sure, but not a great one. Like choosing who you would prefer your daughter go out with: Bundy, Gacey or Manson. Habermas explored the construction of legitimacy but much has changed since those heady days of possibility. Now we have elites who rail against elites. Now it is elitist to call people ignorant just because they know zero history and fall for every scam- instead they are "wierd". In an interview, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, going for the "common man" approach, defends the dumb. "Don't assume they're just not clever enough to understand wwhat you're selling them...these aren't stupid people." Right, Tim. That's why they buy "medbeds" and watch FOX "news" and send money to old Jewish holocaust survivors in Russia. Why they think a wall will keep immigrants out. Why they hate Obamacare. Tim himself is not especially bright and actually spends the rest of the interview explaining how clueless most people are, unable to grasp the complexity of modern issues and buying simple solutions. This is the real crisis of democracy, an inability to stay informed or think critically. Appendix: Just found out Tim has been chosen as Kamala's VP. Can't find his position on Palestine anywhere.

Increasingly Desperate

It should be another great COP this year in Azerbaijan. Bring your dolphin costume and come join the protest! I'm sure Americans will be in a great giving mood, ready to accept their historical responsibility and start sharing wealth with poorer countries. After all, our national motto is : Were all in this Together!( just kidding) For its part, Azerbaijan is all in on false solutions like carbon capture and hoping Iran can be drawn into a major war. From the NYTimes: "there is growing interest in efforts to intentionally alter the Earth’s climate, a field known as geoengineering." Not the best option, but since there is no way the Market system can stop producing fossil fuels, it may be the only one left. As the opening epigram to Oblivion's Cross states: "we would rather be ruined than change." And so we will be. Palestine is a glimpse into our future. After all that extermination in order to grab land, the planet will take it all from us, turning it into a parched wasteland or flooded swamp. And so, as the land disappears, the extermination will accelerate. This is the panic that everyone feels but represses, stuffs into the deepest recesses and smothers with consumption. This is also why beat-down workers in the "developed" world will take the side of the boss, just as they identified with the slaveholders: they know things can get way worse. And of course it is not just Palestinians who are suffering the brutal effects of the polycrisis. Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Niger, Sudan and now Burkina Faso are occassionally in the news. Care International's research singled out 10 African countries — including Zimbabwe, Uganda, Burundi, Zambia, and Senegal — that are suffering crises such as climate change, conflict, poverty, hunger, violence and political instability but are getting little news coverage. Plenty of other regions as well.

Counter- Bolivarian Revolution

The NYTimes insists there were "irregularities" in the Venezuelan election, but fails to document any. Using right-wing sources, they amplify the propaganda that the election "was stolen" but offer no proof. Instead we learn that "Steve Levitsky, an expert on democracy at Harvard University, called Sunday’s vote “one of the most egregious electoral frauds in modern Latin American history.” Just Steve the expert says so. BTW, Steve co-authored "How Democracies Die" which never mentions capitalism. Not content to obfuscate and dissemble about the current election, the piece goes into a whole revisionist history where Chavez goes from idealistic democrat to evil, authoritarian "populist" because, you know, socialism never works, no such thing as a free lunch, blah blah. Towards the end of the piece we get this: "Inflation was soaring, grocery stores were stripped bare and children were dying of malnutrition. Then the United States issued broad sanctions on the country’s oil industry, pushing the economy to the brink of collapse." It's true the US, as it has done in so many cases, and continues to do in Cuba, punished the population in order to force regime change. But that is only half the story. The U.S. funds the opposition and helps orchestrate their various coup attempts. Deeply committed to stamping out any vestige of socialism anywhere in the world, they will starve children if that's what it takes. This is the capitalist "democracy" Steve and the Times worship. The Bolivarian Revolution was too dependent on oil prices and failed to develop other sectors of the economy, especially food, when times were good. But during my visit in 2007 I witnessed the progress being made in consolidating a social base of those neglected by the oligarchs who had long ruled Venezuela with US support. The US wants access to that oil. It also wants private property and free market ideology to be the only alternative. update: today the US recognized Edmundo Gonzales as the winner. Why don't they just follow Israel's lead and murder Maduro?