Another awesome post, Geoff. History, analogy, analysis of the present, its ghoulish and insane perpetrators, their deeply twisted visions and mindsets, the cynical use of outdated religious ideas to justify the coming genocides, the runaway technology behind it and, finally, your reference to the tragedy in Texas enabled by the unforgivable cuts to meteorological services in the US that will lead to much worse to come...you're going from strength to strength recently. Deep respect!
Dammit Bes! Such compliments are going to force me to keep going. I truly appreciate it. As much as I understand the science of where we are, it's behavior I keep coming back to. Technology won't save us. As fossil fuels become economically unviable, a low energy world awaits where we're forced to live frugally and work hard with our bodies again — if some of us are fortunate enough to have that opportunity. I greatly admire those who recognize collapse is coming and have been working to establish self-sufficient communities. If I was younger and healthier, perhaps I would do the same. Since I can't, I do this and hope it helps somebody, somehow.
I fear the Guardian reporting around Rainmaker and their apparently deliberate creation of the Texas floods both legitimises and publicises the conspiracy theory. It doesn't make people less likely to believe in it, but more.
The more we point out climate change (or the more it points itself out) the more they think it's part of a plot to control them. Many people in the conspiracy are actual shills for fossil fuel and animal ag and are not only ready with their counter-arguments but have $trillions of propaganda behind them.
The triumph of the OTT 'covid' measures was that the backlash got Trump reelected on an anti-government, anti-woke ticket so that he could started slashing both budgets and regulations that hindered the profits of industry. Some of the conspiracy theorists are waking up (or pretending to); they can see that it ain't a great thing when even without floods lower income, mostly black neighbourhoods, start getting sewage in their water.
But the opposition to Palantir et al and the surveillance state is effectively divided, roughly 'right' and 'left', by believe in emissions (and lack of sequestration) caused climate change. Well done them.
Protest ain't gonna cut it. Even the genocide in Gaza, which the vast majority of the public in the West and the Global Majority want to end and regularly show up in huge numbers to protest, is going to just continue until all Palestinians are dead or dispersed. The only hope is to collectively defund giant industry with our buying choices. But as we have seen; they've let fossil fuels and animal ag off the hook with a large portion of the public.
Besides, the fascist society won't last long! In 25-30 years the crops start failing en masse, the migrants start getting shot at the border, society breaks down and the rich retreat to their bunkers.
I think another species one day will look back and write and our crazy history of how we killed ourselves! And that's OK. No need to be precious about the human species.
There's much in your comment to address which reflects the challenge I feel in writing these articles.
Yes, merely reporting outlandish conspiracy theories legitimizes them for some. I don't know how we get around that. It's the result of a combination of poor education, abused free speech promoting lies, and enough evidence of real conspiracies by the government being carried out historically.
You're right, protesting alone will get nothing done. The goons running the show have no conscience, and much confidence that they can rig elections, making popular sentiment moot.
Palantir may indeed be divided along similar lines of those who know climate change is real and hardcore deniers. This is such a new development, it's hard to say. We can likely guess conservatives like this relationship better than liberals, particularly as wealth increases.
Yes, crop failure is coming. I have an article in the works on that. It's a multifaceted issue, and quite a labor to put it all together. I wonder if supply change breakdowns will be the first factor before widespread crop failure to stop food from getting to tables?
I read recently that it could take 5 million years after we complete the Sixth Great Extinction for a significant species to arise from our toxic rubble. It appears forensic investigation into our foolishness is quite a way off!
Regardless of skin color, racism and racist sentiment is typically environmentally developed/acquired during childhood, often enough even passed down generationally, if not also genetically. Especially if it’s deliberate, rearing one’s very impressionable young children in such an environment of baseless contempt and overt bigotry amounts to a formidable form of child abuse.
If racists won’t do it for plain moral reasons, they then should do their own children a big favor by NOT passing down onto them such destructive anti-social/-societal sentiments and perceptions (including stereotypes and ‘humor’), since such rearing can readily make life much harder for those children.
It fails to prepare them for the practical reality of an increasingly diverse and populous society and workplace. It also makes it so much less likely those children will be emotionally content or preferably harmonious with their multicultural and multi-ethnic/-racial surroundings.
Children reared into their adolescence and, by extension, young adulthood this way can find themselves seemingly always feeling angry yet not really knowing exactly at what. They also may feel self-compelled to move to another part of the land, where their own ethnicity/race predominates, preferably overwhelmingly so.
This serious social/societal problem can/should be proactively prevented by allowing preferably-all young children to become accustomed to other races/cultures/faiths, etcetera, in a harmoniously positive manner.
Racism seems to be eternal. I tend to believe it's more taught than inherited. When my sister was in kindergarten it didn't dawn on her that the friend she made and talked about every day was black until she met the big people, the parents.
American society is still deeply segregated structurally, and in other insidious ways. I have dated outside my race and felt the stares in public spaces. With one lovely black woman I dated, a nurse practitioner, now a psychologist, scouting restaurants for her before entering became the routine in rural day trips in upstate NY.
One high school I attended was pretty much a 50/50 split of black and white. In my favorite class, art, I sat at a table split the same way. I didn't think about Robert or Teresa being black (and to this day remember Teresa's huge, heartfelt laughs), but knew the surrounding neighborhood, primarily black was problematic. A friend got hospitalized for a week for being white at a bus stop.
It's all so sad that we can't unite over the most profound thing we have, the planet.
I haven't. As a kid Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov come to mind. Asimov wrote a passage describing what a descent into the atmosphere of Jupiter would be like which blew my mind. There is so much to know that is astonishing on our own planet that is unknown and could fill us up. It's tragic that we don't see that and build around it. We'd rather explore a dead rock — or at least likely mostly dead rock called Mars than this one which is endlessly fascinating. Of course as soon as we talk about high level exploration whether it's the James Webb Telescope, or the Mariana Trench, we're talking about questionable sustainability as well. Does curiosity eventually kill all cats?
I love cats, but they are well known to be insatiable killers left to their own devices. I keep, them indoors, because I like birds and rabbits as well. Is Homo sapiens ever satisfied? Seems like that varies. White western invasion culture not so much. Native indigenous culture perhaps more so, but that opens up another line of questions that can't be clearly answered, IMO. Jared Diamond explored that in Guns, Germs, and Steel, but that book has its fair share of critics.
I always say that there’s a solution for preventing beloved pet cats from sadly going missing, or stuck up a tree for days in the mid-winter cold: If making your feline an indoors-only pet is simply not doable, always keep it on a chest-harness leash during walks. If you won’t do it for the vulnerable wildlife potentially killed by your roaming cat, then (please) do it for your also-very-vulnerable cat’s sake.
Another great benefit to this is that the average lifespan of indoor felines is about three times that of outdoor felines, not to mention the notable absence of outdoor-related injury. Of course, completely denying one's pet cat outdoors access should be compensated by giving it additional attention/affection. I did so with my indoors-only feline of 15 years, until losing him to illness on March 5.
I grew up around cats and sometimes their kittens, including feral/stray felines, and developed a life-long appreciation and affection for cats in general. As a young boy, finding them slaughtered the first thing in the morning was quite traumatizing. They were lost to larger predators — perhaps even a cat-hating human.
Meanwhile, cats offer reciprocally healthy relationships — many cat lovers describe them as somewhat symbiotic — particularly for those suffering physical and/or mental illness. It’s the pet's many qualities, especially its non-humanly innocence, that makes losing it someday such a heartbreaking experience.
Yet, human apathy, the throwaway mentality/culture and even some societal hostility toward cats often result in population explosions thus their inevitable homelessness, neglect and suffering, including severe illness and hunger. As such, the mindset of feline disposability likely goes: ‘Oh, there’s a lot more whence they came’.
Due to general human mentality, it’s likely that only when their over-populations are greatly reduced in number through consistent publicly-funded spay/neuter programs, might these beautiful animals’ potentially soothing, even therapeutic, presence be truly appreciated rather than taken for granted or even resented. Until then, cats likely will remain beautiful yet often misunderstood, prejudged and unjustly despised animals.
Another awesome post, Geoff. History, analogy, analysis of the present, its ghoulish and insane perpetrators, their deeply twisted visions and mindsets, the cynical use of outdated religious ideas to justify the coming genocides, the runaway technology behind it and, finally, your reference to the tragedy in Texas enabled by the unforgivable cuts to meteorological services in the US that will lead to much worse to come...you're going from strength to strength recently. Deep respect!
Dammit Bes! Such compliments are going to force me to keep going. I truly appreciate it. As much as I understand the science of where we are, it's behavior I keep coming back to. Technology won't save us. As fossil fuels become economically unviable, a low energy world awaits where we're forced to live frugally and work hard with our bodies again — if some of us are fortunate enough to have that opportunity. I greatly admire those who recognize collapse is coming and have been working to establish self-sufficient communities. If I was younger and healthier, perhaps I would do the same. Since I can't, I do this and hope it helps somebody, somehow.
I fear the Guardian reporting around Rainmaker and their apparently deliberate creation of the Texas floods both legitimises and publicises the conspiracy theory. It doesn't make people less likely to believe in it, but more.
The more we point out climate change (or the more it points itself out) the more they think it's part of a plot to control them. Many people in the conspiracy are actual shills for fossil fuel and animal ag and are not only ready with their counter-arguments but have $trillions of propaganda behind them.
The triumph of the OTT 'covid' measures was that the backlash got Trump reelected on an anti-government, anti-woke ticket so that he could started slashing both budgets and regulations that hindered the profits of industry. Some of the conspiracy theorists are waking up (or pretending to); they can see that it ain't a great thing when even without floods lower income, mostly black neighbourhoods, start getting sewage in their water.
But the opposition to Palantir et al and the surveillance state is effectively divided, roughly 'right' and 'left', by believe in emissions (and lack of sequestration) caused climate change. Well done them.
Protest ain't gonna cut it. Even the genocide in Gaza, which the vast majority of the public in the West and the Global Majority want to end and regularly show up in huge numbers to protest, is going to just continue until all Palestinians are dead or dispersed. The only hope is to collectively defund giant industry with our buying choices. But as we have seen; they've let fossil fuels and animal ag off the hook with a large portion of the public.
Besides, the fascist society won't last long! In 25-30 years the crops start failing en masse, the migrants start getting shot at the border, society breaks down and the rich retreat to their bunkers.
I think another species one day will look back and write and our crazy history of how we killed ourselves! And that's OK. No need to be precious about the human species.
There's much in your comment to address which reflects the challenge I feel in writing these articles.
Yes, merely reporting outlandish conspiracy theories legitimizes them for some. I don't know how we get around that. It's the result of a combination of poor education, abused free speech promoting lies, and enough evidence of real conspiracies by the government being carried out historically.
You're right, protesting alone will get nothing done. The goons running the show have no conscience, and much confidence that they can rig elections, making popular sentiment moot.
Palantir may indeed be divided along similar lines of those who know climate change is real and hardcore deniers. This is such a new development, it's hard to say. We can likely guess conservatives like this relationship better than liberals, particularly as wealth increases.
Yes, crop failure is coming. I have an article in the works on that. It's a multifaceted issue, and quite a labor to put it all together. I wonder if supply change breakdowns will be the first factor before widespread crop failure to stop food from getting to tables?
I read recently that it could take 5 million years after we complete the Sixth Great Extinction for a significant species to arise from our toxic rubble. It appears forensic investigation into our foolishness is quite a way off!
“Protest ain’t gonna cut it.” More and more I believe this to be true.
We protest, they do what they want to do no matter how lawless. You’re right.
Regardless of skin color, racism and racist sentiment is typically environmentally developed/acquired during childhood, often enough even passed down generationally, if not also genetically. Especially if it’s deliberate, rearing one’s very impressionable young children in such an environment of baseless contempt and overt bigotry amounts to a formidable form of child abuse.
If racists won’t do it for plain moral reasons, they then should do their own children a big favor by NOT passing down onto them such destructive anti-social/-societal sentiments and perceptions (including stereotypes and ‘humor’), since such rearing can readily make life much harder for those children.
It fails to prepare them for the practical reality of an increasingly diverse and populous society and workplace. It also makes it so much less likely those children will be emotionally content or preferably harmonious with their multicultural and multi-ethnic/-racial surroundings.
Children reared into their adolescence and, by extension, young adulthood this way can find themselves seemingly always feeling angry yet not really knowing exactly at what. They also may feel self-compelled to move to another part of the land, where their own ethnicity/race predominates, preferably overwhelmingly so.
This serious social/societal problem can/should be proactively prevented by allowing preferably-all young children to become accustomed to other races/cultures/faiths, etcetera, in a harmoniously positive manner.
Racism seems to be eternal. I tend to believe it's more taught than inherited. When my sister was in kindergarten it didn't dawn on her that the friend she made and talked about every day was black until she met the big people, the parents.
American society is still deeply segregated structurally, and in other insidious ways. I have dated outside my race and felt the stares in public spaces. With one lovely black woman I dated, a nurse practitioner, now a psychologist, scouting restaurants for her before entering became the routine in rural day trips in upstate NY.
One high school I attended was pretty much a 50/50 split of black and white. In my favorite class, art, I sat at a table split the same way. I didn't think about Robert or Teresa being black (and to this day remember Teresa's huge, heartfelt laughs), but knew the surrounding neighborhood, primarily black was problematic. A friend got hospitalized for a week for being white at a bus stop.
It's all so sad that we can't unite over the most profound thing we have, the planet.
Sadly, it's way worse than this.
Yes, likely so. We're looking at complete societal breakdown across the world with the realities of global warming. It's no longer an idea, it's here.
Welcome to Minority Report.
Frighteningly, this is a real possibility. Some science fiction will never come to pass. Other science fiction inevitably does.
Philip K Dick was a prophet. Ever read his novels? If so, a lot of this should look familiar.
I haven't. As a kid Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov come to mind. Asimov wrote a passage describing what a descent into the atmosphere of Jupiter would be like which blew my mind. There is so much to know that is astonishing on our own planet that is unknown and could fill us up. It's tragic that we don't see that and build around it. We'd rather explore a dead rock — or at least likely mostly dead rock called Mars than this one which is endlessly fascinating. Of course as soon as we talk about high level exploration whether it's the James Webb Telescope, or the Mariana Trench, we're talking about questionable sustainability as well. Does curiosity eventually kill all cats?
Does satisfaction bring them back?
I love cats, but they are well known to be insatiable killers left to their own devices. I keep, them indoors, because I like birds and rabbits as well. Is Homo sapiens ever satisfied? Seems like that varies. White western invasion culture not so much. Native indigenous culture perhaps more so, but that opens up another line of questions that can't be clearly answered, IMO. Jared Diamond explored that in Guns, Germs, and Steel, but that book has its fair share of critics.
I always say that there’s a solution for preventing beloved pet cats from sadly going missing, or stuck up a tree for days in the mid-winter cold: If making your feline an indoors-only pet is simply not doable, always keep it on a chest-harness leash during walks. If you won’t do it for the vulnerable wildlife potentially killed by your roaming cat, then (please) do it for your also-very-vulnerable cat’s sake.
Another great benefit to this is that the average lifespan of indoor felines is about three times that of outdoor felines, not to mention the notable absence of outdoor-related injury. Of course, completely denying one's pet cat outdoors access should be compensated by giving it additional attention/affection. I did so with my indoors-only feline of 15 years, until losing him to illness on March 5.
I grew up around cats and sometimes their kittens, including feral/stray felines, and developed a life-long appreciation and affection for cats in general. As a young boy, finding them slaughtered the first thing in the morning was quite traumatizing. They were lost to larger predators — perhaps even a cat-hating human.
Meanwhile, cats offer reciprocally healthy relationships — many cat lovers describe them as somewhat symbiotic — particularly for those suffering physical and/or mental illness. It’s the pet's many qualities, especially its non-humanly innocence, that makes losing it someday such a heartbreaking experience.
Yet, human apathy, the throwaway mentality/culture and even some societal hostility toward cats often result in population explosions thus their inevitable homelessness, neglect and suffering, including severe illness and hunger. As such, the mindset of feline disposability likely goes: ‘Oh, there’s a lot more whence they came’.
Due to general human mentality, it’s likely that only when their over-populations are greatly reduced in number through consistent publicly-funded spay/neuter programs, might these beautiful animals’ potentially soothing, even therapeutic, presence be truly appreciated rather than taken for granted or even resented. Until then, cats likely will remain beautiful yet often misunderstood, prejudged and unjustly despised animals.