The Immigration Crisis, New Outsourcing Plans, and Related Christian Ethics

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-countries-eye-setting-up-migrant-return-hubs-in-rwanda-and-uzbekistan/

The UK plan to outsource its immigration crisis to Rwanda collapsed and was cancelled by Keir Starmer. Despite this, Rwanda is still looking to sign up and receive European funds. And Paul Kagame has his takers as nations such as Denmark, Austria, Greece, and Germany have expressed interest.

Dictators and Drug Dealers: America's Dissonant Practice of Celebrating the Fall of its Allies and Activist Deaths that Don't Matter

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/3/17/the-criminal-hypocrisy-of-hernandezs-drug-conviction-in-a-us-court

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/honduras-president-arrested/

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/apr/01/years-after-berta-caceres-is-there-new-hope-for-justice

The death of Alexei Navalny received around-the-clock coverage and it was simply assumed that Putin ordered it and yet when someone like Berta Caceres of Honduras is killed, virtually no one in Western (and certainly American) media seems to care and suggestions of American involvement are met with scoffs.

Germany's LNG Infrastructure Pains

https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/is-germanys-lng-gold-rush-coming-to-an-end/

This article demonstrates the internal conflict that plagues modern Western capitalist economies. Germany needs Liquefied Natural Gas, all the more since the Nordstream pipelines were blown up and the gas supply from Russia has been cut off.

A Ukraine Miscellany XII: Thank You USA (I)

One feels as if the propaganda has reached a new level, and with it the stakes and danger have become even greater. At the end of September a series of explosions heavily damaged the Nordstream pipelines which bring natural gas across the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. The two Nordstream 1 lines were rendered inoperable and apparently despite the explosions one of the two Nordstream 2 lines remains viable. In other words, three of the four pipelines have sustained serious damage.

The Liquid Hydrogen Test Run

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/worlds-first-hydrogen-tanker-ship-test-cargo-australia-japan-2022-01-20/

This experiment is noteworthy because if successful it could be transformative and mark the beginning of a new energy economy. Utilising coal, Australia has produced hydrogen which is then liquefied. It is now being brought to Japan by tanker where it can be used in a variety of industries and applications.

Washington, the PiS and EU Climate Targets

https://www.politico.eu/article/new-yorks-lackluster-climate-summit/

Leaving aside all the silliness surrounding the deranged Swedish teenage activist and her 'glaring' at Trump, the real story in this article pertains to French president Macron's condemnation of Poland's PiS government for inhibiting the EU's climate goals.

Eco-Technology and the Resource Wars: Congo and Afghanistan

Below is a link to a brief video clip from Al Jazeera's business programme 'Counting the Cost'. There have actually been a lot of stories and reports about Cobalt, Lithium and the costs of supporting the new tech economy but I wonder how many people know or care?

I don't believe it's something that gets a lot of attention in the mainstream press.

But what to do? I don't know, but it just adds another layer to the moral component of technology... the aspects and questions of the debate that few seem to wrestle with. Not only are there ethical implications for how we use technology but we should also consider the sources and the larger question of human cost.

US Nativism and China

I've mentioned this before but I keep hearing variations of this argument, and I find it striking how misled so many people are.

In just the past couple of weeks I have either participated in or overheard conversations where the Chinese are invoked as a source of anti-American scheming. People seem to believe the Chinese have conspired to destroy American manufacturing and enslave us to their cheap goods.

Energy Independence: Realpolitik, Neo-Conservatism and Nativism

While perusing a financial magazine in a waiting room I stumbled upon an article about billionaire T Boone Pickens, a name that's been floating around for some time. I've heard him interviewed on NPR from time to time and was already pretty familiar with his controversial energy plan. In fact not long ago while reading Steve Coll's book on Exxon, I recalled Pickens argument for energy independence. It was pertinent and represented a mindset in Conservative circles less than appreciated by representatives of Big Oil.

Economics, the Environment and Questions That Must Be Asked

When I see things like this I think about the idea that the Free Market is self-regulating. I realize that many of its most strident advocates are critical of globalisation and its effects, but this is due to their own reductionistic understanding of economics. Their minimalist understanding of the nature of economics blinds them to this logical telos of the Capitalist system.

Riding in a Tesla

I went for a ride in a Tesla yesterday. Someone I know is considering purchasing one. It was impressive. That said, I personally have no interest in one. I don't even own a Smartphone and frankly despise the whole direction our society is taking with the gadgets and techno-obsessive behaviour. I'm not interested in applications that chart my steps, the food in my refrigerator or the number of times I accelerated in the past half hour.

Climate, Crisis and Collapse

This video is a helpful tool. It's brief, (20 mins) and aptly explains some of the salient issues surrounding climate change. Many scoff at the notion that a degree or two of temperature shift would really affect our lives. And then of course every winter there are those who point to the cold and snow and mock the very suggestion that the earth is warming. This video explains and dispels some of these misunderstandings.

To Protect and Serve the Corporatocracy

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/05/26/kinder-morgan-maybe-change-huge-oil-pipeline-company-something-hired-duty-cops-deter-protests-pennsylvania-pipeline/

I wonder how many people know this occurs? My guess is they don't know so many of our 'heroes' are for hire. One wonders did they use tax-payer funded/issued firearms or other equipment?

Desks, DDT and Delusion

Some time ago I recall radio host Janet Mefferd was quite upset over some pictures that had been released of president Obama with his feet up on the desk in the Oval Office. She (like most Christian media operatives) was piggy-backing off of FOX news that was also kicking up a fuss over the issue.

These people felt that by putting his feet up on the desk he was showing a lack of respect for not only the historic nature of the desk but the dignity of the office... both the Oval office and the office of president.

Mefferd went on extensively about this. She wouldn't let it go. It really bothered her.

The Real Issue in the Nutrition Wars

When considering what must be called the Nutrition Wars I think many are actually missing the real issue.

By Nutrition Wars I mean the whole range of argument and debate over organic vs. industrial foods, arguments over preservatives and chemicals and so forth.

Media Narratives: Non-Profits and Coal

I've been listening carefully and waiting for the local Christian news to report on the modified situation with regard to the improper IRS investigations. It has come out that many liberal groups were targeted as well. They were both indignant and gleeful when reporting the IRS targeting of Tea Party groups, but now they don't seem to want to talk about the issue anymore.