10 March 20
Reader Supported News is a post-industrial-meltdown organization. We are a lean organization with minimal overhead. Pretty much stripped down for survival. We do not take corporate money and we are prepared to take less because of it. Still we are falling short on this fundraising drive. If you are not an active donor, and you believe in what we do, please get behind Reader Supported News with a contribution.
Thanks sincerely to all,
Marc Ash
Founder, Reader Supported News
Founder, Reader Supported News
If you would prefer to send a check:
Reader Supported News
PO Box 2043
Citrus Hts, CA 95611
Reader Supported News
PO Box 2043
Citrus Hts, CA 95611
10 March 20
Trump Beats Biden
Arun Gupta, Jacobin
Excerpt: "The Democratic Party establishment has united behind the candidate who has failed at running for president for 32 years."
Arun Gupta, Jacobin
Excerpt: "The Democratic Party establishment has united behind the candidate who has failed at running for president for 32 years."
The Democratic Party establishment has united behind the candidate who has failed at running for president for 32 years. Defender of banks and drug companies, Joe Biden is the swamp creature of Donald Trump’s dreams.
oe Biden may have pulled off a miracle on Super Tuesday, but he is a desperation candidate for Democratic National Committee (DNC) honchos. For a year, they flirted with Beto O’Rourke and Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar and Mike Bloomberg, and they even considered Elizabeth Warren in the hopes that someone, anyone, could stop Bernie Sanders. In the end, Biden remained.
The party establishment united behind the candidate who has failed at running for president for thirty-two years.
In weeks or months, Democratic voters will have buyer’s remorse that the bumbling, incoherent, and scandal-ridden Biden is their presumptive nominee. Donald Trump will lacerate Biden with a thousand cuts and insults from the left and right. “Sleepy Joe” will be mocked ruthlessly for not being able to identify his sister from his wife, what office he is running for, what his website is.
Friend to segregationist senators, opponent of busing, and endorser of mass incarceration, Biden can’t attack Trump on race or criminal justice reform. Tormenter of Anita Hill and groper of women, Biden will be neutralized on sexism. Advocate of the Iraq War, Biden will flail against Trump, the ender of foreign wars. Defender of banks and drug companies, Biden is the swamp creature of Trump’s dreams.
On the flip side, Biden has little to offer. He’s a retread of Hillary Clinton’s “No, you can’t” campaign that lost to a Trump no one imagined could win. Biden’s platform is Mr No: No Medicare for All. No Green New Deal. No meaningful immigration reform. No student-debt cancellation. Biden has no vision, good or bad, that might ignite a mass upsurge the way Obama did in 2008, Reagan did in 1980, or even Trump did in 2016.
We’ve seen this movie before. It’s a reboot of Michael Dukakis’s 1988 campaign, when Democratic Party elites and the corporate media frantically rallied behind the Massachusetts governor to stop the insurgent New Deal–style campaign of Jesse Jackson. Dukakis ran an infamously incompetent campaign punctured by Lee Atwater’s racist Willie Horton ads.
His ineptitude and lack of appeal are soberingly similar to Biden’s, who looks to be the latest candidate to mobilize the party behind them in the primary only to be defeated in the general election. That includes Walter Mondale in 1984, Bob Dole in 1996, Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004, John McCain in 2008, Mitt Romney in 2012, and Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Every single one was a party insider burdened with decades of crippling compromises and hardened public perceptions. They staved off challengers and insurgents on the road to the convention, but every single one failed because they were captives of their party that had no grander vision to offer.
If Bernie is the nominee, it will be hard to predict how the general campaign will go, and that is a positive sign. Uncertainty helps Bernie because it keeps Trump off-balance. His arsenal would have little effect if Bernie’s message catches fire with the huge pool of nonvoters who are young, low income, and people of color. They far outnumber the rare white swing voter whom the media love because it justifies their self-serving appeal to do-nothing centrism.
With Biden as the nominee, it’s predictable how the general election will unfold. Trump will mock him as senile for his word-salad ramblings. Trump will pummel Biden as a pro-abortion, anti-gun socialist. Biden will run away from the issues because his vision doesn’t extend beyond pro-corporate compromise.
With every statement — “I’m not a socialist. I’m not anti-gun. I’m not against fossil fuels. I’m not anti-police” — Biden will deflate the enthusiasm of one more group he needs behind him. More concerned about pleasing pundits and CEOs, Biden will smother the burning passion of the Sanders coalition he desperately needs.
Biden will criticize Trump for bigotry on immigration but only offer weak Obama tea of protecting DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and vague pathways to citizenship. He will praise hard-working Americans who deserve a fair shot while offering nothing bold to inspire them. On health care, it will be more Barack Obama — protect the Affordable Care Act and empty promises on drug pricing while killing the dream of health care as a fundamental right.
On every policy, Biden promises a third Obama term that Get Out liberals fantasize about and that Trump already killed four years ago. All the while, Trump will order FBI and DOJ investigations into his and Hunter’s dealings. Dirty tricks will be endless. Shady cash handouts to black voters by Trump allies is a small taste of what is to come.
There is little to suggest that Midwest workers will flock to Biden, who can’t win without swinging the industrial heartland to his side. Many unions will likely be split, as in 2016, between union officials and people of color who line up behind the Democratic nominee and many white workers seduced by Trump’s strongman appeal and protectionist rhetoric.
The liberal desperation began on Super Tuesday, browbeating Sanders supporters about the Supreme Court: We need a Democrat to protect the high bench from a far-right majority that will last a generation. That’s a sign they have already lost. It’s similar to the “Don’t vote Sanders because of the effect on House and Senate races” statements Buttigieg and Klobuchar made days before dropping out. These arguments are an admission they are not inspiring voters to back them. Instead, they try to convince voters with a mix of fear and rational calculations about second-order effects.
Biden doesn’t look like he can win this election.
If he’s the nominee, he will count on Bloomberg’s dollars to put him over the top. That is dicey now, as the CEO of stop-and-frisk just came up empty in the primary after spending half a billion dollars. There is the possibility of a black swan event, namely a coronavirus pandemic that puts the economy and Wall Street on life support, killing Trump’s best argument for reelection.
This is what Biden’s best chance to win appears to be eight months out: hoping a racist billionaire and a virus beat a billionaire who’s a viral racist.
I, for one, would rather place my hopes on a Bernie Sanders comeback.
Voters at a polling precinct. (photo: Getty Images)
Here's What to Watch for Tuesday as Six States Vote in the Democratic Primary
Matt Berman, BuzzFeed
Berman writes: "This Tuesday, the race could effectively lock into place."
READ MORE
Matt Berman, BuzzFeed
Berman writes: "This Tuesday, the race could effectively lock into place."
READ MORE
A medical staffer works with test systems for the diagnosis of coronavirus. (photo: AP)
Behind the Scenes, Scientists Prep for COVID-19 Vaccine Test
Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press
Neergaard writes: "Dozens of research groups around the world are racing to create a vaccine as COVID-19 cases continue to grow."
READ MORE
Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press
Neergaard writes: "Dozens of research groups around the world are racing to create a vaccine as COVID-19 cases continue to grow."
READ MORE
Bernie Sanders. (photo: Antonella Crescimbeni)
CNN's Coverage of Sanders Was 3X More Negative Than Biden Following Their Big Primary Wins
Juan Caicedo and Sarah Lazare, In These Times
Excerpt: "A survey by In These Times finds that CNN has portrayed Bernie Sanders more negatively than Biden, suggesting that media slant itself may play a role in Biden's rise."
READ MORE
Juan Caicedo and Sarah Lazare, In These Times
Excerpt: "A survey by In These Times finds that CNN has portrayed Bernie Sanders more negatively than Biden, suggesting that media slant itself may play a role in Biden's rise."
READ MORE
The intervention of the women comes two days before Weinstein is to be sentenced in his criminal case. (photo: Getty Images/Vogue)
Seven 'Survivors of Abuse by Weinstein' Denounce Settlement in Open Letter
Ed Pilkington, Guardian UK
Pilkington writes: "Seven female accusers of the convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein are calling on the New York state attorney general, Letitia James, to renegotiate the terms of the global settlement in the class-action civil suit against him, which they denounce as unfair and unjust."
Ed Pilkington, Guardian UK
Pilkington writes: "Seven female accusers of the convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein are calling on the New York state attorney general, Letitia James, to renegotiate the terms of the global settlement in the class-action civil suit against him, which they denounce as unfair and unjust."
Women call on New York attorney general Letitia James to renegotiate terms of global settlement in class-action civil suit
even female accusers of the convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein are calling on the New York state attorney general, Letitia James, to renegotiate the terms of the global settlement in the class-action civil suit against him, which they denounce as unfair and unjust.
The women sent an open letter to James on Monday pleading with her to reconsider her office’s backing of the civil settlement, which they say is detrimental to the interests of many Weinstein victims.
The deal was reached in December with the involvement of the attorney general and has been fiercely disputed ever since.
The intervention of the women comes two days before Weinstein is to be sentenced in his criminal case. Last month the disgraced movie mogul was found guilty at the New York supreme court of raping a woman whom the Guardian is not naming as her wishes over identification are not known, and forcing oral sex on a production assistant, Miriam Haley.
He faces a combined punishment of up to 29 years in prison.
The seven women who have jointly written the open letter to James are: Zoë Brock, Alexandra Canosa, Rowena Chiu, Wedil David, Dominique Huett, Zelda Perkins and Kaja Sokola. Describing themselves as “survivors of sexual abuse by Harvey Weinstein”, they exhort the attorney general to use her power as the state’s top law enforcement officer to “hold Weinstein and the people who enabled him accountable”.
They go on: “It is time to step up and come out of the shadows, your voice needs to be heard.”
In the letter, the signatories outline several complaints about the settlement. Its most egregious element, they say, is that it would potentially fund Weinstein’s own defense against future civil lawsuits against him.
If certain survivors refuse to join the class-action settlement, the letter says, their portion of the funds reserved for claims would be handed over to Weinstein and his brother, Robert, to defend themselves in court.
In effect, the seven women state pointedly, James is supporting a deal that would see money intended for survivors being redirected “to fill a war chest to be used by Weinstein, a convicted felon, for his ongoing campaign against his victims”.
The women say that provision is offensive, and tell James: “We cannot believe that such a champion of justice would allow an agreement which bankrolls the defense of our abuser if we do not agree to participate.”
The women also object to the fact that Weinstein will not have to pay a penny of his own money towards the settlement, and that a large portion of the funds go to “ultra-wealthy former members of the board of directors of the Weinstein Company who turned a blind eye, allowing Harvey Weinstein to victimize us and so many others”.
Douglas Wigdor, the lawyer who represents five of the seven women, told the Guardian that the settlement as it currently stood “does not send the right signal”.
Wigdor said he was “dumbfounded” when he first saw terms of the agreement: “I hope that the attorney general, as the chief law enforcement officer of the state of New York, finds the courage to stand up to Harvey Weinstein and his associates so as to ensure a fair settlement.”
James is a Democratic politician who was elected to the role of attorney general in 2018. She is the first woman and the first African American in the position.
On Monday afternoon, a spokesperson for James sent the following statement.
“Attorney General James has been steadfast in her pursuit of justice for victims. Since the emergence of allegations in 2017, our office has sought to hold Harvey Weinstein accountable for his conduct against women. We remain keenly focused on providing these brave women with the justice they are owed and to fight for the best settlement that is possible in bankruptcy court.”
Otay campus during A Day Without Women at the autonomous University of Baja California in Tijuana, Mexico. (photo: Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images)
Mexican Women Stay Home to Protest Femicides in 'A Day Without Us'
James Doubek, NPR
Doubek writes: "What would happen if all the women in a country simply disappeared? Mexico got a preview Monday, when women across the country stayed home as part of a 24-hour strike to protest staggering levels of violence against women."
READ MORE
James Doubek, NPR
Doubek writes: "What would happen if all the women in a country simply disappeared? Mexico got a preview Monday, when women across the country stayed home as part of a 24-hour strike to protest staggering levels of violence against women."
READ MORE
A man fishes along the receding banks of the Salton Sea near Bombay Beach, California. Scientists say that half of the world's sandy beached are at risk of disappearing by the end of the century if climate changes continues unchecked. (photo: Gregory Bull/AP)
Disappearing Beaches: Climate Change Could Wipe Out Half of the World's Sandy Shorelines
Denise Chow, NBC News
Chow writes: "Half of the world's beaches could disappear by the end of this century as a result of climate change-induced coastal erosion and rising seas, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change."
Denise Chow, NBC News
Chow writes: "Half of the world's beaches could disappear by the end of this century as a result of climate change-induced coastal erosion and rising seas, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change."
Scientists found that beaches, which occupy one-third of global coastlines, are threatened by coastal erosion and rising seas.
alf of the world’s beaches could disappear by the end of this century as a result of climate change-induced coastal erosion and rising seas, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.
As global temperatures continue to rise, driven by emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, melting ice will raise sea levels and extreme weather events are expected to become more frequent and intensify, battering vulnerable coastlines around the world, according to the researchers at the European Union’s Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy. If these processes are left unchecked, it could result in the “near extinction” of 50 percent of the globe’s sandy beaches by the year 2100, they said.
The scientists used satellite images to measure how coastlines have evolved over the past 30 years. They then used various projections of sea level rise to model how beaches and shores could be affected in the future.
According to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, average global sea levels could rise by 0.95 feet to 3.61 feet by the end of this century.
But the researchers found that the severity of damage to the world’s sandy beaches, which occupy more than one-third of global coastlines, was dependent on how much the global temperatures could rise, making the rate of greenhouse gas emissions a major factor.
“If you consider that in a high-emissions scenario, the expected sea level rise is around 80 centimeters [almost 3 feet], then it’s not that surprising,” said Michalis Vousdoukas, a coastal oceanography researcher at the Joint Research Centre and the lead author of the new study.
Vousdoukas said most of the world’s coastlines are already eroding, but parts of North Africa, Central America, West Africa, northern Australia and small island nations could be among the most at risk.
“A substantial proportion of the threatened sandy shorelines are in densely populated areas, underlining the need for the design and implementation of effective adaptive measures,” the researchers wrote in the study.
The loss of beaches has important cultural and economic implications for countries, but there are also ecological concerns, according to Vousdoukas.
“Beaches are like the last barrier that protects inland areas from storms because they absorb energy from waves,” he said, adding that many beaches host organisms that also contribute to an ecosystem’s biodiversity.
Robert Young, director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, said the findings are important, but that many beaches around the world are already in peril.
“There are probably hundreds of kilometers of the world’s beaches that have already disappeared,” said Young, who was not involved with the new research. “Places like South Beach in Miami, Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, Virginia Beach — there’s really not a natural grain of sand left on them. They’ve already disappeared, but we keep them there by pumping in artificial sand.”
This process, known as beach nourishment, involves transporting sand and other sediments from inland to replace what’s lost along shorelines due to erosion.
Some degree of coastal erosion is natural, and shorelines have been constantly changing throughout history. But Young said climate change will wreak havoc along waterfronts that have been heavily developed, particularly if the effects of global warming outpace a community’s ability to either relocate or build up resilience.
“Some 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, sea levels were 120 meters lower and all our beaches were miles offshore,” he said. “They’ve now moved to where they are now, but when you put something in the way of that movement — houses, seawalls, hotels — then the beach is trying to move but we’re expecting the shoreline to stay in place.”
Vousdoukas and his colleagues did not outline specific solutions in their research, but emphasized that reducing greenhouse gas emissions will likely be an important factor. In the study, the authors estimate that up to 40 percent of beach erosion could be prevented by limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, as is targeted by the Paris Agreement
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.