Topic: WE'RE STUFFED!!!

[erik]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-idUSKCN0VK22O
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev raised the specter of an interminable or a world war if powers failed to negotiate an end to the conflict in Syria and warned against any ground operations by U.S. and Arab forces.

Medvedev, speaking to Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper on the eve of talks between major powers on Syria in Munich, said the United States and Russia must exert pressure on all sides in the conflict to secure a ceasefire.

Asked about Saudi Arabia's offer last week to supply ground troops if a U.S.-led operation were mounted against Islamic State, he said:

"This is bad as a ground offensive usually turns the war into a permanent one. Just look at what happened in Afghanistan and many other countries."

"The Americans and our Arab partners must think well: do they want a permanent war?" It would be impossible to win such a war quickly, he said according to a German translation of his words, "especially in the Arab world, where everybody is fighting against everybody".

"All sides must be compelled to sit at the negotiating table instead of unleashing a new world war."

A sample of what Russians are dropping on Syrian cities (thermobaric aka vacuum bombs):
https://vk.com/video-38574827_171124348

[Michael]

The latest crisis is the oil. Libya never recovered, Syria just gets worse and the world has grown tired of thinking about it. And now the low oil prices are about to trigger another global financial crisis. In the portfolio I manage, we are selling down on banks and resources stocks. There is talk that inter-bank lending is freezing across the world. Many major banks are over exposed to vast mining loans, and nations are close to insolvency, including Russia.

[erik]

So far one unconfirmed bit of news that Syrians actually fired on Turkish territory.

[Michael]

Brinkmanship

[erik]

Brinkmanship

Oh yes. Times ten. Plus Turks taking a go at Kurds whom they have hit periodically and hated consistently for the last 60 years.

[runningstream]

http://mobile.newsnow.co.uk/h/World+News/Middle+East/Syria

[erik]

Haven't spoken about the loss of biodiversity for a while. The latest stats:

http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/biodiversity/biodiversity/
Just to illustrate the degree of biodiversity loss we're facing, let’s take you through one scientific analysis...
The rapid loss of species we are seeing today is estimated by experts to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate.*
These experts calculate that between 0.01 and 0.1% of all species will become extinct each year.
If the low estimate of the number of species out there is true - i.e. that there are around 2 million different species on our planet** -  then that means between 200 and 2,000 extinctions occur every year.
But if the upper estimate of species numbers is true - that there are 100 million different species co-existing with us on our planet - then between 10,000 and 100,000 species are becoming extinct each year.

*Experts actually call this natural extinction rate the background extinction rate. This simply means the rate of species extinctions that would occur if we humans were not around.
** Between 1.4 and 1.8 million species have already been scientifically identified.

[Michael]

The destruction of around 90% of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia - approx 60%  may never recover - has hardly raised an eyebrow from the Australian public.

Nonetheless, there was an article recently in the SMH newspaper, which explained that the world is undergoing a massive and irreversible change in the power industry. Anyone backing fossil fuel industry is backing a dead horse. Solar power is not only sweeping the globe, but dropping through the floor in cost. Electric cars will be standard, as well as driver-less vehicles and community-ownership of vehicles. All this will turn our world on its head within thirty years. And by that time of course, global warming will be creating such devastation, that a recent expert visiting Australia recently said that there is no longer any point in being rational and polite about it - anyone who cares about the future should be on the streets, in as much agitation as possible.

[Michael]

I began this thread long ago, on the basis that it was too late to save the world from global warming. Since then, I have only seen confirmation of this. But what is new, is that the consequences are now here, with us. No longer into the future somewhere. Current climate events and temperature readings have cause those who are studying this, to exclaim we are now in an explosive phase - this is an emergency.

[Nichi]

Can't disagree there!

[Nichi]

I began this thread long ago, on the basis that it was too late to save the world from global warming. Since then, I have only seen confirmation of this. But what is new, is that the consequences are now here, with us. No longer into the future somewhere. Current climate events and temperature readings have cause those who are studying this, to exclaim we are now in an explosive phase - this is an emergency.

http://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/its-the-end-of-the-world-how-do-you-feel/62757?utm_source=aah1&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pp&utm_content=inf_10_92_2&tse_id=INF_c4dbdbd034a511e69519013b248da655

[Michael]

I can well imagine how scientists are feeling - they are watching and documenting, but excluded from influence.
I saw back in the 90s, which I gather is rather late for those more in the know, that the situation was one of despair. It didn't take a lot of brains to see what was going to happen.

I'm not sure what the name is for my state. It's not despair nor depression, as ultimately I am ready to engage as best as possible to whatever situation confronts. I'm also not hopeful - has been too late for that for a long time. As disaster strikes, what's the use of blaming people responsible for keeping this issue off the table. I would much rather accuse the population for being so mindlessly stupid and self-absorbed. But that won't do any good either.

I do think that if I was forty years younger, I would have engaged directly with the issue. That is perhaps a selfish view, but actually, it is more about focusing what energy I have available onto what is of most significant importance for me. At different phases of life, it is appropriate to focus on different aspects of life.

I admit, the future will be very difficult. For me and everyone on the planet.

[erik]

Interesting spread of votes by age groups in the UK:


Oldies said that youngsters should live outside the EU.

However, in general, we have as of now:
1) Syria's death mill is picking up speed and churning out dead and refugees
2) Russia is still sabotaging Ukraine
3) Russia is trying to split the EU and NATO - UK exit is a fulfilment of a most sincere and wet dream of Putin.
4) EU and NATO are being short of unanimity and solidarity
5) World's climate going more and more unpredictable
etc.

For this part of Europe, it all looks quite ominous. But worst might be yet to come. The main failure of mankind remains the same: to develop mutual understanding, choose and undergo change consciously. Resistance to change within oneself and within societies means that change and pain will come crashing through the borders of states and through the walls of individual's mind - regardless.

Similar process of halting openness and locking borders happened before World War I.
Good luck to all of us!

[Michael]

Yes, it's been constantly talked about here on the news channels. The consequences are unpredictable.

But one common thread is that the Brexit vote is symptomatic with Trump and Sanders - a growing disaffection by the wider population, especially the working and lower middle classes, with the so called 'elite' on the wealth and power pile. Or the other way, an increasing extrusion of the elite from any understanding of how the rest of the population live. In which case, I can only assume this represents a dangerous trend of resentment at the way neo-liberal policies have changed our lives.

But the other factor is the way populist movements can whip up irrational fever in a nation.

[erik]

Yes, it's been constantly talked about here on the news channels. The consequences are unpredictable.

But one common thread is that the Brexit vote is symptomatic with Trump and Sanders - a growing disaffection by the wider population, especially the working and lower middle classes, with the so called 'elite' on the wealth and power pile. Or the other way, an increasing extrusion of the elite from any understanding of how the rest of the population live. In which case, I can only assume this represents a dangerous trend of resentment at the way neo-liberal policies have changed our lives.

But the other factor is the way populist movements can whip up irrational fever in a nation.

The day AFTER the vote, Britons googled and googled following topics:


Irrational, emotional, dissatisfied...or simply stupid? Just stupid? Brainless?
I think we are witnessing an intellectual degeneration here. The bulk of "leave" vote came from elderly and working class.

Yesterday, the UK lost 350 billion dollars.
In ONE day they lost more than the whole country paid to the EU in last FIFTEEN years.

Mankind will not be wiped out by insurmountable problems, but by the inability of mankind to solve problems.