Whatcha Reading?

[Mark]

Yesterday I noticed in one of his comments on COTO that Waldo is reading, Family of Secrets. I got that book from the library the other day and just started reading it myself.

Come across any good books lately?

I want to read Eva Golinger's recent book, The Empire's Web: Encyclopedia of Interventionism and Subversion, but it was published in Venezuela in Spanish and I don't know if it is out in English yet.

[Mark]

Said the chicken to the egg.

[Mark]

This morning, unusually for me, I'm reading the newspaper. The Yes Men and 2000 volunteers blanketed New York this morning with a fake edition of the New York Post. Here's a link to an online copy of the paper:

http://nypost-se.com/

Their email said:


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2009

"WE'RE SCREWED": MEDIA HEIST BLANKETS CITY WITH "SPECIAL EDITION" NEW YORK POST
Tabloid Tells Truth About Climate Change and How It Will Affect City, World

Contact: The Yes Men , 347-254-7054, 646-220-4137
Fake New York Post: http://www.nypost-se.com/
Video News Release: http://www.nypost-se.com/video
City report on climate change: http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/pdf/2009/NPCC_CRI.pdf
Wake-up call: http://www.tcktcktck.org/wakeup

Early this morning, nearly a million New Yorkers were stunned by the appearance of a "special edition" New York Post blaring headlines that their city could face deadly heat waves, extreme flooding, and other lethal effects of global warming within the next few decades. The most alarming thing about it: the news came from an official City report.

Distributed by over 2000 volunteers throughout New York City, the paper has been created by The Yes Men and a coalition of activists as a wake-up call to action on climate change. It appears one day before a UN summit where Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will push 100 world leaders to make serious commitments to reduce carbon emissions in the lead-up to the Copenhagen climate conference in December. Ban has said that the world has "less than 10 years to halt (the) global rise in greenhouse gas emissions if we are to avoid catastrophic consequences for people and the planet," adding that Copenhagen is a "once-in-a-generation opportunity."

Although the 32-page New York Post is a fake, everything in it is 100% true, with all facts carefully checked by a team of editors and climate change experts.

"This could be, and should be, a real New York Post," said Andy Bichlbaum of the Yes Men. "Climate change is the biggest threat civilization has ever faced, and it should be in the headlines of every paper, every day until we solve the problem."

The fake Post's cover story ("We're Screwed") reports the frightening conclusions of a blue-ribbon panel of scientists commissioned by the mayor's office to determine the potential effects of climate change on the City. That report was released in February of this year, but received very little press at the time.

Other lead articles describe the Pentagon's alarmed response to global warming ("Clear & Present Disaster"), the U.S. government's sadly minuscule response to the crisis ("Congress Cops Out on Climate"), China's alternative energy program ("ChinaÕs Green Leap Forward Overtakes U.S."), and how if the US doesn't quickly pass a strong climate bill, the crucial Copenhagen climate talks this December could be a "Flopenhagen."

The paper includes original investigative reporting as well. One article ("Carbon counter counts New Yorkers as fools") reveals that Deutsche Bank - which erected a seven-story "carbon counter" in central Manhattan - not only invests heavily in coal-mining companies worldwide, but has recently entered the business of coal trading itself.

The paper has the world's gloomiest weather page, covering the next 70 years rather than just 7 days. The "Around the World" section describes the
disproportionate effects of climate change on poorer parts of the world, including extreme droughts, floods, famines, water shortages, mass migrations and conflicts.

Developing countries will bear the brunt of climate change effects even though they have done very little to cause the problem.

But the paper isn't all doom and gloom. An article called "New York Fights Back" notes that the carbon emissions of Big Apple residents are only one third the national average, and that the city is building 1800 miles of bike paths, planting one million trees, and replacing its fleet of police cars with hybrids. There's also a page of black-humor cartoons (in one, Charlie Brown finds Snoopy drowned), a gossip section that takes no prisoners, and a number of truly cheerful ads - for sex ("Awesome. No carbon emissions."), tote bags, bicycles, and tap water ("Literally comes right out of your faucet!").

Another ad promotes civil disobedience, encouraging readers to visit
http://BeyondTalk.net and pledge to risk arrest in a planned global action
November 30, just before the conference in Copenhagen.

"We need strong action on climate change," said David Solnit of Mobilization for Climate Justice West, one of the partners in BeyondTalk.net. "But history shows that leaders act only when people take to the streets to demand it. That's what needs to happen now."

This paper is one of 2500 initiatives taking place in more than 130 countries as a response to the "Global Wake-up Call" on climate change. For more information, visit www.tcktcktck.org/wakeup

[Mark]

Enjoyed the film and the talks. Only about twenty "not stupid" people in San Diego--the theater was mostly empty.

The film contrasted indigenous and poor people who are very aware of climate change, with rich, stupid, selfish people who couldn't care less. They have two primary goals, to get an emissions cap at Copenhagen in December that would give the planet more than a 50% chance of survival, and for everyone to cut their carbon footprint by 10% in 2010. The latter might be a hard one for me, as I already have a carbon footprint so low that it barely registers. The biggest culprits are planes, cars, and deforestation. I don't fly, don't drive, and I figured out how to cut down on toilet paper. Buying stuff is a problem, but I don't do much of that either. My best bet is to find ways to eliminate plastic bags and plastic packaging. I take a cloth shopping bag when I buy food, but sometimes I get stuff at the co-op deli that comes in plastic or cardboard containers, so I'm going to have to start taking my own containers with me.

Okay, I just bit the bullet and unplugged the microwave from the wall and plugged it into a surge protector. I'll miss the little clock, but I can turn the microwave on from the surge protector (the way I do with my computer) if I want to nuke something or use the timer. I don't know how much electricity it was draining by staying plugged into the wall, but I'll find out after it has been unplugged for a month from the electric bill. If it was using a dollar a month, that will cover my 10% right there. I don't know if it used that much, but we'll see. So now the only thing that stays plugged in all the time is the fridge and it's a low-energy fridge.

[pan]

We are speaking of highly disciplined, targeted protests including the possible use of violence to bring down the equipment and individuals responsible for destroying global ecosystems

I struck with a sense of deja vu. Ted Kaczynski v.2

The looming death of Gaia

Gaia won't die. She will cleanse herself of the infestation that currently plagues her and then the Meek shall Inherit the Earth. The age of the Reptiles was followed by the Age of the Primates which will be followed by the Age of the Insects. Perhaps all this stockpiling of guns and water is misguided, we just need to learn to be Gregor Samsa.

[Mark]

The film I saw tonight was called, "The Age of Stupid," Pan, and basically, what it said was that Kaczynski was right, at least about the ecosystems stuff. He may have been right about the violence also--I don't know that but I'm not very optimistic about war profiteering politicians agreeing to anything that might interfere with oil and war profits. There was a girlie-girl lady from Move-On at the talk that accompanied the film (by live feed from New York), and listening to somebody gushing about Obama was nauseating.

The film showed a lady in England who was fiercely opposing a wind farm in their neighborhood, but claimed to be very concerned about global warming. There was a brahmin in India who started a new airline but claims to be trying to eliminate poverty and does hands-on work with the poor. Stupid people can have the best intentions in the world, but they're still taking us straight to hell and they aren't educable. That's why they're called stupid. I've been having a running argument on amazon with a few dozen stupids and one or two halfway literate folks who all believe that second-hand smoke from cigarettes is more harmful than vehicle emissions. One went so far as to say that there are no vehicle emissions because there are smog controls on cars. I don't know how to argue with people like that, but I'm sure glad that I don't have their addresses and I don't know how to make a letter bomb, or I'd probably be tempted. ;)

[pan]

Re-reading Georges Bataille's Erotism: Death & Sensuality. Some of his stuff I think over-reaches but there are some gems:

There are two extremes. At one end, existence is basically orderly and decent. Work, concern for the children, kindness and honesty rule men's dealings with their fellows. At the other, violence rages pitilessly. In certain circumstances the same men practise pillage and arson, murder, violence and torture. Excess contrasts with reason.

These extremes are called civilsation and barbarism-or savagery. But the use of these words is misleading, for they imply that there are barbarians on the one hand and civilised men on the other. The distinction is that civilised men speak and barbarians are silent, and the man who speaks is always the civilised man. To put it more precisely, since language is by definition the expression of civilised man, violence is silent. Many consequences result from that bias of language. Not only does "civilised" usually mean "us", and barbarous "them", but also civilisation and language grew as though violence was something outside, foreign not only to civilisation but also to man, man being the same thing as language. Yet observation shows that the same peoples are alternately barbarous and civilised in their attitudes. All savages speak and by speaking they reveal their solidarity with the decency and kindness that are the root of civilisation. Conversely all civilised men are capable of savagery. Lynch law belongs to men who rate themselves as among the most highly civilised of our age. If language is to be extricated from this impasse, we must declare that violence belongs to humanity as a whole and is speechless, and that thus humanity as a whole lies by omission and language itself is founded upon this lie.

[Cal]

Thanks to Waldo for educating me about the existence of Annie Dillard. I ordered one of her books & it arrived yesterday - Holy the Firm. I'm finding it enchanting. It starts 'Every day is a god, each day is a god, and holiness holds forth in time. I worship each god, I praise each day splintered down, splintered down annd wrapped in time like a huusk, a husk of many colours spreading, at dawn fast over the mountains split.' This little book so far is much needed food for my weary soul.

[waldopaper]

Scroll down to the February 24th show and click the little arrow to play:

http://radiofetzer.blogspot.com/

Am now reading Frozen Desire by James Buchan and half-heartedly picking at George Soros' Open Society. It wasn't until the second or third time I read Holy the Firm that I accidentally learned about Julian of Norwich. All will be well.

[Cal]

Ha - the indominitable Mr Smith ... that nice lively debate kept me up well past my bedtime. For a moment there I thought he was going to get himself banned from radio fetzer -:) It would appear that over here we have the ideal constitution, but alas even ideal constitutions can go wrong. Mark seems to have great faith in the power of the people. I am not so sure about it - it seems to me the power of the people is all too easily bought and swayed. I am thinking of our last elections when the ruling party distributed food parcels to the needy nationwide just before the election to remind everyone what good guys they were. It worked. Benign dictatorship is probably the best form of government when all is said and done, but then god would have to be in control of the affairs of men and he patently isn't.
Julian of Norwich ... All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well ... very comforting to let that roll of the tongue. I am sure it does some good. I'm reading How God Changes your Brain - the interface between spirituality and neuroscience and how spiritual beliefs enhance changes in our brains and yield better health and well-being. If y'all never hear from me again you'll know what happened ... I simply took off for cloud nine.

[hannah j]

haven't been here for a while. but my most recent reads have been the road, under the dome, middlesex, and currently through a scanner darkly. i through a few good murder mysteries in there to keep me from throwing myself under a bus (we have no buses in elk county, except school buses and i wouldn't do it to them) i do recommend middlesex, and may recommend the last dick book....

haiti couldn't even keep in the news what with all the other shit going on.

[pan]

Last time I heard about Haiti in the news, it was about American missionaries in trouble for trying to hussle "orphans" out of the country. I guess, once the story became about Americans, the media decided that they couldn't go back to covering Haitians.

[hannah j]

there the other bigger earthquake to cover now.....
today is the first day i was not horizontal most of the day with the flu. things are looking up, for me at least. they are closing schools, laying off parole officers, defunding mental health clinics, and all sorts of other good stuff here in kansas. kcmo's school are imploding. and there is an iceberg on the loose. what should i read now. no god books for me.