Doug the Dem
Doug the Dem's JournalPlanet has just 5% chance of reaching Paris climate goal, study says
Source: The Guardian
Oliver Milman
Monday 31 July 2017 16.00 BST
There is only a 5% chance that the Earth will avoid warming by at least 2C come the end of the century, according to new research that paints a sobering picture of the international effort to stem dangerous climate change.
Global trends in the economy, emissions and population growth make it extremely unlikely that the planet will remain below the 2C threshold set out in the Paris climate agreement in 2015, the study states.
“We’re closer to the margin than we think,” said Adrian Raftery, a University of Washington academic who led the research, published in Nature Climate Change. “If we want to avoid 2C, we have very little time left. The public should be very concerned.”
Such risks have been underscored by a separate study, also released on Monday, that shows unabated climate change will cause around 60,000 deaths globally in 2030 and 260,000 deaths by 2100. The study, by the University of North Carolina, found that rising temperatures will exacerbate air pollutants that will particularly threaten those with existing conditions.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/31/paris-climate-deal-2c-warming-study
Thine eyes do not deceive thee: I posted this earlier, but in the midst of the 6,889 BREAKING NEWS posts about Scaramucci getting fired, I knew it wasn't gonna get a lot of eyeballs. And, since the very lives of future generations are a tad more important than a sleazebucket president booting his sleazebucket aide, I figured I'd delete the original post and give a report on the fate of Humankind another chance.
U.S. vows 'strong and swift' response to Venezuelan election
Source: Reuters
July 30, 2017 / 10:21 PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States vowed "strong and swift actions against the architects of authoritarianism" on Sunday in response to what it called a flawed election in Venezuela of a constitutional super-body under leftist President Nicolas Maduro.
"The United States stands by the people of Venezuela, and their constitutional representatives, in their quest to restore their country to a full and prosperous democracy," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.
"We will continue to take strong and swift actions against the architects of authoritarianism in Venezuela, including those who participate in the National Constituent Assembly as a result of today’s flawed election," it said.
The State Department condemned violence by Venezuelan authorities against protesters and urged governments in the region and around the world "to hold accountable those who undermine democracy, deny human rights, bear responsibility for violence and repression, or engage in corrupt practices."
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-usa-idUSKBN1AG05P?il=0
File under Who the Fuck Do We Think We Are? (Question especially relevant during our Putintrump administration!)
Trump's Staunchest Allies Have Started to Desert Him
By Dahlia Lithwick and Scott Pilutik, Slate
Last week, in two appalling speeches and one ghastly tweet, President Trump crossed rhetorical lines so unconscionable that they triggered rebukes and apologies from historically apolitical institutions: the Boy Scouts of America, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and police departments around the country. The language in the various disclaimers was tepid, especially by our current Mooch-like standards, but their very existence feels like the tremors leading up to a potential earthquake.
Trump’s speech at the Boy Scouts of America’s National Jamboree could have earned him a merit badge for inappropriateness and hypocrisy, as thousands of captive youth bore witness to (and lustily approved) the spectacle of the American president threatening to fire Cabinet member Tom Price if he didn’t deliver the votes on “this horrible thing known as Obamacare.” (Ron Howard–narrator voice: “He didn’t.”) Trump followed that up by strongly hinting to the scouts that they might want to Google “Levittown + Founder + Sex + Yacht” when they got home. He also had the Boy Scouts booing President Obama. It was, by any measure, a grotesque injection of vicious partisan hate into a venerable American institution.
The Boy Scouts’ Facebook page subsequently imploded in outrage, which might have factored into the decision by Chief Scout Michael Surbaugh to issue a measured mea culpa, extending his “sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree.” Other officials were more openly apologetic, including Marc Ryan who, in a letter published on the Lake Erie Council BSA Facebook page, lamented Trump’s ad-libbed detour may have “[shaken] your faith in what we stand for.”
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/07/trump_s_closest_allies_are_starting_to_desert_him.html
No tongue-in-cheek commentary on this one. (Hey, you try to be incisive after 17 beers!)
China must decide on further action against North Korea: U.S. ambassador to U.N.
Source: Reuters
July 30, 2017 / 12:35 PM
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States is "done talking about North Korea" and China must decide if it is willing to back imposing stronger United Nations sanctions on North Korea over its two long-range missile tests this month, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Sunday.
Haley said in a statement that any new U.N. Security Council resolution "that does not significantly increase the international pressure on North Korea is of no value." The United States flew two supersonic B-1B bombers as a show of force after Pyongyang fired a second intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Friday.
"China must decide whether it is finally willing to take this vital step. The time for talk is over," she said.
The Chinese mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-haley-idUSKBN1AF0PC?il=0
There's a difference between funny and laughable. A big difference. Having greatly reduced our credibility on the global stage, Trump now wants to pretend it's 1955 again, and we can still TELL other countries what to do.
To quote the "Man" Himself: Sad.
Yes, Sperm Counts Are Plummeting... And Scientists Are Worried
Published on 29 Jul 2017
Plummeting sperm counts? Among American men? Cum on!
(The video is loaded with puns, too.)
GOP fears political fallout after health care 'epic fail'
Source: Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Weary Republicans in Washington may be ready to move on from health care, but conservatives across the United States are warning the GOP-led Congress not to abandon its pledge to repeal the Obama-era health law — or risk a political nightmare in next year’s elections.
The Senate’s failure this past week to pass repeal legislation has outraged the Republican base and triggered a new wave of fear. The stunning collapse has exposed a party so paralyzed by ideological division that it could not deliver on its top campaign pledge.
After devoting months to the debate and seven years to promising to kill the Affordable Care Act, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., simply said: “It’s time to move on.”
But that’s simply not an option for a conservative base energized by its opposition to the health law. Local party leaders, activists and political operatives are predicting payback for Republicans lawmakers if they don’t revive the fight.
Read more: https://apnews.com/550e0e167c364883bc734db99b8897ee/GOP-fears-political-fallout-after-health-care-'epic-fail'
"Damn you for not taking our healthcare away!" How freakin' stupid ARE these people?
The REALITY of Global Warming
Published on 1 Jun 2017
I wish the hell that ALL of our news media would cover this issue so aggressively!
Donald Trump says China does nothing to thwart North Koreas nuclear quest
Source: The Guardian
Tom Phillips in Beijing
Sunday 30 July 2017 04.21 BST
Donald Trump has launched his latest twitter assault on China, accusing its Communist party leaders of doing “NOTHING” to help the United States thwart North Korea’s quest for nuclear weapons.
“I am very disappointed in China,” Trump wrote. “Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet … they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk.
“We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!” he added.
The comments came after Kim Jong-un celebrated his country’s second intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test late on Friday, in what North Korean state media described as a warning to the “beast-like US imperialists”.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/30/donald-trump-says-china-does-nothing-to-thwart-north-koreas-nuclear-quest
Poor Trump: he works his ass off every day, heroically struggling to solve every problem, but no one backs him up!
The Story of Climate Change
Published on 20 Apr 2017
Short but very interesting. And yes, Maggie is Jake's sister.
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