Various threats to humanity
In a piece posted on ZNet this morning, Dahr Jamail warns that a siege of Baghdad is likely to entrench Iraqis' view of the Iraqi National guard as "the dogs of the Americans," which will surely exacerbate the sectarian tensions, making peaceful withdrawel even less likely. More bad news then for Iraqis, troops in Iraq, and those concerned about peace in the Middle East.
This last category should include anyone who cares about the future of humanity, and averting the ultimate doom that could result from a nuclear catastrophe. This looks increasingly likely, as a month of talks at the UN on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty have made no progress. Those who make it to the penultimate paragraph of the New York Times story on the matter will discover the reasons. "Before the meeting, administration officials said President Bush wanted to move the discussion to smaller groups where nations like Iran could not block a consensus. The officials, who did not want to be identified because the negotiating stance was in flux, named the Group of 8 industrial nations and the obscure Nuclear Suppliers Group." Translation: nuclear non-proliferation will be discussed in arenas in which the authority of the hegemon is absolutely unchallenged.
Further developments threatening the survival of the human race will occur in outer space. As Tom Engelhardt points out, the Reagan Administration's "Star Wars" dream is far from dead.
And if all of that were not enough, we may rest assured that come July, as the British government meets the other members of the G8 (the "masters of the universe" as the sober Financial Times once described the club of the world's richest countries), they will make plenty of noise about the importance of addressing climate change, but nonetheless ensure that none of their rich friends actually have to commit to reducing carbon emissions.
Observers on Mars might not give the human race very good odds in its struggle for survival. But we do not have the luxury of idle speculation; if these trends are to be reversed, it's up to us to make it happen.
This last category should include anyone who cares about the future of humanity, and averting the ultimate doom that could result from a nuclear catastrophe. This looks increasingly likely, as a month of talks at the UN on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty have made no progress. Those who make it to the penultimate paragraph of the New York Times story on the matter will discover the reasons. "Before the meeting, administration officials said President Bush wanted to move the discussion to smaller groups where nations like Iran could not block a consensus. The officials, who did not want to be identified because the negotiating stance was in flux, named the Group of 8 industrial nations and the obscure Nuclear Suppliers Group." Translation: nuclear non-proliferation will be discussed in arenas in which the authority of the hegemon is absolutely unchallenged.
Further developments threatening the survival of the human race will occur in outer space. As Tom Engelhardt points out, the Reagan Administration's "Star Wars" dream is far from dead.
And if all of that were not enough, we may rest assured that come July, as the British government meets the other members of the G8 (the "masters of the universe" as the sober Financial Times once described the club of the world's richest countries), they will make plenty of noise about the importance of addressing climate change, but nonetheless ensure that none of their rich friends actually have to commit to reducing carbon emissions.
Observers on Mars might not give the human race very good odds in its struggle for survival. But we do not have the luxury of idle speculation; if these trends are to be reversed, it's up to us to make it happen.
posted by UK plc at 2:46 PM
1 Comments:
Though spare a thought for the Japanese civil service. The government, embarrassed at being so off track on Kyoto have order all government agencies to set their air con no lower than a stifling 28°C. In an effort to make life bearable for office staff they are attempting to popularise a suit with short sleeves of the type ann widdicombe is wont to sport. More here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1623544,00.html
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