ALL THINGS THAT MATTER

I HAVE MOVED MOST OF MY BLOGS TO HTTP://PHILIPHARRIS.BLOGSPOT.COM I FIND THAT SITE QUICKER, EASIER TO NAVIGATE AND EASIER TO PUT UP ADD ONS!

They say ignorance is bliss but when it comes to the weather it ignorance can be a bitter pill to swallow.  I normally keep up on the latest news and I especially keep an eye on the weather since climate change is a frequent topic in my articles and blogs.  For the past few weeks I had been busy readying the release of my next book, “Jesus Taught It, Too: The Early Roots of the Law of Attraction” and signing a contract for another book to be released late fall called, “Raping Louisiana: A Diary of Deceit.”  While I was well aware of the heat wave out West and the deluge in Texas and other Western states, all had seemed relatively quiet on the climate change front-at I thought all was quiet.

 

Last night I went to check the weather on the internet and decided to take a look at the latest weather headlines.  I have to admit to having been shocked to see so many weather disaster stories.  I listen to NPR each morning and glance at our local paper everyday but with one or two exceptions, I did not pick up any of the headlines that follow.  When the stories are scattered between many news reports I guess the enormity of the issue gets diluted.  But when you begin to list the headlines in one place, a totally different picture emerges.  On one site, these were the weather related stories and headlines:

 

 

94 Dead in China floods, landslides

South Dakota floods kill…

Indian floods death toll up…

Bush declares disaster area in Oklahoma …

Texas declares worst flooding in 50 years…

Heat moving eastward…

Flooded city in Kansas assesses damage…

Western US states swelter under record heat wave…

Country’s wettest June on record…

Tornado kills…in China …

Pakistanis set up flood rescue…

Weather extremes whither LA…

Pakistani monsoon victims riot…

Dallas looks like Seattle …

Climate change factor in Chile ’s lake vanishing…

2007 seen as second warmest year…

Fires rage across sizzling Greece …

Scorching heat, floods wreak havoc across Europe …

Indian flood toll up, millions left stranded…

More heat ahead for sweltering west…

 

If you look a little deeper, even more stories arise concerning possible flooding from melting glaciers in Tibet, floods and deaths in England and Europe and general horror stories that are climate related.

 

We have also heard about many scientists claiming that the world’s climate is nearing a catastrophic tipping point and that unless changes in our carbon emissions happen soon, we could be in for real trouble.  Of course, looking at the above headlines it would appear that we are already in trouble.  Of course other stories say that policy makers are working on finding ways to reduce carbon emissions and sometime in the next 20 years we might get 30 miles per gallon for fleet averages.  It makes you want to shout, “Hello is anyone paying attention to what is happening to the climate right now?”

 

American auto makers complain that converting to alternative fuels of greatly increasing fleet mileages would be too costly.  Producers of electricity that use coal as their energy source say that making coal plants cleaner will cost too much money.  All of our political and industry leaders say that having a clean planet will cost too much money.  It really begs the question.  What is the cost of the floods, heat waves, raging fires in terms of property and lives?  Florida officials say that they need “five feet” of rain to make up for water deficiencies to quench the thirst of existing populations and to accommodate new development.  Perhaps if the sea rises, that will no longer be an issue.  Millions, if not billions of dollars are being lost now to climate chaos. 

 

Our actions and inactions of yesterday are causing the consequences of today.  Today, we are doing little to alter our ways and have no real solid plans for change for at least the next twenty years.  If the weather headlines we see now are the harbinger of things to come, everyone had better strap in for we are in for quite the ride.  It is also said that knowledge is power but that is wrong.  It is the use of knowledge that is power and one can only hope that people wake up and pay closer attention to what is happening in the world now if we want to still have a world tomorrow.

 

The recent AP story concerning the book and the movie, “The Secret” is humorous at best and disturbing at worst. The following are a few highlights from the story reported by CNN News:

 

“CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- While "The Secret" has become a pop culture phenomenon, it also has drawn critics who are not quiet about labeling the movement a fad, embarrassingly materialistic or the latest example of an American propensity of wanting something for nothing.

 

Some medical professionals suggest it could even lead to a blame-the-victim mentality and actually be dangerous to those suffering from serious illness or mental disorders.

 

"It's a triumph of marketing and magic," said John Norcross, a psychologist and professor at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania …" 'The Secret' has earned my antipathy for its outrageous, unproven assertions that I believe go beyond the ordinary overpromises of most self-help books into a danger realm," he said.

 

The book's mantra of "ask, believe, receive," he said, easily transforms into a blame the victim mentality.

 

"Cancer victims. Sexual assault victims. Holocaust victims. They're responsible?" Norcross said. "The book is riddled with these destructive falsehoods."

 

"

The law of attraction says that like attracts like, and when you think and feel what you want to attract on the inside, the law will use people, circumstances and events to magnetize what you want to you, and magnetize you to it," Byrne said in an e-mail in response to several questions posed by The Associated Press.

 

… the fear that "The Secret" will lead to a blame-the-victim mentality is a serious claim of critics.

 

Psychotherapist and lifestyle coach Stacy Kaiser said that after reading "The Secret," several patients have worried that it was their fault they were abused, or laid off from their jobs. Others seem to expect everything in their lives to change overnight, she said.”

 

While there were some positive comments about “The Secret” in the article the overall tone was that people are being scammed.  The use of such words as “dangerous, blame and outrageous” are used by those who have no real understanding of spiritual thought and I cannot help but wonder if they actually read the book.  Is the book and movie perfect in their presentation?  No.   Are the claims dangerous? No

 

Let’s postulate another scenario which few claim is dangerous or outrageous.  A group come along and says that there is only one god and they have the inside track on the intentions and so called desires of that god.  They say that if you do not worship their god, IT will condemn you forever in a fiery inferno.  If you do worship this god and give it a lot of money and build temples for worship, it will forgive you your sins.  Even though this god made you and is all knowing it has condemned you from the start and only proper worship and duty will save you-well, some of you-144,000 to be exact.  This god loves you but says that you must live a life that does not include material wealth, which you should give to its temples.  And, if you are really good, some of you will get to be happy forever, when you die.  Oh, to test your loyalty, this god has created all kinds of demons and monsters that will tempt ant taunt you.  Although it has also created some good spirits that will send you messages every now and then but, in the end, even they will unleash plague, pestilence, war and untold suffering. Basically, if you want to be rewarded when you die: lead a good life, obey all of the rules, live a life of misery, kill those who do not believe and maybe, you will be saved.

 

If you want to talk about creating a victim mentality it seems that most religions have already done that.  You are born a sinner, you are entitled to a life of misery, you are worthless (but loved), and you are probably going to hell.  And you wonder why our society is riddled with disease and the world is forever at war.   Most established institutions always have a negative and even violent reaction when something threatens their established dogma.  Books like “The Secret” offer a good life in the here and now and yet as a result of this idea, they must be based upon selfish, materialistic concepts?  Such claims show a total lack of understanding regarding humanity’s evolution and the dangers and threats posed by those organizations that are more concerned about their own survival and the status quo.  The good thing is that all of these uninformed remarks only make the new ideas more popular.  Remember what the Roman circus did for Christianity?

 

.

 

Is the energy bill enough or too little, too late?  If it were twenty years ago the recent bill passed by the U.S Senate would have been applauded for its foresight and innovation.  While not getting all that they wanted, the bill includes provisions that would increase fuel mileage to a fleet average of 35mpg by 2020; boost ethanol production sevenfold; prevent oil price gouging; increase appliance and lighting efficiencies; and, provide research into more energy efficient vehicles.

 

As was expected, the now anti-environment Republicans killed a tax on oil companies to help fund renewable energy as well as a requirement to force utilities to bur electricity from renewable energy suppliers.  It would appear that Republicans have grown too accustomed to feeding off of the oil producers to even think of taking any of their record making profits.  And they wonder why they will lose in 2008?

 

If this bill passed twenty years ago, assuming the President signs it, this would have been hailed as an environmental milestone.  My concern, however, is that based upon the U.N. global climate change reports, we do not have until 2020 to begin the process of reducing green house gas emissions.  If fleet averages just reach 35mpg by 2020 there is no expectation that everyone is going to run out and purchase a new vehicle at that time.  It will take years past the 2020 date before major reductions in emissions are felt.  That kind of time is not on our side.

 

According to the DAILY FUEL ECONOMY TIP the following information relates to fuel economy of several U.S. vs. Japanese auto makers:

Top 5 Most Fuel Efficient American Cars:

 

1. Ford Escape Hybrid - 36 mpg city / 31 mpg highway
2. Chevy Aveo - 26 mpg city / 35 mpg highway
3. Ford Focus - 26 mpg city / 34 mpg highway
4. Chevy Cobalt - 25 mpg city / 34 mpg highway
5. Ford Fusion - 24 mpg city / 32 mpg highway

Top 5 Most Fuel Efficient Japanese Cars:

 

1. Honda Insight - 60 mpg city / 66 mpg highway
2. Toyota Prius - 60 mpg city / 51 mpg highway
3. Honda Civic Hybrid - 49 mpg city / 51 highway
4. Toyota Corolla - 32 mpg city / 41 mpg highway
5. Toyota Matrix - 30 mpg city / 36 mpg highway

 

The obvious question raised from the above is, what is so exciting about getting 35mpg by the year 2020?  The Japanese are far exceeding these standards now!  The technology obviously exists to make immediate impacts on climate change and U.S. auto makers will find themselves wondering why their sales continue to decline.

Even now we are seeing drastic changes in the climate and factors not even considered in the UN’s equations are cropping up.  The poles are saturated with CO2, glacial melt is faster and other unsuspected factors are emerging that were not even considered in earlier projections.  The web of nature is so complex we do not understand or account for all of those relationships in our modeling and our predictions.  Most informed scientists say we have to act now to reduce emissions and political leaders are still acting as if we have decades to solve or at least address climate change issues.  All evidence is to the contrary.

 

A recent ABC News story says the following:

“Even "moderate additional" greenhouse emissions are likely to push Earth past "critical tipping points" with "dangerous consequences for the planet," according to research conducted by NASA and the Columbia University Earth Institute.

With just 10 more years of "business as usual" emissions from the burning of coal, oil and gas, says the NASA/Columbia paper, "it becomes impractical" to avoid "disastrous effects.”

By heralding the new research paper, NASA is endorsing science that places considerably more urgency on the need to reduce emissions to avoid "disastrous effects" of global warming than was evident in the recent reports from the world's scientists coordinated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The new NASA release emphasizes the danger of "strong amplifying feedbacks" pushing Earth past "dangerous tipping points."

 

Regardless of all of the back slapping for this new piece of environmental legislation, the public must come to understand that the called for measures are too little, too late.  We do not have until 2020 to start making major changes in the way we live.  Our own government agencies are issuing dire warnings but our politicians are off in the ozone layer somewhere, assuming there still is one.

 

 

 

 

We are all familiar with the nursery rhyme, “Ring around the rosy…” that was actually about the bubonic plague during the dark ages.  A recent study in Maine would seem to indicate that we are in the midst or a new plague.  This one does not come from rats or fleas and is not the normal pathogen.-it is from toxic chemicals!

 

A study conducted by the Alliance for a clean and healthy Maine just issued the result of a study that tested volunteers for the presence of toxic chemicals in the body.  The study found that some 36 toxic substances were in the volunteers.  Above normal amounts of chemicals such as mercury, PBDEs (a fire retardant), PFCs, and BPA, lead, arsenic and mercury were found.  Where did some of these toxic chemical come from?  Try carpets, nail polish, beauty products, sofas, and water bottles, your TV, shower curtain and Teflon skillets.  Several of those tested were avid eaters of organic foods and led a healthy lifestyle but still exhibited high levels of the toxins.

 

We are also aware of the explosion in new disorders affecting our society.  There are the reports of the growth in autism, cancer, childhood obesity and just watch TV, well, maybe not, and the commercials touting the full array of new dysfunctions that are in need of that new little pill.  While this study was only done in Maine , it would not be unreasonable to assume that similar toxins are found in most nationwide.  Are these findings the underlying reasons why today’s youth seems so inattentive in the schools and basically hyper?  This was not started as a conclusion but one cannot help but wonder.

 

One comment made by a scientist was that, “just because you can a chemical in the body does not mean is necessarily harmful.”  How often have we been told that lie?  While it may well be that the body can tolerate certain levels of toxic substances without harm, it seems ridiculous to think that we can expose our children to these chemicals throughout their whole life without causing harm.  Many chemicals accumulate and the effects are also cumulative.

 

Let’s add another component to the equation.  Aside from all of the garbage that is contained in the processed food that we eat, not including food from China , we are also exposed to higher and higher level of forms of electromagnetic radiation.  From TVs, computer, cell phones and the endless scores of gadgets found in most households and the ever-growing numbers of signal towers, I seems reasonable to think that these waves are having some effect on the body.  After all, the body functions on electrical currents and this combination of toxic chemicals and radiation must be putting increasing stresses on the body.

 

The study, called “Body of Evidence: A Study of Pollution in Maine People,” breaks some new ground in exposing what may be the underlying causes of what is ailing many Americans.  It is possible that our next pandemic may not be the bird flu, influenza or some other exotic pathogen.  The next plague may actually come from our own homes and from products that we unsuspectingly use on a regular basis.  “Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!”

THE PARABLE OF THE RUT

 

 

You are driving down the road to go to a party.  It is early evening and the sun is just setting.  All of your friends will be at the evening’s event which promises to be filled with good food, good company and a night of fun.  Earlier in the day there was a thunder storm and a few puddles still remain on the road.  You are thinking of the anticipated fun when an oncoming vehicle swerves into your lane forcing you onto the shoulder.  Tooting your horn in frustration you come to a stop, roll down your window and shout obscenities at the other driver who continues on as if nothing had happened.

 

 

You are still a bit shaken by the near accident and take several deep breaths.  After a few moments of contemplating what could have been your death, you begin to relax.  With steadier nerves, you put the vehicle in drive to continue on your journey top meet your friends and to enjoy the evening.  You apply a little pressure to the gas pedal, but the car does not move.  You apply a little more gas and suddenly hear the sound of a tire spinning.  Assuming you are in a little mud, you apply a bit more gas, but the tire only spins louder.

 

 

You put the car back into Park and get out to see what is going on.  All of your thoughts of a wonderful, fun filled night begin to evaporate when you notice that for the past few moments your tires have been making a big, muddy rut.  You shout a few curses and look up the road towards your hoped-for destination.  The sun is setting further and soon you will be in darkness.  Since you had decided to take an unfamiliar but more scenic route to the party, you discover that there is no traffic on the road.  You are alone. You are not sure where you are, as this is a foreign route.  Even though you know that you do not have one, you turn the car off, take the keys and head to the trunk in the hopes of finding a shovel or some tool that will help extricate you from the mud.  Opening the trunk, you find just what you had expected:  nothing, the trunk is empty except for a spare tire and a jack.  Memories of TV ads about having emergency gear in your car at all times flit through your mind.  The idea just makes you angry and you slam the trunk.

 

 

You look down the road again and the idea of your friends arriving at the party and having a good time without you increases your anger.  You look back in the direction in which you came but there is nothing there but an empty road.  You hop back into the car, put the key in the ignition and slam the shift into Drive.  You then put increased pressure on the gas pedal and, once again, listen to the spinning tire.  You give it more gas and the engine revs up, but you go nowhere.  The only sensation of movement is that of sinking deeper into the mud.

 

 

Your fist hits the steering wheel and the pain instills more anger.  Curses are flying freely into the silent surroundings.  You begin to ask yourself why you did not keep a shovel, a bag of sand or rock salt in your trunk.  You also just remembered that you have no flashlight, either, and look around at the increasing darkness.  You put the car into neutral, jump out and move to the rear end.  Mud is all over the tire well.  You then look at your clean clothes in the last of the fading light and once again a curse is yelled into the nothingness.  Putting your shoulder against the back of the car, you give it a shove.  It doesn’t budge.  You push harder and try to rock the car back and forth.  It moves a little, but not enough to do any good.  You step back and notice the mud on your pants. 

 

 

Knowing better, you get back into the car and put the gas pedal to the floor.  Forgetting you are in neutral, the engine revs quickly but there is no spinning tire.  Understanding your error, you put it into Drive and the familiar whine of the tire actually gives you a brief sense of comfort.  At least the tire still turns.  If you could only get your hands on that stupid driver that forced you onto the shoulder. You hope he gets into an accident, alone, of course, so no one gets hurt but him.  You begin to think about heading up the road but you do not know where you are.  It is really getting dark and thoughts of the dangers of being alone on an empty road are not appealing.  Too many movies about maniacs.  Of course, you remember the sayings about staying with your vehicle in an emergency and the stories of those who didn’t and got lost and died. 

 

 

Now you blame yourself for not taking the regular road to your friend’s house.  Someone had told you that this back way was really pretty, which it was, up to now.  You begin to wonder if your friends even know that you are not there.  Maybe someone will come to find you.  Then you remember saying you were not sure that you were going to go.  It was a rough week and you might just stay home and get some rest.  Are they really your friends?  Do they even care?   You should have stayed home.  Damned mud! 

 

 

You make a decision.  Mud and ruts will not defeat you.  You are smarter than a rut and you can get yourself out of the ditch.  You stumble in the dark and try to collect some rocks.  What you find you begin to pack under the tires.  Your clothes are getting filthy, but who cares?  You jump back into the car; more gas, but you get nowhere.  More determined than ever, you jump back out to search for more rocks and branches.   A damned rut will not keep you down.  As you return with your next armful, a car approaches from the same direction that you followed.  The driver comes to a stop and rolls down his window.  He asks if you need help.  You answer, rather abruptly, that you do not need any help and that you will get out of the rut by yourself.  The driver asks if you are sure and you just tell him to get lost.

 

 

The driver rolls up his window and slowly drives away as if thinking you will change your mind.  You don’t need his or anyone’s help.  You can do this on your own.  Once again you stuff your stones and branches under the tire.  Once again you hit the gas and once again you hear the tire spitting out the stone and branches like some drunk belching out too many drinks.  For several more hours you try again and again to get yourself out of the rut.  Each attempt is met with failure. 

 

 

You are now overcome with exhaustion.  Your car is overheating, your clothes are tattered and your arms can carry nothing more.  You crawl into the back seat to rest.  Before entering the escape of sleep, you think of should haves, you curse the drunk driver, you damn your friends, you relive all of your bad memories, and then you pass out.

 

 

You are jolted awake by the toot of a horn.  It is dawn and you squint from the growing brightness of the morning.  As you stop? to sit you feel the aches in every muscle of your body.  As you look out the window you see a car, like the one that stopped last night, idling beside yours.  The driver opens his window and invites you to his car for a lift.  You slowly open your door and leave your vehicle.  As you do, you look back at you car and the stuck tire.  You notice it is flat.  You now realize that perhaps by changing the tire, you may have quickly gotten out of the rut.  The problem was not really the mud after all.  You go to the passenger side of the driver’s car and hesitate.  Your clothes are filthy.  He motions to get in anyway and says that the dirt will be easy to clean.  Feeling the fool, you take your seat and the driver begins to take you to the nearest gas station.

 

 

As you drive along the driver asks if you are okay and you tell him that you are sore, but okay.  He asks where you were headed last night and you tell him.  He laughs and informs you that he was at the party that you were going to attend.  He tells you that the house was only about a half mile around the corner from where you had gotten stuck.

 

 

 

 

 

While I regret the loss of anyone I do not regret the loss of the Falwell ideology. I find the basic philosophy of the fundamentalist movement of any religion essentially divisive and far removed from the teachings they claim to champion. Movements such as the Moral Majority can be equated with the similar Muslim movements that are plaguing Iraq, Palestine, Iran, Somalia and other Middle Eastern nations. The god may be called by a different name but these movements all preach one thing, hatred. Jerry Falwell began the Moral majority in 1979 to fight abortion rights. This group is largely attributed with the success of the Reagan campaign and began the rise of Christian conservatism. Condemning everyone who differed with their ideology, this group condemned homosexuality, abortion, Muslims and anyone who did not live up to their standards of morality. Evangelists such as Falwell and Jim Baker soaked millions from those who bought into their causes and violated the basic tenets of the inner teachings of scripture. I find little difference between groups such as the now defunct Moral Majority and the plague of Muslim fundamentalism sweeping the East. A philosophy that treats all as sinners except those that follow their dogma does nothing but divide humanity into warring religious factions as they battle to glorify themselves, not the beliefs of the great spiritual Avatars. These kinds of groups seek money and power by demonizing those that oppose them and their actions go contrary to the humanitarian concepts upon which they are supposedly based. The history of organized religions is written in the blood of their followers and those innocent people who simply seek to live a happy and peaceful life. While not negating the good works and intentions of the followers of such institutions, the facts remain that most religious institutions have become self serving and more concerned with self-preservation and dominance than with creating a world of tolerance, brotherly love and peace. Even the recent comments by the Pope regarding the evil Muslims and his depiction of Native Americans wanting and waiting to be proselytized by their conquerors are further examples of this destructive and institutionalized ego. The Crusades, the Inquisition, and even wholesale genocides have their basis in fundamentalist ideas and concepts. The West colonized Africa to assuage the “white man’s” burden. We destroyed Native American spiritual thought in order to save the “heathen.” We burn the Pagan at the stake because if they are not Christian, they must worship the devil. We kill because you are Sunni or because you are Shiite, even though you are both Muslim. The Muslims attack the Hindu’s and the Hindu’s the Muslims. In all of these tragedies the name of some god is evoked. To me, all of this is insanity. Those who are considered the spiritual teachers of this world never condoned such violence and yet fundamental movements are said to be based upon their teachings. While I offer my regrets to Mr. Falwell’s family for their loss, it is my sincere hope that no one rises to take his place.

If you have a flat tire, you do not take the car apart to fix it.  You simply deal with the problem at hand and “move on.”  Why then, have we totally messed up our educational system?  It may have had a few glitches but it did not require taking the whole system apart.  Our educational system is a shambles. Under the guise of helping all, we are educating none.

 

When I was in school, which was quite a while ago, education was simple.  We had college level, business and vocational education classes.  It seemed to work.  Those who were going to pursue advanced education took the college level, or “A” classes.  Those who might go on to business school took the business classes.  Those who were going to seek a trade for their occupation went into vocational education.  There were variations on this theme but that is how it essentially worked.  If you passed the classes you graduated, if not, you did not. 

 

The real issue in this system is that it did not really address the students with special needs.  To correct this problem and deficiency, we have dismantled the car to fix the flat and the car is still not running properly.  Keep in mind that under the old system students could read, write and do at least basic math.  Before you passed the course you took a final to determine if you really understood the heart of the courses.  Upon graduation you were ready to attend College or business school or you found work in a trade like plumbing, auto repair, electrical occupations or perhaps office work.  With this system in place, we became the most powerful nation on the planet and created the largest world economy.  If you could not pass the educational muster, you went into the military.

There is no question that under this system there were students that did not get a fair shake.  Those with developmental disabilities were, in fact, left behind.  And, while this issue needed to be addressed and corrected, it should not have been at the expense of the entire educational system.  Many of today’s graduating students have been short changed.  Having to teach to the least common denominator, students have found themselves with, at best, a “B” level education.  They are poor readers, cannot write a coherent paragraph and are mathematically below standard.  While this is not true of all students, there is no question that the bar has been dropped so low that that the term, “the dumbing of America ” is a current catch phrase.

 

Today’s students lack initiative and competence.  They do not know how to question the world around them and they do not even know the geography of the world in which they live.  The “cream of the crop” has continued to dwindle.  Freshman year in college is now a repeat of basic high school classes as incoming students are not really prepared in the fundamentals.  It almost seems that a college degree is becoming the equivalent of a high school degree. 

 

The system of education we used to have was not perfect but it did not need an overhaul, merely a tune up.  We have gone from one education craze to another and have ended up with several generations of young adults that are unprepared for the complexities of our rapidly changing world.  The “nation of sheep” is becoming a reality and with their complacency liberty and democracy will be in jeopardy.  I do not really believe in the “good ole days.”  Looking back we always tend to remember the things that seemed right and there is no question that all was not perfect.  Burt as far as education goes; our students need to get back to the basics.  Consequences for poor grades and misbehavior need to have some bite.  Parents need to get involved and support actions of the schools rather than always trying to undermine school authority which is at an all time low.

 

There is no question that education needs to be relevant and the needs of “all’ children must be addressed.  Until students and parents are willing to take some responsibility for faltering grades rather than blaming the schools we will be caught in a downward spiraling cycle of growing ignorance.  To me, it is ignorance that is the root of humanity’s ills.  As the current crop of college graduates assume the role of teachers and leaders, my concern for our future grows ever skeptical.

Keep an eye on “Other Russia.” It seems that Russian President Vladimir Putin is following in the path of so many in term of the corrupting influence of power.  Using old style Communist police tactics, Putin has tried to violently suppress those that disagree with his policies.  If “Other Russia” has its way, these efforts to stifle dissent would come to an end.

The following is part of the closing statements made by “Other Russia” at the close of their 2006 conference.

“The conference has succeeded in showing that Russia still possesses a civil society capable of defending its rights. It is also clear that this fact has become a special source of concern to the powers that be in Russia . Their goal is the complete and unending control of every national resource and this can only be achieved by repression and anti-constitutional means based on the destruction of civil liberties and the cleansing of the political field. Such methods are certain to drive Russia into the abyss.
Our goal is to combat this destructive trend and this is why they despise us and fear us. Their fear is justified as the tasks we set for ourselves and our country are incompatible with the existence of the present regime. We aim to restore civil control of power in Russia , a control that is guaranteed in the Russian Constitution that is so frequently and unambiguously violated today. This aim requires a return to the principles of federalism and the separation of powers. It calls for the restoration of the social function of the state with regional self-administration and the independence of the media. The judicial system must protect every citizen equally, especially from the dangerous impulses of the representatives of power. It is our duty to free the country from outbreaks of prejudice, racism, and xenophobia and from the looting of our national riches by government officials.”

 

 

These principles should attract sympathy and support from any free society.  Who can argue with the ideas of federalism, the rights of a free press, support for civil liberties for all, equal protection under the law and a society free of racism?  It seems that Mr. Putin has a problem with some of these fundamental rights.  There is the lingering cloud over possible Putin involvement in the death of a leading Russian journalist who frequently opposed his policies.  His actions this past March in crushing a peaceful rally in St. Petersburg attests to his views on free speech.  Whenever you here Putin’s name it seems that he is using some bullying tactic or show of force to make his point.  Perhaps that is why he and President Bush get along so well.  Neither wants dissent.  Of course in the U.S. we still have the right to express differing views, at least for now.

 

What is interesting about “Other Russia” is that it is made of divergent groups from very pro-westerners to the old Communist party and everything in-between; reminds of the old U.S. Democratic Party before they became “Republicanized” (i.e. controlled by the few).

 

Of course Putin is supposed to step down next March and it will be interesting if he will concoct a reason to remain in power like climate change being a national security risk.  What is known is that pro-Kremlin supporters will do all that they can to prevent “Other Russia” from participating, never mind winning, any important seats in the elections.  It should be interesting to watch.  Russia has a solid history of dictatorial leaders and it will be interesting to see if groups like “Other Russia” will survive and keep the hopes of a more democratic Russia alive.

The April 15^th, 2007 Washington Post article called, “Military Sees Security Threat” by Juliet Eilperin adds fuel to my previous commentary on “Climate Change: Security or Aid.”   It is amazing that only a few short months ago no one in the Bush Administration was taking climate change very seriously and now The U.S. military is calling it a potential national security threat.

 

A report released on April 16^th by 11 retired generals says that “global warming presents a significant national security challenges to the United States .”  According to the Post, the report says that global warming could destabilize “vulnerable states in Africa and Asia and drive a flood of migrants to richer countries.”  The Post confirmed that “the military has begun studying possible future impacts of global warming with new intensity.” 

 

The report notes that poorer states will find it increasingly difficult to meet their basic needs.  Of specific note was the fact that 40% of the world population gets at least 50% of drinking water from glaciers which are now rapidly drying up.  The inability of governments to protect and provide for its citizens will make such places as “ripe for turmoil, extremism and terrorism.”  Vice Admiral Richard Truly was quoted as saying, “It’s going to happen to every country and every person in the whole world at the same time.”

            What is interesting is that only a few short months ago the Bush Administration was still denying that climate change was even a reality.  And yet, there are reports coming from the military that have been under way for a while that are warning that climate change could impact national security.  There is little doubt that other developed nations are also reaching their own conclusions regarding the destabilizing effects of global warning.

 

This again raises the specter of military control in dealing with social issues.  When terrorism erupted we saw our rights dwindle under the Patriot Act.  And, while I supported some of its provisions, its implementation has left much to be desired.  We are all familiar with the concerns over the privacy of our mail, phone calls and emails and the abuse by the FBI and CIA.  To deal with the migration issue we used the umbrella of terrorism once again and now we have the start of our own Berlin Wall.  If climate change is considered in light of terrorism, will the military will once again be in the forefront of shaping our policies?  What rights and privileges will we use to combat rising sea levels, droughts and food shortages? 

 

Can we avoid this growth in military dominance by taking a more active and urgent role is helping other countries cope with global warming?  Wouldn’t it make sense to start now and work with the at risk countries to help them plan for possible disaster?  We are walking a very thin line in allowing the military to place all social issues in the context of terrorism.  While there is certainly a place for the military with regards to dealing with “real” terrorists threats, I am not sure that the best way to deal with our climate crisis is the militarization of the problem.  How many more rights are we willing to sacrifice under the guise of security?  If we do not take a more humanitarian position on these issues what will happen to our values as a nation?  We need to think hard and fast here because Mother Nature has run out of patience.