rees.ch - Stuff 2017

Some things I like

2017

Where	What	Comments
RT	Sex and religion: God is going gender-neutral in Sweden (DEBATE)	What a stupid man he is. Quotes "God is obviously an illusion." "You can almost hear the tectonic plates of his cognitive dissonance grinding together. Best clip I've seen in ages."
The Guardian	Dismally led, adrift and isolated, how will Britain find a place in the world?	As each week goes by it just seems to become worse and worse. Quote "The most embarrassing question of all is: what now is Britain's place in the world? Instead of an answer, all the rest of the world gets to hear are self-evidently evasive pomposities about a gloriously global Britain. To which the world is increasingly inclined to reply: what globe exactly do you think you're on?"
The Guardian	How the actual magic money tree works	And, just in case we think our governments actually print our money......
The Guardian	Leftie? Yes, and proud to be among those upholding Enlightenment values - Will Hutton	I couldn't agree more....
Truthout	Imagining Our Way Beyond Neoliberalism: A Dialogue With Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin	Chomsky at his best.
The Guardian	World's witnessing a new Gilded Age as billionaires' wealth swells to $6tn	We are two years into a new "Gilded Age", when the Robber Barons in the US were sticking it to the rest of the population. It is high time the super rich and the rich paid for the public infrastructure and welfare system. In the last 30 years they have slipped out of paying for the system, though they use it every day.
LBC	Maajid Nawaz Shamelessly Humiliates Muslim Woman on LBC	This man has a real, rational brain.
The Nation	Noam Chomsky Diagnoses the Trump Era	This is actually what is going on - the Neoliberal Agenda. Be clear on this, conservatives want to get rid of government if they can, so that the individual can florish. The collateral damage they want to do to society (which, according to Thatcher doesn't exist) is of no consequence.
LBC	Furious Ryanair Pilot Calls LBC To Reveal Working Conditions	My, how capitalism has developed since the Berlin wall fell.
The National	U.S. sides with death penalty for blasphemy	There was a time when the US deserved respect for its approach to issues of ethics and morals. No longer.
Teen Vogue	5 Things That Are Harder to Get in America Than a Gun	If one really thinks about it, gun ownership in America is simply out of control and the underlying reason is money in politics. Democracy hijacked by money.
The National	Income tax powers were a trap that has left the Scottish Government in an impossible situation	It's Westminster under the Tories - they game the system to their advantage as representatives of "their people" - the rich and the establishment. Quote: "NOT a Westminster power grab? Dinnae be daft. Of course it is. Westminster does not want the Scottish nation to have any real power over its own destiny."
TED	Theo E.J. Wilson A black man goes undercover in the alt-right	An articulate man with an entertaining presentation speaking to truth.
The Agenda	The great nutrient collapse - The atmosphere is literally changing the food we eat, for the worse. And almost nobody is paying attention	A tad scary for the future as plants loose their ability to feed us and all the other fauna on the planet.
Youtube	Zephyr Teachout \| America Has a Monopoly Problem	This is the real reason so many people are doing badly. Since the end of the cold war corporations have had it all their own way.
Youtube	Shashi tharoor did it again \| latest must watch	The people in the UK seem to me to not understand how bad the Empire was. Rape and pillage. What is even more amazing is that the folks behind Brexit still believ the idea that peoples the world over want to have a relationship with the UK.
Youtube	The future we're building -- and boring \| Elon Musk	And a recent update. My goodness how things have moved on in 4 years.
Youtube	The mind behind Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity ... \| Elon Musk	Elon Musk has to be one of the most important people of the century.
Youtube	Icelandic standup about Nordic neighbours in general and Finnish language in particular.	Just fun....
The Observer	The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve review - fanfare for God's first couple.	A delightful review, made me laugh out loud. Quote: "Along the way, there is an often hilarious account of scholastic efforts to rationalise the myth's illogic, and an array of entertaining heresies."
Vox	Why fact-checking can't stop Trump's lies. Why our brains and journalistic conventions make it so hard to debunk misinformation.	I'm not going to change whatever you present to me.
The Guardian	Brexit is a Tory mess. Labour has shown it can clear it up	Owen Jones is sometimes OTT, but not with this. So often those Tories have said "Under Labour...." Quotes: "We're clearing up Labour's mess": that was the Tory refrain deployed against the electorate until its ears bled. But it was based on a cynical rewriting of history. Labour had not caused the global financial system to implode. The Tories had backed every penny of their opponent's public investment until the end of 2008, despite their later, shamelessly dishonest narrative that overspending had caused the country's woes. If Labour committed a crime, it was a failure to properly regulate the banks in an era in which the party was too in thrall to market ideology." "Britain is again in the grip of crisis, and this time the blame can be placed at the feet of only one party. The Tories had a nightmare, and we're all trapped in it. A referendum was called, not because it was felt it was in the national interest, but because David Cameron had bothersome backbenchers and a Ukip challenge to deal with."
Politico	Harvey Is What Climate Change Looks Like. It's time to open our eyes and prepare for the world that's coming. By ERIC HOLTHAUS, August 28, 2017	A look into what has happened and what needs to take place. Quote: "Insisting on a world that doesn't knowingly condemn entire cities to a watery, terrifying future isn't "politicizing" a tragedy-it's our moral duty. The weather has always been political. If random whims of atmospheric turbulence devastate one neighborhood and spare another, it's our job as a civilized society to equalize that burden. The choices of how to do that, by definition, are political ones."
Democracy Now!	Naomi Klein's Message to the Media Covering Houston: Now is the Time to Talk About Climate Change	An excellent channel and Naomi is, as usual, right on the money. Oh, and if you think this has nothing to do with man-made Climate Change, it's time to rethink.
The Guardian	UK political parties received record £40m of donations in election run-up	If anyone says the UK has one of the lowest levels of corruption, show them this...
The National	Michael Fry: What a waste of money: UK's new carriers are a £6bn vanity project	An incredible waste of money which could so well be used elsewhere. But this is the Tories - they simply don't give a bugger - backwards to Empire 2.0. P.S. I don't agree with so much this man writes - he is for "Growth" and "Free" markets - whatever that might mean? IMHO all markets are fixed by one party or another, unless they are kept small, as soon as scale arrives so does the straong desire for a monopoly or two.
Youtube	Jason Hickel: 'Our addiction to economic growth is killing us' - Viewsnight	Too bloody obvious. I've been saying this for decades.
The Guardian	Netherlands and UK are biggest channels for corporate tax avoidance	And, it would seem nobody gives a shit that so much money is missing from the public purse to pay for essential services.
The Guardian	Globalisation: the rise and fall of an idea that swept the world	We were hijacked in the late 1970s, but now maybe the lie has run its course?
The New York Time (Magazine)	The Uninhabitable Earth, Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak - sooner than you think.	This is probably all going to happen very, very quickly.
The National	Kevin McKenna: The right-wing elite continues the con trick that seeks to expose a hard left	Yep, this is what the right-wing in the UK does.
The Guardian	Forget austerity, here's who is to blame for your empty pockets	Well, what a surprise, natural monopolies can provide great profit to Corporations.
The Guardian	"Deadlier than terrorism" - the right's fatal obsession with red tape	Regulation for some - protections for most of us.
Tagesanzeiger	Ein Mahnmal mangelnder Menschlichkeit	A tough analysis of the current UK.
The National	Carolyn Leckie: The ideology of capitalism led to the horror of Grenfell	Thank you Thatcher. Quote: "When will the ideological warriors who called for a "bonfire of red tape" be called to account for incitement to send people up in smoke? Like David Cameron, for example, who boasted he wanted his to be “the first government in modern history to leave office having reduced the overall burden of regulation, rather than increasing it”.When will the war on the terror of capitalism get under way?The answer is it won’t – not by the Westminster government anyway. The first priority of successive UK Governments over the past 30 years has not been to keep people safe but to keep profits safe."
The Guardian	Growing awareness of colonial past fuels radicalisation, says Czech minister	It has been forgotten how utterly bad colonialism was. Quote: Zaorálek, admitting he was raising difficult issues, pointed to a delayed outrage fuelled by “education and new horizons” over slaughters “comparable in scale to the Nazi war crimes”.
The Guardian	Naomi Klein: Now let's fight back against the politics of fear	Clever lady - got this right methinks.
The Guardian	The study that shows life is a lot more unequal than you (probably) think	Most people's perceptions don't match reality.
SwissNews	Giant carbon-sucking commercial plant launches in Zurich	Really? Here are some home truths.
Youtube	UK Election	Really? Here are some home truths.
Youtube	Science in America - Neil deGrasse Tyson	This plant has been working for some time. It works in conjunction with a sewarege re-processing facility and supplies CO2 to a loacl greenhouse complex.
The Convention	Gina Miller "Brexit really wounded our country"	It wasn't about Brexit - it was to prevent any political party from over-running the law and parliament.
Vox News Channel	The origins of the anti-vaccine movement	Doctore Jenner was right.
ABC Net	Renewable hydrogen could fuel Australia's next export boom after CSIRO breakthrough	If .au goes with this, they will have cracked the fossil fuels industry.
Bloomberg Politics	A Reverse-Trump Tax Plan Delivers an Economic Miracle in Sweden	Another path is possible, but is hardly ever considered. Quote: "The country also takes a pragmatic view of capitalism, which includes allowing businesses to fail if they can’t compete. Part of this includes providing a safety net and training for workers, features that Andersson says are crucial to keeping a dangerous anti-globalization sentiment at bay."
The Atlantic	The American Health Care Act's Prosperity Gospel	I had never heard of this gospel. So much now makes sense.
Youtube	The Beatles - a musical appreciation and analysis - by composer, Howard Goodall CBE	And now I know why I enjoy their music so much - still.
The National	Private Finance Initiative schools to cost councils almost £430 million this year alone.	The Tories began this crooked programme and it is still being done.
The Guardian	The Eurocrats' days are numbered. Now who will the Tories blame? - Matthew d'Ancona	30 years of The Tories - best of luck with that Brits. I hope the Scots leave and that Ireland becomes reunited.
The National	Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp: Five steps on a roadmap to our future prosperity	Here is a real plan to make a country prosperous.
Commonspace.com	Ben Wray: 10 things about 'the deficit' the No campaign won't tell you	Details on how state economics actually works. And the UK is all screwed up.
IFL Science	Professor Brian Cox: "It's Very Difficult To Argue With An Idiot"	Makes a lot of sense to me. Quote: "Again I don't think you can change the opinion of people who are just ridiculous. And that is the most ridiculous example of not thinking that you can possibly imagine. I think what you can do is just turn them into laughing stocks, which is I think my general approach to people. It's very difficult to argue with an idiot. Particularly in a forum such as a chat show where you've got a limited amount of time. So my view is you have to sort of essentially show them up to be fools as quickly as possible. I think that's the only way you can proceed."
The National Secular Society	Who is running Ireland - the Government or the Church?	Bloody catholic church . literally, blood on their hands and it seems no money to compensate the victims. I thought JCs philosophy was "Love". Haha.
The National	Europe's largest banks called upon to clean up their act over use of tax havens	The UK has jurisdiction over so many Tax Havens - for the benefit of the rich and Corporations.
The National	George Kerevan: New protectionism of the US makes independence ever more crucial	An interesting viewpoint.
Youtube	Homeopathy, quackery and fraud \| James Randi	LOL
The Guardian	Schoolma'am May has offered a gift to Sturgeon	Essentially arrogance in its rawest form.
The Guardian	Empire 2.0 is dangerous nostalgia for something that never existed.	So many myths and now Empire 2.0. Quote: "Ultimately, what makes Empire 2.0 a fantasy are the forces of geography and history."
The Guardian	Theresa May is dragging the UK under. This time Scotland must cut the rope - George Monbiot	It's the Tories - working tirelessly for the Elites. Empire 2.0 is their goal, and it all started with a tiff between Old Etonians. Quote: "A Conservative member of the Scottish parliament, Jamie Greene, complains that a new referendum "would force people to vote blind on the biggest political decision a country could face. That is utterly irresponsible." This reminds me of something, but I can't quite put my finger on it."
Protect our Future	Just who are these 300 'scientists' telling Trump to burn the climate?	The 3% - who are they and what do they know?
Protect our Future	Private Finance is poisoning our Scottish NHS	Corrupt politicians work with the finance industry to the detriment of Taxpayers. This is simply corruption. If the government went directly to the market to get funds it would be so much cheaper. .
Clean Technia	A British snub of the EU investigation into the Panama Papers is short-sighted	The UK is going to becaome a first-class elitist Pirate Nation Quote: "The UK has a poor record. Previously, inside information provided by HSBC whistleblower Hervé Daniel Marcel Falciani to HMRC showed that the bank's Swiss branch may have helped wealthy people to evade taxes. Only one individual from the Falciani list of some 3,600 potential UK tax evaders has been prosecuted. In January 2016, HMRC told the Public Accounts Committee that it had abandoned its criminal investigation. By HMRC's own admission, there have been only 13 offshore-specific prosecutions since 2009 as it puts more emphasis on making secretive deals than sending a message of zero tolerance. Matters are not helped by the fact that the government has systematically hollowed out HMRC."
Clean Technia	If White House Destroys The State (As Desired), What Does That Mean For Solar, Wind, & Electric Cars?	So much destruction of the progress made since WWII. Quote: "..but I think Trump is as simple as he seems"
Youtube	Why Donald Trump is Not Fit to Be President \| The Resistance with Keith Olbermann \| GQ	Be very afraid.
New York Daily News	President Trump exhibits classic signs of mental illness, including 'malignant narcissism,' shrinks say	The man is deranged. Well done all those voters.
Youtube	The Orwell Lecture 2016: Ian Hislop	So much good stuff - as you would expect.
The National	Cat Boyd: Big tax cuts for business won't fire up the economy	The "Race to the Bottom" will have dire consequences for budgets all over the planet. Welfare cuts and the reduction of all kinds of investment in public services, goods will probably have a long-lasting effect.
The Grauniad	Trump's first speech in office was unapologetic appeal to nationalism	Gary Younge is a qualified analyst of the US political scene. His view of Trump is clear and foreboding.
Monbiot.com	The Gift of Death -10th December 2012	Our level of stupid consumption has reached epic proportions. Thanks capitalism.