Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

Major hurricane forecast to slam Gulf Coast this weekend
Axios | Andrew Freedman | 08/27/21

A dangerous hurricane scenario is taking shape across the Gulf Coast for this weekend, as Tropical Storm Ida is poised to rapidly intensify and take aim at coastal Louisiana as a major hurricane of Category 3 intensity or greater.

Driving the news: As of Friday morning, Ida was moving northwest near the Cayman Islands, headed toward western Cuba. It is forecast to emerge over the bathtub-like waters of the Gulf of Mexico Friday night, where it will gain strength.... Read more

Fed chair says economic support could be dialed back this year
Axios | Courtenay Brown | 08/27/21

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell gave the strongest signal yet that some pandemic-era support that's bolstered the economy and stock market might go away this year. But he stopped short of a firm commitment and timeline.

Why it matters: In a closely-watched speech, Powell was upbeat on the recovery — though he warned about the Delta variant and "harmful effects" of winding down support too soon.

What they're saying: "If the economy evolved broadly as anticipated, it could be appropriate to start reducing the pace of asset purchases this year," Powell said, referring to the $120 billion worth of bonds it buys each month. ... Read more

Elizabeth Holmes exposed: the $9 billion medical ‘miracle’ that never existed | 60 Minutes Australia | 08/08/21 | 27:10

Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes on Trial: What to Expect | WSJ | 08/24/21 | 11:35

Greenland Ice Sheet's melt ponds tell the story of an unusual summer
Axios | Andrew Freedman | 08/26/21

A recent satellite image of the southwestern portion of the Greenland Ice Sheet shows the existence of cerulean blue pockmarks — phenomena that provide scientists with a worrying message about sea-level rise and the risk of massively consequential changes in ocean behavior.

Why it matters: The melt ponds, rivers and moulins, cracks in the ice where surface water can plummet to where the ice sheet meets bedrock, are a symptom of a summer season that has brought large spikes in melt extent. ... Read more

What if it’s too late to save our planet without geoengineering?
TheGuardian | Moira Donegan | 08/26/21

This is the question posed by Holly Jean Buck in her 2019 book After Geoengineering: Climate Tragedy, Repair, and Restoration. Zooming with me from Buffalo, New York, where she’s a professor of environment at the University of Buffalo, Buck is blunt in her assessment. The pace of climate change, and the insufficiency of humanity’s current response, have effectively already made the choice for us: mankind will have to engage in some kind of “geoengineering” – an umbrella term for various methods of intentional, planetary-scale climate intervention – whether we like it or not. ... Read more

ICU beds are running out again
Click on Image to Zoom in
Axiios | Tina Reed | 08/25/21

More than 77% of America's ICU beds are being used right now as hospitals grapple with a crush of severely ill COVID patients, almost all of them unvaccinated.

Why it matters: Hospitals are once again overwhelmed, and this time, they're also facing staff shortages and burnout that only make matters worse, especially in the face of illness that was largely preventable. ... Read more

'A combination of failures:' why 3.6m pounds of nuclear waste is buried on a popular California beach
TheGuardian | author | date

ore than 2 million visitors flock each year to California's San Onofre state beach, a dreamy slice of coastline just north of San Diego. The beach is popular with surfers, lies across one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the Unites States and has a 10,000-year-old sacred Native American site nearby. It even landed a shout-out in the Beach Boys' 1963 classic Surfin' USA.

But for all the good vibes and stellar sunsets, beneath the surface hides a potential threat: 3.6m lb of nuclear waste from a group of nuclear reactors shut down nearly a decade ago. Decades of political gridlock have left it indefinitely stranded, susceptible to threats including corrosion, earthquakes and sea level rise. ... Read more

Welcome to Hanford, the Most Toxic Place in America!!

For more than a month, coronavirus has brought cleanup of a 586-square-mile decommissioned nuclear production complex in south-eastern Washington state to a near standstill.

Most of the more than 11,000 employees at the Hanford site were sent home in late March, with only essential workers remaining to make sure the "most toxic place in America" stays safe and secure. ... Read more

Pentagon on wretched conditions for Afghans at Qatar base: "Nobody's making excuses"
Axios | Ivana Saric | 08/24/21

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday that "nobody is making excuses" and "everybody's focused on trying" to improve the conditions at the Qatar air base housing Afghan evacuees after Axios reported the the base was awash with loose feces and urine and a rat infestation.

Driving the news: In an email obtained by Axios, a U.S. official describes conditions at the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha as "a living hell." The email highlights the despair inside the federal government and some elements of the Biden administration at the handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, Axios' Jonathan Swan, Hans Nichols and Glen Johnson write.

What they're saying: "Nobody's making excuses, nobody's ducking from this. We recognize that things were, and in many ways still are, not at the level of sanitation and good hygiene that we want," Kirby said.... Read more

Portland's Bizarre Experiment With Not Policing Proud Boys Rampage Ends in Gunfire
TheIntercept | Robert Mackey | 08/24/21

PORTLAND NARROWLY AVOIDED tragedy on Sunday as the city's police force abandoned its duty to secure the streets and officers made no effort to stop assaults on residents by members of the far-right Proud Boys gang, many of whom had traveled from around the country to live out their fantasies of attacking anti-fascist protesters.

The absence of the police, in line with a policy on nonintervention announced beforehand by Portland Police Bureau Chief Chuck Lovell, reinforced a sense among anti-fascists that they were on their own. So when a right-wing gunman fired in the direction of black-clad protesters who had chased him away from their protest at gunpoint, it was shocking but perhaps not surprising that one of the anti-fascists fired back, according to witnesses.

Luckily, all eight shots missed their targets, and there were no reported injuries from the exchange of fire.

The shooting unfolded in broad daylight on a downtown street, in front of reporters who filmed it from multiple angles. Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, an activist and videographer from Los Angeles, captured the sequence of events in a thread he shared on Twitter. ... Read more

Biden's political calculations
Axios | Glen Johnson, Mike Allen | 08/23/21

President Biden aimed three numbered messages at three specific audiences during Sunday afternoon remarks on Afghanistan.

1. To Fox News viewers: "One, planes taking off from Kabul are not flying directly to the United States. They're landing at U.S. military bases and transit centers around the world."
2. To moderates in both parties: "Number two, at these sites where they're landing, we are conducting ... security screenings for everyone who is not a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. Anyone arriving in the United States will have undergone a background check."
3. To progressives: "Number three, once screened and cleared, we will welcome these Afghans, who helped us in the war effort over the last 20 years, to their new home in the United States of America. Because that's who we are. That's what America is." ...

Storm Henri causes travel chaos as Northeast hit by heavy rains
Axios | Ivana Saric, Rebecca Falconer | 08/23/21

Storm Henri was dumping heavy rain across the Northeastern U.S. -- and the National Hurricane Center warned late Sunday it would continue to trigger "considerable flash, urban" and other minor flooding over the Tri-State Area and New England.

The big picture: Henri weakened to a depression Sunday night, after striking Rhode Island as a tropical storm, knocking out power to over 100,000 homes, causing flight cancellations and bringing record rainfall to New York City. ... Read more

A billion children at 'extreme risk' from climate impacts -- Unicef
TheGuardian | staff | 08/20/21

Almost half the world's 2.2 billion children are already at "extremely high risk" from the impacts of the climate crisis and pollution, according to a report from Unicef. The UN agency's head called the situation "unimaginably dire".

Nearly every child around the world was at risk from at least one of these impacts today, including heatwaves, floods, cyclones, disease, drought, and air pollution, the report said. But 1 billion children live in 33 countries facing three or four impacts simultaneously. The countries include India, Nigeria and the Philippines, and much of sub-Saharan Africa.

The report is the first to combine high-resolution maps of climate and environmental impacts with maps of child vulnerability, such as poverty and access to clean water, healthcare and education. "It essentially [shows] the likelihood of a child's ability to survive climate change," said Nick Rees, one of the report's authors. ... Read more

COVID-19 hospitalizations are getting more expensive for patients
Axios | Caitlin Owens | 08/20/21

Coronavirus patients who end up hospitalized -- the vast majority of whom are unvaccinated -- are increasingly likely to be on the hook for their medical bills, according to a new KFF analysis.

Where it stands: Early in the pandemic, most insurers waived out-of-pocket costs for coronavirus hospitalizations. But with vaccines readily available, many patients are once again on the hook for deductibles and co-pays, which could make remaining unvaccinated a lot more expensive. ... Read more

Taliban takes over U.S. war chest given to Afghan military
Axios | staff | 08/20/21

State of play: Video shows militants inspecting lines of vehicles and opening crates of new firearms, communications gear and even military drones. Some of the equipment was given by the U.S.

U.S. officials aren't just worried about the Taliban using the weapons against civilians. They're also concerned the equipment could be seized by ISIS or handed over to China or Russia. ... Read more

Biden responds to Kabul chaos
Axios | staff | 08/19/21

Biden's first interview:

1. Biden denies Afghanistan will look the same 20 years after 9/11
2. Biden: Taliban haven't changed since their ruling days
3. Biden says he would've withdrawn even without Trump's Taliban deal
4. U.S. troops will stay in Afghanistan until every American is out, Biden says

1. Taliban celebrates Afghan Independence Day by declaring victory over U.S.
2. Taliban responds to protesters' resistance with deadly violence
3. Leaders in Taliban holdout look to revive alliance that helped U.S. in 2001

The Power of the Fed (full documentary) | FRONTLINE | 07/13/21 | 53:17

Century of Enslavement: The History of The Federal Reserve | Corbett | 07/06/14 | 1:24:00

Are "Magazine Fed" Shotguns for You? - TheFirearmGuy | 05/26/20 | 6:22

Afghanistan on edge
Axion | staff | 08/18/21

1. Intel community pushes back on claims that Afghan collapse was surprise
2. Latest Afghanistan watchdog report reflects 20 years of getting it wrong
3. Afghanistan's developing currency crisis
4. In photos: Afghanistan on edge under Taliban rule
5. Taliban destroy statue of Shiite military leader
6. In photos: America's longest wars
7. Taliban vow to honor women's rights, but within "cultural frameworks"

THE MOST HIGH-PROFILE AL QAEDA PLOT FOILED AFTER 9/11 WAS AN FBI SCAM
TheIntercept | Alice Speri | 08/14/21

A new Frontline documentary details the case of the “Liberty City Seven,” a group of men the FBI coached into pledging allegiance to Al Qaeda.

THE BIGGEST Al Qaeda plot the FBI claimed to have foiled in the years following the 9/11 attacks involved no weapons, no plot, and no Al Qaeda. Instead, the vague, implausible threat by a group of construction workers in Florida to blow up U.S. buildings, including Chicago’s Sears Tower, was mostly the making of the FBI, whose undercover operatives sought out the men, promised them money, and coached them over months to implicate themselves in a conspiracy to commit violent acts they never actually intended or had the means to carry out.

The “Liberty City Seven” case — known by its connection to the poor, violence-ridden Miami neighborhood where the men involved lived — was the most high-profile FBI investigation of a supposed terrorist cell after the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. It came as the bureau, which had failed to act on intelligence it had received before 9/11, faced enormous pressure to predict and stop the next attack, setting off its transformation, in the words of former Deputy Director John Pistole, “from reactive crime-solving agency to preventative national security agency.” ... Read more

In the Shadow of 9/11 (full documentary) | FRONTLINE | 08/10/21 | 1:53:18

Kabul's collapse
Axios | Staff | 08/17/21

1. Taliban declare "amnesty" and call on women to join new governmenta>
   
2. How Kabul fell so fast
   
3. Biden on Afghanistan: "I stand squarely behind my decision"
   
4. The defining image of Biden's Afghanistan exit
   
5. Democrats eye budget reconciliation to aid Afghan refugees
   
6. Taliban accumulate massive amounts of U.S.-supplied firepower
   
7. Afghan women and girls fear for their futures after Taliban victory ... Read more



Haiti quake death toll climbs to 1,419 as heavy rain complicates rescue efforts
Axios | staff | 08/17/21

Heavy rain from Tropical Storm Grace drenched Haiti Monday into Tuesday, complicating rescue efforts following Saturday's earthquake that left at least 1,419 people dead and tens of thousands homeless.

Driving the news: Up to 15 inches of rain were expected in parts of the country, with officials bracing for possible flash floods and mudslides. ... Read more

Western States Face First Colorado River Water Cuts As Megadrought Drains Reservoirs
HP | Alexander C. Kaufman | 08/17/21

Arizona, Nevada and two Mexican states that rely on the Colorado River for drinking water and irrigation will face cuts to their supply next year as a prolonged megadrought parches the American West, leaves reservoirs depleted and casts doubt over the future of vital freshwater reserves as climate change worsens.

On Monday, the federal Bureau of Reclamation declared a water shortage at Lake Mead as water levels fell below the 1,075-foot threshold that triggers mandatory reductions in the amount of water the nation’s largest reservoir dispenses to millions in the lower Colorado River Basin.

The cutbacks mark the first time in Lake Mead’s 86-year history that demand for water has eclipsed what federal authorities can safely supply, even in a system where reservoirs store four times more water than what flows annually down the river. The tier-one shortage — the worst designation, based on the lake’s record-low water levels — paints a troubling picture of the hardships to come as the Southwest’s growing population competes for dwindling resources while temperatures rise and precipitation falls due to soaring fossil fuel emissions. The region’s stored water capacity dropped to 40% last month, down from 49% a year earlier. ... Read more

System failure in Afghanistan
Axios | Mike Allen | o8/16/21

The Taliban's lightning seizure of Afghanistan's capital yesterday exposed stunning failures of American intelligence, imagination and execution that will be studied as long as people study history.

The big picture: The United States was literally run out of town after 20 years, $1 trillion and 2,448 service members' lives lost.

Mohammad Naeem, the spokesman for the Taliban's political office, told Al Jazeera TV today: "Thanks to God, the war is over in the country."

Why it matters: A friend who spent more than a decade as a U.S. official in Afghanistan and Iraq texted me that the collapse "shows we missed something fundamental -- something systemic in our intel, military and diplomatic service over the decades -- deeper than a single (horrible) decision." ... ... Read more

COMPLETE FAILURE: 20-YEAR 'NATION-BUILDING' COLLAPSES IN DAYS
HP | author | date

In a stunning rout, the Taliban seized nearly all of Afghanistan in just over a week.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The U.S. military struggled to manage a chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan on Monday as the Taliban patrolled the capital and tried to project calm after toppling the Western-backed government.

The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing a stunning end to a two-decade campaign in which the U.S. and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan. The country's Western-trained security forces collapsed in a matter of days, even before the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops.

Thousands of Afghans fearing a return to Taliban rule are trying to flee the country through Kabul's international airport. Videos circulating on social media showed hundreds of people racing across the tarmac as U.S. soldiers fired warning shots in the air. Another showed a crowd pushing and shoving its way up a staircase, trying to board a plane, with some people hanging off the railings. ... ... Read more

Ransomware: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | John Oliver | 08/16/21 | 22:06

Kabul's collapse followed string of intel failures, defense officials say
Politico | Lara Seligman | 08/16/21

Military planners sounding the alarm about Afghanistan's imminent collapse failed to predict the speed with which the Taliban would overrun the country, leaving the Biden administration scrambling to evacuate thousands of American citizens, embassy staffers and vulnerable Afghans from Kabul's international airport.

Though officials warned repeatedly over the past few weeks that the Afghan government could fall far sooner than previous estimates -- weeks or months after the last American troops depart the country -- they overestimated the capability and will of the Afghan security forces to fight back as the Taliban seized city after city in recent days, defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive planning, told POLITICO. ... Read more

IPCC's journey from "probable" to "unequivocal" on human-caused warming
Axios | Andrew Freedman | 08/10/21

Out of the more than 3,000 pages in Monday's landmark climate reporta>, one word stood out: "unequivocal." What they're saying: "It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land," the report stated.

... The bottom line: There is actually an even stronger attribution statement in Monday's report, hidden in the technical summary but noticed by the AP's Seth Borenstein. It states that the "Human influence on the climate system is now an established fact." It also describes the human influence on extreme weather and climate events as an "established fact." ... Read more

UN Warns Unprecedented Climate Change Is Here | TYT | 08/10/21 | 11:46

Wildfires devastate California towns amid extreme weather, drought
Click on Image to Zoom in
Axios | Andrew Freedman | 08/06/21

Wildfires are expanding in Northern California after destroying communities nestled in the Sierras on Wednesday night and Thursday, with the Dixie Fire now ranking as the sixth largest blaze in state history. It's likely to move up the list Friday morning.

Why it matters: Yet again, California is giving the country a lesson in what climate change looks like after just 1.2°C (2.16°F) of global warming.

The West is in the midst of a brutally hot and severe drought, and fires are burning in areas where wildfire risk indices are off the charts -- and peak fire season doesn't arrive for another month.

The big picture: With multiple record-shattering heat waves, the worst drought seen across the West this century, longstanding forest management practices that have loaded forests with more trees to burn, and human-caused climate change escalating things further, the West faces a calamitous end of summer into early fall. ... Read more

California hits drought milestone as Oroville hydropower stops for first time
Politico | Debra Kahn | 08/06/21

SAN FRANCISCO — California water managers on Thursday shut down hydropower generation at Lake Oroville for the first time ever due to falling lake levels, a major milestone in the state's historic drought.

What happened: The Hyatt Powerplant at Lake Oroville went offline for the first time in history due to low water levels in the state's second largest reservoir. The lake typically generates electricity by sending water through its turbines, but it can't produce power when lake levels fall below 630-640 feet. Levels hit 642 feet on Thursday, according to state data. ... Read more

Biden, top automakers aim for 50% electric vehicle sales by 2030
Axios | Ben Geman | 08/05/21

The White House on Thursday is unveiling draft mandates and aspirational targets aimed at drastically cutting vehicle carbon emissions and accelerating the shift to electric models.

... The rollout provides the most complete picture yet of how the White House hopes to reduce them, and the state of talks with huge automakers. President Biden also hopes to juice domestic manufacturing of EVs, batteries and related supplies. ...

... In a related move, auto giants Ford, GM, VW, Stellantis and others are announcing non-binding goals of having 40%-50% of their U.S. sales come from fully electric, fuel cell or plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2030. ... Read more

Emergency Medical Services: Last Week Tonight | John Oliver | 08/02/21 | 21:39

Europe fries in a heat wave made ‘more intense by climate change’
Politico | Zia Weise | 08/05/21

Fires, floods and roasting temperatures hit Europe from Finland to Sicily.

The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sixth Assessment Report, to be released on August 9, is expected to draw clearer conclusions than ever before about the links between climate change and extreme weather, such as heat waves.

The IPCC produces major summaries of the state of climate science roughly every six or seven years. The first section of the sixth edition comes amid a barrage of extreme weather events across Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, which have been linked to climate change. ... Read more

New York City revives vaccine passports
Axios | Caitlin Owens | 08/04/21

New York City yesterday became the first city in the U.S. to require proof of coronavirus vaccination for indoor dining and other leisure activities, a measure popular among public health experts but previously squashed by political backlash to "vaccine passports."

Why it matters: Employers and now local governments are starting to ensure that remaining unvaccinated will have consequences for everyday life, testing the resolve of those who say nothing could persuade them to get a shot. Driving the news: New Yorkers soon must be fully vaccinated to dine indoors, visit gyms or participate in other indoor entertainment. Some restaurants and bars have voluntarily adopted such policies already, but New York has become the first government to mandate them. ... Read more

“The 12 Million Mile Battery”

magazine | banyanhill.com | 08/04/21

New Iron-Air Battery outperforms best Lithium Ion tech. Cheap. Abundant. Non-toxic & Carbon Free. | Just Have a Think | 08/01/21 | 11:27

These Pools Help Support Half The People On Earth | Veritasium | 01/21/21 | 19:23

Democrats scramble for cash to cover Biden’s $3.5T plan
Politico | Jennifer Scholtes | 08/03/21

Democrats are scouring for savings and new tax money to bankroll their multitrillion-dollar plan of liberal spending priorities, drumming up a list of options ranging from raising the corporate tax rate to lowering prescription drug costs.

The majority party has said the still-forthcoming bill will be “fully paid for.” But it won’t be easy to raise enough money to offset as much as $3.5 trillion in spending — a sum so massive it would eclipse the total GDP of Spain, Australia and Switzerland combined.

... The package's architects argue that, in many ways, the bill will eventually pay for itself by boosting the inflow of tax revenue. That “dynamic scoring” strategy will help justify part of the steep price tag, though that method of paying for legislation has spurred criticism from both Democrats and Republicans in the past. ... Read more

SpaceX Hardcore Starbase and Starship Surge, Nauka Causes ISS Tilt, SpaceX Wins Europa Clipper | Marcus House | 07/31/21 | 20:58

SpaceX Starship on focus | Elon Musk reveals the heart of Super Heavy booster | Engineering Today | 07/31/21 | 10:26 | 07/31/21 | 20:58

The case for climate change realism
Axios| Andrew Freedman | 08/02/21

It’s getting harder and harder to communicate the two essential realities of human-caused climate change: that our failure to slow and eventually stop it is contributing to devastating human suffering all over the world, and that it’s not too late to act.

The big picture: Experts have long told climate communicators —including scientists, journalists and politicians — that disaster porn immobilizes people, leaving them cowering in a corner. You've got to give them a sense of hope, the research shows.

During the past few months, we've seen an unprecedented, deadly heat wave in the Pacific Northwest that shocked veteran climate researchers, wildfires raging across the West well ahead of peak fire season, and cities and towns flooded in Europe, China and elsewhere.

... But the fact is that we're still on course for at least 3°C (5.4°F) of warming compared to the preindustrial era, based on the latest emissions reduction pledges. And if climate models that project even more warming for the same amount of emissions are correct, it could be closer to 4°C (7.2°F). ...