Category Archives: World Leaders

THE BEADY EYE LOOKS AT THE FAR RIGHT AS A VOTING PROPOSITION.

07 Thursday Mar 2019

Posted by in 2019., Democracy, European Elections 2019, European Union., Freedom, Modern day life., Our Common Values., Politics., Post - truth politics., Reality., The common good., The far-right., The Obvious., The world to day., Unanswered Questions., WHAT IS TRUTH, What needs to change in European Union., What Needs to change in the World, Where's the Global Outrage., World Leaders, World Politics, World Racism

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(Fourteen-minute read)

BEFORE YOU VOTE IN THE FORTHCOMING EUROPEAN ELECTION YOU SHOULD BE WELL ADVISED TO KNOW WHAT EXACTLY DO THE FAR RIGHT PARTIES STAND FOR.Résultat de recherche d'images pour "PICTURES OF THE FAR RIGHT"

The European far right represents a confluence of many ideologies: nationalism, socialism, anti-Semitism, authoritarianism.

Given the significant variations that exist between these parties and groups, any term that groups them together and compares them will have limitations.

But the term “far right” is the least problematic precisely because it can be used, on the one hand, to identify the overarching similarities that make them comparable, and on the other to distinguish between different variants.

Though Europe’s far-right parties differ in important respects, they are motivated by a common sense of mission: to save their homelands from what they view as the corrosive effects of multiculturalism and globalization by creating a closed-off, ethnically homogeneous society.

Under the “far right” umbrella, we must distinguish between two sub-categories: extreme and radical right.

The extreme right includes both vigilante groups and political parties that are often openly racist, have clear ties to fascism and also employ violence and aggressive tactics. These groups may operate either outside or within the realm of electoral politics or both.

The term “right-wing populism”, however, is less appropriate.

Populism is an even broader umbrella that often includes disparate parties and groups.

To narrow down this category, we often tend to conflate populism and nationalism, identifying a party as populist, not on the basis of its populist attributes – what party doesn’t claim to speak on behalf of the people in a democracy? – but on the basis of its nationalist attributes.

But despite the similarities between “populism” and “nationalism” – both emphasise conflict lines, focus on the collective, and put forward a vision of an ideal society – the two are conceptually different. While the former pits the people against the elites, the latter pits the in-group against the out-group.

In part, both can be seen as a backlash against the political establishment in the wake of the financial and migrant crises, but the wave of discontent also taps into long-standing fears about globalisation and a dilution of national identity.

This civic nationalist rhetoric presents culture as a value issue, justifying exclusion on purported threats posed by those who do not share “our” liberal democratic values.

The justification is that certain cultures and religions are intolerant and inherently antithetical to democracy.

They tend to oppose procedural democracy with some common themes, such as hostility to immigration, anti-Islamic rhetoric and Euroscepticism.

The forthcoming elections are going to expose just who are they, where they are, what are their political programmes and why they have risen from the political fringes.

So where does this leave Europe’s political landscape?

Will the far right triumph in Europe in 2019?

Will the far right redraw the political map of Europe?

Is the European Union being pulled inexorably towards the agenda of the far

right? 

There is little point here in listing party after party, it is sufficient to say that they all to some degrees or other blame and want to get rid of migrants. While conveniently ignoring that their countries are for the most part made up of refugees in one form or another.

If the far right wins 100 seats in the new European parliament this year, and the EPP group’s drift to nationalism and xenophobia continues, it is safe to say the projects of integration and social liberalism will be on hold.

They believed in what Trump promised in the USA.

The reality is that the EU in the forthcoming elections needs to look at the next distribution of structural funds. It needs to redefine the allocation criteria to reflect the preparedness of regions and authorities to receive and integrate migrants.

What is the solution?

It is surely this:

For the centre-left and the radical left to seek tactical unity with as many green and liberal parties as possible to defend democracy, suppress fascism and end austerity.

At the moment it’s hard to get the leaders of the European radical left to occupy the same room, let alone persuade social democratic politicians to collaborate with them.

However, the migration issue is the starting point of a continental power struggle pitching two very different versions of the principles that should bind Europe together.

One is liberal democratic, and attuned to the notion of an open society; the other is fortress-minded, illiberal and intolerant.

These far-right leaders are now uniting to attempt a national-populist takeover of the EU as we’ve known it.

There is, however, one wild-card option with a non-negligible chance of happening:

Theresa May falls, a second referendum cancels Brexit, Article 50 is revoked, Britain elects new MEPs and a new, left-led British government appoints a commissioner to match its politics. A unilateral cancellation of Brexit would merely leave Britain with all its rights under the status quo: but it would alter the dynamics of Europe.

Because even at 40 per cent of the vote, a new raft of left-affiliated MEPs would shift the balance in the parliament, while a feisty, communicative left commissioner from the fifth-largest economy in the world would tilt the balance in the EU.

For the democratic-minded across Europe, Europe needs to get its priorities right before it’s too late.

We all need to ask ourselves why should we relive the pain and terror today of far-right policies?

Surely if we Europeans have learnt anything it is that we all must distance ourselves from fascism in order to appeal to broader electorates.

And so herein lies the problem.

If nationalism is always a feature of the far right, as most researchers agree, what is the added value of the term “populism”? To put it another way, what is the difference between a radical right-wing party and a populist radical right-wing party? While populism may or may not be an attribute of some far-right parties, it is not their defining feature. Rather, nationalism is.

But while these parties differ in many ways, their progressive entrenchment in their national political systems raises similar questions about out-group exclusion, anti-immigration narratives and mainstream responses.

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, a leading advocate of the alt-right in the United States, is hoping the movement can lead Europe’s nationalist and populist parties to a strong showing next May.

For me “Bannon is American and has no place in a European political party.

It is disrespectful and unnecessary!

Many of the themes of Bannonism/Trumpism do not translate well in Europe.

For far-right groups, the migrant issue is something of a zero-sum game:

One country’s “gain” (by refusing refugees) is necessarily another’s nation’s “loss”.

Ultimately, as national right-wing groups chart their paths forward, few will find their domestic legitimacy bolstered by linking up with other groups on the far right.

Allusions to transnational links complicate matters for most of them.

The history of far-right activism is replete with examples of efforts to develop international links, and their failure.

The reason why far-right populists in Europe do not coordinate more systematically is that most of them are profoundly different, both in policy and style.Résultat de recherche d'images pour "PICTURES OF THE FAR RIGHT"

The sad truth is that it does not take Steve Bannon to build a strong far right in Europe. The voters are doing his job perfectly well – by not voting, and by supporting nationalist, anti-EU forces in their home countries.

History repeats itself, sadly, so don’t vote with false news spread by social media.

There are more than 40 million Muslims and 1.6 million Jews in Europe.

Do they need our votes?

I don’t think they need our votes. They need our kosher stamp.

No country can be forced to take in refugees. Every country has the right to say, ‘We don’t want others coming here.’ But the moment we’re talking about [engaging with parties that talk of] restriction on freedom of religion and racism.

The old world order is going through a lot of turbulence and is in danger of collapsing.

Those who believe in social democratic, green or liberal agendas have become accustomed to viewing far-right populists as automatically anti-EU.

Faced with this ideological flexibility, pro-EU politicians will need to think long and hard about how to protect the EU from those who would misuse it to promote a darker vision of Europe. These right-wing parties should be ostracized.

Make an informed choice rather than a mere expression of frustration with the EU in May.

There’s no steady political weathervane pointing in only one direction.

FOR ME:

OVER THE NEXT TWELVE YEARS WITH ALL OF US TREATED BY CLIMATE CHANGE  THAT IS GOING TO MAKE EVERYTHING IRREVELENT WHY WASTE A VOTE ON A FAR RIGHT OR INDEED FOR THAT MATTER ON A FAR LEFT PARTY WHEN WHAT IS NEEDED IS A VOTE THAT BRINGS US ALL TOGETHER TO ACT.

The far right has never had the slightest interest in the unknown.

It wants to be told the news it wants to hear, and the atmosphere of mystery it cultivates—like the pseudo-science to which it often gives rise—only exists to provide obvious lies with a vague cover of authority, a comfortably blurred prestige.

The tinder is dry, waiting for a lighted match.

All human comments appreciated. All like clicks and abuse chucked in the bin.

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THE BEADY EYE SAY’S: ITS TIME FOR SOME DEEP AUTHENTICITY ABOUT WHAT WE ARE ALL FACING.

02 Saturday Mar 2019

Posted by in Climate Change., Paris Climate Change Conference 2015, Reality., Sustaniability, The common good., The essence of our humanity., The Obvious., The world to day., Unanswered Questions., WHAT IS TRUTH, What Needs to change in the World, Where's the Global Outrage., World Leaders, World Organisations., World Politics

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(THREE MINUTE READ)

YOU MIGHT BE FEELING ANGER, YOU MIGHT BE FEELING GRIEF, OR TERROR, FORGET ALL THAT NOW IT THE TIME FOR AUTHENTICITY FOR TELLING THE TRUTH.

YET THE EVIDENCE FOR HUMANITY’S ROLE IN CHANGING THE CLIMATE CONTINUES TO MOUNT, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES ARE INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO IGNORE.

THERE’S A VAST AND GROWING GAP BETWEEN THE URGENCY TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE POLICIES NEEDED TO COMBAT IT.

WE CAN NO LONGER NOR CAN OUR WORLD LEADERS NO LONGER NOT BE TAKING STEPS TO AVERT CLIMATE CHANGE.

WE NEED DEEP ADAPTATION TO WHAT IS COMING.

WE MUST REBEL AGAINST UNSTANABILITY IN ALL ITS FORMS.

NOW, IT IS THE TIME FOR REALIZING HOW REAL ALL THIS IS.

NOW IT IS THE TIME FOR MASS NON- VIOLENT DIRECT ACTION.

NOW IT IS THE TIME FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND OUR TV CHANNELS TO BE SPREADING THE WORD.

NOW IT IS THE TIME TO USE YOUR BUYING POWER TO DRIVE HOME THAT THIS IS NOT A FANATICISM THAT IS GOING TO BE SOLVE BY TECHNOLOGY

DON’T BE FOOLED THAT CHANGING YOUR LIGHT BULB OR JOINING THE GREEN PARTY IS GOING TO BE ENOUGH. WE NEED AN ABSOLUTE STEP CHANGE, AND WE HAVE BEEN IN NEED OF IT FOR A LONG TIME.

THE SOCIETIES AND GOVERNMENTS THAT ARE COMMITTING US TO OBLIVION CAN NO LONGER BE LEGITIMATE IF WHAT THEY ARE  ADVOCATING IS MASS EXTINCTION.

IT IS HIGHT TIME WE FREE OUR SELVES FROM THE ASSUMPTION OF POLITICAL BUSINESS AS USUAL.

THE PARIS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCES, THE G8 MEETINGS, THE UNITED NATIONS, THE DONAL TRUMPS AND JAIR BOLAONARO OF THIS WORLD MUST BE PUT OUT TO GRAZING.

WE HAVE DESTROYED HALF OF NON-HUMAN LIFE ON EARTH IN MY LIFETIME.

WE ARE NOW PUTTING OUR SELVES ON THE ENDANGER LIST.

WE MUST DEMAND THAT CARBON ADMISSION BE REDUCES TO ZERO BY 2025.

THIS IS THE REAL TARGET.

HOW CAN THIS BE DONE?

BY USING OUR BUYING POWER. FORMING SMALL GROUPS THAT AGREE TO BOYCOTT PRODUCTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROBLEM.

BY REALISING THAT WHEN YOU LOOK OUT YOUR WINDOW ALTHOUGH YOU MIGHT BE LOOKING AT A BLUE SKY THAT SOMEWHERE ELSE ON THE PLANTE IS ON FIRE, IS UNDERWATER, OR IS BEING FLATTENED BY HURRICANE WINDS.

BY REALISING THAT GROWTH AT ALL COST AND THE TECHNOLOGY IT IS PRODUCING WILL NOT STOP CLIMATE CHANGE.

BY REALISING THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT WARS OVER THE LAST DROP OF FRESHWATER OR THE LAST PIECE OF DRY LAND OR DEPARTURE FROM EARTH INTO OBLIVION.

BY REALISING THAT THIS IS HAPPENING IN YOUR LIFETIME AND THE RESPONSIBILITY TO AVOID IT BELONGS WITH US. 

BY ADOPTING A 0.05% WORLD AID TAX. ( See previous posts)

SUCH A TAX OR COMMISSION WOULD REVERSE THE FUNDAMENTAL INEQUALITY WHEN IT COMES REDUCING GLOBAL EMISSIONS.

BY NOT BUILDING ANY MORE NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS WHOS BYE PRODUCT WASTE CONTAMINATED THE EARTH. Image associée

LET ME ASK YOU THIS QUESTION:

WHAT IS THE POINT OF ANYTHING IF WE DON’T HAVE A LIVEABLE PLANET?

REGARDLESS OF WHAT PATH WE CHOOSE, THE KEY THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT WE ARE GOING TO PAY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

OUR CHOICES NOW DO MATTER, BUT WE’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME TO MAKE THEM.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO?

YES.

JOIN THE DiEM25 AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE: 

In order to do so, sign up at www.our.europeanspring.net.

All human comments appreciated/ All like clicks and abuse chucked in the bin.

 

 

 

 

THE BEADY EYE ASK’S: WHEN THIS BRIXIT MAYHEM IS ALL OVER. THERE WILL BE QUESTIONS GALORE AS TO HOW IT ALL HAPPENED IN THE FIRST PLACE. ANOTHER FACE BOOK VICTORY.

13 Thursday Dec 2018

Posted by in #whatif.com, 2018: The Year of Disconnection., Algorithms., Artificial Intelligence., Big Data., Brexit., Democracy, Facebook, HUMAN INTELLIGENCE, Humanity., Life., Modern Day Communication., Modern Day Democracy., Modern day life., Our Common Values., Politics., Populism., Reality., Social Media, Sustaniability, Technology, The common good., The essence of our humanity., The Future, The Obvious., The world to day., Twitter, Unanswered Questions., What Needs to change in the World, Where's the Global Outrage., World Leaders, World Organisations., World Politics

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(Seven-minute read)

Facebook is more powerful than a nation-state.

Facebook is in the business of exploiting your data.Résultat de recherche d'images pour "pictures of the erosion of democracy"

Platforms like Facebook enable people’s data to be used in ways that take power away from voters and give it to data-analyzing campaigners.

Unfortunately, it seems that none of us sees this. We don’t hold media technology firms accountable for degrading our public conversations.

With only months to go before Britain exits the European Union, the English government is in meltdown oblivious to what is happening in the world beyond and how it connects to Britain

All eyes are transfixed on the EU exit sign.

Critically, both for the EU and England it’s what happened on Social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook that will remain the biggest question of all after Brexit.

Both Twitter and Facebook have become a giant funnel not just for dark ads, but for dark money that evades election finance laws and the control of money spent during elections is the very basis of our electoral laws.

If we are now failing to recognise the above we are failing to appreciate how social media is breaking our democracy.Résultat de recherche d'images pour "pictures of the erosion of democracy"

While we all are all burying our heads in the sand of smartphone it is obvious that Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter are the perfect cover for something far more chilling controlling the expression of public opinion in the political debate.

Although Twitter and Facebook are categorised as social networking services, in fact, they are as different as chalk and cheese. And, of the two, Twitter is more important in one respect: its impact on the arena in which societies discuss their political issues.

Twitter also has the capacity to turn “ordinary” people into broadcasters, a development whose implications we are only just beginning to digest. Yellow Jackets, Brixiters who form the conclusion are perhaps three hundred miles distant from those who hear the arguments?

Technologies such as Twitter, which offer real-time tracking of public opinion, are the visible foundations of the Arab Spring, Donald Trump’s election, Brexit and the Yellowjackets.

Democracy and the rule of law are been subverted in plain sight.

If you look at the USA Twitter is the de facto newswire for the planet, which means that a company that can regulate expressions of opinion might be very powerful indeed.

And that should make us nervous.

So is there anything that can be done?

No much unless we pass laws regulating these platforms and make them responsible for what is posted on their platforms.

One of the most striking aspects of the epoch-making Brexit is (as with the Syrian War the Iraq, and Yemen war) is the way many MPs cited the emailed opposition of their constituents to armed intervention as a reason for voting against the proposed action.

Thus, it is evident that we are all increasingly embracing the importance of social media and its value in modern human communication.

However, this trend can only be assumed as the beginning of an envisioned well connected and digital adept world.

So recent history has evidenced that Social Media is a potent tool with transformational abilities to shape and influence the way in which people communicate and share information.

One of the qualities that define Social Media is its ability to transcend beyond borders, without observing spatial distance that exists between and amongst the geographies.

In addition, social media connects individuals on a semi-personal level, while allowing instantaneous feedback and dialogue.

But, this does not rule out the possible abuse of such innocent yet powerful platforms of communications.

Different sectors ranging from government to business also embeds and encourages the embracement of social media platforms into their processes in order to enhance organisational efficiency.

We might be gradually realising the significance of social media for democratic benefits that it is seen as an agent of public discourse and a driver of public participation and freedom of speech amid political and democratic uncertainty.

It might be rising the political and democratic consciousness but the power of social media in the political and democratic dispensation cannot be underestimated.

Is social media damaging democracy? Yes, but we can also use social media to save democracy.

We have to stop governments from colluding with an omniscient surveillance superpower but use it as their eyes to see the inequalities we all live in.

THERE IS NOT THE TIME FOR COUNTRIES TO BE MOVING TO ID ISOLATION IF WE ARE TO HARNESS TECHNOLOGY TO SERVE THE WORLD.

Just as there is nothing inevitable about democratic survival, neither is the demise of democracy guaranteed.

These changes are especially likely to go unnoticed when popularly elected leaders twist laws to their advantage or frame attacks on checks and balances as populist reforms limiting the power of elites.

Civil society must reclaim its rightful place by demanding genuine participation in governance, including decisions on peace initiatives, environmental protection and trade and investment agreements.

A large part of humanity still doesn’t have it. Résultat de recherche d'images pour "pictures of the erosion of democracy"

All human comments appreciated. All abuse and like clicks chucked in the bin of the cloud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE BEADY EYE SAY’S: ” THE TIME WILL COME WHEN WE REALIZE THAT WE ARE NOT ABLE TO EAT MONEY.”

28 Wednesday Nov 2018

Posted by in Capitalism, Climate Change., Environment, Fourth Industrial Revolution., Humanity., Life., Modern day life., Natural World Disasters, Our Common Values., Paris Climate Change Conference 2015, Reality., Sustaniability, Technology, The common good., The essence of our humanity., The Obvious., The world to day., Unanswered Questions., Wealth., What Needs to change in the World, Where's the Global Outrage., World Leaders, World Politics

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WE SHOULD BE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THE ABOVE QUOTATION.

It is a “Native American saying”.

“Canada, the most affluent of countries, operates on a depletion economy which leaves destruction in its wake. Your people are driven by a terrible sense of deficiency. When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can’t eat money.”

When one stands back from one’s self the above sums up the present state of our world.Résultat de recherche d'images pour "THE TIME WILL COME WHEN WE REALIZE THAT WE CANNOT EAT MONEY"

Present needs and present gains was the rule of action—which seems to be a sort of transmitted quality which we in our now enlightened time have not wholly outgrown, for even now a few men can be found who seem willing to destroy the last tree, the last fish and the last game bird and animal, and leave nothing for posterity, if thereby some money can be made.

We are unable to change as we have turned everything into commodities to make material profit or power.

WHY?

Because most are suffocating in a sea of debt, unable to extricate themselves from the shackles of an abhorrent situation inherently created by the consumptionism and consumerism that grips much of the world’s population.

We are, in effect, products of our own society, now being exploited by AI for profit.

What is needed is a World Conference of every nation to enshrine in law the protection of Clean Air, Freshwater, the protection of the environment and ecosystems that we all rely on for life on the planet.

The richer we are and the more we consume, the more self-centered and careless of the lives of others we appear to become.

Our erroneous belief that we are more concerned about manmade climate change than the people of other nations informs the sentiment, often voiced by the press and politicians, that there’s no point in acting if the rest of the world won’t play its part.

Only when the crisis causes or exacerbates an acute disaster – such as the floods – is there a flicker of anxiety, but that quickly dies away.

Sustaining interest in this great but slow-burning crisis of climate change is a challenge no one seems to have mastered.

For years we’ve been told that people cannot afford to care about the natural world until they become rich; that only economic growth can save the biosphere, that civilisation marches towards enlightenment about our impacts on the living planet.

The results suggest the opposite.

The more we consume, the less we feel. And maybe that doesn’t just apply to guilt.

Perhaps that’s the point of our otherwise-pointless hyperconsumption: it smothers feeling. It might also be the effect of the constant bombardment of advertising and marketing. They seek to replace our attachments to people and place with attachments to objects: attachments which the next round of advertising then breaks in the hope of attaching us to a different set of objects.

Even if you somehow put aside the direct, physical impacts of rising consumption, it’s hard to understand how anyone could imagine that economic growth is a formula for protecting the planet.

So what we seem to see here is the turning of a vicious circle.

The more harm we do, the less concerned about it we become. And the more hyperconsumerism destroys relationships, communities and the physical fabric of the Earth, the more we try to fill the void in our lives by buying more stuff.

This is an almost inevitable result of a society that has become restructured around shopping, fashion, celebrity and an obsession with money.

How we break the circle and wake people out of this dream world is the question that all those who love the living planet should address.

There is only one easy answers.

We must make Greed in all its forms of profit for profit sake pay. ( See previous Posts – A world Aid commission )

Agreement’s like the Paris Climate Change promises are not worth the paper there are written on without the necessary finance to create a change of mind.

All human comments appreciated. All like clicks chucked in the bin.

 

THE BEADY EYE ASK,S: WHAT HAVE US HUMANS ACHIEVED TO DATE.

08 Thursday Nov 2018

Posted by in 2018: The Year of Disconnection., Climate Change., Environment, Evolution, HUMAN INTELLIGENCE, Humanity., Life., Natural World Disasters, Politics., Populism., Reality., Sustaniability, Technology, The common good., The current state of our oceans., The essence of our humanity., The Future, The Obvious., The world to day., Unanswered Questions., Where's the Global Outrage., World Leaders, World Organisations., World Politics

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(Three-minute read)

We have been on earth 300,000 years or maybe even longer.

WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED IN THAT TIME-  OTHER THAN INVENTING NEW WAY OF KILLING EACH OTHER.Résultat de recherche d'images pour "pictures of human achievement"

I suppose the answer is we still exist.

Anyway, there is now compelling evidence THAT WE ARE ON THE THRESHOLD OF OUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE.

Humanity’s impact on the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and wildlife are pushing the world into a new geological epoch.

Humans have introduced entirely novel changes, geologically speaking, such as the roughly 300m metric tonnes of plastic produced annually.

Wildlife, meanwhile, is being pushed into an ever smaller area of the Earth, with just 25% of ice-free land considered wild now compared to 50% three centuries ago.

As a result, rates of extinction of species are far above long-term averages.

We [the public] are well aware of the climate discussions that are going on.

But there is more than one aspect of the changes happening to the entire planet.

The Earth is now on course for a sixth mass extinction which would see 75% of species extinct in the next few centuries if current trends continue.

  • Increased the concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere by about 120 parts per million since the industrial revolution because of fossil fuel-burning, leaving concentrations today at around 400ppm and rising
  • Nuclear weapon tests in the 1950s and 60s left traces of an isotope common in nature, 14C, and a naturally rare isotope, 293Pu, through the Earth’s mid-latitudes.
  •  We have put so much plastic in our waterways and oceans that microplastic particles are now virtually ubiquitous, and plastics will likely leave identifiable fossil records for future generations to discover.
  • We have doubled the nitrogen and phosphorous in our soils in the past century with our fertiliser use. According to some research, we’ve had the largest impact on the nitrogen cycle in 2.5bn years.
  • We have left a permanent marker in sediment and glacial ice with airborne particulates such as black carbon from fossil fuel-burning.

We will reach the hard reality whereby the planet we call home cannot keep us.

Even if like in the past we are able to get ourselves of this quite uncomfortable position with the developing technology we are going to see our civilization strained.

We are already using Earths resources that cannot and will not be replenished.

Granted we have come a long way from our biggins but with the human population set to continue to grow exponentially, there is no sense whether your black, white, rich, poor, Trump or Putin, Muslim or Christian, in the EU or out not cooperating together to share what we all need.

IF WE CANNOT ADDRESS THE OBVIOUS WITHOUT TURNING THEM INTO COMMODITIES TO BE SOLD ON THE STOCK EXCHANGE FOR PROFIT WE CAN REST ASSURED WHEN YOU ARE DEPARTED AND GONE THAT YOU WILL BE THE LUCKY ONE.

All the rhetoric without funds without the distribution of wealth and technology will achieve nothing.

THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO ACHIEVE ANYTHING – TAP INTO GREED.

(See: Previous posts re A World Aid commission)

All human comments appreciated. All like clicks chucked in the bin.

 

 

THE BEADY EYE SAY’S. #WHAT IF.COM THE EUROPEAN UNION ISSUED GREEN ENERGY TREASURY BONDS.

06 Tuesday Nov 2018

Posted by in #whatif.com, Climate Change., Environment, European Commission., European Union., HUMAN INTELLIGENCE, Humanity., Modern Day Democracy., Natural World Disasters, Nuclear power., Our Common Values., Politics., Reality., Social Media, Sustaniability, Technology, The essence of our humanity., The Future, The Obvious., The world to day., Twitter, Unanswered Questions., What needs to change in European Union., What Needs to change in the World, World Leaders, World Organisations.

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We are all realizing that climate change needs to be addressed.

Technology, governments, and world organisations will contribute but if we the citizens of the earth only pay lip attention like our politicians that are more concerned about the latest twitter we have a recipe for disaster.

Changing our habits one by one will take a lifetime.

So # What if.com has a suggestion that could be adopted by the Europen Union or for that matter any country.

We all know that energy is essential to us all and that we have the green technology to wean us off fossil fuels.Résultat de recherche d'images pour "pictures of energy conservation"

The problem is it the replacement.

Pounds of CO2 emitted per million British thermal units (Btu) of energy for various fuels:

Coal (anthracite) 228.6
Coal (bituminous) 205.7
Coal (lignite) 215.4
Coal (subbituminous) 214.3
Diesel fuel and heating oil 161.3
Gasoline (without ethanol) 157.2
Propane 139.0
Natural gas 117.0

THERE ARE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF SMALL TOWNS AND VILLAGE ALL OVER EUROPE.

 #WHATIF.COM SUGGESTION.

WITH SOME CREATIVE INITIATIVES FROM OURSELVES, OUR GOVERNMENTS AND WITH HELP FROM THE EU THESE VILLAGES AND TOWNS COULD BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT IN ENEGERY.

Nuclear energy, wind turbines, are not wanted for obvious reasons. Of all the long-term solution to reduce carbon emissions solar energy is the prefered option.

So until we crack fusion there is endless energy to be had from the sun.

There is no reason for half a dozen major energy companies that have come to dominate the market to offer repayable grants to every community to establish utility-scale energy co-ops to run small solar farms.

These co-ops can be funded in several ways.

By:  The issuing of EU environmental green bonds.

By:  A solar levy that could be progressively applied to bigger electricity bills.

BY: Customers who can either purchase a share of a solar garden and own that portion of the overall array or they can lease energy from the solar system and, in a sense, replace their monthly utility payments with monthly community solar payments that are typically at a lower price.

By: National grids paying for the excess energy generated with these payments guaranteed for 20 years.

WHEN ONE LOOKS AT SOLAR ENERGY WE SEE INDIVIDUAL HOUSES WITH SOLAR PANELS AND MORE THAN LIKELY ARE ASKING THE QUESTION WHY SHOULD WE BE PAYING FOR AFFLUENT RICH PEOPLE INDULGING IN GREEN CRAP?

OF COURSE, BIG ENERGY COMPANIES DONE WANT TO LOSE THEIR REVENUE BASE. However, increasing the amount of electricity storage has huge value to the National Grid because it helps balance variable supply and erratic demand.

Also, batteries will help the grid adjust to the big new challenge posed by the need to charge electric vehicles. ( Given these services, shouldn’t solar batteries be subsidised?)

Furthermore, it would make all of us and countries self-sufficient in green energy, weaning us off government support.

Solar farms at the utility scale would typically be at least 1 megawatt (MW), which is a power plant capable of supplying some 200 households. The needed kilowatt hours of energy can be established from the existing energy bills and work backwards to get a number of panels needed for the array.

A smaller solar farm only requires a few acres of land with a panel cleaned – and a powered robot.

Solar will get there and private money will eventually fill the gap, but it may not get there nearly as fast as needed without some creative thinking.

Just imagine what this would do not to just the reduction of carbon emissions, but to new employment opportunities, the cost of manufacturing, the sale of electric vehicles, the quality of the air we breathe to mention a few of the benefits.

There is not a village or town that would turn own such an opportunity.

 

 

 

 

 

THE BEADY EYE SAY’S: BEFORE WE ARE ALL HACKED – WHAT IF.

03 Saturday Nov 2018

Posted by in Algorithms., Artificial Intelligence., Big Data., Capitalism, Evolution, Fake News., Freedom, Google Knowledge., HUMAN INTELLIGENCE, Humanity., Politics., Populism., Reality., Social Media, Sustaniability, The common good., The essence of our humanity., The Internet., The Obvious., The world to day., Unanswered Questions., What Needs to change in the World, Where's the Global Outrage., World Leaders, World Organisations., World Politics

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(Two-minute read)

I have posted many articles concerning Algorithms that are plundering our lives and the world for profit.

Although governments and world organisations are only just waking up to the power of these algorithms giving the changes we are witnessing to society there are little, or no conscientious efforts as to how to introduce regulations to limit the damage they are doing.

With every click, power is shifting to the Google’s, the Microsofts, the Apple, the Amazon, the eBay’s, the Netflix’s, to machine learning recommendations, to Social Media rhetoric, to right-wing politics disguised as populism nationalism.

ALL CREATING A PLANET IN CRISES.

So In this post, I am hoping to create an online pressure group to lobby the relevant powers to effect change.

Life is not only trade, consumption and markets.Résultat de recherche d'images pour "photo of question marks"

THE SUGGESTED NAME FOR THE GROUP IS # WHAT IF.COM

SO IF THERE IS ANYONE READING THIS THAT KNOWS HOW TO GO ABOUT SETTING UP SUCH A WEBSITE I AM ALL EARS.

WHY SET UP SUCH A GROUP.

BECAUSE:

Markets are not faceless forces.

All markets have some sort of morality.

Buyers and sellers need to consider the consequences which their actions and decisions may have on the environment and on society itself.

Today a simple one-dollar-one-vote principle dominates the world economy.

International organizations ought to impose sanctions upon countries which condone immoral practices, such as the use of child labour, environmental destruction, the selling of arms or the persecution of trade unionists.

The detrimental effects of international money markets and the crises caused by speculation can be alleviated by international legislation such as levying taxes on international currency exchange.

Free markets do not guarantee adequate conditions of life to all people. Therefore we need states and organisations that protect the weak and defends social justice.

The eradication of poverty presupposes equalization of income. This means, for example, that the strong and well to do must assume a proportionally greater burden of taxes than the weak and the poor.

We need services which citizens themselves initiate and generate, and the new potential, which they can contribute to the life of our congregations and local communities.

The ultimate responsibility for ensuring that local communities have the resources to guarantee basic security for all their members use to rests with the national governments.

Basic security must, in the future, also include healthcare and adequate, living standards, so that all people are reasonably covered regardless of their wealth and position in society.

All contributions and comments appreciated. All like clicks chucked in the bin.

 

THE BEADY EYE SAY’S: IF YOU ARE A HUMAN HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN BE PROUD OF .

17 Wednesday Oct 2018

Posted by in Artificial Intelligence., Environment, Evolution, Fourth Industrial Revolution., HUMAN INTELLIGENCE, Humanity., Innovation., Natural World Disasters, Our Common Values., Post - truth politics., Reality., Social Media, Sustaniability, Technology, The common good., The essence of our humanity., The Future, The Obvious., The world to day., Twitter, Unanswered Questions., What Needs to change in the World, Where's the Global Outrage., World Leaders, World Organisations.

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(Fifteen-minute read)

Do you take pride in being a member of the most intelligent, crafty and resilient species dating back 300,000 or maybe even longer on the planet that crawled out of the water to destroy the earth?

Yes!

EVEN IF HUMANS CURBED DESTRUCTIVE ACTIONS WITHIN THE NEXT FIFTY YEARS, IT WOULD TAKE BETWEEN FIVE TO SEVEN MILLION YEARS FOR MAMMAL BIODIVERSITY TO RECOVER.

We have managed to erase a staggering 2.5 billion years of evolutionary development by driving more than 300 mammal species into extinction by the 16th century. Since then the pace of destruction has speeded up and it is projected that if we don’t do something about it we will lose another 1.8 billion years within the next five decades.

There are plenty of other things going on in the world that make me weep for humanity, Greedy, short-sighted parasitic consumers of the planet.

But when we actually look there is a lot of good in this world can we be proud of?

(Pride has perplexed philosophers and theologians for centuries, and it is an especially paradoxical emotion in most culture.)

THE LIST IS VAST FROM FIRE, THE WHEEL, NUCLEAR POWER TO WALKING ON THE MOON not to mention our Artistic and Scientific Achievements.

However, we are unable to shake off tribalism even though we have mapped the complete genome, of the human, which could have us on the cusp of creating genetic discrimination through eugenics.

CRISPR has the distinct ability to alter the course of human evolution—to improve society for the greater good or, in the wrong hands, to diminish the human experience.

On the other hand, disaster looms as humans exceed the earth’s natural carrying capacity. The conditions that sustain humanity are not natural and never have been. Since prehistory, human populations have used technologies and engineered ecosystems to sustain populations well beyond the capabilities of unaltered “natural” ecosystems.

Nature doesn’t need people. People need nature.

Nature will go on, no matter what. It will evolve.

The question is, will it be with us or without us?Résultat de recherche d'images pour "pictures of world"

Our current technological world is reducing awareness and diminishing our ability to find meaning in the life around us. We need to spend more time unplugged and find ways to let nature balance our lives. The natural world’s benefits to our condition and health will be irrelevant if we continue to destroy the nature around us. That destruction is assured without a human reconnection to nature.

In a world where technologies will soon think, act, and behave

like humans, what can humans learn from machines?

If we build personalized digital coaching solution, a «Habit Installing» Platform, that facilitates the generation of new habits who knows what will be possible with the technologies of the future?

However, we still have a long way to go to understand there are aspects of how our planet evolves that are totally out of our control.

Artificial Intelligence is more than reality. The so-called “Technological Singularity” ― the moment when machines will be equal to and then surpass human brainpower ― is getting closer.

In the meantime, we continue to destroy, hurt, and belittle people for reasons that are mind-boggling.

On the other hand, we also have people with amazing abilities and intelligence using their gifts to better our world rather than try to make a quick buck.

Perhaps Ai greatest achievement will be to get rid of religion.

If there was no religion, then yes, I would be proud.

The terrible crimes which humans have committed on each other, have been driven and are being driven by God is on our side.

Do we have a lot we still need to work on? Yes, definitely. But we can stop giving ourselves such a hard time because every day, we’re trying to become better than we were yesterday.

We are beginning to clear up all the waste we carelessly have thrown away and finds its way into the ocean.

Deforestation is decreasing on a global scale.

Sexual discrimination is been removed.

However, Social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are saturated with posts of political opinions and are matched with comments that express not only disagreement but too often, words of hatred. Many who cannot understand others’ political beliefs rarely even respect them.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an American, a Canadian, or a Papua New Guinean. You don’t even have to be particularly fond of the ocean or have a soft spot for elephants to know that murdering a tiger for ts penis so men can have an imaginary bigger mental sexual drive is personified madness.

Cutting shark fins off to make soup is a matter of taste.   

We must align our vision and strategy with our culture, thereby impacting people’s mindset and behaviours.

This is simply about all of us coming together to do what needs to be done.

Because if we don’t, nature will continue to evolve. Without us.

With our thoughts and words, with our ideas and values, with our beliefs and emotions, we with the help of social media must design, and implement a greenfield world that shapes the future of change management through digitalization. 

We’re about to send people to another planet! We might not be so bad after all.

Nearly 1/2 of the world’s population — more than 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 1.3 billion live in extreme poverty — less than $1.25 a day. 1 billion children worldwide are living in poverty. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty.

Half of the world’s prison population of about nine million is held in the US, China or Russia. Prison rates in the US are the world’s highest, at 724 people per 100,000. In Russia, the rate is 581. At 145 per 100,000, the imprisonment rate of England and Wales is at about the midpoint worldwide.

Homeless, Hungry, Broke by unwicked

All human comments appreciated. All like clicks chucked in the bin.
https://goo.gl/images/kRrABZ

 

THE BEADY EYE SAY’S: THE MURDER OR DISAPPEARANCE OF JAMAL KHASHOGGI EXPOSED THE HYSTERANTHOUS HYPOCRITES WE HAVE IN THE WORLD

14 Sunday Oct 2018

Posted by in Donald Trump Presidency., European Union., Modern Day Democracy., Our Common Values., Post - truth politics., Reality., Terrorism., The Obvious., Unanswered Questions., What Needs to change in the World, World Leaders, World Politics

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( One minute read )

YOU WOULD THINK THAT THERE WOULD BE A CRY FOR SANCTIONS AGAINST SAUDI ARABIA. INSTEAD, WE HAVE TO WITNESS THE HYPOCRISY OF ARM SELLING COUNTRIES JUSTIFYING THEIR SALE OF ARMS.

Saudi Arabia has called the accusations it ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside its Istanbul consulate “lies and baseless allegations”.Résultat de recherche d'images pour "pictures of saudi leader"

Whether it turns out to be both it has shone a light on the hypocrisy of major foreign policies conducted by the USA, England, and others.

It’s absolutely essential that the international community says clearly that this is not something that can happen.

If it turns out that a run of the mill blok was murdered by a hit squad on foreign soil in the embassy of any country it should represent a fundamental break in how the world deals with that country.

Saudi Arabia has long been a police state.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite marketing himself to the West as a progressive reformer with positive headlines and handshakes, the Saudi government has, with our help, continued a brutal war in Yemen, with dire consequences for civilians which is spiraling into one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. THE WAR HAS KILLED OVER 10,000 SO FAR.

Up to recently, Saudi has harassed women-driving activists. It has bullied Qatar. It’s detained the crown prince’s own family members — at his behest. It’s punished Canada for the mildest of deeds.

The sad fact right now is that the weapons purchasing power of Saudi outweighs human life.

In Saudi Arabia, where a hierarchical culture favors remote, direct leadership, Khashoggi has challenged core Saudi national values, offending not only the royals whose legitimacy he threatened but also ordinary Saudis who rely on these power structures to negotiate the difficulties of everyday life.Résultat de recherche d'images pour "pictures of saudi leader"

President Donald Trump’s response has been pitiful.

Résultat de recherche d'images pour "pictures of saudi leader"

To date, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States have registered their “concern” about Khashoggi’s disappearance, but have yet to press Riyadh robustly for answers.

The catch 22 is:  If they do apart from arms deals the price of oil could rocket if any sanctions are applied.

All human comments appreciated. All like clicks chucked in the bin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE BEADY EYE SAY’S: ARE WE SEEING THE BIRTH OF DIRECT DEMOCRACY.

06 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by in 2018: The Year of Disconnection., Algorithms., Artificial Intelligence., Democracy, Environment, European Union., Evolution., Facebook, Fake News., Google, HUMAN INTELLIGENCE, Humanity., Life., Modern Day Democracy., Modern day life., Our Common Values., Politics., Populism., Post - truth politics., Social Media, Sustaniability, Technology, Terrorism., The common good., The essence of our humanity., The Obvious., The world to day., Twitter, Unanswered Questions., What needs to change in European Union., What Needs to change in the World, Where's the Global Outrage., World Leaders, World Organisations., World Politics

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( A Five-minute read)

A common complaint about representative democracy is that it creates a distant class of lawmakers who will often collude with vested interests, or become so detached from the lives of the general public, that they will make decisions that the public does not support. By contrast, in a Direct Democracy system, such corruption of decision-making is impossible if every citizen is an equally powerful participant in the process.Résultat de recherche d'images pour "pictures of direct democracy"

However, it does not make any sense to think that direct democracy is somehow ideologically predisposed in any particular direction.

Direct democracy is simply a median-reverting institution.

It pushes policy back toward the center of public opinion when legislatures move too far to the right or left or is it, in fact, an opportunity to organize a kind of socio-ecological revolution to break away from the western development model of politics.

We know that every political system man has invented is open to corruption.

It is obvious that modern western democracies are now confronted with a change in culture mainly due to the integration of migrants, globalization, terrorism, and artificial intelligence.

Direct Democracy is presented as a solution to these challenges mainly by Social Media with its partitions and manipulation of voters with false news and software bots that amplify specific conversations on Twitter and Facebook by posting videos, photos, and biased statements targeting particular hashtags and wordings.  

Resulting in phony debates, nurtured by cliches and prejudices that are destabilizing the political systems we have had for hundreds of years.   

At what cost?

One of the obvious cost is Brexit and the not so obvious Donald Trump.

It is simply impossible to have direct democracy as the common Googlefied smartphone citizen does not have a grasp of political understanding nor the cognitive capacities to achieve direct democracy.

However, this view cuts against democracy in general.

As it implies that politicians always know better than the average citizen.

This is far from the truth when one looks at the current state of the world that is crying for some common action.

Politicians don’t necessarily show expertise and interest and certainly don’t know all the issues and are not always well informed.

They depend on shortcuts and have to ask other politicians and experts.

This morning I received an email from John Taylo in response to my last post ( The Beady Eye ask’s: Does anyone really know what quantum chips will do.)

He sums up the situation by saying and I quote

” We have yet to invent a political system that will harness the knowledge of mankind. if AI can be used for the benefit of all to reduce poverty and increase living standers of all without wrecking the planet it will be ……. Only dreaming”

I replied  “What a dream”

Perhaps I should have said ” Where do dreams come from. Look around you. That is where dreams come from. The only planet we know. ”

All human comments appreciated. All like clicks chucked in the bin.