Author: dada

at one time a harbinger of good luck according to seaman’s lore,
 

history is not likely to look kindly on our inaction in the face of clear and imminent signs of disaster.

what began as a simple comment in the  FFF about a photo website that l thought worthy of your perusal and contemplation, grew beyond the confines of what l think is apropos. the expansion was inspired, in large part, by this quote from david kennerly  vis-à-vis the Website(s) of the Week:

…to capture the facts through the lens of a camera…a raw and unflinching view of the world and have contributed to a free society’s understanding of sometimes harsh reality…
…

I still believe in the power of the image to empower, embolden and inspire. Photojournalists, editors and writers must continue the struggle to turn their trained minds and eyes to telling and showing the truth…

more below the fold…
few people have done as much as  in exposing the truth and consequences of rampant consumerism on the environment, and it’s increasingly catastrophic effects on the the other species which with we share the planet, through the immediacy, distillation, and reality of photography than chris jordan.

his mission statement…raison d’etre…for his work:

Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption

Exploring around our country’s shipping ports and industrial yards, where the accumulated detritus of our consumption is exposed to view like eroded layers in the Grand Canyon, I find evidence of a slow-motion apocalypse in progress. I am appalled by these scenes, and yet also drawn into them with awe and fascination. The immense scale of our consumption can appear desolate, macabre, oddly comical and ironic, and even darkly beautiful; for me its consistent feature is a staggering complexity.

The pervasiveness of our consumerism holds a seductive kind of mob mentality. Collectively we are committing a vast and unsustainable act of taking, but we each are anonymous and no one is in charge or accountable for the consequences. I fear that in this process we are doing irreparable harm to our planet and to our individual spirits.

As an American consumer myself, I am in no position to finger wag; but I do know that when we reflect on a difficult question in the absence of an answer, our attention can turn inward, and in that space may exist the possibility of some evolution of thought or action. So my hope is that these photographs can serve as portals to a kind of cultural self-inquiry. It may not be the most comfortable terrain, but I have heard it said that in risking self-awareness, at least we know that we are awake.

~cj

since this was written, his work has branched out significantly. his most recent work took him to the midway atoll, where he and a talented and dedicated team of photographers and videographers recorded one of the tragic consequences of the proliferation of plastics… and their disposal in the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”, where “Scientists say that plastic now outweighs plankton 6 to 1”…on the albatross.

l would encourage you to visit the first gallery of photographs titled:

as well as the blog @ www.MidwayJourney.com, also, his other work merits contemplation.

one caveat, the images, especially from midway, may be disturbing to some people, but they are done with great reverence for the subject.

l also want to give a well deserved h/t to ask for his recent diary, Bless the Citizens of Bundanoon, addressing this issue.

just a heads up diary. christy’s been one of the clearer voices advocating, analyzing, and supporting the causes of justice and progressivism for what seems like an eternity in blogtopia time……yeah, skippy…but she’s got other things that are more important now.

so you may want to go by and pay your respects to one of the most intelligent voices  that we’ve all come to know and trust the past few years.

Pull up a chair.

godspeed, and best wishes christy.

with all the misinformation emanating from the reichwing, teabagger trolls, faux news, various and sundry RATpublicans, and blue dog democRATs, one might easily draw the conclusion that doctors, as a group, are opposed to any such plan…au contraire mon ami…chances are about 3:1 that they support it.

details below the fold…
lost in the overheated rhetoric is the latest finding from a poll conducted in june through early september that found

…”nearly three-quarters of physicians supported some form of a public option, either alone or in combination with private insurance options,”…

a far cry from the official position of the AMA that they

…support health care reform alternatives that are “consistent with AMA principles,” which include freedom to choose health insurance and universal access for patients. But they didn’t specifically support a plan for public health insurance…

huffpost

 

a rather milquetoast position that  is seriously undermined by the poll, which shows the following sentiment:

 

Doctors’ Support For Public Option ‘Broad And Widespread’

The researchers say they found strong support for a public option among all categories of doctors. “We even saw that support being the same whether physicians lived in rural areas or metropolitan areas,” says Federman.

“Whether they lived in southern regions of the United States or traditionally liberal parts of the country,” says Keyhani, “we found that physicians, regardless — whether they were salaried or they were practice owners, regardless of whether they were specialists or primary care providers, regardless of where they lived — the support for the public option was broad and widespread.”

…

The survey even found widespread support for a public option among doctors who are members of the American Medical Association, a group that’s opposed to it. The AMA fears a public option eventually could lead to government putting more limits on doctors’ fees.

npr

it should be noted, as it is in the article, that less than 1/3 of practicing physicians are AMA members, ergo, it is not the monolithic organization that many people assume.

make a note, “Health Care Reform” is now “Health Insurance Reform”.

 

it was officially re-branded today by president obama in his op/ed in the nyt: Why We Need Health Care Reform…a misleading lede if ever l read one. buried in the bowels of the piece is the implication that the public option may be DOA…and this was reinforced by ms. sebelius, his hhs sec. as well:

…Apparently ready to abandon the idea, President Barack Obama’s health secretary said today a government alternative to private health insurance is “not the essential element” of the administration’s health care overhaul.

The White House indicated it could jettison the contentious public option and settle on insurance cooperatives as an acceptable alternative, a move embraced by some Republicans lawmakers who have strongly opposed the administration’s approach so far.
…

Sebelius said the White House would be open to co-ops instead of a government-run public option, a sign Democrats want a compromise so they can declare a victory…

denverpost

“declare a victory”…that’s rich, eh. for whom?

say good bye to the public option because it’s no longer an essential element in the plan.

that’s right, co-ops…maybe…but it’s really just a bandaid solution, essentially license for the insurance co’s to keep stealing, albeit, with some oversight and regulation. it appears to me, that  health care in the future may well… will likely… continue to be dependent on the size of your wallet instead of your need.

continued…

co-ops are not change you can believe in:

Private, Nonprofit Health Insurance Does Not Promote Competition

Today, 84 of the 138 private health plans (61 percent) in the United States with at least 100,000 enrollees are nonprofit. Yet consolidation in the private insurance industry has narrowed price and quality competition. In 2008 the PPO/HMO industry’s market power was considered highly-concentrated, or anti-competitive, in 94% of metropolitan areas. A public health insurance plan option coupled with more regulation of health insurers will break the stranglehold that a handful of private companies have on the market. Most importantly, these reforms will enable consumers to vote with their feet and switch out of plans that don’t satisfy them.

Private, Nonprofit Health Insurance Does Not Control Costs.

While health care cost growth is unsustainable for individuals, businesses and the government, nonprofit status does not mean private insurance companies do not waste money. For example, many nonprofit insurers across the country have been abused by their officers and directors. For example, “Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maryland and its sister plan in the District of Columbia were poster children of nonprofit corruption and incompetence, squandering their assets on ego-building but money-losing diversification initiatives and on lavish executive lifestyles that devoted more days per year to jetting around the globe than to paying insurance claims back home,” according to one study. A public health insurance plan with public accountability and national purchasing reach would be able to slow health-cost growth and, through competition, keep private insurers honest and force them to become more efficient. Between 1997 and 2006, spending grew 59 percent faster for private plan enrollees than for Medicare beneficiaries. If private plans–either for- and not-for-profit–drop had controlled growth as effectively as Medicare, insurance premiums would be much lower than they are.

Private, Nonprofit Health Insurance Does Not Provide Stability.

Experience with Medicare private health plans shows the disruption caused when all kinds of private insurers drop out of geographic markets, change benefits, contract with different doctors and hospitals, or boost out-of-pocket responsibilities for patients. While for-profit insurers withdrew from the Medicare program more frequently, nonprofit insurers have also abandoned their Medicare members. A survey of Medicare private health plan members whose plans were scaled back or terminated suffered financial harm damaged their physical and mental health. Among enrollees seeing medical specialists, 22 percent reported they had to stop seeing that doctor, and 15 percent said they had to forgo a prescription drug after leaving their former plan.

Private, Nonprofit Health Insurance Does Not Advance Innovation.

While private nonprofit insurers in some cases have been found to perform better than for-profit insurers on several health outcomes measurements, they do not have the clout to drive other insurers and providers to adopt their practices. In addition, since they still have to compete with for-profit insurers and have fewer options for raising capital than companies that can sell shares to Wall Street, they have no incentive to share best practices with industry competitors. A new public health insurance plan would spur the development of innovative and transparent payment mechanisms, quality-of-care incentives, and evidence-based protocols. A new public health plan could follow the achievements of the Department of Veterans Affairs and Medicare and adopt large-scale use of electronic medical records, incentives for greater integration of delivery systems and improved measures of quality.

The Co-Op Co-Opt: Why They Can’t Reform Health Care

so 75% ± of the american people are wrong, and the 25% that are wacko’s win another one. frankly, this is the most glaring lack of leadership and commitment to come from the white house and the congress to date. looks like another opportunity’s about to get squandered by giving it all away without a fight.

tonight, from 8:30 to 9:30pm, join in a global effort and use your light switch to cast a vote in the VOTE EARTH movement to show support for action on climate change.

last year, approximately 50 million people in 35 countries took part. this year, over 2,800 cities and towns across the world have pledged to turn off the lights, and the target is a billion people.

here, the city is turning off all “non-essential lights” and actively encouraging everyone to join in. it’s estimated that one hour of lighting, in a city of approximately 110,000,  is equivalent to 18 metric tonnes of carbon emissions.

so, light a fire and some candles, snuggle up with your SO, and power down for mother earth.

thanks!

apparently, not so well.

given the under-whelming support of the RATpublicans on the stimulus bill, among other rumblings, combined with obama’s cabinet choices, an ongoing cause of much consternation among the people of a more progressive leaning, it just took another hit.

Sen. Gregg Withdraws His Commerce Nomination

Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire abruptly withdrew his nomination as commerce secretary Thursday, citing “irresolvable conflicts” with President Barack Obama’s handling of the economic stimulus and 2010 census.

ok, l get the party line bs about the stimulus act, but really, he knew that going in. in fact, he lobbied for the appointment, according to the report:

“Senator Gregg reached out to the President and offered his name for Secretary of Commerce,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement. “He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President’s agenda.

“Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama’s key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways. We regret that he has had a change of heart.”

how polite, couldn’t have had anything to do with this l’m sure. <snicker>

another bite on the outstretched hand. l hope sooner, rather than later, obama and the demoRATs begin to take charge of the situation and tell the RATpublicans to sit down and STFU.

roberts and alito, [thanks a lot demoRATs] are again leading the conservative pack majority, with help from 2 of the liberal justices, in giving chimpy and the M/I complex everything thing they want.  

today’s ruling reverses previous federal court rulings that imposed restrictions on, and in some cases prohibited, the use of the controversial MFA sonar in training exercises in the coastal waters off southern california…home to nine threatened or endangered species of whales, dolphins, sea lions and seals…thereby setting a precedent for it’s use anywhere, any time.  the rationale? the same ol’ same ol’ buggaboo national security.

Joining Chief Justice Roberts were Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas and Alito. Justices Breyer and Stevens didn’t join the Roberts majority, but came to a similar/supporting conclusion in a separate opinion.  Justices Ginsburg and Souter dissented.

details below the fold
from bloomberg: U.S. Supreme Court Lifts Restrictions on Navy Sonar

Nov. 12 –The U.S. Supreme Court, ruling that national security trumps environmental rules, lifted restrictions on the Navy’s use of sonar during training exercises off the coast of Southern California,

A divided high court rejected arguments by environmentalists that the judge-ordered restrictions were warranted to protect whales and other marine mammals.

The environmental interests “are plainly outweighed by the Navy’s need to conduct realistic training exercises to ensure that it is able to neutralize the threat posed by enemy submarines,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority.

“threat posed by enemy submarines”…let that soak in a minute, then try and describe an enemy, and a scenario that actually represents a threat.  must be those pesky russians, but given the current history of their submarine forces… l doubt they’re a menace…but you never know, maybe the chinese

The case tested the power of the White House and the military to skirt federal environmental regulations in the name of national security. The Bush administration argued that courts should be deferential when the president concludes that a military exercise is essential for the country’s safety.

The ruling applies to the last of 14 training exercises designed to prepare naval strike groups for deployment in the western Pacific and Middle East.

Environmental groups led by the Natural Resources Defense Council sought to limit the Navy’s use of mid-frequency active sonar, also known as MFA sonar, which ships use to detect submarines. The environmentalists said MFA sonar has killed and injured beaked whales and other marine mammals.

Harmful Actions

U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper limited the Navy’s use of MFA sonar, pointing to the National Environmental Policy Act’s requirement that government agencies prepare an environmental impact statement before taking harmful actions.

Cooper said President George W. Bush’s Council on Environmental Quality had improperly cited “emergency circumstances” as a basis for exempting the Navy from that requirement.

…

Cooper’s order required the Navy to take a number of steps, including shutting down MFA sonar when marine mammals are spotted within 2,200 yards and reducing sonar power by 75 percent in the presence of a water condition known as “surface ducting.”

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Cooper’s order, though it also issued a stay that temporarily relaxed the restrictions

ref: Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, 07- 1239.

so once again science and environment are trumped by militaristic considerations, even as they are backhandedly acknowledged:

“We do not discount the importance of plaintiffs’ ecological, scientific and recreational interests in marine mammals. Those interests, however, are plainly outweighed by the Navy’s need to conduct realistic training exercises,” Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. wrote in the majority opinion. “We see no basis for jeopardizing national security.”

link

l suppose l should have suspected it, eh.

in colorado, and with nine days to go the avalanche continues.

More than 100,000 watch Obama

it was a gorgeous fall day and the place was packed!

Standing in front of more than 100,000 supporters in Civic Center park, Barack Obama said today he is ready for the final nine days of the presidential campaign and vowed to stay focused on improving the country’s faltering economy.

“What we need right now is a real debate about how to fix our economy and help middle class families,” the Illinois senator said. “But that’s not what we’re getting from the other side. A couple of weeks ago, my opponent’s campaign said that ‘if we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose’, so they said they’d be focusing on attacking me instead.

“And that’s one campaign promise they’ve actually kept. Sen. McCain has been throwing everything he’s got at us, hoping something will stick. He’s

even called me a socialist for suggesting that we focus on tax cuts, not for corporations and the wealthy, but for the middle class.”
As he was introduced, Obama walked down a long runway stage to thunderous applause.

“Do you ever have small crowds in Denver?” Obama asked the crowd, which shouted back “NO!

Denver Police estimated the crowd at more than 100,000. Civic Center park holds 34,000 and there were several thousand more in the streets surrounding the park and on the steps of the state Capitol.
He thanked Americans for those who “sent letters, and flowers and well wishes” to his ailing grandmother. In an almost unprecedented move, Obama left the campaign trail on Thursday and Friday to visit his grandmother in Hawaii…

slideshow

helluva lot different from sistah sarah’s road show of hate, eh.

l’m really starting to believe this one is over…can you say blowout? l thought you could.

here are some of the more interesting political cartoons spawned since the palin was announced…enjoy:

more below the fold…

right click [ctrl click…mac] images to enlarge

aka: BushCo’s™ assault on the environment.  

it’s been just over a week since BushCo™ announced that federal agencies would be barred from assessing the emissions from projects that contribute to global warming and its effect on species and habitats that are required under the Endangered Species Act, so l guess it’s not unexpected that they’d eviscerate the environmental policies some more before they leave…more below the fold
let’s start here: Anti- Regulation Environment Aide to Cheney Is Up for Energy Post

A senior aide to Vice President Cheney is the leading contender to become a top official at the Energy Department, according to several current and former administration officials, a promotion that would put one of the administration’s most ardent opponents of environmental regulation in charge of forming department policies on climate change.

F. Chase Hutto III has played a prominent behind-the-scenes role in shaping the administration’s environmental policies for several years, the officials said, helping to rewrite rules affecting the air that Americans breathe and the waters that oil tankers traverse. In every instance, according to both his allies and opponents, he has challenged proposals that would place additional regulations on industry.

chase has an interesting history with the RATpug’s as well as BushCo™, having been a key player in the 2000 florida coup debacle:

Hutto, 39, a Michigan native and a veteran of several successful GOP campaigns, has spent almost his entire career working for Republicans in Washington. He started out as an opposition researcher working on Spencer Abraham’s 1994 upset Senate victory and conducted similar research for two other Senate bids before serving on the Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign as a vote-recount team leader in Duval County, Fla.

some of his more notable achievements in the BushCo&trade; quest for profit over planet include:

In recent months, Hutto has helped scale back a rule proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to protect North Atlantic right whales — one of the most endangered animals on the planet — from lethal ship strikes. The rule NOAA submitted 1 1/2 years ago originally would have required ships within 30 nautical miles of several East Coast ports to slow to 10 knots or less during parts of the year when the whales are migrating…

opposed tightening federal rules for smog-forming ozone — which is linked to thousands of premature deaths each year…

and in 2005 he questioned why the EPA needed to limit mercury emissions from power plants, because the agency had just issued a rule that would have the incidental effect of somewhat reducing the toxic pollutant. In both instances, the EPA strengthened the protections over these objections.

as a spokesman for the Union of Concerned Scientists said:

…if Hutto takes the helm of the Energy Department’s climate policy office, the impact could last well beyond Bush’s term in office.

“It’s not surprising that the Bush administration is considering a candidate who has a track record of putting politics ahead of science. Over and over again, appointments like this one have damaged the government’s ability to protect the environment and public health,” Grifo said, adding that in the coming months, Hutto could make policy decisions that the next administration would find difficult to reverse quickly.

sources:    wapo
    think progress

and speaking of ships:

Pollution from ships causing thousands of deaths

Sulphur particles from ships may be responsible for as many as 60,000 deaths a year, say US scientists

…scientists from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) found that ships contributed far more of the sulphate in the atmosphere than was previously realised. Their analysis separated primary sulphate from ship smoke and other sources, such as vehicle exhaust emissions.

Air samples showed that 44% of the sulphate polluting coastal California could be traced to ships. On some days ship sulphate accounted for almost a half of the fine particles in the air. Ships burning high sulphur fuel in the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego were largely to blame, the scientists discovered.

Primary sulphate is produced when ships burn a cheap sulphur-rich fuel called “bunker oil”. The particles are believed to be especially harmful to human health because of their small size.

guardian uk

and oceans:

Suffocating dead zones spread across world’s oceans

Critically low oxygen levels now pose as great a threat to l
ife in the world’s oceans as overfishing and habitat loss, say experts

Man-made pollution is spreading a growing number of suffocating dead zones across the world’s seas with disastrous consequences for marine life, scientists have warned.

The experts say the hundreds of regions of critically low oxygen now affect a combined area the size of New Zealand, and that they pose as great a threat to life in the world’s oceans as overfishing and habitat loss.

The number of such seabed zones – caused when massive algal blooms feeding off pollutants such as fertiliser die and decay – has boomed in the last decade. There were some 405 recorded in coastal waters worldwide in 2007, up from 305 in 1995 and 162 in the 1980s.

Robert Diaz, an oceans expert at the US Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, at Gloucester Point, said: “Dead zones were once rare. Now they’re commonplace. There are more of them in more places.”

:::

Writing in the journal Science, the researchers say the dead zones must be viewed as one of the “major global environmental problems”. They say: “There is no other variable of such ecological importance to coastal marine ecosystems that has changed so drastically over such a short time.”

guardian, uk

and as chimpy and “dick” and their sycophants try to assure you there’s nothing to worry about, the ecologists at the University of Alaska aren’t convinced:

Warming climate threatens Alaska’s vast forests

Records indicate that Alaska has already experienced the largest regional warming of any U.S. state — an average 5 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius) since the 1960s and about 8 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 degrees Celsius) in the interior of the state during winter months.

“We’ve got mounds of evidence that an extremely powerful and unprecedented climate-driven change is underway,” said Glenn Juday, a forest ecologist at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.

:::

Further north near the Arctic Circle, receding sea ice has major implications for polar bears, seals and dozens of species, as well as native humans who depend on the land to sustain them.

:::

…more than 3 million acres (1.21 million hectares) of spruce have been killed in south-central Alaska since 1992…

reuters

but drilling in coastal waters [and ANWR] is still on the agenda, and it looks like the demoRATs are going to capitulate again, if madame speaker pelosi’s latest statement [in the demoRAT weekly radio address last saturday] accurately reflects the direction they’re going:

…Pelosi said opening portions of the Outer Continental Shelf for drilling would be a part of energy legislation that House Democrats intend to put forward in the coming weeks to address oil dependence and high gasoline prices.

AP

anti-science, anti-environment, pro profit…the zen mantra of BushCo™