Climate Denial on the Left: A Critique of 'Fahrenheit 11/9'

 Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore

"Future Hope" Column 

 
By Ted Glick

Michael Moore’s “molotov cocktail to the system” movie, Fahrenheit 11/9, has a number of good things to say and good sections. I was particularly appreciative of the sections on lead poisoning criminality in Flint, Michigan, recent progressive electoral victories and campaigns within the Democratic Party, and the West Virginia teachers strike. His critique of the Clinton/corporate/dominant wing of the Democratic Party was also on target.

However, I was appalled that there was virtually nothing about the climate crisis. Out of the two hours, there might have been a literal total of 10 seconds of footage about something related to that huge, world-overarching issue.

For example, the struggle at Standing Rock was nowhere to be found in this progressive movie about US politics and progressive activism since 2016.

15 years ago I began my transformation from a progressive activist and organizer primarily working in the arena of independent politics into someone primarily working on the climate crisis. The impetus for that life-change was a disastrous heat wave in western Europe in August of 2003. 35,000 or more people died as a result of it. This unprecedented, massive human tragedy caused me to spend the next several months studying the reality of global heating, how bad it is, how relatively close we are to climate tipping points, and who was working against this looming world catastrophe.

I was disturbed to learn that almost no one on the left and not that many within the environmental community were doing so, at least on a consistent basis. And so, in January of 2004, I started doing work in this area, co-founding with Fr. Paul Mayer the Climate Crisis Coalition and staying active ever since.

It has been encouraging to see the growth of an activist climate movement, an anti-racist climate justice movement and an inclusion of the climate issue as a major one on the part of many groups within the progressive movement. It was very significant that in his history-making Presidential campaign in 2016 Bernie Sanders spoke about this issue consistently and strongly. And there couldare to climate tipping points, and who was working against this looming world catastrophe.

I was disturbed to learn that almost no one on the left and not that many within the environmental community were doing so, at least on a consistent basis. And so, in January of 2004, I started doing be other positive examples.

So is Michael Moore’s climate blindspot in this movie an exception to the prevailing reality on the left? 

Click here for the full article. 

Source: tedglick.com

New Members of ONA’s Board of Directors Announced

 Click on the image to increase its size.

Members of the Online News Association, the world’s largest membership organization of digital journalists, elected two new members to its Board of Directors and re-elected four incumbents to a two-year term. 

The newest directors, Niketa Patel, News Partnership Manager at Twitter, and Rubina Madan Fillion, Director of Audience Engagement at The Intercept, will join the Board Jan. 1, 2019. 

The re-elected members are Benét Wilson, Associate Editor at MagnifyMoney.com and current ONA Board Vice President; Celeste LeCompte, VP of Business Development at ProPublica; Imaeyen Ibanga, Senior Content Producer & Presenter, AJ+; and Mandy Jenkins, Fellow at the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships and current ONA Board President. 

“We are thrilled for Niketa and Rubina to contribute new perspectives and their expertise to the ONA Board,” said ONA Board Secretary Kim Bui. “They will start their terms as we finetune ONA’s three-year strategic plan and will impact the organization’s future from the get-go.” 

Click here for additional information on the 2019 Board of Directors. 

Source ONA

First Lady Melania Trump Visits School in Malawi

Source: CBS News

Senate Reviews Report from FBI's Brett Kavanaugh Investigation; Interviews and Analysis

Source: CBS News

Bonus Report - Sen. Feinstein: WH Blocked FBI in Kavanaugh Probe

Officials Hold Update About Deadly Shooting in Florence, South Carolina

Source: CBS News

Western States React to Russian Cyber Attacks: 'Something Has Been Coordinated Today'

Source: FRANCE 24 English

India to Deport Seven Rohingya to Myanmar

Senegal: The First African Country to Host Olympic Games

South Africa's Youth Unemployment Rate at Record High

ISIL Fighters Still Operate Around Anbar

Indonesia Disaster: Donggala Still Waiting for Help

Cameroon Election: Who Can Solve the Anglophone Crisis?

This video was published on YouTube on October 3. 

Source: Al Jazeera English

Governor Cuomo Makes Remarks at ABNY Breakfast

Source: NYGovCuomo

NYPD Update: Report on the Latest Crime Stats

This video, which begins at the 8:08 mark, was published on YouTube on October 3. 

Source: NYC Mayor's Office

Congressional Candidate Julie Oliver Responds to Donald Trump’s Mocking of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford

 

Austin, TX -- Following the president’s mocking of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s Senate testimony alleging that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her, Julie Oliver, Democratic candidate for US House of Representatives in Texas’ 25th District (Austin and Central Texas), issued the following statement:

“Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony before the US Senate was courageous, honest, powerful -- now she's being mocked by the president of the United States.

This is why survivors don't report. The consequence is re-living the trauma.”

Source: The Office of Julie Oliver

White House Press Briefing

Source: CBS News

Washington Post Columnist Missing After Visiting Saudi Consulate in Turkey

Source: CBS News

Chicago Police Officer Takes the Stand in His Murder Trial

Source: CBS News

The Russian Hacking of 2016 Was Just a Taste. Here’s What We Could Be In For.

From disinformation to election hacking to attacking trains and banks, the Kremlin tested it all in Ukraine.

By Terrell Jermaine Starr

Oleh Derevianko was on the road to his parents’ village in Ukraine on a bright June day in 2017 when he got a call from the CEO of a telecommunications company. Computer systems were failing at Oschadbank, one of the largest banks in Ukraine, and the CEO suspected a cyberattack. Could Derevianko’s digital security firm investigate? Derevianko told his response team to look into it and kept driving. Then his phone buzzed again. And again. Something big was happening.

Across Ukraine that day, cash registers suddenly shut down. People trying to withdraw money saw ransom demands appear on ATM screens. Lawmakers in the country’s parliament could not access their laptops. Turnstiles in Kiev’s subway stopped working, and departure boards at the airport went down. Technicians at Chernobyl, the site of the deadly nuclear disaster in 1986, had to manually check radiation levels after their computers failed.

It became clear to Derevianko that this was no random malware. It was an act of cyberwar—the latest digital attack from Russia. The Kremlin had previously targeted Ukraine with information warfare, using social platforms to spread propaganda that exploited ethnic divisions. It had launched cyberattacks on election systems and the power grid. But this attack was the biggest one yet—designed to simultaneously bring down multiple systems to create maximum chaos.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: Mother Jones

An Exclusive 2017 Investigative Report by 'The G-Man Interviews': The Cyber-Attack on Ukraine (Is America Next?)

Global Business Leaders to Attend Horasis China Meeting in Ukraine

 

A business forum, the Horasis China Meeting Ukraine, will host business representatives from China, America, and Europe in Kyiv from October 14 to October 15.

The forum presents a unique opportunity for the expansion of Ukrainian business abroad as well as attracting foreign investments and partners.

The meeting will bring together more than 500 investors and high-level executives, making it the most exclusive and important economic event in the history of Ukraine.

Click here for additional information.

Source: Horasis Ukraine

Who Makes Up Iraq's New Government?

Source: FRANCE 24 English

Collomb's Resignation Was a 'Personal Blow" for Macron

Source: FRANCE 24 English

Conservative Party Conference: Theresa May 'Had to Show That She Was in Control'

Source: FRANCE 24 English

Trump Tax Scheme: NY Times Report Accuses US President of Fraud

Source: FRANCE 24 English

Mali: al-Qaeda Issues a Video Showing Timbuktu Airport Assault, Attackers Disguised as Peacekeepers

Source: FRANCE 24 English

Middle East Matters: French-Palestinian Lawyer Salah Hamouri Released by Israel

Source: FRANCE 24 English

President of SOS Mediterranee Calls to Save Migrant Ship Aquarius

Source: FRANCE 24 English

NYS OASAS Launches 'You Can Be the Difference' Campaign to Combat Addiction Among Teens and Young Adults

The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (NYS OASAS) today announced the launch of a new addiction awareness campaign designed to provide educators, coaches and families with information and resources designed to curb addiction amongst the youth population in New York State. The campaign features a public service announcement starring former professional football player Erik Coleman.

“As part of our fight to combat the opioid epidemic in New York, we’re aggressively working to raise awareness about the crisis,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, Co-Chair of the State Heroin and Opioid Abuse Task Force. “This campaign will provide resources to educators and families to help prevent addiction among young adults across the state. We want to ensure that our youth understand the dangers and risks of opioids, and have the information they need to make informed decisions that can affect their future. In New York, we will not stop fighting to find solutions to end this crisis once and for all.”

“Helping people access the information they need to talk to young people about addiction is crucial to our efforts to fight addiction,” OASAS Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez said. “This campaign and resources make it easier for individuals to have conversations, and to get the right information, and gives them the knowledge and tools they need to help prevent substance use among young people, as well as help young people in recovery.”

The “You Can be the Difference” series contains information and resources on prevention, treatment, and recovery services. These videos and publications are targeted to community members including family, teachers, coaches, and others who have contact with teens and young adults.

The “You Can be the Difference” campaign includes:

The “You Can be the Difference” video series, which provides information about the relationship between adults and teens/young adults. Individual videos are focused on the role of coaches and educators, family, parents, and the community, and recovery. The videos are available here.

Publications including the following brochures, each of which is available in English and Spanish: 

Prevention 101: Information and tips to prevent alcohol and drug abuse.

Prevention – Experimenting:Information and tips if you suspect a young person is experimenting with alcohol and drugs.

Intervention: Information and tips to assist if you know a young person is using alcohol and drugs.

Recovery: Information and tips to support someone in recovery.

Prescription Drugs and Over the Counter Medication: General information and warning signs.

Safeguarding your Medicine Cabinet: A resources to help you track the medications inside your home.

These materials are available for download on the publications section of the OASAS website under the brochures section here, or at https://combataddiction.ny.gov/get-information.

These outreach publications and campaign support New York State’s focused efforts to fight addiction among youth and young adults in New York State. New York currently funds 15 youth clubhouses across the state, which offer prevention and recovery services for young people suffering from addiction, or at risk of addiction. The state also provides funding to support a youth and young adult statewide recovery network, and provides more than $72 million annually to fund prevention services across the state.

New Yorkers struggling with an addiction, or whose loved ones are struggling, can find help and hope by calling the state’s toll-free, 24-hour, 7-day-a-week HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369) or by texting HOPENY (Short Code 467369).

Available addiction treatment including crisis/detox, inpatient, community residence, or outpatient care can be found using the NYS OASAS Treatment Availability Dashboard at https://findaddictiontreatment.ny.gov/ or through the NYS OASAS website.

Click here to learn more about the warning signs of addiction, review information on how to get help, and access resources on how to facilitate conversations with loved ones and communities about addiction.

For tools to use in talking to a young person about preventing alcohol or drug use, visit the State’s Talk2Prevent website. 

Source: NYS OASAS

Happening in Harlem: Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Screening of 'Mr. Soul'

Click on the image to increase its size.

On October 6, Reel Sisters will present a screening and conversation on Mr. Soul!. The film was directed by Melissa Haizlip and Sam Pollard.

Before Oprah Winfrey and Arsenio Hall, there was Mr. Soul.

In the aftermath of the civil rights movement, Ellis Haizlip made television broadcast history with SOUL!, America's first "Black Tonight Show." Award-winning filmmaker and author Jamal Joseph, a friend and protégé of Mr. Haizlip, will join the directors for a conversation on Mr. Haizlip's life and legacy.

SOUL! was launched as a local, New York broadcast in 1968. In 1969, the series aired nationwide on PBS's WNET Channel 13. By 1973, Haizlip had produced over 130 hour-long shows featuring an array of A-list guests, live performances and interviews with numerous icons of Black America, such as Al Green, Muhammad Ali, Sidney Poitier, Cicely Tyson, James Baldwin, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Ashford and Simpson, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Billy Preston, Black Ivory, The Delfonics, Bill Withers, Nikki Giovanni, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and Sonia Sanchez, to name a few.

Click here for additional information on the screening.

Source: ImageNation

Trump Admin Sends 1,600 Kids to Texas Tent City as Number of Detained Children Hits Record High

Source: Democracy Now!

Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Chief Executive Resigns From Merck’s Board of Directors

Dr. Craig B. Thompson resigned Tuesday from the board of the drugmaker Merck and another public company as he tries to address staff turmoil in the wake of a crisis over conflicts of interest. 

by Katie Thomas, The New York Times, and Charles Ornstein, ProPublica

This article was produced in partnership with The New York Times.

Dr. Craig B. Thompson, the chief executive of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, said Tuesday that he would resign his seats on the boards of drugmaker Merck and another public company, the latest fallout from a growing institutional reckoning over relationships between cancer center leaders and for-profit health care companies.

Thompson has served on the board of Merck, the maker of the blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, since 2008. He has been on the board of Charles River Laboratories, a publicly traded company that assists research in early drug development, since 2013.

Thompson received $300,000 in compensation from Merck in 2017, according to company financial filings. He was paid $70,000 in cash by Charles River in 2017, plus $215,050 in stock.

Click here for the full announcement.

Source: ProPublica

Trump Administration Will No Longer Grant Visas To Same-Sex Partners of Diplomats

 

By Willa Frej

The State Department this week revoked its preferential visa policy for same-sex partners of foreign staff working at the United Nations and other diplomatic missions in the United States. This means same-sex couples will need to marry in order to remain in the country together ― an option that still doesn’t exist in most countries.

Effective Oct. 1, “U.S. Embassies and Consulates will adjudicate visa applications that are based on a same-sex marriage in the same way that we adjudicate applications for opposite gender spouses,” the State Department said on its website.

Diplomats with same-sex partners will have until the end of December to get married, or their partners will be sent home in January. Same-sex marriage is only legal in a handful of countries worldwide.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Huffington Post

Members of California White Supremacist Group Arrested in Connection with Deadly Charlottesville Rally

By Jenny Jarvie  and Brittny Mejia

Four militant white nationalists from California were arrested by federal authorities Tuesday on charges that they traveled to Virginia with the intent to incite a riot and commit violence at last year’s deadly far-right rallies in Charlottesville.

Thomas Cullen, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, announced that charges had been filed against Benjamin Drake Daley of Redondo Beach, Michael Paul Miselis of Lawndale, Cole Evan White of San Fransisco and Thomas Walter Gillen, whose hometown was not immediately known.

The four defendants are members of the so-called Rise Above Movement, a white supremacist group based in Southern California that promotes “clean living” and meets regularly in public parks to train in physical fitness, boxing and other street fighting techniques, according to the affidavit.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: Los Angeles Times 

Trump. The Art of the Con: Is There a Method to His Madness?

By Steven Jonas

A variety of words have been used to describe Donald Trump and Trump's White House/Presidency. They are being used with increasing frequency as various "inside the White House" books, like those of Bob Woodward and Michael Wolff, and "pretty close to Trump" books, have come out. Among them are "deranged," "unhinged," "chaotic," "crazy," "bordering on senile," and "mad." Trump is often described as "uncontrolled and uncontrollable." Now it may be true that he is really off-the-wall doing a combination of meandering through and charging through his Presidency without much direction other than "responding to his base." Certainly, from time-to-time I have thought so. But the more I have watched what this man has actually accomplished, the less I think that he is just lurching through it all, and the more I think that he knows exactly what he is doing (at least most of the time). That is, my answer now to the question I raised in the title of this column is "yes." And here's why.

Trump has a particular way of acting, very well known to everyone, that all started in the way he was brought up, particularly by his father (and I am not about to say here anything that any objective observer doesn't already know). He is a bully. He is poorly educated and doesn't care that he is. He is highly opinionated, without too much dependence on fact for his opinions. He is a racist from his youth. He is a faker/liar from the beginning, e.g., indeed he went to the Wharton School (likely with a paid-for entry-form) but there is no evidence (to my knowledge) that he received its graduate degree. And so on and so forth. 

Click here for the full article. 

Source: OpEdNews.com

$200 Million in Funding Provided to Address Emerging Contaminants in New York's Drinking Water

A total of $200 million in grant funding has provided to help communities address federally unregulated contaminants in their drinking water supplies, a national issue that is still lacking federal guidance. The funding will provide advanced support and assistance for communities to combat emerging contaminants, as the State prepares to take the important step of setting enforceable drinking water standards for the emerging contaminants PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane.

Of the grant funding, $185 million will be available to communities across the state to upgrade drinking water treatment systems to combat emerging contaminants, prioritizing PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane. The remaining $15 million has been awarded to communities already pursuing system upgrades and innovative pilot technologies to treat emerging contaminants. Additionally, the Governor directed the Department of Health, Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Environmental Facilities Corporation to provide technical assistance to communities to help assess system needs and apply for grant funding.

"Safe drinking water is critical for public health and economic prosperity and communities should not be left to fend for themselves when it comes to removing dangerous contaminants," Governor Cuomo said. "While the federal government fails to set national standards and guidelines for safe drinking water, New York is prepared to take action in the absence of federal leadership. This funding will ensure communities have the technology and support they need to provide their residents with quality drinking water, creating a safer, healthier New York for all."

Click here for the full announcement.

Source: The Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Update - 3:53 PM (EST)

New York Environmental Group Responds to Cuomo Announcement

The following statement was provided to From The G-Man by Liz Moran, water and natural resources director for Environmental Advocates of New York. 

Albany – “Today’s announcement from the Governor, made on the day his Drinking Water Quality Council failed to meet a statutory deadline to have recommended MCLs in place, is just another in a long line of delays. To be clear, the Governor and the Department of Health could have acted on these chemicals as soon as the pollution crises came to light in Hoosick Falls, Newburgh, and Long Island years ago, but they didn’t. We know PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane are dangerous. We know these chemicals have polluted thousands of New Yorkers' water. The question that needs answering is: why has New York failed to act?”

'The Debrief': Kavanaugh Investigation, Trump Rallies Mississippi

Amazon Hikes Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour for U.S. Employees

Source: CBS News

Melania Trump Visits Children's Clinic, Ghana's First Lady on Africa Tour

Source: CBS News

Why Brands Are Taking a Stand on Social Issues

Source: CBS News

Trailblazers in Black History: Dr. Roger Arliner Young

This video was published on YouTube on March 10, 2009. 

The African American Trailblazers honors the African American contribution to the American story and the significant accomplishments of twelve (12) heroic African Americans in areas such as the arts, sciences, politics, education, and business. 

The African American Trailblazers was conceived as part of Americas 400th anniversary celebration, the documentary and exhibition represent the collaborative effort of several community, regional government, and corporate partners to highlight the historic contributions of African Americans in the Colonial Period, Revolutionary War, Civil War, Reconstruction, and 20th Century that positively changed the Commonwealth, our country, and the world. 

The documentary vignettes were directed by Emmy Award winner producer Eric A. Futterman and tell the stories of 12 historic African American Trailblazers and describe other notable achievements since the first Africans arrived in Jamestown in 1619. It features re-enactments, music, historical photos, paintings and interviews with historical experts and African American Trailblazer award recipients Dr. Maya Angelou, Mr. Raymond Boone, Dr. Wyatt T. Walker and others.

Source: LibraryofVa