“I want to make it clear, however, although I am deeply opposed to war, I am not advocating appeasement. It is often necessary to take a strong stand to counter unjust aggression. For instance, it is plain to all of us that the Second World War was entirely justified. It “saved civilization” from the tyranny of Nazi Germany, as Winston Churchill so aptly put it.
But we can only judge whether or not a conflict was vindicated on moral grounds with hindsight. For example, we can now see during the Cold War, the principle of nuclear deterrence had a certain value. Nevertheless, it is very difficult to assess such matters with any degree of accuracy. War is violence and violence is unpredictable. Therefore, it is better to avoid it if possible, and never to presume we know beforehand whether the outcome of a particular war will be beneficial or not.”
Positive traits and behaviour are accessible to and should be embraced by everyone, whether male or female. “Healthy masculinity” is really just healthy humanity.
Increased attention on men’s violence against women has focused attention on not only rape and sexual harassment but also on the cultural support system for such behavior. While only a small fraction of men violate the law, lots of men engage in less blatant forms of aggressive and coercive behavior that injure and undermine women, and even more men are bystanders who fail to challenge other men’s abuse.
This conversation often revolves around a critique of “toxic masculinity” and the search for a “healthy masculinity,” which does bring needed attention to these forms of abuse. But we should be wary of the way those phrases can limit our understanding and reinforce patriarchy.
I propose we replace “toxic masculinity” with “masculinity in patriarchy,” to focus attention on the system out of which problems arise.
An environmental analogy helps: Too often we only think about toxic chemicals when we have to clean up spills and leaks, responses that obviously are necessary. But just as important is challenging an industrial worldview that embraces the use of those toxic substances, along with critiquing the economic system that makes toxic contamination inevitable. The same goes for the patriarchal worldview.
Some may think patriarchy is an out-of-date term, but it’s an accurate description of societies based on institutionalized male dominance — which is virtually all the world, including the United States.
Patriarchal societies change over time and vary depending on culture, but when we recognize “it’s still a man’s world,” we simply are acknowledging that patriarchy remains entrenched.
see below EXPOSÉ: Santander and hypocrisy with climate change
In Spain, the country’s biggest fossil fuel polluters are also some of the most generous sponsors for this year’s U.N. climate talks. On Saturday, we joined activists on a “toxic tour” of Madrid from the Madrid stock exchange to Santander Bank. Activists explained that when Spanish President Pedro Sánchez announced that Spain would host COP25, he went to IBEX 35 — the 35 biggest listed companies in the Spanish stock exchange — offering them a 90% tax break on a $2 million sponsorship. Advocates say that these same companies “have deep and dirty links to the fossil fuel industry.” But midway through, the police shut down the tour, threatening fines of over 3,000 euros if the peaceful tour did not disperse. Climate justice campaigner for Friends of the Earth International Héctor de Prado says he was shocked and “ashamed” by the attempts by police to halt the tour. “It is not normal,” he says.
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, as we broadcast live from the U.N. climate summit, known as COP25, here in Madrid, Spain. We turn now to the fossil fuel polluters that are sponsoring this year’s climate talks. On Saturday, activists took us on what they called a “toxic tour” of Madrid, from the Madrid stock exchange to Santander Bank to the world-famous Prado Museum. But midway through, the police shut it down. This is Pascoe Sabido of Corporate Europe Observatory, or CEO, but begun with Lise Masson of BankTrack.
LISE MASSON: So, welcome to the toxic tour. So, inside COP25, the negotiations are supposed to be tackling the climate crisis. But they’re completely failing, and they have been for 25 years because of the influence of big polluters. The same companies who are causing the crisis are derailing the talks and the real solutions in order to protect their business models. Some of these biggest polluters or even sponsoring the COP, and we’ll be paying a visit to some of them today. The first stop is, in fact, here at la Bolsa, Madrid’s stock exchange.
Crazed with Greed the Capitalist Corporations promote MORE OIL AND COAL burning and prospecting. While irreversible climate chaos begins to take hold and the money system begins to collapse, they DENY climate change and hide in their tax havens. But as General Strikes and Rebellions threaten to sweep out corrupt politicians… Maybe those Climate Criminals will in the future be hunted down and prosecuted like Nazi criminals, one by one.
Via Earthjustice: More than 2,291 chemical fires, explosions, or toxic releases occurred from 2004 to 2013, causing deaths and injuries and also forcing some half a million fence line communities and first responders to suffer toxic exposure or shelter-in-place. By early 2016, facilities had reported an additional 458 releases to EPA, though the agency expected those numbers to increase as more reports came in.
In the early morning hours of November 27th, 2019 there was a huge explosion at a chemical plant located in Port Natchez, Texas just a few miles from USP Beaumont where I am currently housed. The plant which is operated by TPC Group Sustained a large amount of structural damage and approximately four people were injured. Over 50,000 people were evacuated in the surrounding area and officials warned all those who were downwind from the plant.
This incident came only days after the Trump Administration relaxed regulations which instructed chemical plants like the one in Port Natchez to conduct thorough inspections of their chemical processing facilities. The Trump administration has defined itself as an enemy to the Environment and a Friend to Capitalist Oppressors.
In Southeast Texas these industrial chemical plants continue to spew toxic chemicals into the air. The main part of the regulations which are no longer being…
4 December 2019 (UN Environment)* — Soil’s contribution to climate change, through the oxidation of soil carbon, is important, and soils—and thus agriculture—can play a major role in mitigating climate change.
As the United Nations climate summit COP 25 kicked off in Madrid, Spain on Monday, environmental advocacy groups warned that market-driven approaches to tackling the global emergency are an obstacle to real solutions to rein in emissions and making those most responsible for the crisis pay.
At issue are international carbon markets, which, as a DW headline put it, will “take center stage.”
Young climate activists protest carbon markets
“Big polluters must be rubbing their hands in glee that carbon market mechanisms, which further dilute the already weak and inadequate Paris emissions targets, are back on the agenda,” said Dipti Bhatnagar, Climate Justice and Energy Program coordinator for Friends of the Earth International (FOEI), in a statement.
At last year’s conference, nations agreed on a set of rules for tracking and reporting greenhouse-gas emissions and for reviewing collective progress. However, they failed to establish clear rules around carbon markets through which emissions made in one country can be offset by investing in low-carbon technologies elsewhere. Although it is unclear whether negotiators will be able to reach agreement this time around, Article 6 of the Paris agreement—which aims to promote voluntary international cooperation between nations—is a central point on the agenda, and offsetting will almost certainly be discussed.
The Free 