Sea ice as a marker—and amplifier—of climate change

November 24, 2016

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Scientists are interested in sea ice as a marker—and amplifier—of climate change, writes The Economist

In recent years the melting season in the Arctic has been ending later in the year.

As a result, the total sea-ice extent in September 2016 was over 3m sq km smaller than in September 1980—though not quite as small as in 2012, the worst year so far.

In the Arctic, it is around 2m sq km below average.

 

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Chances are, you are already a member of the global elite

November 24, 2016

If you had only $2,220 to your name, you might not think yourself terribly fortunate. But you would be wealthier than half the world’s population, writes The Economist.

With $71,560 or more, you’d be in the top tenth.

If you were lucky enough to own over $744,400, as 18m Americans do, you are a member of the global 1% that voters everywhere are rebelling against.

Some of those railing against the global elite probably do not know they belong to it

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The government expects to borrow £122bn ($151bn) more over the next five years than anticipated before the referendum

November 24, 2016

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In his first detailed budget statement since the Brexit vote, “spreadsheet Phil” Hammond, Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, said the economy was expected to grow by 1.4% next year and 1.7% in 2018, down from an earlier forecast of 2.2% and 2.1%. The government expects to borrow £122bn ($151bn) more over the next five years than anticipated before the referendum

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Umberto Eco’s definition of fascism in full

November 23, 2016

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  1. The cult of tradition. “One has only to look at the syllabus of every fascist movement to find the major traditionalist thinkers. The Nazi gnosis was nourished by traditionalist, syncretistic, occult elements.”
  2. The rejection of modernism. “The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity. In this sense Ur-Fascism can be defined as irrationalism.”
  3. The cult of action for action’s sake. “Action being beautiful in itself, it must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.”
  4. Disagreement is treason. “The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge.”
  5. Fear of difference. “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.”
  6. Appeal to social frustration. “One of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.”
  7. The obsession with a plot. “The followers must feel besieged. The easiest way to solve the plot is the appeal to xenophobia.”
  8. The enemy is both strong and weak. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.”
  9. Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. “For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is lived for struggle.”
  10. Contempt for the weak. “Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology.”
  11. Everybody is educated to become a hero. “In Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death.”
  12. Machismo and weaponry. “Machismo implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality.”
  13. Selective populism. “There is in our future a TV or Internet populism, in which the emotional response of a selected group of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People.”
  14. Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak. “All the Nazi or Fascist schoolbooks made use of an impoverished vocabulary, and an elementary syntax, in order to limit the instruments for complex and critical reasoning.”
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In a meeting with the New York Times, Trump dumps three key campaign promises:

November 23, 2016

trump-drew-09-21The president-elect cancelled and then reinstated a meeting with journalists from the New York Times, then appeared to renege on several key campaign issues: his promise to prosecute Hillary Clinton, climate change denial, and his embrace of the alt-right. Separately, the Trump Foundation admitted to violating laws that ban nonprofit leaders from using charitable funds to help themselves or their families.

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