Catocala species
Ice Age National Scientific Reserve Unit, Wisconsin, USA
2021-07-29 _F2A5712aaa
“The Architects of the Iraq War: Where are they now?
They’re all doing great, thanks for asking.”
“The U.S. and its allies invaded Iraq 20 years ago in Operation Iraqi Freedom. President George W. Bush’s press secretary Ari Fleischer twice accidentally referred to it as Operation Iraqi Liberation, which was definitely not its official name and would have generated an unfortunate acronym.
The men and women who launched this catastrophic, criminal war have paid no price over the past two decades. On the contrary, they’ve been showered with promotions and cash. There are two ways to look at this.
One is that their job was to make the right decisions for America (politicians) and to tell the truth (journalists). This would mean that since then, the system has malfunctioned over and over again, accidentally promoting people who are blatantly incompetent failures.
Another way to look at it is that their job was to start a war that would extend the U.S. empire and be extremely profitable for the U.S. defense establishment and oil industry, with no regard for what’s best for America or telling the truth. This would mean that they were extremely competent, and the system has not been making hundreds of terrible mistakes, but rather has done exactly the right thing by promoting them.
The reality is that most of the D.C. foreign policy blob signed up to push the Iraq War, and for the most part, they’re all still there, several big steps up the career ladder, just blobbing away. Voltaire said that humanity invented hell to dissuade people from doing wrong when they noticed there didn’t seem to be any consequences for it here on Earth. On this bleak anniversary, you can certainly understand where he was coming from.
Read more from Jon Schwarz: “
Photo: Charles Ommanney/Getty Images
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“First major IPCC report: 1990 Rio Earth Summit establishing the UNFCCC:
1992 The Kyoto Protocol:
1997 Paris:
2015 Glasgow:
2021 So why haven’t we bent the emissions curve in 30 years?
We conclude power concentrated in ‘elites’ is a major obstacle to change.”
Kevin Anderson, World Renowned Climate Scientist
“Scientists telling us we’re heading towards calamity. It’s never on front pages. a lot of politicians declined a scientific briefing on it. Media telling people it can be solved by changing your washing powder. How people who are listening haven’t lost their minds is beyond me.”
“Shura Hana
One of Matthew Gahan's most highly recommended reading resources was the book "Late Victorian Holocausts." This is essential reading to understand how we got here. Read it here for free >>”
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“Thousands of marine animals depend on coral reefs for survival including some species of sea turtles, fish, crabs, shrimp, jellyfish, sea birds, starfish and more. Coral reefs provide shelter, spawning grounds and protection from predators.”
“Everything You Need to Know about Coral Bleaching—And How We Can Stop It”
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“Coral Bleaching: Why Reefs Are Dying – and How to Help”
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“Eight things the world must do to avoid the worst of climate change
Latest IPCC report highlights key measures countries must take to avoid climate catastrophe”
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