The Assassination Complex

The Intercept reports on the use of drone warfare--greatly expanded by President Obama. Many more civilians have been killed than intended targets.

While many of the documents provided to The Intercept contain explicit internal recommendations for improving unconventional U.S. warfare, the source said that what’s implicit is even more significant. The mentality reflected in the documents on the assassination programs is: “This process can work. We can work out the kinks. We can excuse the mistakes. And eventually we will get it down to the point where we don’t have to continuously come back … and explain why a bunch of innocent people got killed.”

The architects of what amounts to a global assassination campaign do not appear concerned with either its enduring impact or its moral implications. “All you have to do is take a look at the world and what it’s become, and the ineptitude of our Congress, the power grab of the executive branch over the past decade,” the source said. “It’s never considered: Is what we’re doing going to ensure the safety of our moral integrity? Of not just our moral integrity, but the lives and humanity of the people that are going to have to live with this the most?”

I get a little skeptical when JFK assassination theories are brought into it, and no President is above criticism for their foreign policy decisions, but the idea that a "deep state" consisting of a class of powerful private interests limits the range of policy choices can't just be dismissed. There is too much consistency between Republican and Democratic administrations on the perceived need to preserve United States' dominance in the world.

Climate Change and the Economy

A study from Stanford University and UC-Berkeley finds a correlation between rising temperatures and economic performance.

The findings indicate climate change will widen global inequality, perhaps dramatically, because warming is good for cold countries, which tend to be richer, and more harmful for hot countries, which tend to be poorer. In the researchers’ benchmark estimate, climate change will reduce average income in the poorest 40 percent of countries by 75 percent in 2100, while the richest 20 percent may experience slight gains.

Lonely at the Top One Percent

If only there was something one could do to solve the problem of having too much money.

There is a fair amount of isolation if you are wealthy. We are all taught not to talk about money. It’s not polite to talk about money. In itself, ironically, it’s harder to talk about having money than it is to talk about not having money. It’s much more socially acceptable to say: ‘I am broke. Things are hard.’ You can’t say: ‘I have a ton of money.’ You have to keep a lot of your life private except in small circles.

Meanwhile, Alliance for a Just Society finds that the current minimum wage falls far short of a "living wage".

A living wage is one that allows families to meet their basic needs, without public assistance, and that provides them some ability to deal with emergencies and plan ahead. It is not a poverty or survival wage.

Although $15 per hour is significantly higher than any minimum wage in the country, it is not a living wage in most states. A national living wage for a single adult is actually $16.87 per hour, based on a weighted average of living wages across the country. In 35 states and in Washington, D.C., a living wage for a single adult is more than $15 per hour. In no state is a living wage less than $14.26 an hour.

Update (October 20):  Eric Ravenscraft explains how being poor is too expensive.

Update (October 24):  Some heirs are finding ways to do good with their wealth.

Update (February 4, 2018):  Alex Henderson also explains how living in poverty can be expensive.

It’s a vicious cycle. America’s poor are slammed with costly banking or check-cashing fees, face higher auto insurance premiums and are more susceptible to health problems, yet the one thing that can be improve their material circumstances—a decent job—can be denied to them based on their credit score.

Oceanic Food Chain Collapse

A study by Ivan Nagelkerken and Sean Connell of The University of Adelaide in Australia concludes that acidification and warming in the oceans will lead to "simplification" of that ecosystem. The loss of species diversity and increased metabolism brings a mismatch of available food for larger carnivores. Nagelkerken:

There will be a species collapse from the top of the food chain down.

Coral Bleaching

Michael Klare writes about climate "tipping points" which eventually threaten civilization if they can't be avoided. Mega-icebergs are calving into the ocean. And coral is dying all over the world due to an underwater heat wave. The evidence is out there, and keeps coming, if people want to see it. Are the Paris talks our last chance to change course and avert the worst?

Update (October 11):  Can breeding save coral?